Korellis Roofing is serious about safety. Even with their loaded schedule, they take one day out of the year to bring every tradesperson in roofing, sheet metal, carpentry, and masonry off their jobsites and into their home base for their Annual Safety Fest, which was hosted again on Wednesday.
Safety Fest features a number of classes and stations designed to educate of a variety of safety essentials that are critical or not always focused on in Korellis’ regular safety meetings. Many of the stations offered lessons about classic safety topics, such as fall protection and electrical dangers.
“This is about ensuring that all of our personnel have a good understanding of the safest way to do their jobs at the highest level possible,” said Robert Erickson, Safety Manager at Korellis. “We want our team to have the skill and the knowledge to handle all kinds of situations so that they can go home to their families. Korellis believes that safety is number one, not only for our employees but in taking consideration to protect clients and families at our jobsites.”
The courses at Safety Fest are meant to teach the Korellis’ team how not only meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, but how to exceed them. Every roofer receives a primer on how to act in active shooter situations, confront issues like opioid abuse, and practical tools such as tourniquet application.
“These are things they need to know just in case the worst happens,” said Dan Stella, Workforce Development Manager at Korellis. “It actually happened one year where somebody got cut on the wrist while they were working, and a roofer was able to use their belt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and get him to the hospital. The guys I talk to feel like this is giving them the training they need to go out and feel comfortable.”
Brandon Reese, a service technician, has spent 12 years with Korellis Roofing. Every Safety Fest helps him learn something new or refreshes the essentials that let him go home safe. Reese is also a veteran of multiple tours of duty, and his dedication to Korellis, safety, and public service earned him national recognition with the “Best of the Best Award” from the Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress, one of the most prestigious industry honors for an individual roofer nationwide.
“Korellis is light-years above any other contractor in our industry when it comes to safety,” Reese said. “I know if I need anything, like new equipment for certain jobs, they’re always ready to supply. It means a lot to me because I know that as long as I do everything right, I’m going to go home at the end of the day.”
Safety is at the heart of Korellis Roofing’s culture and is core to how they remain an industry-leading employer in the Region. Check out all of their open positions and apply online at https://korellis.com/careers/.
