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Elements of a Safety Program

Elements of a Safety Program

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

Most tree care companies have a written safety program or Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) in place, however, we often get asked, do we have everything we should in our written document? The answer, of course, depends on the specific operations of your company, however, this article highlights the six general elements that you want to include in your written safety program.

Commitment to Safety and Assignment of Responsibilities

We all know that the commitment to a safe workplace must start at the top, with all levels of ownership and management. Your written safety program should contain a clear and concise statement of how important safety is to the leadership of the company. This section will also outline the fact that the responsibility of a safe workplace falls on everyone in the organization and that everyone will be encouraged and expected to report unsafe conditions when they see them. It is in this section that you should mention that your organization will adhere to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z133 Safety Requirements for Arboricultural Operations. 

Safety Communication System

The next section of your written safety program should focus on how safety will be communicated throughout your organization. This is the place to outline the foundation of your Safety Meetings and your Safety Committee. You should also make note of the training that will be provided to your team, not only for new employees, but what training will be done on an on-going basis. 

Safety Rules and Work Procedures

This section will start to get into specifics on the type of conduct your team is expected to have, what good shop housekeeping looks like as well as the appropriate usage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). You can use this section to address weather related exposures such as rain, ice, snow, dangerous temperatures both heat and cold (if applicable). We also recommend putting your driving and fleet safety rules in this section. Setting the expectation for getting to and from the jobsite safely and how the company will monitor driving records is a very important part of this document. Make sure to include language on Fall Protection along with how a team member will be disciplined for violating a safety rule.  

Hazard Assessment and Control

In this section, you will want to state how your team assesses the hazards that they face on each jobsite. Your jobsite setup and briefing procedure is an integral part of this section. You can also focus on specific equipment that you use or special procedures that may be unique to your company here. 

Incident Reporting and Accident Analysis

Creating clear incident reporting and accident analysis procedures is part of this section. Here you want to identify the responsibilities of each person involved in an accident and give guidance on what information must be gathered at the time of the incident. You should also include how your company will handle employee injuries from a Return to Work/Light Duty standpoint as well as what the follow up will be when a safety violation or incident has occurred. 

Documentation and Employee Acknowledgement 

The final element that your written safety program needs is a procedure for documentation and record keeping for all of the safety items. Along with the documentation expectation, you should have each employee sign an acknowledgement form showing that they have been trained on the document and that they understand their responsibility for their own and their team’s safety. 

It’s important to note that your written safety program doesn’t need to follow this exact format, but should contain these elements at a minimum. If you’d like more help with your written safety program, contact an ArboRisk team member today and get signed up for our Thrive Safety Package. We will work with you one-on-one to help you develop the best written safety program possible and boost the safety culture of your organization.

Adding Large Equipment to Your Insurance Policy

Adding Large Equipment to Your Insurance Policy

Written by Ryan Watry

Everything is getting more expensive these days.  This is true not only at the grocery store and gas pump but as the cost of equipment is also on the rise.  Due to the rise in cost in these pieces of equipment, insurance companies are starting to require more information when adding them to your policy.  Here is a quick guide to make sure that new equipment is added to your insurance policy without a problem.

 

1. Give Lead Time

Just like when you are purchasing a home or new vehicle, odds are you’ve done research and shopped around before buying the new equipment.  When you start looking for that new lift or chipper or whatever, it is a good idea to reach out to your insurance agent to let them know you are shopping around and that way if they need underwriting approval to add it your policy, they can start the conversation with the underwriter.

2. Information required.

Besides the standard information of year, make, model, serial number and value, the underwriter will potentially ask for more information.  This may include information on the equipment itself or on the people operating the equipment.  Sending over the spec sheets or pictures of the equipment gives the underwriter a better understanding of what that equipment is and what it does.  The underwriter may also ask about who is operating the item.  Typically, they want to know what experience that person has and what/if any training they’ve had.  Finally describing what jobs this item will be used on gives the underwriter a better understanding of what the equipment is needed for and how it will be used.

