What is CREW360?
CREW360 is you. It empowers every person, on every job, to take safety in their own hands. A strong safety culture starts in the field, and we trust everybody we work with to have each other's backs. We encourage you to speak up, look out for one another, and lead every task with a safety-first mindset. CREW360 starts with boots on the ground—yours.
We’re all part of CREW360. Its success depends on you speaking up, staying alert, and committing to safety in every task you perform.
What’s in a Name
Our first CREW360 group came up with the name and logo for this initiative.
- CREW: We’re all in. Together.
- Collaborate: Safety is a team effort.
- Recognize: Identify hazards, and the efforts our crewmates make.
- Empower: Equip employees with what they need to be safe and successful.
- Win: Together, we win by getting home safe.
- 360: Safety excellence is a never-ending cycle of improvement.
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Previous All Stars
Billy Astleford, CREW360 All Star
The CREW360 Safety Steering Team recognizes Billy Astleford as a CREW360 All Star. Billy first began working for Stacy Witbeck in 2015 as an operator on the Mid-Coast Light Rail Extension in San Diego. After a few years, he was promoted to a foreperson and is currently working on our Port of Long Beach projects.
What others say about Billy:
“Billy has been a great resource in being able to identify potential hazards and best practices while performing work. Personally, he took the time to show me the proper way to spot and signal for someone while they unload and load material so I would be properly trained. He goes the extra mile to ensure everyone can get back home safely.”
– Xavier Martinez, SW Field Engineer
“Having the pleasure of working with him, I can say honestly say that he is one of the better individuals I have worked with. In performing his role, he is very attentive to the needs and opinions of his fellow workers. Billy coordinates well, specifies each task with the intent of having and knowing that you understand what is needed to get the job done. High morale is important to Billy with his crew. You have the feeling of knowing that your opinions and thoughts are valid, not just left feeling ignored. He reaches out to lend a helping hand when necessary and has proven himself to be a great leader.”
– Phan Prum, SW Foreperson
“Billy is very knowledgeable about what needs to get done and how to make it happen as quickly as possible while keeping safety and protocol at the top of his list. He is very safety-oriented and covers all his bases. He genuinely cares about the safety of his crew, making sure everyone understands the work and has an opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns. He also identifies unseen or potential hazards that others might not recognize."
– Raymond Carter, SW Operator
Safety Steering Team (SST)
Once a month, personnel from projects across the country meet to talk about our safety culture. The team is made up of a combination of craft and staff employees in various roles throughout the company, with members rotated in and out to continuously bring fresh ideas and perspectives.
Continuous Improvement Teams (CIT)
Our safety journey is never done. We create Continuous Improvement Teams, CITs, to identify and address areas we can improve our safety behaviors.
CIT #1: Safety Assessment Walks (SAWs)
SAW walks should be seen positively, as a way for the entire team to come together and identify safety concerns on site—they are NOT an inspection or audit. By proactively identifying safety concerns as a team, we’re able to prevent injuries by implementing controls and awareness. The SST also uses this information to share best practices with other project teams across the country.
CIT #2: Morning Briefings Update
The key to CREW360’s success is participation, so we reworked how morning briefings were run to generate more engagement from the crews. Held at the start of each shift, when an employee joins later, or a significant change occurs, these should have active participation from the entire team. Now, briefings get into more specifics, including scopes, tasks, assigned duties, and time requirement. Speak up!
CIT #3: From Hard Hats to Helmets
Our third team helped the company transition from hard hats to the safer helmets, staying ahead of where the industry is headed. The decision was based on a significant amount of research proving helmets to be a superior option for keeping our crews safe, and began its rollout in 2023. All crews on new jobs from this point on are required to wear an approved helmet.
CIT #4: Risk Tolerance and Hazard Recognition Training
An internal survey found 38% of employees agreed with the statement of “risks are overlooked to get the work done.” To address this, the team created a training to reinforce the company’s expectations of always having a safety-first mentality. The goal is to instill proactive and preventive thinking to everybody on our teams, recognizing hazards ahead of time and ensuring everybody participates in critical safety processes.
Stop the STCKY!
While not directly a part of the CREW360 program, it’s good to familiarize yourself with the STCKY (Sh!t That Can Kill You) wheel. The goal is to identify the most extreme hazards on site to ensure controls are in place and prevent serious injuries or death. When we all work together, we can stop the STCKY.
CREW360 Ambassadors
There’s always somebody nearby who has participated in an SST, don’t hesitate to reach out for project support!
