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Protect Lawn Care Crews with a Safety Program

A safety program can help landscapers protect lawn care crews from injury through ongoing safety awareness and training.
By: 
Kevin Orfield
Issue Date: 
October 2008

Landscaping may not seem like a dangerous profession, but as the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving.

In fact, "deceiving" may be an understatement. Even though the landscaping industry employs more than a million people, it experiences approximately four times the average accident rate for among all U.S. industries. The issue of safety is so noticeable for landscaping that OSHA identifies the trade as one of its seven industries with a disproportionately high number of severe injuries, meaning that landscapers have been targeted by the agency for outreach, education and enforcement activity.

It doesn’t take a leap of the imagination to understand that reducing injuries begins with developing a strong culture of safety within your organization. “The challenge I hear most often is that organizations devote a lot of resources to safety, but their people still don’t act safely,” says David Snodgrass, former co-chair of Professional Landcare Network’s (PLANET) Safety Program. “What you really want to do is develop a culture so safety becomes a lifestyle and a natural response. You can’t just buy a manual, distribute it and assume your crews are going to be safe.”

Promoting a safety culture
First and foremost, according to Snodgrass, management must support a safety culture by providing the leadership and resources to ensure it permeates all levels of an organization. Communication is vital. For a safety program to be effective, you must commit to an ongoing safety awareness campaign. “It takes a long time for everyone to really understand the importance of safety, so you have to be patient,” says Snodgrass.

Snodgrass suggests starting each day with a “safety huddle” with all the crews as they prepare to leave the yard. “Most accidents happen within the first few hours of the day,” he says. “If you start out each day with a safety message, it underscores the importance and people will remember it.”

Safety should also be on the agenda of every meeting. “Open communication about safety is important,” he says. “A weekly meeting is a good opportunity to discuss any recent incidents and prevent the next accident from occurring.”

It’s also important to document and investigate every incident to determine the root cause so you can avoid similar incidents in the future (see sidebar).

Initial and ongoing safety training
Safety training should be a major component of new employee orientation and initial job training. “Employees shouldn't be put on a piece of equipment before they are properly trained on its safe operation and potential hazards,” says Laurie Erdman, co-chair of PLANET’s Safety Program. “Operators have to understand how to use the safety features and that they shouldn't disable them.”

As with safety awareness, safety training should be ongoing. Consider adapting your training topics to the season to help crews safely perform the tasks they are currently working on, whether it’s cutting grass, picking up leaves or removing snow.

You should also consider job site-specific safety training. “Each job site is going to present different hazards and safety issues,” Erdman says. “Some examples of this would include: Is the job near a pond or a roadway? Are there a lot of obstacles that impede visibility? Does everyone have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for hands, feet, and hearing for the types of equipment they are using? Inspect each job site for hazards and conduct training specific to the site.”

Evaluate crewmembers and document safety training
Evaluation is important to validate an employee’s understanding of equipment safety features and other important safety topics. After each training session, supervisors should complete a checklist for each employee to ensure all crewmembers have participated in and understand the training they have received.

Have employees sign training documentation and keep it in their file. Proper safety-training documentation is important to minimize risk exposure when an accident occurs.

Get your safety program in gear
PLANET’s STARS (Safety Training Achieves Remarkable Success) is a free initiative that helps green industry service providers reduce hazards and injuries. Participants receive a Safety Program for Green Industry Companies CD, which includes safety guidelines and a customizable safety policy manual. Participants can also share their best safety practices with other STAR members. The SafetySAVES listserv also provides green industry companies with a forum that they can use to share safety information and learn from each other.

 

Sidebar Title: 

Getting to the Root Cause of Injuries and Incidents

Sidebar Body: 

Getting to the root cause of injuries, incidents and near misses is critical to prevent them from happening again. Here’s how to effectively analyze root causes:

  • Carefully review your company’s injury/incident forms. Forms should include space for an investigator to list why they think the incident occurred and corrective actions.
  • Differentiate between surface causes and root causes. For example, the surface cause of a worker falling off a ladder might be worn shoes, but the root cause might be the failure of the company to require supervisors to inspect clothing for safety-related issues.
  • Continue asking “why” until you get to the root cause. For example, a worker falls off a ladder. Why? His foot slipped. Why? Because his shoes were worn. Why? Because his supervisor didn’t periodically check them. Why? Because company policy doesn’t require clothing inspection as part of safety checks (root cause).
  • Be willing to be critical of company policies. Investigators should be honest in their assessment of root causes, so let them know there will be no retaliation for criticism.
  • Include “near miss” incidents. This will prevent much more serious incidents.
  • Promptly follow up with corrective actions that relate to the incident’s root cause. For example, creating a policy requiring supervisors to periodically check clothing.
  • Be patient. Know that learning how to get to the root cause takes time.

Source: PLANET

*Note: This content is for informational purposes only. Lowe's makes no warranties and bears no liability for use of this information. The information is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, tax or investment advice, or a legal opinion. Always contact your legal, tax and/or financial advisors to help answer questions about your business's specific situation or needs prior to taking any action based upon this information.