Safety Through Relationships on Large-Scale Construction Sites
Cultivating a superior safety culture at scale
Danny Renteria is thriving in a family-oriented safety culture
A bustling construction site is a hive of activity and coordination. Excavators and cranes are moving earth and placing heavy objects. Large pieces of steel, lumber, and other materials are stacked awaiting use, and the sounds of engines roaring, and metal clanging fill the air as dozens of workers are diligently welding, hammering, inspecting, or overseeing the action. Mortenson’s hyperscale data center projects, often spanning 500,000 to 1 million square feet, elevate this well planned and controlled chaos to an entirely new level.
However, even a project with formidable scope such as a hyperscale data center project can have a welcoming, close-knit, and family-oriented feel. That’s exactly what Mortenson strives to cultivate.
Ask nearly any team member or stakeholder on a Mortenson project, it’s our people that make it possible. Danny Renteria is one of those people. Danny’s position as a Safety Engineer II with Mortenson’s Data Center Solutions Group uniquely enables him to connect with and positively influence others every day, aligning seamlessly and meaningfully with his own strengths and values. The superior culture around him and passion within him have made for success at scale on our data center projects that is noteworthy and uniquely his own.
A Day in the Life of a Safety Professional
Days that kick off at 7am on your typical project site can cause morning grogginess. Danny, however, welcomes this early start as an opportunity to help guide the large team on site in a positive direction with stretches and safety conversations relevant to the day ahead.
It’s important to wake up and come to work every day knowing people actually appreciate you.
Setting the Tone
For Danny, starting each day with the Plan of the Day (POD) meeting and a Bend N’ Stretch session with the entire team is often his favorite part of his schedule, as this is what sets the team up for success. In addition to providing clarity around crucial work assignments, location, and safety instructions, POD is a main gathering time for brief social exchange. “For me and for others, it’s important to wake up and come to work every day knowing people actually appreciate you,” he stated. This is why he makes it his goal to set a tone of positivity and connection with his crews.
Operating with Intentionality
One of Danny’s many responsibilities as a safety professional on a bustling data center project is orienting new team members and trade partners to the site and escorting visitors. Danny assists with a brief check-in process and fits them with the appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) for their visit. He guides those entrusted to his care around the vast project site with a confidence that comes with familiarity with his team and surroundings as well as cultivated expertise.
Other key responsibilities include conducting formal site safety orientations and collaborating on the development and execution of project planning. He also helps with site-specific safety plans and hazard analysis. Danny is viewed as a technical resource for safety standards and best practices for scopes to which is his assigned. He’ll take several meetings throughout the day but also reserves intentional time to walk assigned buildings and work scopes, splitting his day between time on his feet and at his desk. On a previous project, Danny also served on the emergency response team where he was trained in CPR and First Aid. This prepared him to respond to any injuries or medical emergencies on site.
Whatever his day may bring, Danny operates with notable intentionality as he walks the site, and his presence in a room is felt, even on a project with a footprint as large as a data center. He is personable, energetic, and genuine. He is very present in conversation with people. Danny recognizes that his role as a safety professional makes full use of his personal strengths and aligns with his core values, uniquely enabling him to connect with and positively influence others every day.
Crafting a Culture of Care
Indeed, checking in on people personally and understanding what they are working on is one of Danny’s key focuses throughout his day. This and keeping people safe is what a safety professional’s role ultimately boils down to. It’s not only important to his role but also fundamentally inherent to him as a person. For Danny, simply greeting others on site is a chance to exchange positive energy. “Even a quick fist bump quickly conveys: ‘this guy is nice’, ‘I'm on your team’”, said Danny. “It’s an ice breaker to get them to open up about how they're doing, and then you can get into whatever you might want to get into."
Influencing Safe Decisions
Danny’s people-first approach may seem simple at first glance, but with each interaction he is reinforcing a key tenant of Mortenson’s approach to safety: intentionally establishing the foundation for a culture of care. His stated goal is to walk away from each conversation with a team member having a positive impact and to have influenced others to make safe decisions at every turn.
He takes to heart the responsibility to know as much as he can and be his best for the sake of those around him. “Each day varies on what it will bring because I do not know what will happen, but I have to be ready and prepared to act and respond when I my help is needed,” said Danny.
Finding His Reason
The building blocks of a positive safety culture start with getting to know people one-on-one and showing them you care about them as people first. As a natural people-person, this is an innate skill that Danny has been able to rely on and tap into with success. He attributes his natural empathy and care for others to his upbringing and learning from his mother’s influence.
Family origins and a mother’s strength and love
"My mom was a single mom, and she had three kids by the time she was 22, so she had to drop out of school,” said Danny. “She worked two jobs to support us, which was hard to do, especially in California at the time. She made sacrifices, showed us what hard work looks like, and that it's possible to make it.”
They say a son's first love is his mother and that's true to me because I've lived it and seen it. I'm so glad she's my mom.
At a young age, and being quite observant by nature, Danny remarked, “I saw, even in the little things, how much my mom cared about us. I saw how, if she made it through and made it happen--she could have given us up-- but she chose to keep us and sacrificed her life in a way so that we could have food on our table, clothes, you name it. It was a big driver for me, seeing how much work she had to put in to get out of what she was in. The level of support she still provides and care she has to see her kids be successful in life is unparalleled. They say a son's first love is his mother and that's true to me because I've lived it and seen it. I'm so glad she's my mom."
