The Career Path of a Building Safety Professional

Building safety professionals have a wide range of backgrounds, but few are as varied as that of Merry Westerlin. Her hard work and determination shaped her career, first as a business owner and then as a Building Official – with lots of growth and learning in between.

Merry Westerlin, Building Official and Code Enforcement Manager for the City of Montclair, CA, wasn’t raised in a construction family. She wasn’t exposed to the industry as a child, nor did she spend much time thinking about how buildings were constructed and inspected. Her initial plan was to become a teacher; she loved math and thought she would enjoy a career in teaching future generations about this important subject matter.

However, after following this career path through college, life had other plans.

Real-World Experience

Around that same time, her husband, Ken – whom she married just nine days after graduating high school – brought home a concrete pump. He worked in the concrete industry and had a small fleet of concrete mixers.

Westerlin had been helping her husband with his enterprise, and they hired someone to operate the pump while she took charge behind the scenes, learning all about payroll, taxes, dispatching and everything else necessary to operate the business.

Her efforts paid off. She spent 11 years growing this operation, hiring several employees and acquiring multiple pumps to handle larger and more complex jobs, from libraries to multi-story buildings.

During this time, Westerlin’s experience grew beyond concrete construction. She and Ken had built their own home and completed additions and remodels to several other homes.

Westerlin also had the opportunity to visit job sites with a building inspector she had met. She became interested in the profession, and the inspector encouraged her to consider a career transition, as he thought she would be a great inspector. But she was still operating her own business and had no plans to make such a significant change.

Then out of the blue she received a call from someone who wanted to buy her enterprise.

“That night I told my husband about the call, and he said, ‘Did you sell it!?’” Westerlin recalled. “I said, ‘Why would I sell my business? This is what I do.’ And he said, ‘But if you sell, you’ll have the opportunity to do something you want to do.’”

Westerlin thought about it for a bit and decided to sell, giving her the opportunity to go back to school and pursue a new career as an inspector.

A Thirst for Knowledge Shaped Westerlin’s Career in Building Safety

Westerlin loved school and loved to learn – she took every class offered in construction technology. She joined the International Conference of Building Officials, one of the precursors to the International Code Council. ICBO sent Westerlin a newly published copy of the 1997 Uniform Building Code. She read everything she could, but her thirst for knowledge never diminished.

“I couldn’t get enough,” she said. “It was so interesting to me.”

Eager to put her expertise to work, she updated her resume and headed to the nearest city, Calimesa. She didn’t know if any jobs were available but figured she would try anyway. Unfortunately, she was hit with a conundrum that’s familiar to most job applicants: she needed experience as an inspector to become one, but she couldn’t get that without first landing a job.

The silver lining was that she met Dale Everman, an inspector who worked for Willdan, who offered to share her resume. Jim Barrett, Inspector and Permit Technician Manager for Willdan, called a week later and invited Westerlin to come in for an interview. She was hired, but not as an inspector – she was offered a job as an office assistant at its corporate office. She took the job and within three months she was in the field learning – and soon after, working as an inspector.

“I was on cloud nine,” said Westerlin. “I look back now and realize what a risk Jim took in hiring me. I had no inspection experience. I am so appreciative of Jim and Willdan. They gave me an amazing opportunity. I worked for six different jurisdictions with Willdan as a contract inspector and couldn’t grow fast enough.”

Advancing Through the Building Safety Industry

Westerlin then applied for a senior building inspector position with the City of Rancho Cucamonga. She secured the job and was promoted to Building Inspection Supervisor a few years later.

Westerlin added that by answering questions and continuing to work in the field whenever she could, she gained a lot of experience and code knowledge from this position. She also went back to school, taking classes at night to finish her bachelor’s degree.

She didn’t stop there – Westerlin further expanded her knowledge base, as well as her network, when she was given the opportunity to attend meetings at the Foothill Chapter of the Code Council. This is where she met Steve Griggs, who was Building Official for the City of Montclair at the time. They didn’t talk very often, but he recognized her talent and expertise and, leading up to his retirement, asked her to apply for a job as Deputy Building Official.

“I didn’t think I was a very likely candidate,” said Westerlin. “I knew I was on my way, but I didn’t feel that I was ready – but Steve did. He was very encouraging.”

Westerlin threw her hat into the ring and got the job. She then became the Building Official after Griggs retired.

“It was a promotion, that’s the way it was designed to happen,” Westerlin added. “I shadowed him. I learned a lot about the city, learned to do the budget, to keep accurate records, write City Council documents and so much more. There’s a lot more to being a Building Official than codes. You are also a manager, keeper of records, plans and especially – keeping the ‘code.’ The question you ask yourself every time you answer a code question is: does this meet code?”

Motivated By Watching Others Thrive in Building Safety

Westerlin, who served as the Code Council Foothill Chapter’s president from 2010-2014, reflected on what has motivated her to keep going all these years.

“What motivates me is when I see people grow in this industry,” she said. “It inspires me. I’ve seen people become inspectors, then grow to plans examiner, and that’s encouraging to me. I like to share experiences I’ve been through, and how I resolved issues.”

Westerlin credited Jim Barrett, Project Manager and Building Official at Willdan, as a mentor who helped her grow, and she has strived to help others throughout her career as well. She has proudly watched as some of her interns grew into inspectors and plans examiners. She also hired an inspector who became Montclair’s plans examiner.

“I’m big on training,” said Westerlin. “When I was President of the Code Council Foothill Chapter, one of my goals was to have as many training sessions as we could fit in each year. The Code Council offers so much training and I valued that. The more training/knowledge we give, the better buildings and safety we’ll have.”

Training is particularly important for the next generation, especially if the industry intends to replace those who retire. But training goes beyond courses and codebooks – it encompasses years of on-the-job experience that Westerlin tries to pass on as much as possible. She has learned, and wants all others in the industry to know, that clarity is paramount when working with the public. She said it is important for all inspectors, and all who wish to work in this industry, to listen carefully to people and try hard not to make assumptions. That latter point can also be applied when looking for new talent.

“When hiring people, I look for the things I cannot change,” said Westerlin. “I also examine their character, so I ask questions that show integrity. Another is intelligence – how do they fix problems? And of course – people skills.”

Building Safety is Multifaceted

What does “building safety” mean to Westerlin? There isn’t just one aspect she considers – it’s everything.

“There are so many important things plans examiners and inspectors need to look at,” she affirmed. “Does this have the structural integrity to last 100+ years? Is the water going to be clean and safe to drink? Will sewage drain to the right place? Is the plumbing big enough so it won’t back up? Is it vented? Is there the right amount of light, ventilation and efficiency? Is it electrically safe? And that’s just getting started. The number of items that are checked and rechecked in every building are numerous. It’s all bundled in the small division of the city offices called Building & Safety.”

After almost 16 years with the City, Westerlin retired from her position. “I will miss the City of Montclair and all the wonderful people who I have had the opportunity to work with and call friends,” said Westerlin. “I have plans to travel with my husband. We have a bucket list of places to see, grandkids to spoil, and of course, we have some building projects of our own.”

Editor’s Note: After this article was written, Westerlin was hired back by the City of Montclair in a part-time/temporary retired/annuitant Building Official position. 

To learn more about career opportunities in the building safety industry, visit the Code Council’s Safety 2.o webpage here.