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Our safety program is our own co-opted set of materials. We talk about safety regularly, but we don't have daily or weekly tail gate meetings. We strive to do weekly training on Tuesday mornings, but this doesn't always happen. In these training sessions if we're talking about performing a task, safety is addressed.
Safety touches on so many different things. So it's central to our conversation regularly. Unloading/loading equipment from a truck or trailer, is there one or two guys, are ramps better or should they take a trailer? Is someone wearing their hearing/eye protection? Is someone keeping their eyes open when operating a piece of equipment - are they aware of their surroundings?
We could formalize this more, but perhaps we haven't felt enough pain from accidents to warrant it. We have zero lost time on WC, and only minor medical expenses, perhaps one claim every 18 to 24 months on about 11,000 man hours of labor.
Safety can address many issues, but here are a few thoughts:
1) Driving vehicles and operating equipment
2) Loading, securing loads of materials or equipment in trucks/trailers
3) Working in various weather conditions (frostbite, heat exhaustion, sun etc.), so dressing properly, wearing sunscreen/bug stuff and staying hydrated
4) When to wear PPE (other than just working w/ pesticides)
5) Awareness, alertness to surroundings
6) Task specific issues (working with a chainsaw, power edgers, mowers, line trimmers, back pack blowers, on a ladder, etc.)
7) Working around pesticides, chemicals, flamables, etc.
8) Location of safety equipment (fire extinguishers, first aid kit)
9) Proper handling of equipment, lifting, etc.
I see companies that have a safety bulletin and they hang it up, people are supposed to initial they read it. Each quarter, each person either initials all of the lines in advance, or in arrears for the quarter. In this case, the owner is protecing himself, and letting the employee learn on their own. I don't agree with this, but it's better than nothing. This isn't to say they're not safe on a job, they are, but it's a little tongue in cheek.
One thing that we did that cut done on problems with PPE is that we provide safety glasses, a case for the glasses (little Smith & Wesson shooters eye glass bag), hearing protection and work gloves. If guys switched crews or left stuff in another truck, we'd be out on a job and you'd ask where their safety glasses were - they'd reply in the other truck or whereever. So, we issued "blue bags" that they must have with them every day. I don't care if they forget their lunch, water or underwear, but not having their blue duffel bag which is where they are to store their PPE and any other personal effects, is cause for being sent home. We have very few if any problems with PPE being used.
I think putting a shared set of scratched up safety glasses in each truck is falling short of company responsibility to promote a safe working environment. I have on many occassions seen workers in other landscaping companies who are line trimming, squinting their eyes and looking away from flying debris. I ask why would you risk loosing an eye. On several occasions I've stopped and given the safety glasses from my truck to them. They are often surprised, taken aback, and then grateful they have eye glasses and continue on their way. I yet have to have someone refuse them. Who knows, I could drive around the corner and they could just as quickly discard them.
Bottom line, I think safety is a part of a company's culture. It's something you work with every day to whatever degree necessary to minimize the exposure and risk you have for the type of work you're doing.
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