Joann P. Bauer credits the growth of Dynamic Utility Solutions, LLC from seven to more than 75 employees in just over two years to a relentless focus on safety.

Prior to founding her company, a certified minority- and woman-owned business enterprise, Bauer served as Director of Transmission Execution and Support and Regional Director of Operations at PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania, experiences that left a lasting impact on her attitudes toward occupational safety and life in general.

“I have seen the sad, life-changing outcomes of utility industry accidents on employees and on their families,” said Bauer . “That’s why we’re so committed to creating a safety culture and to reducing the high hazard levels in this industry.” Bauer, a California native, earned a bachelor’s. degree in Biological Sciences at the University of California, Davis; she earned an MBA at Pepperdine University.

Dynamic got its start with ComEd as a subcontractor in 2016 and the following year it became a Contractor of Choice. In 2018, Dynamic completed approximately $15 million in projects for ComEd in the Distribution Construction category. Key projects involved the Wood Pole Replacement program, Freeport Fiber construction, Grid Resilience, Storm Hardening, and Underground Cable Replacement. Company revenue on the ComEd system increased in 2018 by $10 million, reflecting Dynamic’s growing capabilities and ComEd’s efforts to mentor principals and introduce them to other contractors and suppliers.

Through the company’s first two years of operation, Bauer devoted a large portion of her time to assembling and educating her leadership team on occupational safety. Tapping into personal experiences, she and her team compiled, debated, and incorporated best practices into a new Safety Program, including a customized Safety Observation and Audit App. She also placed a high priority on training the management team to perform field observations. “Battling complacency is always a challenge, so having more eyes in the field provides more data for awareness and improvement toward best practices,” said Bauer. “My vision is to have a safety culture of ‘Brother’s Keeper’ in which we all look out for ourselves and each other. Like everyone in our industry, we would like to see the electric utility linemans’ job dropped from the list of the top 10 most dangerous jobs, and I think that can happen through a strong straining focus on human behaviors and hazard recognition.”

The company’s partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers further reinforces the safety focus and plays a key role in helping Bauer and her team develop a high-caliber workforce, 95 percent of which comes from Locals 9 and 196. “Working with IBEW in conjunction with our apprenticeship programs ensures we bring on employees who understand the importance of safe behaviors and who have the training needed to build a career,” said Bauer. “Our people understand that safety is job one and I hope they also realize this emphasis shows we care about them as people, because we do.”

Dynamic’s workforce is 30 percent minority and women, and Bauer commends efforts being made in Illinois to expand the growing community of well-qualified diverse companies. “As a Hispanic woman in the electric utility industry, I can tell you it hasn’t been easy, especially without an engineering degree,” said Bauer, an avid runner of marathons and ultra-marathons. “But Illinois utilities are creating positive change and opportunities for talented diverse businesses that are willing and able to go the extra mile to deliver results, because that’s what it takes to succeed in this business.”