This is the scenario: You have just landed a large, profitable job. The schedule is tight, but you can commit to it, and you have. The next
\nday—bless the chief estimator (and the recovering market)—you land another large, profitable job. It also has a tight
\nschedule, but not impossible. It is scramble time, though. You need 20 more crew, this week, to start next Monday.
\nYou find them. Two great projects pushing your company to the limit (with
\nmore on the horizon).<\/p>\n
This is the question: In face of revived production demands, does safety take a back seat?<\/p>\n
To find out, the author asked several company Owners and Safety Directors how they are dealing with the recovering
\nmarket and how they now walk the perennial fine line between safety and production.<\/p>\n
With jobs returning, how are you manning up new projects?<\/em><\/p>\n When it comes to manning up, Jeffrey Shearer, President of Fred Shearer and Sons, Inc. in Oregon, has this to say: “It’s currently a little Craig Daley, President of Daley’s Joe Stevenson, Owner of WhiteStar Dave Chaffee, President of E&K Patrick J. Landry, Owner and Robert Aird, President and Owner of It is clear that wherever possible, Given In Oregon, Shearer reports, “These Daley says, “We are maintaining our Gary Dillman, Owner of Titan Wall in For Chaffee, safety has always been a Aird reports that he has “a tiered Brian Allen, President of Precision Allen added, “We have a corporate Allen does another thing differently: Mike Heering, President, and Doug Kirk Williamson, Corporate Director Williamson added, “Also, our safety culture is top-down, all the way from our CEO. We all have a 100% buy-in, and The bottom line is that when it comes to safety, it seems to be that it is not a job-by-job, hurry-up-and-be-safe issue. It is a company When it comes to bringing about For starters, many use a mentoring approach. “When it comes to new hires,” says Stevenson, “we always put them with an experienced crew member—they are basically mentored by the Aird says, “Our long-term, senior employees have been with us long enough to know what safety standards we require. They also recognize that Howard Bernstein, President of Penn Installations, Inc. in Pennsylvania, has found that “the safety attitudes of the more senior workers, who Others get personal.<\/strong><\/p>\n In Daley’s experience, “there is no better way to move someone into our safety culture than a face-to-face safety orientation. In our safety Dillman’s company lets “new hires know that we care for their safety and well-being and that we want them to work hard but to also work safe Chaffee says, “We take the time to give safety training a personal touch. How many times has a carpenter sat down in a trailer and watched a Shearer says, “Every new hire goes through our orientation when they arrive, and that includes, right up-front, a briefing by either our Safety “By stressing safety right up front, we show new hires that safety is very important to this company—it sets the safety stage right away. For Dusty Barrick, President of Diversified Interiors of Amarillo in Texas, it comes down to “simplified and direct instructions. Throwing a At F.L. Crane, Heering and Lesley spend time with new hires personally, emphasizing safety and explaining how their safety incentive program Allen says “At least half of our new-hire orientation is dedicated to safety.” <\/p>\n Shelly Sigurdson, Safety Director at Expert Drywall, Inc. in Washington, literally puts them to the test: “We have improved our hiring Allen adds, “Once hired, we pair him or her with Senior Foremen for mentoring. The Foremen then work directly with the new hire for the first Williamson’s program, which has When it comes to bringing new hires Sometimes \nRepetition is key—for For Dillman it is all about “creating According to Chaffee, “You must have For Landry it is also constant reminders. “If you have been around long enough,” he says, “you have heard the stories of men getting hurt. Not everyone subscribes to the repetition method. Thankfully, there are Aird says that “simply repeating the same information time after time runs the risk of putting the workers to sleep. Having a Supervisor or “I once had a Safety Officer at a local Contractor ask me how I connect with my employees to get the message across. I suggested that in his Bernstein’s approach is to “share Gerald Roach, Owner of Forks Lath In Shearer’s company “it was the Barrick takes and keeps a firm A personal approach works best for Sigurdson keeps the older workers Williamson, “Realistically, of course Constant reminders and communication Any final Chaffee again stresses communication: Landry: “Nothing hurts profits and Aird: “It is easy and common for us Roach: “Safety is here to stay Barrick: “Safety takes continuous Heering: “It is quite an expense to Work Is Coming Back: Will the Workers You Hire for the Job Meet Your Safety Standards?