Back to Safety Basics
A recent article in Tree Care Industry Magazine articulates the importance of getting back to basics during the most busy season for arborists.
Assessing ground conditions and proper setup of outrigger-enabled equipment is foundational to safe work practices. Like many industries, tree care workers use aerial lifts, tracked lifts, and boom trucks as tools of their trade.
In addition to the valuable reminders TCIA provides, DICA offers these outrigger pad and crane pad safe use guidelines.
Tree Care Industry Magazine
Production, Production, Production…Accident
Volume XXVII, Number 6-June 2017
Those of you on the front lines of safety understand that safety is a daily challenge met job by job, worksite but worksite. June is a good time to pause in the midst of a very busy productive season to reemphasize the importance of safety to your business.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 13 people a day die on the job. As we move fully into the busy season, don’t let the push for production push the core elements of an effective safety program to the back of your priority list. Those core elements include; management leadership, worker participation and fixing workplace hazards.
Mark Garvin recommends the need to focus on the basics of safety, especially as the demands of the season pick up.Some notes to consider as you prepare to send crews out over the next few weeks:
- Recent hires often bring the highest likelihood of injury. Don’t let the production demands of the week prompt you to shortcut your standard onboarding process. Find out just how well they were trained at the previous company. Five years of bad experience will only add hazards to existing crew practices. If they are new to the industry, assume they know nothing of the hazards they face.
- Employees who have a CDL often do not receive the same kind of training in driving safety that they get in tree care practices. That’s a mistake. By far, the most common and costly accidents are those that happen when employees are on the road.
- Recent studies continue to demonstrate that even hands-free cellphone use significantly increases distracted-driving accidents. Make sure your employees leave the shop with the assumption that other motorists are distracted or will do something crazy, and that they are always prepared to to avoid them.
- Bikers are everywhere in America’s cities during the summer. Between the clueless riders and the renegades who ignore traffic laws, your drivers need to show extra caution, especially when making right turns. Bicycles in the roadway are considered vehicles, but they aren’t as easy to see.
- Take a quick snapshot of your safety program from the perspective of your workers. The National Safety Council has an Employee Perception Survey that makes it easy to do just that. Visit nbc.org/journey to download the list.
Safety saves money, reduces retraining and recruitment costs, and protects a company’s reputation. The ultimate goal of a safety program, however is to keep workers free from her. That takes time and effort – on everyone’s part.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that, “Shallow men believe in luck; wise and strong men in the cause and effect.”
Companies with higher incidents rates aren’t unlucky – they have leaders who prioritize other aspects of the business. Don’t allow a busy season to erode the depth of your company’s safety culture.