[johnkeegan]

I had an idea that came to me after I had a few on the job injuries this year, (after almost 20 years with no comp claims). Have the employees yearly cost of living raise (approx. 50 cents per hour) tied to their safety performance by paying them the total at the end of the year if they filed no comp claim all year (or deducting any doctor bills etc. from that sum total). So, if an employee had worked 1,500 hours for the year , in December, when the season ends, they would get a check for $750.
The following year their base pay would begin at the increased level (ex.$20/hr. to $20.50/hr.) but that year's cost of living adjustment (COLA) would again be held until the end of the year.
Of course, some of the details would have to be worked out. For instance, there might be a stipulation if the injury was totally not their fault. But rarely, is that the case. And you could keep the week-by-week monies in an interest-bearing account so no one thinks you're profiting on their COLA.

The logic behind a system like this is obvious to any business owner. Employees would have more at stake in their safety. Presently the system doesn't create enough financial disinsentive to avoid injury. If they are out on worker's comp they still get paid (yet don't have to work). I'm not saying they want to get hurt. They're just lacking the financial incentives to stay safety conscious at all times. For instance, I have not missed a day of work in 20 years due to injury. Why? I know I HAVE to avoid injury. If I don't work, there's realistically no one to "fill in" for me and I can't collect worker's comp.
Like many of you, I get frustrated when employees choose to work unsafely. You can provide the protective equipment, pay for them to attend safety classes and give the same speeches over and over. But still they operate the saws with no safety glasses, drive recklessly, refuse to ask for help lifting heavy objects .... Why is it they don't worry about their safety as I do? Of course, it's because they don't have as much incentive to avoid their worker's comp claim as I do.
I'm not saying this idea is a cure-all. And it's really just a starting point. But it might help create a "culture of safety" at work. I'd appreciate feedback on this or similar ideas.

[dan deutekom]

People are ether safety conscious or they are not. I do not think too many people go out in the morning and say I think I will cut myself with the chainsaw this morning.

Incentives should be just that. Not holding back your yearly raise until the end of the season and then clawing it back if they have an accident. I think employees would just say "I Quit"

Incentive might be small things like a first aid kit for 1000 hours accident free or a small bonus, or a dinner out. The best incentive is to lead by example, discipline if safety procedures arn't used and if it is a constant problem send them home without pay for a few days.

The culture of safety has to start with management and by management not tolerating not using safety procedures. Also you should make a worker responsible for implementing safety procedures on the job site just like the foreman who is responsible for the crew.

[johnkeegan]

Dan, thanks for the reply. You had some good ideas on other incentives. However,your comment of "I do not think too many people go out in the morning and say I think I will cut myself with the chainsaw this morning," was less constructive. If you noticed, I was careful to state," I'm not saying they want to get hurt."
I don't question their intent. Just their level of concern. We are in a business where many of the employees like to show how tough they are. They may be excellant at their craft, hardworking and considerate, yet they may see asking for help or wearing safety equipment as being a "sissy." If we had an overabundence of well-qualified, responsible potential employees in the current labor pool, I agree we could just fire every employee that resisted safety procedures and hire and retrain new ones. It's not that simple.
I agree, however, that it may cause less waves to use a carrot than a stick. Although much of that is reallly semantics. Is withholding a bonus any different than holding back a raise? I know of employees that quit their job because they lost their bonuses. I give employees enough credit to know it's all based on the same principle...compensation for work performed.

[dan deutekom]

The chainsaw remark was more to show that accidents happen regardless of intent, by acts such as not wearing safety equipment etc.

The younger inexperienced worker in this business does tend to be the macho type but it is up to management to change this perception of being a sissy. They are not thinking about the money or the ramifications of injury because they don't think it will happen to them. As we age we realize we are mortal and we do get hurt and tend to be a little more safety conscious. Regardless of what the labour pool is like I would not hesitate to fire a chronic unsafe worker. I really don't care how hard working, considerate or good at their craft they are. They are of no use to you if they hurt themselves or worse yet someone else. I like my fingers and toes and the cost to your company is directly affected the lost time and workers compensation.

As for a bonus. You don't withhold a bonus, because a bonus is only awarded if certain extra or special criteria are met. There are years where I have received very good performance bonus' and years that I didn't. I feel that is a far different thing than saying that your raise this year is going to be given to you 8 months from now if you don't hurt yourself.

I take safety very seriously because over the years I have seen to many good people hurt by ignoring the simplest safety procedures.

[Stonehenge]

Monroe Porter has a good article in January's "Pro" that is along these lines. One thing from the article that is pertinent to this discussion, and something that I've discovered, too, is that unless it's a really big carrot waiting for them at the end of the year, that incentive will not change their day-to-day behavior.

Porter's recommendation is to practice good management. I read that recommendation to mean I should make the speeches, but I also need to lead by example. And I need to get in their face when they act contrary to my safety procedures, just as I would when they act contrary to my installation or customer service procedures.

That you have guys willing to give up their bodies for the company could be seen as a good thing. They just need to understand that they aren't worth anything to the company if they are broken.