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[186],"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[294,289,21,32],"class_list":["post-6844","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-training","category-personnel-protection","category-business-managment","category-health-and-safety","author-ulf-wolf"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nslow, so we don’t have a heavy labor demand. But we do have a good union labor pool here, and we also have a great relationship with our
\ncompetitors; we work people back and forth with them as needed. Yes, we do knock each other’s heads in at bid time, but once the job has been
\nawarded we work well together with our competitors and often share the labor pool.” <\/p>\n
\nDrywall & Taping in California,
\nsays, “We’ve been able to meet our
\ngrowing needs mostly by re-hiring those
\nlaid off or temporarily loaned out to
\nour competitors during the downturn.”\n<\/p>\n
\nEnterprises LLC in Oregon, concurs,
\n“Most of the time we are actually hiring
\nback the old guys that we had to lay off
\nduring the recession. Since they are
\nalready safety trained by us, our
\nmonthly safety meetings soon bring them
\nup to snuff again.” <\/p>\n
\nCompanies in Missouri, say[s], “Our
\nbiggest recruitment tool is word of
\nmouth. I know that if we continue to run
\norganized jobs, if we continue to treat
\nour employees right, and sell good work,
\npeople will come.” <\/p>\n
\nPresident of George Landry, Inc. in
\nMichigan, takes a prudent approach. “We
\nare manning up slowly,” he says. “We are
\nvery selective about the work we take on
\nrelative to our manpower. We will not
\ntake a job that calls for hiring bodies
\nquickly that will then have to be laid
\noff again. Rather, we are rebuilding our
\nmanpower with the intention of keeping
\nthem working.” <\/p>\n
\nRobert A. Aird, Inc. in Maryland, has a
\ndifferent approach to the same end: “Our
\narea sees a shortage of qualified
\nemployees. We advertise in local
\nnewspapers, spread the word through our
\nemployees, attend job fairs, and cross
\nour fingers. That said, we pay close
\nattention to how much work we can
\nundertake given the size of our
\nworkforce and do not take on more than
\nwe can do.” <\/p>\n
\nmany contractors turn to past employees
\nwho might still be out of work. This, of
\ncourse, brings back experienced and,
\nhopefully, safety-conscious employees.\n<\/p>\nSafety
\nFocus—A Culture<\/h2>\n
\ngreater workforce demands
\nin the face of crew shortage, how do
\nContractors retain their safety focus,
\nincluding the integrity of safety
\ntraining and certification?<\/em><\/p>\n
\ndays we are very safety focused. In
\nfact, over the last 7 years we’ve
\nlowered our EMR [experience modification
\nrate] from 1.20 to 0.65. One thing that
\nreally helped this effort was a 5-year
\nOregon State Occupational Safety and
\nHealth Administration (OSHA) program
\ncalled Safety and Health Achievement
\nRecognition Program (SHARP). Our
\nmanagement really bought into this
\nprogram and worked with it diligently,
\nwhich helped us lower the EMR mod factor
\nso nicely. In fact, we just completed
\nthis program in January of this year.
\nBoth management and labor realize that
\nsafety is a state of mind, a culture.”\n<\/p>\n
\nsafety focus, and still require every
\nnew hire, or re-hire, to attend our
\nsafety orientation class before stepping
\nonto our job sites. Also, we continue to
\nstay abreast of new safety regulations
\nto ensure that our workers are trained
\non the latest safety procedures. This is
\ndifficult at times when you have jobs
\nscreaming for help, but you can’t expose
\nyourself to accidents by compromising
\nsafety policy.” <\/p>\n
\nFlorida, will make no exceptions.
\n“Safety is, hands down, our first
\npriority,” he says. “I know that if we
\nare proactive with safety, we will
\ncreate a profitable work environment.
\nReally, it’s a pay-me-now or pay-me-more-later scenario. Invest in safety
\nnow, because the alternative is not only
\ncostly but can be devastating both to
\nthe individual and to the company.” <\/p>\n
\nmajor factor. “Today, we are more
\nfocused on safety than ever. It helps
\nthat General Contractors (GCs) now
\ndemand safety in their contracts, which
\nallows us to be more competitive on
\nprojects. It may take longer to be hired
\nby us than by most of our competitors.
