Like many occupational health and safety professionals, I didn’t discover my passion for safety in a classroom – I found it on the shop floor.
While studying business with a concentration in human resources, I accepted an entry-level HR role at a grocery distribution warehouse. Safety happened to fall under HR’s umbrella there, which gave me an early and unexpected introduction to the field. Before long, I was leading new-hire orientations, translating policies into practical expectations, explaining job-specific risks and training employees to safely operate mobile equipment before they stepped onto the warehouse floor.
That hands-on experience was formative. It taught me that safety isn’t theoretical, it’s personal. It’s about people understanding the risks inherent in their work and instilling the trust that the organization they work for is committed to sending them home safely at the end of every shift.
When I joined USG in 2000 as an HR trainee, more than half of my responsibilities involved supporting safety activities. Over the years, my roles have taken me to ceiling manufacturing plants, wallboard plants and gypsum mines across multiple states. Although the fundamentals of safety remain consistent, each environment brings its own risks, rhythms and realities. I’ve always valued the opportunity to learn something new at every site and to adapt safety practices to the work as it’s actually performed, not just how it looks on paper.
There was a brief period when my career shifted into a corporate role supporting the HR needs of our IT organization. The work was important, but it also reaffirmed something I already knew: Supporting our manufacturing teams is where I do my best work. Since then, my focus has been almost exclusively on occupational safety, with additional time spent in product safety, fleet and travel management, and coordinating safety efforts for USG’s parent company, Knauf.
I believe strongly that motivating people is at the heart of HR; motivating people to work safely is one of the most meaningful ways we do that. One of the proudest moments of my career came in 2016, when USG received the Robert W. Campbell Award from the National Safety Council. The award recognizes organizations that successfully integrate environmental, health and safety management into business operations as a foundation of corporate excellence. Although the recognition itself was significant, what mattered most was what it represented: an organizationwide commitment to safety as a core value.
Today, my role focuses on setting USG’s safety strategy and creating programs that are designed to drive continuous improvement. We work in close partnership with manufacturing leadership, who manage day-to-day safety at the plant level. That partnership is essential, because safety is most effective when it’s owned by the people closest to the work.
Justin Dugas
CSP
Senior director of safety and corporate services
USG Corp.