3. Loan Information

Odds are when you are purchasing this equipment you are taking a loan on it.  It is important to provide your agent with the name and address of the lending company so they can show proof of insurance to that lender.  If the lending company does not get this information, they will apply their own insurance and charge you for that.  Nobody wants to double on insurance so to avoid giving your agent the lending information is crucial.

 

Buying a new piece of equipment can be exciting and potentially stressful time.  Hopefully the tips we just gave you can help take away some of the stress when buying and insuring your new large piece of equipment.

If you are interested in having a conversation, or learning more, about how the Arborisk Thrive program and Consultants can help you strategically review and advance your company, please check out our Thrive website at: https://arboriskinsurance.com/arborisks-thrive/

Documenting Safety Efforts

Documenting Safety Efforts

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

One of the common hangups that tree care companies have regarding safety is how to document their efforts. All too often, the owner feels paralyzed by what they think they need to document thereby preventing them from documenting anything. I want to simplify it so you can start documenting the safety and training efforts that you are probably already doing and set you on a path to be able to build a better safety and training program within your company. 

But first, why do you need to document safety and training efforts within your company? The answer is quite simple. You, as the owner of the tree care company, have a responsibility to create a safe work environment for your employees. 

Now creating a safe work environment for an arborist can be quite the challenge with new or multiple worksites each day, a tree care company has a lot less control over the work environment than a plastics manufacturer where all of their work is being done inside four walls. In fact, you will never be able to create a work environment that is completely void of all hazards, however, that is precisely why training your employees on a regular basis is really the only way that an employer can attempt to achieve that goal. Documenting the training that has been done is your way to prove that it happened. 

So, in my opinion, there are three types of crucial safety documents that every tree care company must have. I should mention that obviously, the more training and documentation you have, the better, however, if you are just starting out with documentation, focus on these three types:

1. Written Safety Program Signature Page – If you don’t have a written safety program (or Injury and Illness Prevention Program as it is called in some states), get one right away, either from your insurance agent, TCIA or any of the other online resources out there. This obviously establishes the safety protocols for your company. All written safety programs should have an acknowledgement or acceptance page that each employee signs to confirm that they were given the document and were trained on it. This is the number one document you must keep in each employee file from a safety and training perspective. 

2. Initial Training/Onboarding Documentation – Your written safety program should also include a list of training topics for a new hire. Often referred to as orientation or onboarding, this initial list of training topics guides the tree care company on what to train the new hires on. After each employee has gone through a training topic, have them and their supervisor sign a document to be kept in their employee file stating the following:

    1. When the training was done
    2. Name of the individual being trained
    3. Who the trainer was
    4. Topic of the training
    5. Where/how the training was performed (in-person, on the job, online, etc.)
    6. Any additional follow up training required?
    7. Signatures by employee and supervisor/trainer

3. Ongoing Training Sign-in Sheets – The third type of documentation that you should have within your tree care company would be proof of on-going training. This training can happen in a number of ways, but is done after the initial onboarding training. Examples of ongoing training would be, Tailgate Safety Meetings, All Company Safety Training Days, Specific training like Aerial Rescue or First Aid/CPR, etc. For each of these training events, make sure to have sign-in sheets that list the same information above for the Initial Training. These sign-in sheets are typically kept in a Company Training File as they will be focused on a group of people and not one specific individual. 

Again, the more documentation that you have from a safety and training perspective the better, however, if you have been unsure on what to document, start with these three types of documents. If you would like help developing a stronger safety culture within your company, reach out to a member of the ArboRisk team today to begin our Thrive Safety Package. We will work with you one-on-one to improve your safety culture no matter where it is today.