\nWe focus on making sure our people [are]
\nsafety trained before they hit the job.”\n<\/p>\n
\nmanagement system of Project Manager,
\nSuperintendent, and Foreman on all
\nprojects. They all have responsibility
\nfor ensuring the safety of the men and
\nthe project. We also hire outside Safety
\nConsultants to inspect our job sites and
\nto train and update our employees. We
\nfully recognize that lack of safety
\n(citations and fines or worse still,
\ninjuries) can rob the project of profit
\njust as much as poor-quality work or low
\nproduction rates.” <\/p>\n
\nWalls, Inc. in North Carolina, shares
\nhis approach to keeping safety front and
\ncenter: “I can happily say that in the
\nrecovering market, we have not lost any
\nfocus on safety. We track not only
\nincidents but also near misses. If we
\nhave an incident on any of our projects,
\nI get the report personally, and if an
\nemployee is hurt, I’ll call him or her
\nmyself to find out what happened, and to
\nsee how we could have prevented it.”<\/p>\n
\nSafety Officer, plus a Safety Officer in
\neach branch office. Also, for any larger
\njob, say 30 or more employees, we also
\ndeploy a site Safety Officer who is not
\ninvolved in production at all but only
\nmonitors safety. The big issue in our
\nindustry is management’s commitment:
\nSafety has to start and be maintained
\nfrom the top. That is the way to create
\na safety culture. When you were younger
\nit used to be cool to take risks, to
\njump down from high scaffolds, to drive
\nfast—now the definition of
\n“cool” has shifted from taking risks to
\ncoming home to see your wife and kids at
\nthe end of
\nthe day. That’s the new cool. The cool
\nof a true safety culture.” <\/p>\n
\n“We charge any safety cost directly to
\nthe job, not to general overhead. That
\nmeans that small jobs can take a big hit
\nfinancially. A $30,000 job that incurs a
\n$100,000 accident will actually end up
\n$70,000 in the red, and that’ll hit all
\ninvolved, from the Project Manager, to
\nthe Superintendent, the Foreman, and
\ncrew. If you charge accidents to general
\noverhead, the only ones who see it are
\nsenior management.”<\/p>\n
\nLesley, Safety Director, of F.L. Crane
\n& Sons, Inc. in Mississippi, say
\nthey have
\nbecome even more safety focused over the
\nlast year. They realize that their
\nyounger hires require more training
\nsimply because they have never been
\nexposed to safety on the job site, and
\nthat the safety training provided by
\nF.L. Crane will save the company a lot
\nof money over the long haul. Also,
\nimproving their safety culture has
\nimproved their safety record, and the
\nresult is lower insurance rates that
\nhelp their pricing when it comes to
\nbidding. <\/p>\n
\nof Safety at The Raymond Group in
\nCalifornia, reports, “As a company, our
\nsafety culture has never wavered. In
\nfact, I’ve just increased my safety team
\nby hiring 2 more people, one of which is
\na project-specific Safety Director for a
\nproject in San Diego. We have set
\nstandards: a minimum certification for
\nevery employee before they ever set foot
\non a project. The Foremen then add to
\nthat as needed.” <\/p>\n
\nthat makes my job a lot easier. I never have to fight uphill battles to maintain safety standards. Now, safety versus
\nproduction has always walked a fine line. However, our EMR reflects that, in a showdown, safety will win over production any day. We want the guys
\nto go home in the same or better shape than they arrived in the morning.” <\/p>\n
\nculture, a top-down, bought-in-by-all atmosphere that keeps everyone as safe as possible,
\n24\/7.<\/p>\nNew Hires <\/h2>\n
\nsafety awareness in new hires, what have our Contractors found to work the best?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nexperienced guys. Also, the Foreman is always there, keeping an eye on them.” <\/p>\n
\nyoung, inexperienced employees—not recognizing the hazards to their health and well-being and that being out of
\nwork recovering from injury or illness puts their families at risk—might
\ntake chances that they don’t. So they keep an eye on the new ones.” <\/p>\n
\nthey will work alongside long after our safety man drives away, is what instills the safety culture with the new hires.”<\/p>\n
\ntraining, new hires watch an in-house video that is then followed by a personal presentation from our Safety Director, followed by a test to make
\nsure they were paying attention, with a review of the answers before they are allowed to work.” <\/p>\n
\nand smart, so at the end of the day they can go home to their families.” <\/p>\n
\nsafety video? It’s much better to take the time to explain expectations to the person and to get to know that person.” <\/p>\n
\nManager or VP [Vice President] of Operations about safety on the job. <\/p>\n
\nThey see that safety is a culture here. Also, in all the time I’ve been here (since the 1970s), we have never lost any
\nproduction due to safety programs and training. For example, we stretch and flex twice a day, first thing in the morning and then again after
\nlunch. It does take some time, but it never loses us actual production (most likely the reverse since we’re preventing injuries).” <\/p>\n
\nbook or PowerPoint full of information at a new hire is a waste of time. Be thorough, be personal, but don’t overload.” <\/p>\n
\nbenefits them directly. And when it comes to some personal protective equipment, which can come in various styles and colors, they have found that
\nallowing employees a voice in the selection of these items, within the parameters set forth by OSHA, has improved employee cooperation in wearing
\npersonal protective equipment. <\/p>\n
\nprocedure, which now includes pre-employment interviews, acquiring a complete work history and checking references, and we are currently in the
\nprocess of building a mock construction station in our warehouse to test skills.” <\/p>\n
\nweek to determine if they have the skills and the safety behavior that we expect from them.” <\/p>\n
\nearned multiple safety awards, also
\nincorporates several methods: “New hires
\nhave to go through an initial safety
\norientation: first a safety video, and
\nthen, and more importantly, I speak with
\neach of them personally (or if not me,
\nthen one of the regional Safety
\nDirectors), letting them know what our
\npurpose is and that we are a resource
\nfor them. We then provide continuing
\nmentorship with Journeymen and Foremen.\n<\/p>\n
\ninto the safety culture of the company,
\nan impersonal video or PowerPoint
\npresentation alone are just not going to
\ncut it. Personal contact and
\ncommunication, along with long-term
\nmentoring, are effective strategies.\n<\/p>\nOld Hands
\n<\/h2>\n
\nit can be hard to teach
\nold dogs new tricks. How do you keep the
\nold hand up-to-date and safety focused?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\nsome.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\na culture of safety and reminding them
\nconstantly, especially via statistics
\nthat show that complacency with safety
\nis one of the leading causes of injuries
\nand\/or death.” <\/p>\n
\nthe involvement of all office employees.
