Safely Ahead of the Game

"It was designed to be a quick strike force team, so we could prioritize work and execute it in the most efficient manner," Longo says.

The restructuring also led to additional jobs. Northern Safety's ranks swelled from 170 in June 2005 to 215 this past May.

Neil Sexton, president of Sexton's Market, the Trinidad, Colo.-based consultancy that Northern Safety has employed for several years, says the self-driven employee structure works well for the company. In particular, the management structure allows for rapid implementation of new ideas. "I've never met a company that can go from concept to strategy to execution like Northern Safety can," Sexton says.