BUSINESS TIPS
GET MANAGEMENT ON BOARD
SAFETY THAT STICKS
A strong safety program starts at the top with a management team that is committed to minimizing risk on jobsites. In ensuring they’re on board, you avoid the disconnect and undermining that can happen when what’s written in a safety program doesn’t align with what’s happening in the field.
SIX STEPS TO BUILD AND IMPLEMENT A SOLID, COMPLIANT SAFETY PROGRAM THAT PROTECTS YOUR WORKERS IN THE FIELD.
Denise Hansen, the safety director for builder John Kraemer & Sons, Inc., remembers her first inspection of a jobsite nearly 10 years ago, when she pulled up to a house and there was a worker on the roof without fall prevention equipment. “I called my employer and said, ‘Are you serious about your safety program?’ He said, ‘Yes.’”
by Taylor Hugo
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor recorded 11 fatal work injuries in the construction industry in Minnesota, a decrease from 14 in 2018. While zero deaths is always the goal, the number of fatalities represent a small percentage of the 144,575 construction workers in the state that year, demonstrating the effectiveness of workplace safety programs. Since 1991, many employers in Minnesota—including those in the construction industry—have been required by the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) to develop and use a formal safety and health program, also known as A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction (AWAIR) program. This requirement is in place to help mitigate some of the biggest risks on jobsites, like falls, electrocution, and caught-in and struck-by hazards. Preventing deaths and serious injuries is the number-one reason to have a safety program, but additional benefits make the cost of creating and implementing one more than worth it: Employers can save money on workers’ compensation insurance premiums, increase morale among jobsite crews, minimize penalties for noncompliance, and improve employee recruitment and retention—crucial with today’s reality of labor shortages. Whether you’re starting your safety program from scratch or your policies need an overhaul, these steps can help you build a solid, compliant plan that will protect your men and women in the field.
That was all Hansen needed to hear. Knowing she had 100% backing from her employer, she pulled every one of the roofers down and told them to leave the jobsite until they had the proper equipment. “Management really has to understand the value of safety and the importance of it,” says Lana Steck, a senior safety specialist for The Builders Group, a workers’ compensation insurance company. “I’ll ask them something along the lines of, ‘Is safety a priority to you or is safety a value?’ They hesitate to answer that. Priorities can change, but values don’t really change. I try to reiterate that safety needs to be a core value at the company, and that starts with management leadership.”
UNDERSTAND STATE REQUIREMENTS Every state is different, but in Minnesota, to be compliant with MNOSHA AWAIR standards, a safety program must state: 1.
how managers, supervisors, and employees are responsible for implementing the program, and how continued participation of management will be established, measured, and maintained;
JANUARY–MARCH 2022 | HOUSING FIRST MINNESOTA
The Digest
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