PRECO Electronics named Fernando Figueroa, president and co-founder of Curv Compliance, as the winner of the 2018 Excellence in Safety Award. Figueroa has built his career on keeping employees safe, well trained, and knowledgeable to reduce injuries and illnesses in the workplace. In honoring those who educate and take action to improve safety on and off the worksite, PRECO strives to support and bolster the significant difference safety leaders like Figueroa make across the globe.

Figueroa is recognized for his initiative in launching Curv, a safety and compliance-focused consulting company. Designed to provide safety training, compliance audits, inspections, education, and guidance for businesses in need of industry-specific compliance resources, Curv implements corrective action processes to establish safe and effective operations. Figueroa serves as a board member for Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and many other organizations, as well as serving as Chair for the AGC Education Committee.

From an early age, Figueroa was exposed to worksites through his father and earned discipline and leadership skills throughout his eight years in the United States Marine Corps. After serving, he began a career in construction and was quickly selected to be a safety leader. Using his experience, Figueroa soon realized the impact a shared understanding of regulations and accident causation could have on reducing incident rates.

“The biggest safety issues I see are the lack of training and tools provided to employees,” Figueroa said. “Many companies aren’t putting safety at the forefront, primarily due to the perceived cost. Safety tends to be an afterthought, especially for smaller construction companies who are more likely to experience accidents, so I work to educate about the upfront costs and how they end up saving money in the long run when they invest in safety.”

Before starting Curv, Figueroa worked as the safety director for Yantis Company, who nominated him for the award. At Yantis, Figueroa began training and conducting site inspections, and successfully built a connection with his workforce. These relationships allowed Figueroa to improve adoption, getting workers on board with his safety initiatives.

Figueroa now works to make Curv a top outreach training center to help provide low-cost community training and continue to provide construction companies with the tools necessary to meet and exceed OSHA regulations. Under his leadership, Curv has been named the three-time recipient of the San Antonio, AGC chapter ‘ACE TINCH Service Provider of the Year’ award, as well as the 2017 Bubba Muller Award for Outstanding Service.