In Dangerous Jobs, Trust Is VitalWhen your employees are risking their lives, building trust from the first day is even more important.

It would have been easy formanagementto tell workers at the Marsh Landing Generating Station, a $700 million electricity plant in Antioch, Calif., to just scale the ladder and get on with the project. But throughout construction, supervisors emphasized that work should be completed safely, no matter the cost in dollars or time.

So when foreman Chris Derrico saw a ladder at an odd angle, he had the crew take the time to erect a scaffold. "In ironwork, everything is based on trust," he explains. "On this job, they went above and beyond. Any tool we needed, any safety equipment, they were willing to purchase … When they give you that type of leeway, everybody is willing to do their best."

Eric Johanson, project manager for Omaha, Neb.-based Kiewit, which built the station, says trust-building begins on an employee's first day. "We'd just talk," he says. "'What's important to you? What do you like to do away from work?' That's the reason we all want to work safely--so you can go home and do something with your family."