California Constructor: What led you to become actively involved on AGC of California’s Safety & Health Council and to step up as Chair for 2026?
Robert Rodriguez: When Covid-19 hit, there were lot of people suddenly interest- ed in the Safety & Health Council, and it just exploded with participation. People wanted to know what was going on, what other companies were doing, and how we were going to face this challenge, and what was happening with the regulatory community. And so it was something that really sparked a lot of engagement and conversation. After Covid started dying down, I saw a
significant reduction in people engaging and participating in meetings. Tat was discouraging to me; I really wanted to see more engagement. Tat’s one of the rea- sons that I stepped up and became a part of the leadership team within the Safety & Health Council—I wanted to get more people involved, to drive engagement and momentum, not just in the Council itself but in the industry as a whole.
California Constructor: To that end, what are some of the goals and initiatives planned by the Safety & Health Council in 2026?
Robert Rodriguez: One goal is just increasing the networking opportunities and engagement among our members at meetings and events. What we’re trying to do is build community within the Council again, so that people know each other, can network, and pick up the phone to call each other between meetings. Tat is not just going to benefit their company; it’s going to benefit the entire industry. Mental health is also a topic that we
will continue to address, as we discussed earlier. Te fact that we’re tackling this head-on in the industry is a good thing.
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CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR MAY/JUNE 2026
Robert Rodriguez pictured in Jordan during the Iraq war in 2016, serving with the California Army National Guard.
“A lot of the same stigmas and barriers to mental health apply to both the military and construction communities. People don’t want to show weakness or vulnerability. Breaking down those barriers is an essential part of a safety health manager’s role. Over the last few years I’ve seen a consistent improvement with mental health initiatives and how construction companies are taking a more proactive role in combating mental health problems.”
– ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, BALI CONSTRUCTION
What I’ve noticed in the Council in the seven to eight years that I’ve been involved is increased engagement when it comes to safety and health, and specifically, mental health initiatives. We want to make sure everyone understands that this is not going to go away. It is a challenge of epidemic proportions in our industry. In other areas, we’re going to focus
heavily on safety culture and empha- size education and leadership in key industrywide initiatives. In areas such
as high-hazard activities and “stuff that can kill you” (STCKY), we’re trying to help orient our members to focus on leading indicators instead of sticking with old ways of tracking safety within their companies, such as lagging indi- cators or incident rates. Understand the importance of a near-miss program, site inspections, observations, and other things we can do to evaluate the health of our safety culture. We’ll also explore the latest technol-
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