Courtesy, Chazen Companies (2021)
Jeff Malo
The Chazen Companies buckled down on the age-old “safety first” mantra, hiring Jeff Malo as manager of Health and Safety Services in its Building Code and Life Safety Services group.
Malo is a certified utility safety professional (CUSP) with more than 20 years’ experience providing health and safety training.
“I was destined for this work. I was born in 1971, the year OSHA was established, when the laws first kicked into place, and I was born Oct. 6, Fire Prevention Week,” Malo said with a laugh. “That revelation came to me when I was 16 or 17 years old and volunteering at a firehouse.”
In the years since, Malo has worked with such clients as SABIC Innovative Plastics, Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), General Electric, Fluor Marine Propulsion, utility and energy providers, the Northeastern New York Safety & Health Council and regional engineering firms.
“I don’t think I found this field, I think it found me,” said Malo, whose training includes National Safety Council master instructor, New York state hazardous materials technician, excavation, and authorized electrical safety training, among others.
“The role is not new to Chazen, but we did put an extra emphasis on hiring the right person for the role,” said Nicole Bybel, marketing coordinator at Chazen. “Health and safety in the architecture/engineering/construction world is quite different from that of other industries; we wanted someone who was already well-versed in the specific risks our clients and their employees face.”
Those health and safety risks have stayed the same for years. “What has changed, however, is the emphasis on health and safety,” Bybel said. “In the past, some viewed health and safety as an after-thought, after OSHA raised red flags. Today, companies are being more proactive, aimed at avoiding any violations in the first place and, therefore, protecting the safety of their employees.”
That’s something Malo takes seriously, describing how the COVID-19 only heightened what he sees as a dangerous trend in safety training.
“Online training is good for certain awareness-level training classes, but companies are selling themselves short by getting every training session online. Everyone knows the interaction, the classroom, the discussion, is irreplaceable. I’m worried this next generation is not going to be as prepared. That’s a major concern I have.”
But for now, Chazen’s clients will receive the best Malo has to offer, as he works to educate employees on safety measures.
“If you take safety away, I don’t know what I’d do,” he said. “It provides me a nice paycheck but, morally, it’s good to go to sleep at night knowing you did everything you could to help keep somebody safe.”
Chazen provides civil engineering, land surveying, and related services. They have offices in Glens Falls, Troy, the Hudson valley, Tennessee, and Oregon. The LaBella Group of Rochester acquired Chazen last December.