Foundation for Success in Safety
What sticks with me is do the right thing and do the hard things that are going to make you better. 1% better is my goal, every day.
Finding His Way
With his mother serving as a key role model, a fundamental responsibility was sparked within Danny to sincerely look out for those around him. This manifested first with his siblings growing up and then with his friends and beyond. His life experience all translates to his role as a safety professional in a meaningful way. “It’s in my nature to care for and look out for people. I make sure I provide a level of care for others when they don't have the voice or support. What sticks with me is do the right thing and do the hard things that are going to make you better. 1% better is my goal every day.”
When exploring options for college and possible career paths, a friend mentioned Occupational Health & Safety as an option, and he took a chance with a first class in it at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW). He was pleased to find a fitting field for himself that was interesting, vast in its opportunities for application in the real world, and people-oriented.
Danny then chose to minor in Construction Management and pursue a career working with a general contractor. He was intrigued by the ability to work in a dynamic work environment such as a construction site where he could be outdoors and on his feet. He also joined a student safety organization on campus and a fraternity where he served as a safety liaison. Both were opportunities to get plugged in at the university, observe real-world safety management, and deepen his knowledge through practical experience in his field of study.
Building His Career with Mortenson
When seeking an internship, Danny landed an interview with our recruiting team at UWW and spoke with alumnus and Operating Group Safety Director of our Chicago Office. “In the interview, I learned [the interviewer] was part of my same fraternity. We instantly clicked due to the similar core values and being a potential fit for safety within Mortenson.” Danny then completed an internship the summer of 2021 and transitioned to full-time as a Safety Engineer I with Mortenson later that fall. He was promoted to Safety Engineer II in Spring 2024.
Danny’s ability to connect with others was also reinforced by Mortenson’s culture from day one. He recounts how, on his very first day as an intern and first time on a construction site ever, his mentor introduced him to every single Mortenson team member on site. “That felt very welcoming and very family-oriented--not the way I thought it could be given certain stereotypes about construction. Everyone stopped what they were doing to try to get to know me a bit. That was a really cool experience and sets this company apart for sure. I don’t know if you’ll get that anywhere else,” he said.
Relationships and Impact
What can I do for you?
Through his first internship and relationship with his mentor (whom he still considers a pivotal mentor today), Danny also learned the power of asking others what he can do for them.
"When I was an intern, I saw how [my mentor] spoke and interacted with those around him and that was one of the questions he always asked that no one else really did,” recalled Danny. “Seeing the feedback that you get that is actionable was huge. You're developing trust and a relationship that makes it much easier for them to come to you in the future."
Even though he is still early in his career path, Danny has since become recognized as a leader. His unique impact on site is clearly making an impact, as demonstrated by spontaneous yet consistent kudos he receives from his peers and supervisors. When asked for a solid piece of advice for brand new interns on site, Danny's director at the time said, "Learn how best to talk to people, and you're looking at the guy who can help you get there," pointing at Danny.
Given he’s built his early career with Mortenson, Danny has been steeped in Mortenson’s safety culture and Zero Injuries Program. He’s grown considerably as a safety professional in the organization and has the potential to climb even higher. He recently transitioned from one major data center project to another within the Midwest. Danny’s relocation and transfer to the new site has been invaluable given his experience seeing prior data center work completed from start to finish. He now supports the teams for precast, steel erection, roofing, and mechanical which is quite a feat on a large data center.
Regarding his recent transition, Danny remarked, “My last day on the old site this summer, I had about 30 different workers come up to me after Bend N’ Stretch to thank me for what I have done for them, wishing me well, and encouraging me to keep being me. That small recognition and closeout of a meaningful work experience at one site…I can’t ask for anything better. It made me feel accomplished, happy, and motivated to keep doing what I am doing.”
Influence the Individual, Impact the Industry
I’ve found my reason at Mortenson. Come check it out and find yours.
In order to effectively drive safety engagement and keep safety top of mind, there must be a culture of care and foundational relationships established to be effective. Success in safety is about a large team working together and caring for themselves and each other to make safe choices daily and not simply out of compliance.
At Mortenson, our Safety professionals are key resources for engaging and empowering people to make those safe, possibly life-changing choices. They give team members and trade partners the tools, support, and guidance needed to make safe choices, and this goes far beyond just complying with regulation, safety policies, or simply trying to avoid a disciplinary action.
To Danny and other Mortenson safety professionals, it’s personally important to break through stereotypes about their roles and reach beyond common standards and complacent thoughts around safety in construction. They work hard and with tremendous heart to set the right tone around safety and they advocate for the all-important ‘why’ behind every safe decision.
Danny’s values, attitude, and behaviors reinforce Mortenson’s Zero Injury Culture at a crucial introductory leadership level within the organization with key influence on boots-on-the ground operations. He considers himself lucky to have found such a fitting role, team, and organization. Danny shared, “I’ve found my reason at Mortenson. Come check it out and find yours.”