{"id":3144,"date":"2019-07-24T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/?post_type=features&p=3144"},"modified":"2021-12-23T18:39:55","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T23:39:55","slug":"creating-a-culture-of-safety","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/creating-a-culture-of-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a culture of safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

If someone were to ask you what core elements make up your company culture, what would you say? Would it be your firm\u2019s commitment to the customer, passion for excellent work, competitive wages and benefits, free coffee in the breakroom? Wait a second, where does safety fall on this list? Does it even make the list?<\/p>\n

While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind, how much (or little) you\u2019re committed to safety plays a big part in your company culture. There\u2019s a significant difference between safety being an item to check off on your to-do list and it being a part of your firm\u2019s identity. In this day and age, your company probably has some sort of safety program or policies \u2014 but how effective are they?<\/p>\n

The first and most important step landscape companies can take is to create a written safety program, according to Sam Steel, Ph.D., who serves as the safety advisor at the National Association of Landscape Professionals<\/a>, based in Fairfax, Virginia. Steel has worked in safety his whole career, spending over 30 years developing, delivering and evaluating agricultural industry safety programs. He\u2019s also no stranger to the green industry having owned and operated a landscape business for 10 years.<\/p>\n

As safety advisor at NALP, Steel advises landscape businesses on health and safety and teaches a 10-hour U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety course specific to the landscape industry.<\/p>\n

If a company has a safety incident reported by first responders or the firm itself \u2014 which is legally required for certain incidents \u2014 it may undergo an inspection by OSHA. \u201cNot having a written safety program is the No. 1 reason that landscape firms get cited by OSHA inspectors,\u201d says Steel. \u201cIf OSHA shows up and your company doesn\u2019t have a program documented, you\u2019ll most likely get a citation. And in 2019, it\u2019s close to $14,000 per citation for a first-time violation of the written safety program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steel says within the last five to seven years in his experience as safety adviser, \u201cI\u2019ve seen a huge increase in the number of firms that have their written safety programs, and they\u2019re written in the right format and cover the different hazards that their workers would be exposed to.\u201d And while most landscape companies have them, he finds a lot of owners aren\u2019t sure how good their safety programs are.<\/p>\n

The best way to make sure a written safety program is thorough is to develop it through a hazard audit system. This means that you or your safety director visit all your job sites to see if they pose any specific hazards to your employees.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steel suggests doing this in the late winter when you know what contracts you\u2019re going to be working on in the upcoming season. You\u2019ll most likely find a variety of risky conditions like steep slopes, ponds that are drop-off hazards for zero-turn mowers or a brick retaining wall a piece of equipment might fall from. Once you understand all the potential hazards your workers are being exposed to, document them in your written safety program and consider having a specific written policy on each hazard that you find.<\/p>\n

Lead by example<\/h2>\n

Creating a company culture that prioritizes safety involves key employee roles \u2014 a hierarchy that Steel calls the safety chain of command. This chain always begins with the business owner or manager. \u201cIf management is not committed to safety, employees are going to see right through that,\u201d he explains. Set a good example by doing the same things you ask of your workers. If you\u2019re attending safety training or visiting a site, show up in the same personal protective equipment you ask your employees to wear.<\/p>\n

Management should commit to a calendar of scheduled safety training. If you\u2019re going to have weekly training Monday mornings at 6:00 a.m., then make it happen. It\u2019s often tempting to delay training because you\u2019re strained for time.<\/p>\n

Steel gives the example, \u201cLet\u2019s say you\u2019ve had a very wet spring and you\u2019re getting behind. What typically happens is an owner will put off safety training programs that were scheduled because they\u2019re so far behind.\u201d Being a former landscape business owner, Steel understands the urgency of getting employees out in field to get jobs done, but he says that prioritizing safety will convey its importance to your team.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also critical that management is consistent in applying safety policies on the job site. Steel says, \u201cIt\u2019s easy to have favorite people who work hard for you. But if they\u2019re violating a safety policy, make sure that the policies, rules and regulations are applied consistently across the whole workforce.\u201d He warns not to single anyone out and come down hard on them in front of others. If an employee is not following a policy, make sure to take them aside one-on-one to address the issue, he advises.<\/p>\n

Most of all, take time to recognize and reward employees who have a good record practicing safety on the job. Steel says a lot of companies have incentive forms that a crew supervisor can turn into management, which basically gives them the opportunity to recognize when one of their workers is doing a superb job of always wearing the proper PPE and keeping it clean and well maintained, following safety policies, etc. When that person is recognized and maybe even awarded a bonus at a once-a-year safety luncheon, this reinforces the importance of safety to the whole company.<\/p>\n

Other key roles<\/h2>\n

The second role in the chain of command is the safety director or leader. Depending on the size of your firm, this could be the human resources manager or another manager who doubles as the safety director. This person then heads up a safety committee, which provides the firm a safety calendar of topics to be discussed and trained on throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\"\"The safety committee should meet on a regular basis and be comprised of a variety of employees within the company, from office staff, to management, to crew members. The firm owner or manager can attend some meetings but doesn\u2019t have to go to all of them.<\/p>\n

Their role is rather to establish the committee, support their work on an annual basis and then look at the recommendations from the safety committee and turn them into effective training.<\/p>\n

Crew supervisors are next in the chain of command after the safety director. Since these employees usually end up doing the actual training, gaining their support and commitment to safety are essential. Steel recommends having crew supervisors do a safety focus for one minute a day, and, if practical, an additional minute or two on each job site throughout the day. It can even be done in the vehicle on the way to the first work site. These daily briefings might be about one of your policies or potentially hazardous weather conditions like storm warnings or high heat temperatures.<\/p>\n

Close call system<\/h2>\n

One of the best ways to keep safety training relevant is to take close call incidents and go over them as a company. \u201cWhen you\u2019re experiencing a series of safety incidents, sooner or later a close call is going to turn into a hazardous event or a tragic event,\u201d Steel says. \u201cYou can cut that off by looking carefully at the close calls and providing briefings and trainings on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This means you\u2019ll need to have a close call system set up where crew members can report an incident to a supervisor. They should have the option to do this anonymously in case they don\u2019t want to stand out among their fellow crew members.<\/p>\n

While there does need to be an anonymous part to it, Steel says the close call system also needs to be formalized. The crew supervisor should have safety incident forms that workers can fill out, which are then turned into the safety director, the safety committee and management.<\/p>\n

Respond to close call incidents quickly. Don\u2019t put them on a list to be reconsidered next month to see if they\u2019re still happening. The next time the same incident happens, it may be more tragic. By taking close calls and making them part of policies and safety training, Steel says \u201cyou\u2019re going to save yourself a lot of money and heartache in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Helping you be a safe company<\/h3>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be great if someone went step by step with you on how to be a safe company? Well, you\u2019re in luck. The National Association of Landscape Professionals, Fairfax, Virginia, offers its Safe Company Program to help you build a stronger safety culture that can help you reduce injuries and hazards, demonstrate your commitment to a safe workplace and lower your costs.<\/p>\n

As a Safe Company participant, you\u2019ll<\/p>\n