Quanta Services deployed Lytx’s Driver Safety Program across its different operating companies to help bring its craft labor workforce home safely every day.
Uniting more than 200 operating companies across North America, Quanta Services is a leading energy infrastructure solutions partner that “connects people and power.” While the company has always prioritized safety in relation to the skills of its craft labor workforce, Quanta recently decided to intensify its safety focus on the driving element of their jobs. We sat down with Eric Neason to learn more about the challenge Quanta’s CEO was trying to solve, and how the company has answered it with the help of the Lytx® Driver Safety Program.
Lytx: Hi, Eric. To start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Eric Neason (EN): My name is Eric Neason and I’m Vice President of Operations Support for Quanta Services. We’re a collection of different operating companies with capabilities that span the electrical, gas, industrial, and renewable energy industries.
Historically, we’ve operated as separate, autonomous companies, but over the past several years, we’ve started doing things more consistently across those companies. [As part of that unification effort,] we’ve been looking at dash cam solutions and driver safety programs to help protect our drivers and get them home safely every day.
Lytx: Why is it important to standardize safety when everything else is decentralized?
EN: Again, our operating companies work independently with a high degree of autonomy. We let them run things their way because it makes the most sense. We know that doing gas distribution in Manhattan is very different than doing electrical construction in the swamps of Louisiana. It’s different cultures, different geographies, and different customers. We let each company keep their brand and operate the way they’re used to.
For our companies that wanted to start dabbling [with driver safety tools], we let them use their own solutions. And some piloted Lytx. Our CEO knew we had different companies trying the technology and he issued a challenge to us. He said, if these solutions work, then let’s [choose one and] do it consistently across the company. If they don’t work, let’s quit talking about it.
Of course, the answer is the solutions do work, and we had enough evidence and experience to prove that. That’s when we began the process of selecting a partner for this journey. And our choice was Lytx.
Lytx: What specific problems were you trying to solve, and why did you pick Lytx?
EN: It’s really as simple as we’re trying to do everything we can to ensure our workforce and others on the road, all make it home safely to their families each and every night. This is a priority of our CEO—what keeps him awake at night is keeping our men and women safe and doing what we can to enable that.
We looked at the different offerings in the market. Some of our operating companies were already using Lytx and had success with it. As we continued working with the Lytx team, we were impressed by how long the company’s been around and the amount of experience Lytx has in [driver safety].
We were also impressed with Lytx’s scale and number of enterprise customers. We knew the Lytx team could handle a company of our size. And we thought it was a great cultural fit. Culture is important [at Quanta] and we connected well with the Lytx team during the sales process.
Lytx: Can you elaborate on the cultural attributes that lined up well for you?
EN: Most of the other video vendors came in focusing on the technology. We know the technology is important, but there’s more to the puzzle.
A lot goes into a successful deployment and implementation. It’s as much about the people, process, and support as it is the technology. And the Lytx team really emphasized those aspects.
And again, [our decision was based on] the fact that Lytx has been around for 25 years and has other enterprise customers, and enterprise deployments they’ve supported. Plus, Lytx’s team seemed genuine and authentic, and that resonated with us. We felt like they were people we could work with, side by side, in a partnership to get [the solution] successfully deployed.
Lytx: What are your top business priorities in relation to fleet management and operations?
EN: When it comes to fleet operations, our biggest priority is safety. We have initiatives with each of our vehicle and equipment providers to make sure we’re getting the different safety advancements and features they offer. That also then extended to our Lytx selection and implementation. We’re equipping our vehicles and supporting our drivers with as many safety enhancements, aids, and trainings as we can to help them.
Lytx: Most of your employees aren’t drivers. They’re skilled craft workers, and driving is just a part of what they do. So, how do you prioritize safe driving with them?
EN: One of the unique attributes of our safety challenge is that our employees are first and foremost skilled craft workers, like electrical linemen, industrial technicians, or gas pipeliners. Driving is a part of their job—so they may have their commercial driver’s license and drive our equipment—but it’s not their main focus. We’ve historically focused more on the craft labor and then how safety is involved with that. Now, we want to devote more attention to enabling and supporting our employees on the driving part of their jobs.
Lytx: What’s your take on the hazards of driving versus the hazards of performing the labor?
EN: There’s an assumption that doing electrical line work, for example, is the dangerous part of the job. And that’s why our safety focus has been on developing the skills of our craft labor workforce. What we’ve realized is driving is equally, if not more, dangerous.
We’re shifting to devote as much attention to developing and training our employees’ driving [skills] as their craft labor skills.
We want to provide them with tools to support safe driving, helping them identify both good and bad behaviors, while giving them positive coaching so they continue to improve. It’s no different than the craft labor element of their jobs—it all needs to be encouraged with training and support. The Lytx Driver Safety Program is one way we’re helping them develop that professional skill.
Want to learn more about how Lytx customers are using their safety programs to build a better tomorrow? Check out our success stories or contact us today!