Director of Safety

Job description

Overview

The Director of Safety is responsible for leading and advancing Wheeler Machinery’s enterprise safety strategy, ensuring the safety of all employees, customers, and partners while embedding safety as a core pillar of the Daily Management System (DMS) and PSQDC framework (People, Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost).

The role partners closely with the Continuous Improvement function to integrate safety into all operational processes, drive standard work, and sustain a culture of continuous improvement. The Director will leverage Lean principles to proactively identify hazards, eliminate risk, reduce incidents, and improve overall operational performance.

This leader will ensure safety is not a standalone program but a fully integrated, measurable, and continuously improving operational discipline, aligned with business performance and frontline execution.

Strategic Leadership & Vision

Develop and lead Wheeler Machinery’s enterprise safety strategy aligned with company goals and operational priorities

Establish safety as a core leadership competency across all levels of the organization

Serve as the senior safety leader, driving accountability across all levels of the organization

Establish clear safety vision, goals, and targets aligned with PSQDC metrics

Ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements (OSHA, DOT, environmental, etc.)

Shift the organization toward leading indicators, predictive analytics, and proactive risk mitigation

Partner with leadership to integrate safety into business planning and performance expectations

Manage relationships with regulatory agencies, auditors, and external partners

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

Partner directly with the Continuous Improvement team to embed safety into Daily management Systems (tiered accountability, daily huddles, visual boards)

Standard work and SOP development

Kaizen events and improvement projects

Apply Lean methodologies (root cause analysis, waste elimination, error-proofing) to reduce incidents and near misses

Identify, evaluate, and implement innovative safety technologies, tools, and methodologies relevant to the high-risk environments associated with a CAT dealership

Leverage data and analytics to anticipate risk, improve decision-making, and prioritize interventions

Benchmark against Caterpillar dealer network, industry leaders, and regulatory trends to continuously elevate standards

Foster a culture of learning, experimentation, and continuous improvement in safety practices

Standardization & Governance

Develop, implement, and sustain standardized safety policies, procedures and programs across all branches and job sites

Ensure consistency in safety expectations while allowing for operational realities in diverse environments (shops, field service, parts, transportation)

Establish standardized policies, procedures, and audit processes

Lead enterprise-wide safety compliance efforts, ensuring adherence to OSHA, DOT, MSHA (as applicable) and other regulatory requirements

Implement and manage safety systems, tools, and reporting platforms

Partner with HR (VP of People) on policies, training and employee relations matters tied to safety

Operational Execution & Process Excellence

Own and drive safety performance as the S within PSQDC across all business units

Develop and maintain safety dashboards, KPIs and reporting cadences that drive action and accountability

Establish leading and lagging indicators (e.g., TRIR, near misses, observations, audits)

Standardize visual management and reporting of safety metrics across the organization

Lead regular reviews (daily, weekly, monthly) of safety performance integrated into DMS routines

Embed safety into daily workflows, maintenance practices and field operations

Lead incident prevention strategies, investigations and root cause analysis to eliminate recurrence

Design and improve processes that reduce exposure to risk at the source

Risk Management & Incident Reduction

Lead proactive hazard identification, risk assessments and job safety analyses

Implement systems to reduce high-risk exposures and serious injury/fatality (SIF) potential

Oversee incident investigations using structured root cause methodologies

Ensure corrective actions are standardized, sustainable and scalable across locations

Financial Oversight

Develop and manage the annual safety budget, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and operational needs across all locations

Build business cases for safety investments, including technology, training and staffing, clearly articulating ROI, risk reduction and cost avoidance

Track and analyze the financial impact of safety performance, including workers’ compensation, insurance premiums, claims trends and indirect costs (downtime, turnover, productivity loss)

Culture, Engagement & Training

Drive a culture where safety is a core value reflected in daily behaviors and decision-making

Design and implement comprehensive safety training programs tailored to technicians, drivers, warehouse teams and leaders

Promote active reporting of near misses, hazards and improvement opportunities

Drive engagement through safety observations, accountability routines and recognition programs

Team Leadership & Capability Building

Build, lead and develop a high-performing safety team

Define clear roles, expectations and performance standards for safety personnel and leaders

Elevate safety capability across the organization through coaching, training and leadership development

Ensure sustainability of safety programs through strong talent and succession planning

Work closely with Operations, Service, Sales, Parts and Facilities teams to embed safety into daily work

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Safety, Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene or related field (or equivalent experience)

8–12+ years of progressive safety leadership experience in heavy equipment, construction, manufacturing or similar high-risk environments

Deep knowledge of OSHA, DOT and relevant regulatory standards

Demonstrated ability to partner with operations leaders to embed standardized safety processes into daily routines

Proven ability to lead cultural transformation and influence at all levels of an organization

Experience implementing safety management systems and data-driven safety programs

Strong leadership, communication and change management skills

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities: the contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c).

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Who can apply

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