We’re Killing Ourselves Out There

Fatalities of landscapers have become all too common. Landscaping now ranks as the most fatal industry in Kentucky for fiscal years 2014 – 2019. Even when excluding fatalities related to tree care, mowing related fatalities alone earn landscapers a place on the list of the top 5 most fatal industries in the state. Are each of these deaths the result of operator error, or is there something more pervasive that is contributing to the accidents? What I have seen points to an industry-wide disposition toward ignoring equipment manufacturer’s safety warnings and dismissing the operational limitations established for the safe use of mowers on embankments and near water.

Five mower operators died in separate incidents between 2014 and 2019. Three of the deaths occurred when men were cutting along an embankment and the mower they were operating rolled over, pinning them underneath. One drowned when the mower flipped over into a pond, trapping the operator under the machine. Another man fell from a 250-foot cliff after misjudging the edge of the area he was mowing. He died.

While I have not read the incident investigations for all of these workplace fatalities, they are likely the result of one of three factors — an employee’s willful disregard of safety policies, an employer’s failure to develop and implement a safety policy, or leadership’s failure to enforce a safety policy. Sadly, I would argue that it is common throughout our industry for employees and employers to prioritize efficiency over health and safety. To be clear, I do not believe that most employees are insubordinate and that they refuse to comply with safety policies. Instead, when faced with the choice of string trimming a steep embankment or cutting it with a mower, they are more likely to choose the mower. As for employers, I do not believe that they consciously disregard the health and safety of their employees. Instead, I believe they fail to make time to properly assess risk.

Consider this: a riding mower operator’s manual provides instructions for safe operating practices and many safety warnings. Every manual I have ever seen instructs operators to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), to use factory installed safety features (e.g., seat sensors, debris guards, deck discharge chutes, etc.), and to engage the roll over protection system (ROPS) when in use. Yet, these safe practices are routinely ignored by operators and employers. Take for example a mower’s ROPS, which many operators never engage. When asked why, they explain that the mower will not easily cut under low tree limbs or, that the mower will not fit into their enclosed trailer or box truck with the ROPS engaged. They recognize that using the ROPS can create inefficiencies by increasing string trimming and by wasting time engaging and disengaging the ROPS when you load and unload a mower. Does this sound familiar? This is what prioritizing efficiency over health and safety looks like in our industry.

A journalist who reported on one of the two mower related fatalities in 2019 opened her report saying, “A landscaper’s loved ones are grieving after this bizarre workplace death.” This workplace death was not bizarre. Those of us in the industry know that mower rollovers are a real safety hazard and they are a common cause of death that it is preventable. If any of this is speaking to you and you are thinking, “Am I doing enough? If a workplace fatality occurred in my company, could I say I’d done my part to prevent the accident?” I urge you to reassess your company’s approach toward workplace health and safety.

• Does your company have a safety policy and an active safety program?

• Do you routinely communicate safety policies to your employees?

• Do you provide safety training for all equipment?

• Does your company safety training adhere to the warnings and guidance provided in the manufacturer’s operator manual?

• If you operate mowers, do you teach safe slope mowing practices?

• Are you willing to use more labor hours to trim a steep embankment when using a mower is unsafe?

• Do you train employees not to operate a mower on a slope that exceeds the angle limits specified by the lawn mower manufacturer?

• Are riding mowers equipped with roll-over protective structures (ROPS) and seat belts? Do you require their use?

• Have you identified and communicated known hazards for each job site such as steep slopes, cliffs or walls, and water hazards?

• Do you train supervisors to look for safety violations and enforce the company’s safety policy?

When each of us can answer “yes” to the questions above, you can know that you’ve done your part to prevent the next riding mower fatality.

Roscoe Klausing, LIC is the founder & CEO of Klausing Group