Throughout 2026, we are celebrating 50 years of Hill International, a brand synonymous with some of the world’s most impressive construction projects. While the results of Hill’s efforts can be spectacular—iconic city skylines, state-of-the-art transportation hubs, and community-centric cultural landmarks—construction is a messy process fraught with risk. Managing the many risks associated with construction to deliver projects on time and on budget is Hill’s business, and the most significant of the risks we manage is safety risk. Hill would not have a 50-year legacy to celebrate without a core company commitment to safety excellence.

Hill’s Corporate Safety Department has been crucial to cultivating our commitment to safety and, through safety, contributing to the success of Hill’s business. Our health, safety, and environment (HSE) staff help Hill’s operational teams manage safety on large construction projects by reviewing contractor safety plans, identifying and analyzing safety risks, and monitoring conditions on site. The Corporate Safety team also promotes the safety of our own professionals through a variety of tools, including Hill’s electronic job hazard analysis and formal safety training. Over the years, the Department’s efforts have established a strong safety culture, reducing risk for our clients and our company, positioning our company as a leader in the safe delivery of construction management services, and, most importantly, helping to ensure that our colleagues and our project partners make it home from work every day. Despite the successes, safety at Hill continues to grow and evolve, driven by our committed safety leaders.

Beyond Compliance With Corporate HSE Manager Bill Mueller

Corporate HSE Manager Bill Mueller joined Hill ten years ago as our first official safety manager. Prior to Bill, members of Hill’s Human Resources Department, including Felica Cream, Aisha Curry, and Elizabeth Whalen, were responsible for corporate safety. Their legacy of contributions remains evident and essential today. For example, HR’s learning and development platform Hill University continues to be an invaluable tool for facilitating safety compliance training and sharing other educational resources about safety. As Hill’s operations continued to grow, however, executive management recognized the need for a dedicated safety leader. In this role, Bill has been responsible for supervising our HSE staff, leading all HSE and emergency management initiatives, providing safety leadership and regulatory compliance support, and facilitating strategic operational initiatives while acting as liaison with senior and executive leadership for all matters related to safety.

“When I joined Hill, I quickly recognized the foundational importance of ensuring that every employee return home safely,” Bill says. “Throughout my time with this company, my objective has been to preserve and build upon that principle through strong advocacy for both the organization and our people.”

To do so, Bill and his team have developed a comprehensive HSE Management System, including Hill’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program and seventy-two distinct safety procedures. This system provides a consistent and continuous framework for identifying, assessing, and managing occupational safety and health risks in compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practices. However, Bill adds that the system goes beyond compliance. “I’m proud to say that these tools have strengthened our organizational culture and imbued it with even more of a focus on the safe delivery of services,” he explains. “That has resulted in measurable improvements in operational safety, workforce well-being, and our overall competitiveness, all of which are essential to sustained profitability.”

Regional Safety Manager Betty Wilson’s New Horizons

With the support of our regional and executive leadership, Bill has also spearheaded the introduction of a regional safety manager role to better support safe operations in Hill’s Western U.S. region. Betty Wilson has been in that role since 2020.

Betty joined Hill with 10 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to that, she served as a corpsman in the U.S. Navy. As part of Hill’s Corporate Safety Department, Betty designs enterprise safety programs, confirms health and safety requirements are met, and influences others to recognize and embrace their HSE responsibilities.

The expansion of Hill’s safety leadership team has enriched our safety culture and reinforced the importance of safety throughout our organization. “Betty’s brought exceptional value to Hill, and I am proud of her continued contribution both within and beyond her role,” Bill adds.

One of the ways Betty has gone beyond her role has been in positioning Hill’s Corporate Safety Department to contribute to overall profitability in a more direct way through billable safety services. Shortly after joining Hill, Betty began collaborating with her colleagues in operations to develop a safety consultancy service package. “Hill has always managed safety risk for clients, and many of our project teams include HSE staff dedicated to promoting safety on site,” she says. “With our new safety package, we are leveraging a lot of Hill’s pre-existing expertise managing construction safety risk, but we are filling a niche in the market for clients that require protection beyond what is typically provided by traditional PM/CMs.” Betty explains that she and her colleagues provide comprehensive, hands-on safety management for owners undertaking work with unusually high safety risk, as well as those coordinating safety across large portfolios of concurrent construction projects.

The new service rollout has been a success. Betty has supported one of her first safety clients, a large, international oil and gas company, continuously since 2022. As a third-party owner representative responsible for safety oversight, she audits safety conditions on construction projects across the client’s portfolio, reducing construction risk and promoting the safety of workers on site.

Betty’s impact goes beyond safety too. Her background as a registered quality control manager gives Betty a unique ability to connect the critical flow of safety and quality throughout project delivery. “Safe work and quality work depend on the same disciplined planning, documentation, verification, and follow-through,” she says. “By helping ensure that critical planning steps are completed before work begins, including hazard analysis, permitting, site logistics, access control, equipment coordination, quality requirements, and stakeholder communication, we help project teams prevent avoidable incidents, rework, delays, and cost impacts. This integrated approach supports safer execution, stronger quality outcomes, improved schedule reliability, and more predictable project costs.”

Under Betty’s leadership, Hill’s billable safety services continue to grow and evolve. For example, Betty has partnered with Hill Advisory to deliver technological innovations for our safety clients. On behalf of the oil and gas company mentioned above, the Hill team has developed a new digital safety platform for the client’s downstream operations. The platform features real-time data capture, training modules with automated tracking and expiration alerts, and leading indicators, helping deliver integrated, proactive safety processes.

“I’m very proud of what our team has accomplished,” Betty adds. “Hill’s Corporate Safety Department now contributes to our company’s profitability directly, in addition to protecting profit through risk reduction, and we’re helping more clients deliver their projects on time, within budget, and, most importantly, safely.”

Safety-Enabled Success

With Betty and Bill’s leadership, the tools and processes they have established, and the safety culture that Hill has built up over 50 years in business, the Hill team continues to strive towards safety excellence. That includes our goal of a total recordable injury rate of zero within our organization and consistently outstanding safety results on our clients’ projects through the management consultancy services of our traditional project and construction management teams as well as through Betty’s billable safety staff.

“I’d like to thank Betty, as well as all of my colleagues throughout Hill for their daily efforts to plan and execute their work safely,” Bill says. “As I mark my tenth year serving as Hill’s corporate HSE manager, I’ve seen the scope of this role expand significantly from overseeing organizational safety and health to navigating global challenges such as pandemic response, supporting sustainability initiatives, and contributing to fleet safety management. As a department, we’ve introduced new tools and refined existing tools, while adding roles and services. Much has changed, but I’m proud to affirm that safety has always remained a top priority for our entire organization, and I look forward to Hill’s continued success as enabled by our outstanding safety performance.”