\nYou must provide constant reminders,
\nsuch as stretch-and-flex [sessions],
\ndaily huddles, T-shirts, posters, etc.,
\nand you have to give everyone a voice in
\nsafety. You also must not tolerate
\nemployees that ignore safety rules.”\n<\/p>\n
\nOlder guys—they work safely out of self-preservation.” <\/p>\n
\nalternatives.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nProject Manager or Safety Consultant walk the job with the crew, pointing out what is good and what needs improvement is an
\nactive training that is likely to have relevance for the workers and to keep their attention. <\/p>\n
\nnext safety meeting he invite one of his workers and that man’s wife and children. Then send the man out of the room and have the oremen—one
\nat a time—approach that man’s wife and children and say, “I’m sorry, but because I didn’t manage my job for proper safety, your husband and
\nfather will not be coming home—ever. That is sure to grab the men’s attention.”<\/p>\n
\nwith the crews the financial benefits to
\nbe had for companies that work to send
\ntheir people home safely each night, and
\nthe unbelievable costs that can be
\nincurred by a single accident.” <\/p>\n
\n& Plaster, Inc. in North Dakota, has
\na pragmatic view: simply “fire the one
\nwho is dangerous and the rest tend to
\nstraighten up quickly.” <\/p>\n
\nolder guys who took on the Oregon SHARP
\nprogram and really ran with it. They
\nwere the ones who saw that 7 years ago,
\nwe had far too many accidents and that
\nwe had to do something about it in order
\nto stay in business. It’s their efforts
\nthat have cut our EMR mod rate in half.”\n<\/p>\n
\nstance. “The older guys will buck and
\nargue as much as they can, but they
\nrespect anyone who sticks to their
\nguns,” he says. “State the rules and the
\nconsequences for breaking them, then
\nfollow through.” <\/p>\n
\nAllen. “What works best for us is to
\nturn to them individually,” he says. “If
\nit’s an old hand who people look up to
\nand follow, we make him or her a safety
\nchampion. At meetings, we then have the
\nForemen ask them to tell the crew about
\nnear misses or accidents, or how things
\ncan be prevented. We ask the old hand to
\nbe a true champion for safety.” <\/p>\n
\nsafe with “constant communication and
\neducating them on all the new methods
\nand means we use for safety and
\nproduction. As an example: We try to
\nperform as much work as possible using
\ncordless tools, which minimizes the trip
\nhazards on the projects. We also use
\npreloaded strips of screws, which
\ncreates a cleaner project minus the
\nspilled screws on the floors. They
\nappreciate that we give them the tools
\nthey need to be successful and to stay
\nsafe.” <\/p>\n
\nwe run up against the old dogs who have
\nbeen doing this for 20 years—who
\nam I to tell them what to do? I give
\nthem examples so that they see that
\nsafety has to do with them. If they
\nstill do not get it, we help them find
\nemployment elsewhere.” <\/p>\n
\nare what build and maintain the safety
\nculture. Realistically, if someone does
\nnot want to work safely, he or she has
\nno place in your company.<\/p>\nWords of
\nWisdom <\/h2>\n
\nwords of wisdom? <\/em>\n<\/p>\n
\n“Make sure people understand what you
\nare trying to accomplish and motivate
\nthem to buy in to your program. The
\npolice mentality scares people, and
\nthat, in turn, causes accidents.” <\/p>\n
\nattitude faster than an injury.” <\/p>\n
\nto curse the police and OSHA and Safety
\nOfficers. But their mission is to keep
\nus safe and alive. We need to
\nacknowledge and appreciate that.” <\/p>\n
\nbecause families depend on it.” <\/p>\n
\ninvolvement. Once you begin to let it
\nslide, it’s hard to reel it back in. So,
\nstay on top of everything and deal with
\nproblems as soon as possible.” <\/p>\n
\nrun a first class safety program, but
\nthe rewards—both monetarily and
\nthat all
\nof your employees can go home to their
\nfamilies each night—are worth
\nevery penny of it.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"