Girardeau and Hayes Driven to Keep Walker Safe

Girardeau has been striving to achieve that goal at Walker for the past seven years, first as the company’s Safety Coordinator and then, since 2020, as Safety Manager. He decided early on that one of the best ways to effectively teach safety to others is to experience their issues personally.

After arriving at Walker, Girardeau quickly set about learning “anything and everything” he could about the trucks being driven at the company. “I got trained on them and drove them,” says Girardeau, who had obtained his CDL license prior to joining Walker after spending 13 years in the U.S. Navy. “That way, when I talked with the drivers about safety, they knew I understood the things I was talking to them about.”

And Girardeau had plenty to say. He implemented a safety orientation program at Walker that covers a wide variety of topics, combining textbook-style learning with instructional videos and tests.

“We want to give them every tool that we can to make them the best and safest drivers they can be,” Girardeau says. “It gets them realizing just how serious all this stuff is. This type of training is important, but it’s also something that I enjoy. It’s fun to see the light bulbs go on in their heads as you’re talking to them.”

Once Girardeau was elevated to the position of Safety Manager, Dale Hayes was promoted to replace him as Safety Coordinator.

Hayes had spent the previous three years working at Walker as a mixer driver, but he came to the company with 26 years of public safety experience—16 as a firefighter and 10 as an EMT. “I’m the field guy. My truck is my office,” Hayes says. “I spend a lot of time at the plants and job sites, ensuring that they’re safe. I monitor drivers to ensure safe operation of their trucks. And I teach the Smith System, a defensive-driving course that all our drivers take.”

“The important thing for me to do is just be visible to the drivers. Because when they see you on a job site or around the plant, they start talking to you about things going on. That way, you know their concerns when it comes to safety, and we can stress the points we need to make with them.”

Girardeau says Walker Concrete is working closely with Kirkpatrick Concrete in Alabama to coordinate the two companies’ safety programs. While this includes all aspects of safety, Girardeau says, “our main focus is the drivers.”

“We try to instill in them to use their eyes and senses and just be smart,” Girardeau says. “We want to make these drivers as top-quality as they can be when it comes to safety.”