The Key to Accident Prevention

The Key to Accident Prevention

Written by Amanda Carpenter and Anthony Tresselt

Originally published in the July 2022 edition of the ISA Ontario Arborist

The hierarchy of controls is a system of controlling risks in the workplace, a prevention through design strategy for prevention and/or reduction of occupational injuries, illness, and fatalities. Despite the best designed and applied control solutions, there is an independently acting human being that is involved in every workplace injury. Human behavior is the one thing that cannot be eliminated, substituted, engineered or controlled to create safety on the worksite. The person is most often forgotten in risk control hierarchies.

In the arboriculture industry, a lot of focus is put on regulation and technical training.

These administrative and engineering type controls can and do help, but alone they are not the total solution. For instance, the ANSI Z 133 has been in existence since 1968. As a consensus standard, it is updated at regular intervals by those in the industry. Yet the incident rate for occupational injuries still remains high compared to other industries. The same can be said for technical or skills training. Advances in tools and techniques have been progressive, the number of individuals in the industry providing quality training has increased, yet the incident numbers as a whole remain high. 

What regulation and training cannot take into account is the human. Even new, top of the line tools and techniques can be used poorly or misaligned. Highly articulated and crafted regulation with the best intent still must be followed by those doing the work to have any effect.

When, as an industry, we look at the incidents in arboriculture, we see again and again how misuse of well-designed tools, misapplication of well-established techniques, and/ or disregard for industry best practice leads to death and injury. This, coupled with tens of thousands of hours of one-on-one patient interaction with an orthopaedic physical therapist for occupational related injuries, leads us to the observation that many injuries could NOT have been prevented with more safety training and engineering.

 While a vital part, safety training is just one part of the system.

 Without an understanding of how and why humans act, training loses effectiveness. The worker must choose the safe act, the safe tool, the safe technique. There is a human involved in every accident or near hit. The subcon- scious nervous system is in charge of the human’s thoughts and actions 95% of the day; therein lies the key to a safe worksite and meaningful reduction in incidents.

Safety training involves establishing or changing a behavior. When we train or teach, we are speaking to the analytical part of the brain. However, access to training in the moment of a true emergency is not possible for some on this analytical level. It lies behind the gate-keeper of subconscious patterns that are formed from prior experiences, many of which occurred in the first 7-8 years of life. When choice is involved, the human brain will rely on established patterns and appear to resist change. Breaking these established patterns for new, safer ones, is an involved process that takes awareness, patience, and time.

 This process of behavioral change cannot be regulated or engineered.

Forced compliance is short term. Procedure can only serve as a guideline for action. The impetus of action, choice or decision must come from established behavioral patterns. This is easily seen in the all-too-common faulty logic on the tree care job site of, “we have been doing it this way for years and haven’t got hurt yet.” Often said or implied, this attitude shows the basic human reliance on pattern and the reluctance to change.

Even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many production arborists make a conscious decision to ignore hazards and use technique known to have high risk of injury. Or conversely, they choose not to take actions known to protect them when engaged in hazardous activity.

Luck or hope is not a safety strategy.

The number of times an “unsafe” act has not resulted in dire consequences does not reduce the hazard. Yet many use this as a justification for not using personal protective equipment, established procedure or new techniques. The best tools and regulations can and often are short circuited by human behavior.

Some humans are more tolerant to change than others. The predictability of change tolerance is often found in the story behind one’s eyes. What has been one’s prior life experience with change? Has life thrown several unexpected and unfortunate changes at them? Did life throw a single pain- ful experience at an early stage of life, which set a pattern in their nerv- ous system resulting in their need for consistency?

 People make changes for one of two reasons, out of desperation or out of inspiration.

Desperation becomes a catalyst for change. Acute pain gets one’s attention; it screams and demands that something be done NOW. While chronic pain is an underlying, low-grade discomfort that allows one to put it off, the voice of chronic pain says; “I can’t keep doing this” or “I can’t keep living like this.” Yet, most often a change is not made until the body takes one out with an acute injury or illness. Why is this? The answer lies in the understanding of the autonomic nervous system.