[johnkeegan]

Stone, I agreed with Monroe Porter's comments on bonuses. One of the reasons I don't like idea of paying a bonus based on the speed of productivity is that it encourages workers to cut corners on time consuming things such as safety, care of equipment, base preperation etc. I'd rather pay them an appropriate hourly wage and expect that they act professionally in all aspects of their work. I don't want to reward them for doing what they're already being paid to do. My original idea in this thread related not to rewarding them with a bonus for proper safety but rather to let them share directly in the negative financial consequences of their behavior (i.e. ignoring proper safety practices). Unfortunately, the repetitive lectures don't work well with some and firing an otherwise excellant worker should be a very last resort. I would hope there would be other more creative options in between those two. Dan alluded to a few of those (i.e. "sending them home without pay.") My idea was just another example of "negative reinforcement."

[Stonehenge]

I guess it depends on how you look at it. I call it a 'carrot' (allowing a raise if they work safely), you're defining it as a 'stick' (for lack of a better term), disallowing a raise if they do not work safely.

Either way, I'm not sure $.50/hr will register in an employee's head at the moment he's considering how to approach a potentially injurious task. And I agree - I don't think you should fire someone for this issue (except for extreme circumstances) - did I give you that impression?

Have you considered contacting your insurance carrier? They might have a program for you to use, or some videos to show your people. Seeing a video of a bunch of guys without fingers might drive home the point. And you may get a reduction in rates to boot!

[johnkeegan]

Stone, I would love to get my hands on some of those videos you mentioned. That might just help the younger guys think twice. Like those "Flesh, Metal and Glass" videos we had to watch in the high school driver's education classes.
And, no you didn't imply firing was a simple solution to safety violators. That was more in reference to Dan's statement of "Regardless of what the labour pool is like I would not hesitate to fire a chronic unsafe worker. I really don't care how hard working, considerate or good at their craft they are. "

[dan deutekom]

"If it is chronic they are gone" and I stick by that. But you do try to rectify it first.

In our area Farm Safety seems to be the organization that takes care of landscapers and they are all too happy to come and do a 2 hour safety training including a slide show of injuries that occur. One picture even shows a persons manhood that was ripped off by jumping over a non protected PTO shaft. That picture alone was enough to keep the guys installing guards on every revolving shaft or belt they encounter.

Surely in your area there must be an organization that would provide the same service.

I also don't think money would be the prime motivator as a carrot but a form of recognition is. That is why inexpensive dinners out or other forms of acknowledgment work so well because it is out of the norm and memorable to the employee. When I look back over the years I don't remember the cash bonus' as much as the dinners for 2 or a weekend trip on the company.

[Dale Wiley]

Why is it you feel that you have to have a financial incentive for the workers to work safely ?? How about it being a condition of employment ??

Why do you not feel it appropriate to write up and / or terminate an employee that continually violates company safety rules ??

What don't they understand ??

Have a progressive disipline policy that clearly spells out the safety rules, expected compliance and the consequences of not obeying the rules.

Safety rules say hearing protection at all times when operating equipment. 1st offense is a verbal warning with a written note in the file. Second the employee is written up for violating company safety rules, which voids any chance for a raise for that year. Third violation is terminated, since the employee shows no respect for the company rules, and their behavior puts the company at substantial financial risk.

Show up stinking of gin and your canned on the spot. Its all matrixed out and taught before hand and the employee agrees to those work rules as a condition of employement.

There are safety programs all over the place you can implement as well as progressive discipline programs.

Canada may be more lax than the US, but the damned insurance company's can make work almost impossible.

An accident free year is definetly cause for a GOOD DINNER and maybe an overnight out for the employee and other. As a company owner , you create the company culture, and mine is VERY anal about safety. That first violation gets a real good, hard and loud ass chewing in front of whoever happens to be there, from me, and if a foreperson is involved, a second ass chewing in private to him.

I will not tolerate safety violations in any shape or form. Most of these accidents are preventable by good common sense and work rules, and somebody has to be an asshole sometimes to enforce them.

I am a certified on the job accident investigator in our state, have had over 40 hours industrial safety training, and go to continuning education. I have done over 3 million in business with NO ACCIDENTS.

[justgardens]

John- Why aren't you covering yourself under your companies Workman's Comp policy? I include myself as the owner as well as all the employees. If I got hurt while working our family insurance would not cover me. A friend of mine learned the hard way losing some fingers in a piece of his cement machinery. He was not covered under his own Workmans Comp policy and the insurance company he had for family made his life miserable. He had to get a lawyer and the whole nine yards. It doesn't cost very much extra at all. At least not here in Ohio.
My bonus policy is given on a job by job basis . They do not ever know when they will get one. If they miss work or show up late on a particular day a bonus is given ...too bad , so sad. It is in our written ploicy that if they are late or must leave work they will miss any possible bonus if one is given that day. Exceptional work effort by the whole crew or individuals and wrapping up a job a head of schedule warrants spontanious bonuses. Saftey policy is gone over and given in written form to every employee.
It is enforced by a great crew forman who practices what he preaches. Crew members will be asked to find other employment no matter how good they are for unsafe practices. With ample warning.

