COMMITTEE CHAIR
New Chair
Named
to PDCA
Safety &
Environmental
Committee
Chris Normand cites working
platform safety as priority issue
By Matt Bisbee, PDCA
According to Chris Normand, P.E., he’s had an
enjoyable 14-year run so far as project manager
at Cajun Industries, LLC in Baton Rouge. Since he
began the role in 2006, he has developed significant expertise in
the pile driving industry and is now the director of operations
for the Cajun Deep Foundations division. New to Normand’s
resume is his August 2020 appointment as the chair of the
PDCA Safety & Environmental Committee, for which he has
already devised a working strategy to bolster the panel’s impact
on the industry.
“The Safety & Environmental Committee can play a key
role with the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the
International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC-IAFD)
on the development of an industry-wide set of best practices
and guidelines for working platform safety,” said Normand. “This
issue is of key importance to stakeholders in the deep foundation
industry. Having a consistent, industry-driven document
could form the national discussion at many levels regarding
expectations for deep foundations operational safety.”
Expecting “continuity” in the transition, Normand credits
Scott Callaway, senior vice president at Cajun Industries, for getting
him involved in PDCA; Normand will now succeed Callaway
at the helm of the Safety & Environmental Committee.
Chris Normand (right) is now the director of operations at Cajun Industries, LLC’s
deep foundations division, and recently became the chair of PDCA’s Safety &
Environmental Committee
“The committee will continue to build on its past efforts to
provide reference documents such as pre-job plans, lift plans,
JHAs and similar best practices that could help others in the
industry form a culture with safety at the top,” said Normand.
Safety culture for companies and organizations everywhere
has taken on a new, yet necessary dimension in 2020. When
asked about the ongoing health crisis impacting America,
Normand said, “PDCA can serve as a forum for peer input and
shared solutions for COVID-19 related challenges. Examples
could include challenges with implementing site-specific COVID-
19 safe work plans, transportation and site access solutions,
specialized PPE use, employee screening protocols and other
general safe work practices.”
A Baton Rouge native, Normand is a double graduate of
Louisiana State University; he holds a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering and an M.B.A. He and Jennifer, his wife of 18 years,
are raising their three children in his hometown, where he has
become involved with his son’s scouting organization. Normand
enjoys opportunities for professional travel and is active in DFI,
among other industry groups. In his free time, he enthusiastically
supports LSU athletics and is a self-proclaimed “outdoors enthusiast”
who likes backpacking in the mountains, participating in
triathlons and distance running opportunities. t
Photo courtesy of Chris Normand
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