Humans have a pattern of life, learning and adaptation, a rhythm that becomes familiar and predictable. This pattern, whether healthy or not, becomes recognized by the autonomic nervous system as normal and is perceived as safe. Anything that veers from this pattern can become a trigger; a stimulus that results in an underlying stress response in the body similar to fear. This pattern is exactly why change is so difficult. There is no reasoning this experience, it occurs instantaneously in the body at the subconscious level. You cannot rationalize an irrational response.

In injury prevention, safety training alone often does not create a long-term change in behavior, but the injury itself can be a catalyst to change.

It is not the fear of injury that keeps people safe, rather their ability to tolerate behavior change. For example, a tree care worker has developed a habit of one handing a chainsaw, (a behavior that incident numbers tell us causes many injuries on the tree care job site). The behavior is restricted by legislation as well as manufacturer instructions. Despite legislation and instruction, that pattern is very difficult to change. However, an injury creates an acute pain, often resulting in an immediate change in behavior.

 An expert is born from the internal emotional response that can only occur during a real experience.

Many safety trainers share their personal story to inspire others to behavior change related to hazardous actions. The story of pain, expressed through the authentic  vulnerability of another human can also become a catalyst of change for others. The emotional connection and response that occurs through authentic storytelling can support the behavior change we are hoping for in safety training. Proper technique, rules, and regulations cannot spawn the same type of long-term change housed in the subconscious.

We believe the key to worksite accident prevention is in transformation of the human nervous system, which involves both the person in the mirror and a supportive, vulnerable team willing to hold each other accountable and learn through shared experiences. When skillfully done, human behavior can be changed through transformation, creating a safer worksite and world.

If as an industry we wish to make long term, lasting change, we must address not only training, and industry regulation, but the third hidden factor of the worker and how he or she makes choices. We must come to understand the vital role subconscious patterns (healthy and unhealthy), the autonomic nervous system, and the story behind the eyes of the people doing the work, all play. Failing to do this is akin to claiming a flat tire is fine as it is only flat on the bottom!

Developing individuals and leaders to see and recognize the cognitive dissonance created when familiar ideas and/or beliefs are challenged or proved ineffective can and will transform this industry. But like the very problems we wish to address, it begins and ends with the individual human. We as trainers and facilitators need to take part in and develop a better understanding of the human factor in all we do as arborists, climbers, sawyers, crew leaders and business owners.

To learn more about Amanda and Tony’s transformational coaching program Leadership Performance Mastery: Uncovering the Leadership of Vital Energy, visit their website at https://www.leadershipofvitalenergy.com/

Safety Pays

Safety Pays

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

One of our goals at ArboRisk is to help tree care companies embrace the idea that safety should be looked at as a profit center versus as an expense. The idea is quite simple in that the safety efforts that you embark upon ultimately lead to higher productivity and profitability for your entire team because you are not dealing with injuries and all of the costs associated with them. Because not everyone buys into a statement like that immediately, I want to highlight a fantastic resource that you can use to illustrate this point…OSHA’s “Safety Pays” website. 

OSHA’s Safety Pays website serves as an interactive tool that enables businesses to calculate the potential financial benefits of investing in workplace safety measures. It aims to showcase that by prioritizing safety, companies can not only protect their workers but also realize substantial economic advantages. The site is a testament to the fact that a safe workplace is a profitable one. 

The Safety Pays website offers several key features that make it a valuable resource for tree services of all sizes: 

Individual Injury Estimator – My favorite part of the website is a user-friendly interface (Individual Injury Estimator) that allows you to choose an injury type and enter your profit margin to determine how much that injury would cost your company both in direct and indirect costs. 

For example, if an employee at a tree service suffers a shoulder strain, the estimated cost of that injury will total over $67,000! 