[Bill Schwab]

With 90% or more of all work comp claims being directly the fault of the employee, I have to agree with Dale on this one.

Tail gate meetings, safety manuals, write up any realted repairs, and the list goes on.

If there was any fair way to ding an employees pocketbook if they did something dumb, I am sure that accidents would stop happening or find ways to administer first aid on site.

I'll give you that occurance that happens from an equipment or safety item failure, but when you disassemble the sequence of events that took place leading up to any given workplace accident, somewhere along the way, I'll assure you will find someone was suffering from a severe case of H.U.H.A.S. during the event.

[johnkeegan]

Dale, It's not that I don't stress safety. I went 20 years with no worker's comp claims (and well over $3 million in sales). And that one claim this year was a freak accident where an employee (that is very safety conscious) tore a muscle pushing a trailer onto a hitch. Something we've all done a thousand times. I'll also add that my drivers have only had one small fender-bender in those 20 years.
And writing someone up or verbally reprimanding someone is fine. (Though I respect my employees enough to do it in private.)But I can't be everywhere all the time. You'll have to admit that most safety infractions occur when you're not there.
The idea I presented of having a financial disencentive was merely in addition to some of these other ideas presented here not the end all and be all.
Also, some of the infractions I witness are not as severe as what you mentioned. Yes, if anyone comes to work drunk or stoned they are immediately fired. I make that clear from day one.
It is interesting to note,too, how some are shocked that I would suggest using a financial disincetive to encourage worker safety("Why is it you feel that you have to have a financial incentive for the workers to work safely ??"). But then they follow with their own financial incentive/disincentive(."Second the employee is written up for violating company safety rules, which voids any chance for a raise for that year ").

[Dale Wiley]

John:

First off, I do respect my employees, and if they do something that puts their safety at risk, and my company at risk, I will correct that action in public, it's the behavior I am looking to change and I make that very clear. I was damn near killed in a construction accident in 1991, that had left permanent damage to my body. I was struck in the side of the head by a spring loaded handle on a Jacobsen mower, knocked out, went into a seziure, was transported by Life Flight helicopter to the ER where my wife was on duty. I was off work for 6 weeks, in rehab for 3 months and light duty for another 3 months. It changed my personality, damaged my shoulder sockets, I had occasional controllable seziures for almost 6 years.

I had started to disconnect a spring on one of the reel mowers on an older Jacobsen HF 5 mower, when the spring broke and the lift armed was counter sprung and struck me. The agency conducted a full investigation and invited OSHA into recomend changes in the procedure if nessecaery. The cost of this accident was over $ 30,000 at that time.

I have worked in landscape and general construction for over 27 years, and believe me, when I was young, I got it from job superintendent's a couple of times.

Bill mentioned something very important and that was the disassembly of the process, or a sequential chain of events that leads up to the actual accident itself. While there maybe a non human element some where in the chain, there is almost ALWAYS a point in the chain when the problem could be avoided by human intervention. That is the purpose of accident investigation to establish the chain of actions that leads to the actual event (accident) itself.

There is a company here in the northwest in Portland that has the best safety record in the landscape business in the US. 7 Dee's Landscape does over 14 million per year, and I believe is accident free for over 7 years now. David Snodgrass and the comapny have been nationally recognized several times for this very impressive safety record.

I applaud your safety record and looking at all avenues to keep it shows you have the interest of your employee 's and the stability of your business in mind. And your are correct all safey violations occur when a supervisor is not present...but if the culture is there,the employee would have either realigned the trailer or asked for an additional push for another employee, although our standard procedure calls to move the truck in that case.

From a old man in the business, it sounds like an incessant stream of harranging, but my personal experience shows that:

Older employees' although more safety aware, it takes less to become injured. Younger employees all think they are bad asses, and have to prove it.

I am 47 years old, and did not take care of my body and work correctly, and I am now paying the price. If I worked for someone, I would qualify for almost a 1/2 disability. Since I work for myself, I just have to live with it. I have cortisone in both shoulders, partial knee replacement 6 weeks ago, and hav elimited field ability now. This comes from not utilitzing equipment to do work for me. I can do about 3 hours a day of light field work, operating equipment, trucking a little bit more, and it has to be office work after that.

These are work related stressors, that are really hidden in some cases, but very present.

[johnkeegan]

Julie, Also in response to why I don't cover myself under my worker's comp. I believe in NY if you are the owner of the company and you want to be covered by worker's comp they base your coverage on a mininmum salary of approx. $52,000. So I figure if my comp rate is between 10-12%, it would cost me almost $6,000 per year for coverage. As I said, I've been in business for 20 years. That would have been over $100,000 I'd have paid in comp insurance for myself to date.
You do bring up a point of interest though about the spouse's health insurance covering an injury I might incur at work. I'll check into that. I know the health insurance companies want Worker's Comp to cover such injuries if the person is covered by it. I honestly don't know what the stipulations are if an owner/sole prop. is not covered by comp. and a work-related injury occurs.