You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’d tell you health and safety training is their favorite part of work, but few will argue its importance to their jobs and businesses. After all, as the health of employees and management goes, so goes the health of the company.
PROs have additional concerns beyond most small businesses. Since the majority of their work takes place on someone else’s property, liability issues are always present. Driving to those sites means transportation safety is a concern. And in addition to the standard physical labor issues, such as protection of the head, hands and feet from heavy or sharp objects, there is the constant exposure of employees to substances that contain bodily fluid-borne pathogens.
Clearly, staying on top of the latest developments in safety knowledge and technology is a top priority for any PRO. But it’s where the rubber meets the road that such knowledge is applied. These operators share their training routines that keep employees on the job and trucks rolling, units clean and delivered and a sanitary home facility.
MMG has an ongoing safety program for employees that begins the day a new hire comes on the job. “We give them a copy of our manual, which covers safety information pertaining to each position,” explains co-owner Callie Monson. The material is reviewed in a one-on-one session, in which management personnel highlight key points and encourage discussion at length on any questions or feedback. The new employee takes the manual home to read in depth, returning the following day with a signed form attesting that they read and understood the material. At that time, any clarifying questions are answered and training begins on the job.
The company holds bi-weekly safety meetings, during which work positions are broken into tasks. Each task is thoroughly covered concerning any potentially dangerous situations that may be encountered, correct usage of personal protective gear, and correct approaches to tasks. Employees are reminded that the manual evolved out of actual situations, so it should be followed to the letter for everyone’s well-being.
Co-owner Mike O’Bar says if there are reminders he finds himself making repeatedly, it’s about wearing hard hats in work areas and driving attentively. Each truck is equipped with a fire extinguisher, hard hat, safety vest, goggles and tongs, and first-aid kits. The presence and condition of all these items are monitored via a pre-route checklist, along with more mundane daily checks such as tire pressure and engine fluids.
Lead drivers also perform a weekly once-over on the vehicles to make sure nothing has cracked, fallen off or otherwise failed.
Event Solutions is a newer firm, grown out of the portable sanitation division of its now sister company, Party Central, an events rental business. They train new drivers and technicians on proper setup and cleaning of portable restrooms, covering such things as handling chemicals safely and avoiding getting cleaning solutions in the eyes when spraying overhead surfaces. This is considered Phase 1 of new-hire health and safety training. Phase 2 is for moving crews, covering on-loading and off-loading. This includes safe lifting techniques, wearing of back support belts and proper use of lift dollies.
But what has improved the bottom line for Event Solutions is a new safety incentive program, says owner Frank Gerami II. “We started a program at the end of last year that allows technicians to earn up to $100 extra per month for avoiding infractions (of safety rules).” The money is earned individually but performance is tallied as a team, so there’s a lot of peer pressure not to screw up, he explains. “It’s kind of all-or-nothing. If everyone performs well, everyone is rewarded. But if there’s one infraction, everyone loses the bonus.”
Monetary awards are doled out quarterly, and if a team manages to accrue a perfect safety record over the entire quarter, each member is rewarded with an extra hundred dollars. “It’s been a very effective program,” says Gerami. “It’s a great incentive and has saved us a lot of money. Not just in the safety aspect, but it has eliminated so much downtime. The equipment’s not torn up and we haven’t had one injury since putting the program in place.”
The company struck a balance between what amount was affordable and what would be motivating enough to get consistent results. Along with safety and health issues, the program also enforces other points that employees can control, such as reasonable wear and tear on equipment and satisfactory customer service.
It was critical, Gerami says, to involve employees and management in deciding to implement the program. The rules had to encompass behavior that could actually be realized, equitably applied, and able to achieve desired results. He adds that the peer oversight aspect not only gives employees a real sense of ownership — making it that much more effective — but also a sense of pride in their accomplishments as a team.
