Tony Rodriguez is the Assistant Operations Manager for Fort Worth, TX.
Tony arrived at Delta Steel – Forth Worth soon after High School graduation in 2007. Having been with us for 15 years now, he has accumulated a lot of experience and is the right hand man for the Operations Manager. Tony’s career with the company began in the warehouse when he worked as a parts cleaner for the processing department. Soon after in 2008 Tony began running the cranes on second shift.
Career Growth at Delta Steel
In 2008 Tony began running the plasma and oxy fuel burning machines on first shift. Learning the new machinery required him to spend nights with another operator and then ultimately moved to training with a supervisor on first shift. Eventually he mastered the job and stayed in the processing department for the next ten years, also adding leadman to his resume. Leadman added the responsibility of doing the majority of the burning for his shift and worked close with the following shift. Additionally he was required to train other operators and ensure that the shift’s processing goals were on task for the day. In 2018 he became the burn supervisor for Fort Worth where Tony would turn his eye to more quality control efforts after processing was completed. He would inspect work and finalize loads to ensure the highest level of workmanship by his department.
Current Day-to-day as Assistant Operations Manager
Tony handles many of the same task as ops manager and many times leads the safety toolbox talk, an all important step in preserving the culture which has made our Delta Steel facilities so successful in their safety program. Additionally he takes on the responsibilities for the shop personnel, including hiring, house cleaning initiatives and communication with shift supervisors. He works hard to engage the shift supervisors and staff to participate in the discussions by asking them to bring topics to talk about.
“The safety of my people is priority number one. I don’t ever want to have to make a phone call to someone’s family.”
The mission for the operations of the facility is to foster an environment of trust where the employees feel safe to talk openly about safety issues and create an atmosphere where they want to come to work and work safely. The safety talks conducted are also meant to bring up the near misses so all the shifts can learn from them.
Hobbies
Tony enjoys 12″ slow-pitch softball and old cars. He is currently restoring a 78′ C10 pickup by doing all the engine and brakes himself. His goal is to create something he can drive on Sundays. He also loves spending time with his four children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Tony eyes the future with Delta Steel and one day would like to become Operations Manager.
Congratulations Tony! We look forward to a long and storied career with you!