In this example, I used a profit margin of 15%. If your profit margin is higher than that the financial impact to your company would be a little lower, however, if you’re running under that profit margin, the impact of this injury will be felt even more. The website calculated that the direct cost of the injury will equate to $32,023 and the indirect costs would amount $35,225 to total $67,248! In case those numbers don’t mean much to you, think about this. With a 15% profit margin, this injury would require the business to produce an additional $448,320 in sales to cover these costs. 

Can you afford to do $448,000 of work for free?

Safety Pays Tool – The Safety Pays Tool is your chance to get a more customized experience and allow you to compare your company to the industry average. This tool is especially helpful when looking at budgeting for new equipment or perhaps investigating the cost/benefit of a full time safety director. 

Educational Resources – The website isn’t just about numbers; it also provides educational resources and case studies that illustrate real-world examples of companies that have benefited from safety investments. 

How can you utilize the Safety Pays website within your tree service? 

During your next Safety Meeting, pull up the website and go to the Individual Injury Estimator. Ask your team to throw out an injury type. Then enter in your company’s target profit margin and reveal the results of the calculator to the team and watch their reaction. Even more powerful tie the estimated additional sales to the number of jobs that equates to by dividing the sales number by your average job cost. If these numbers don’t open people’s eyes within your organization, nothing will. 

If you are looking to boost the safety culture within your company or perhaps just want confirmation that you are doing what you can, reach out to a member of the ArboRisk team or sign up directly for our Thrive Safety Package. We work one-on-one with tree care companies every day, helping them get every one of their employees home safe each night.

Elements of a Fleet Safety Program

Elements of a Fleet Safety Program

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

Most tree care companies address fleet safety within their overall written safety program, however, as I’ve seen the number and severity of auto accidents increase over the years, I always recommend to put the fleet safety items into their own document to draw attention to the importance of each item. So what goes into a Fleet Safety Program? 

Here are some common elements of a Fleet Safety Program:

  1. Safety Rules: Clearly defined rules outlining the expectations, responsibilities, and guidelines for safe driving practices within the fleet including a distracted driving policy. 
  2. Driver Selection and Record Monitoring: How will the tree care company select drivers and monitor their driving record. Developing a set of Motor Vehicle Guidelines to show what violations are acceptable and which ones are not is crucial to managing the drivers. 
  3. Driver Training: Outline what training programs or topics will be delivered to your employees. Topics should cover defensive driving techniques, vehicle handling, and awareness of potential hazards on the road.
  4. Vehicle Use Policy: Who is allowed to drive your vehicles along with when and where? Develop rules to keep the vehicles your business owns operating for business work only. This is a large part of managing the risk that your vehicles bring to your company. 
  5. Vehicle Maintenance: Insert or develop regular maintenance and inspection schedules to ensure that all fleet vehicles are in good working condition, including brakes, tires, lights, and other essential components.
  6. Telematics and Monitoring: If you are utilizing any telematics systems to monitor driver behavior, vehicle performance, and adherence to safety policies, you need to have a section in your Fleet Safety Program about this. This will outline what data is collected (it may involve tracking speed, harsh braking, or acceleration) and how it will be used.
  7. Incident Reporting and Investigation: Establish protocols for reporting accidents, near-misses, and other safety incidents. Prompt investigation of these incidents helps identify root causes and implement corrective measures.
  8. Communication and Engagement: Establish effective communication channels to disseminate safety-related information, updates, and reminders to drivers. Encouraging open dialogue and feedback from drivers helps improve the overall safety culture.
  9. Continuous Improvement: Every safety program should include a section on how to provide regular evaluation and a Fleet Safety Program is no different. Identify areas for potential  improvement, incorporate new technologies and best practices, and adapt to changing safety regulations and industry standards.

When instituted properly, these elements will create a comprehensive fleet safety program that prioritizes driver safety, reduces accidents, and protects the well-being of both drivers and the public. 

If you are struggling to create a Fleet Safety Program, reach out to a member of the ArboRisk team today or sign up for our Thrive Safety Package here.