David Acord
Safety Director
- 19 years of experience
- 4 years at KDC
For years, David Acord dreamed of being a talk show host like David Letterman. He wanted to talk to people for a living – asking questions, debating topics, sharing information, and perhaps most important, enjoying banter.
Though Acord doesn’t have his own talk show today, he does talk to people for a living. But instead of shooting the breeze with movie stars and athletes, he’s chatting with subcontractors and construction workers about safety.
When it comes to safety, there’s a way of communicating the messages for a more successful outcome. It does take finesse.
As KDC’s Safety Director, Acord’s goal is to protect the people on KDC’s construction sites from workplace injuries and illnesses. He’s committed to the safety of all employees, contractors, and team members in every aspect of every job.
Through continued knowledge and education of construction safety, Acord trains staff to protect workers’ health and well-being while maintaining quality and production. He ensures that projects are built safely and effectively, in accordance with the applicable laws, policies, guidelines, regulations, and standards.
Acord speaks Spanish fluently, which is a big help on most construction sites where the vast majority of the workforce is Spanish-speaking.
Acord’s commitment to safety makes sense, given his family background and history. One could even say that protecting people is in his DNA – his family tree is heavy with law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics. Acord’s father served as a firefighter for the city of Arlington for 25 years before starting his own business providing fire protection for commercial buildings across North Texas.
Acord attended the University of Texas at Arlington. He is a licensed journeyman plumber with medical gas certification and an electrician. He is a Construction Health Safety Technician and a specialist in safety healthcare and environmental.
Acord worked for his family company, which gave him insight into the commercial construction and real estate development industries. In 2007, he joined Fort Worth, Texas-based mechanical engineering firm as a field safety manager.
“The opportunity to become a field safety manager changed my life,” Acord says. “My energy and passion for safety propelled me into an entirely new career.”
Acord spent a decade with the mechanical engineering firm before taking a position with a global general contracting firm. As a senior manager – safety, health, and environmental manager, he worked in the company’s Special Projects Group (SPG) for six years, tackling tenant improvements for build-to-suit projects.
Though Acord wasn’t looking to make a career move, KDC’s reputation encouraged him to join the firm. He was familiar with the firm, having worked on Liberty Mutual’s regional headquarters.
Acord lives by the motto, You can’t afford the luxury of a negative thought. He makes an effort to be a positive thinker, though he does believe that he’s innately a glass half-full kind of guy. He describes himself as jovial, caring, and informed.
When Acord isn’t busy talking about safety, he enjoys golf (he’s a scratch golfer). He also likes to fish and hunt on his deer lease in southwest Texas.
Acord, who has an adult son and a teenage daughter, makes the most of family time by working with his wife to landscape their yard and cultivate their vegetable garden.
Acord is a strong supporter of the Make a Wish Foundation, United Way, and Habitat for Humanity.
