Richard A. Watts is Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Compliance Officer and Secretary at Granite Construction, one of the largest infrastructure contractors and construction materials producers in the U.S.
At Granite, Watts is responsible for delivering the corporation’s effective and efficient legal services and compliance program by developing certain company policies and procedures, which ensures that Granite adheres to applicable rules, regulations, and laws. He also works with Granite’s Board of Directors to satisfy governance requirements.
Watts joined the company in 2003 as division counsel and was named assistant general counsel in 2010. In 2012, he was appointed General Counsel. Click here for more info about Watts.
In the following interview with Ethisphere’s Aarti Maharaj, Watts talks more about his role at Granite and how safety works in tandem with the company’s ethics and compliance program.
What are some ways that you integrate safety into your ethics and compliance program or policies?
Granite’s compliance program is comprised of nine core values. Safety, in particular, is important to everyone in the organization, but overall these core values are more than a set of rules and requirements. They represent a commitment from each employee to stakeholders and the public.
Our project teams embed safety into every aspect of their work plans and relentlessly execute on those plans. When we talk about safety policies or compliance commitments, our focus is on our employees, as well as subcontractors, vendors, visitors and the public. Our projects are planned to the highest safety standards without compromise which to me is an ethical commitment: upholding the highest standard of care possible. Safety also has a seat at Compliance Committee meetings. At these meetings, safety metrics are reviewed, evaluated and addressed by the committee.
Often, we use this platform to share ideas and drive awareness among leaders about this topic—we also ask ourselves how we can we do better?
Promoting and educating stakeholders about our commitment to safety and ethics is a critical part of our success. The Construction Industry Ethics and Compliance Initiative, for example, is a non-profit association of U.S. construction industry participants dedicated to the promotion of integrity and ethical conduct in the construction industry.
Granite is one of the founding members of this organization and it serves as resource to help address workplace safety.
Next, Annual Safety Week allows us to work together and unify the nature of safety across the company. Safety week is an industry-wide effort by construction firms across the US who are working together to eliminate worker injury. Over 40 national and global construction firms have joined forces with a single aim: to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety. During the week, thousands of people around the world engaged in activities related to safety in the workplace.
How do you make safety a continuous dialogue?
Granite’s dialogue around safety starts at the new employee orientation, and for some in the hiring process. Every employee is trained on our Speak Up/Listen Up program which breaks down barriers to giving and receiving feedback related to safety. Our project managers develop Job Hazard analysis for each project and hold regular meetings to review and continually improve this process. Our employees, however, understand that safety is not something we do in addition to work; it’s how we work. We hold daily Take 5s (at least 5 minutes) to discuss the day’s work plan, associated hazards and precautions to be taken. Employees at all levels are given authority and requested to Speak Up to prevent injuries without any reprisal. Finally, many locations develop recognition programs to promote the sharing of best practices and to make us and the communities we serve, safer.
Commitment from the top
All levels of management, including the C-Suite, are required to be involved by attending or conducting safety meetings. Moreover, we have developed a 2020 Strategic Plan with safety as a key objective of the plan.
Our CEO is visiting every business unit throughout the company to deliver his annual town hall meeting.
A key focus of those meetings is on our safety results and efforts to achieve a safer workplace for everyone.
Provide an overview of your responsibilities at Granite and how do you make safety part of your job?
At Granite Construction, my role includes responsibilities as General Counsel, Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. Also, I am a member of the company’s executive team.
Together with these responsibilities, myself and others work to maintain a compliant safety program through satisfying the legal and regulatory environment.
We aim beyond the bare minimum requirements because if we only check the regulatory boxes we will fail our employees. We work hard to do more.
Through regular communication and training, we work to improve our safety results year-over-year. Our goal, however is to stay in compliance with safety regulations and have no OSHA recordable incidents. Above all, we have a moral duty to send workers home every day in a safe manner. In essence, safety, compliance and ethics are the foundation to a successful, enduring company.
Can you talk about your career path? How did you move from being an Engineer to a General Counsel?
I’ve worked in the construction and engineering industry my entire professional career. Our industry allows us to take on new challenges and responsibilities that lead to professional development and opportunities unlike any other business. Early in my construction career, my projects and clients helped me understand how plans, contracts, and regulations influence the success of the work. This mentoring led to my interest in construction law. The legal support of projects, both in-house and as outside counsel, provided me with a different view of project delivery.
As General Counsel and Compliance Officer, I rely daily on my experience and education as an engineer and contractor.
Yet, working as a General Counsel of a public company in a highly- regulated industry comes with a fair share of challenges. Against this backdrop, it is helpful to know that Granite will respond to such challenges in an efficient and ethical manner – it’s in our DNA.
