ShieldWorks hired Shane Clark as its GM in the summer of 2020. Shane came from the mining industry, which at first glance, seems to have little to do with the temporary containment world. However, our longest-tenured employees could not have anticipated how Shane’s experience in mining could lead to such an important discovery for us at ShieldWorks.

Once Shane settled into our environment, got to know our people, and viewed the various project types, he began a process. His mantra: Protect ShieldWorks. For over twenty years, we had focused primarily on protecting other people’s environments without seriously considering our own protection. As a result, we gave very little thought to the many daily circumstances that could easily damage or cripple an otherwise thriving company. 

Protecting Our People

Protecting ShieldWorks speaks to our people first. We set ourselves up for failure if our employees are not taught stringent requirements and equipped with the most advanced safety equipment for interior protection work. We travel hundreds and thousands of miles yearly, so turning a blind eye to poor driving habits could be catastrophic. We work in extreme environments (hot, cold, toxic, etc.), so if we fail to warn them about the dangers of each, we run the risk of getting someone hurt. We work at heights and climb in structures of facilities where few, if any, others dare to tread. Each of these offers potential danger if our employees are not fully prepared to protect themselves and protect ShieldWorks. 

Protecting Others

Protecting ShieldWorks also pertains to protecting others. We are the last line of defense between the activity on a roof structure and the people or processes below it. Therefore, if there is a failure in our suspended ceiling or temporary dust barrier, there is a danger for those around us. Our company specializes in temporary protection for multiple food-service industry giants. A single breach of our containment barrier could result in danger to others. We needed to describe to our employees just how vital this is to our business and future. 

Protecting Our Reputation

Finally, protecting ShieldWorks is the basis for our organization’s reputation. Each task we perform in the temporary containment industry is to protect people, processes, and products. If we fail, trust is broken. If our protection is compromised, we have not protected ShieldWorks. 

Shane brought all of this to our attention. In so many ways, we have always protected ShieldWorks. Our incredible team has always been instinctively dedicated to protecting our business. Even still, we realize now that we don’t want ‘Protecting ShieldWorks’ to be a thing we do but the foundation on which we stand.