Beyond Compliance:
Preventing Injuries with Customized Safety Solutions and Servant Leadership
N
ot that long ago, jobsite safety seemed optional in the construction industry. Over the last few decades, new rules and owner demands resulted in stronger commitment and safer measures. As the industry evolved, so did Indianapolis-based RMS Safety (RMS), founded in 1998 with a focus on safety and health in the construction industry. Now RMS works with a range of companies across the country looking to move beyond compliance to proactive safety solutions that impact their bottom line—but more importantly, send employees home without harm at the end of each day. Customized solutions range from custom written safety programs and traditional safety oversight to emerging trends such as prevention through design and ergonomics. 2 Building Excellence April 2016
With the business built on faith, ethics, and quality, “We’re here to help others,” said John Lindenschmidt, CSP, RMS President and Founder. “We continue to explore new ways to reduce incidents and injuries, because safety is not a destination—it’s a continual journey.”
The Early Days of Safety “I didn’t grow up thinking I’d be in health and safety,” Lindenschmidt said. However, after graduating from Purdue University with a degree in biology, he found a job opportunity in loss prevention at Liberty Mutual Insurance and discovered a new passion. “I pursued additional education—Certified Safety Professional and an Associate’s degree in Loss Control Management—and really tried to finetune what I needed to know in order to
John Lindenschmidt
do a good job in this field.” Through the years, Lindenschmidt worked with numerous companies and spent 11 years providing safety support in an owner-controlled program before starting RMS. With that experience, he
tailored the company’s initial offerings to the construction industry. “We brought on some skilled professionals who helped us slowly take root and grow,” he said. “Our early clients were about training. It was the beginning of the push to have OSHA 10-Hour Training and that created some opportunities to build client relationships.” At the time, few contractors included a formal safety program among their priorities, but as the number of owners specifying a safety program requirement grew through the years, “Contractors started to recognize the need to stay current and make a commitment to safety,” Lindenschmidt said. “Whether they initially wanted to or not, they did it in order to stay on the good side of owners. Then they started seeing that commitment turn into
an internal benefit in loss reduction and OSHA compliance. That’s where RMS really had an opportunity to help those contractors develop something customized to their needs.”
Growing Customization in Programs and Handbooks In the beginning, RMS helped many companies create the resources needed for prequalification. “I remember more or less having a phone conversation with a client, maybe filling out a one-page form on some of their basics,” said Kevin Beswick, Manager of Construction Services at RMS. “That was good enough to comply with minimum requirements but they weren’t as interested back then in actually implementing that program. Now we work with many more companies who really want to
Kevin Beswick
build a living, breathing document.” RMS still writes safety programs to achieve compliance with the Coalition for Construction Safety (CCS), PICS, ISNetworld, and other prequalification organizations. “That’s our opportunity
to show them why these kinds of policies and safety programs are important,” said Tammy Hines, RMS Senior Safety Advisor. “In the process of working with them, you witness that moment when they realize, ‘Aha, that’s why I need to know this,’ and ‘Oh, yeah, I should be doing that.’” For most clients now, RMS helps move them beyond compliance to reap the most benefits and ensure their safety program stays on the cutting edge. For instance, Blood Hound Inc., an underground utility locating company in Brownsburg, Indiana, asks RMS to annually review their entire safety manual to ensure it’s up-to-date with new policies and trends. RMS’ customization efforts grew significantly as the industry’s safety commitment evolved. “The reason we customize is so it fits their operations,” Beswick
Tammy Hines
said. “If it doesn’t fit them, they won’t use it. Now I usually spend a couple hours talking with a client about what they want and need. What do you want to do beyond OSHA minimums? Are you interested in a behavior-based safety program? Do you April 2016 Building Excellence 3
want an incentive program? We streamline each safety program to eliminate policies and procedures that don’t apply to that company. When we’re done it fits them to a ‘T.’” Once RMS drafts safety documents, they give clients an opportunity to review and edit as they see fit. When RMS delivers the final customized product, “They read it, they understand it, and they agreed to it,” Beswick said. “It creates buy-in and a feeling of ownership.” Although RMS focuses on streamlining deliverables, the final product contains more than safety policies. “We put in all the forms they need to maintain the safety program,” Beswick said. “We include a grid that drives all the training. What training do you need to conduct? Who will do it? When do they need to do it?” To help communicate the plans to employees, “A lot of companies now ask for handbooks,” Beswick said. “They want that big, thick safety program boiled down to some of the basics—like a CliffsNotes version—so they can hand their employees something that’s more streamlined.” Many clients also want roll-out training. “After we create a customized safety program, the owner knows all the details but the supervisory employees—where the rubber hits the road—they don’t know about it because they weren’t really involved in creating it,” Beswick said. “If you don’t explain it to them, it will never take off. We pull all their supervisors in and go over everything—‘So that everybody is on the same page.” RMS also provides mock audits to ensure safety programs meet requirements. “Due to our active involvement with CCS and other organizations, we know exactly what they look for,” Hines said.
Hand-Picked Project Help In addition to written documents, RMS spends a large amount of resources on Project Safety Management—usually large-scale projects where an owner or contractor needs a temporary, full-time safety person. RMS provides Project Safety Management nationwide, hiring local professionals whenever possible to minimize travel expenses. “The individual assignments range depending on the client and their needs,” Beswick said. “When we represent an owner, our person may work with the project team each day to talk about the scope of work, participate in daily job hazard analysis, and make sure things are planned out correctly from the get-go,
including all the necessary permits. When we work for a contractor, we might do frequent visits to make sure crews work safely and the equipment they’re using is safe. The assignments vary but we always make sure our guys are proactive and provide practical solutions.” RMS employs more than a dozen skilled professionals in the field. “We make sure they have good, solid experience—not only with safety but with construction,” Beswick said. “Sometimes we hire people who’ve been in construction for many years as a foreman, but they’ve also spent some time managing safety on projects. In other cases, we look for someone who’s more credentialed, maybe with a safety degree or certification. We get a feel for
the situation and the client’s needs and find the best person.” That requires more than time spent on a jobsite. “The biggest thing that I look for though is personality and people skills,” Beswick added. “I can hire the best guy on paper, but if he can’t communicate well and get along with people, I create a headache for myself and the client.” To avoid problems, “We don’t just put people out there and hope they do well,” Lindenschmidt said. “We provide a strong level of supervision—a lot of interaction with the client and our employee—to make sure things are working well and we troubleshoot any challenges before they manifest into big issues.”
Case Study: Project Safety Management Charles C. Brandt Construction Co.
Charles C. Brandt Construction Co. (CCB) in Indianapolis regularly contracts with RMS. When an owner required safety personnel with specific qualifications, “RMS provided very competent and capable people,” said Jack Lautenschlager, COO. “It was nice for me to walk away and not worry about it. They stayed on the jobsite and made sure that not only our self-perform work was done safely, but also the work of our subcontractor.” On another project, RMS conducted daily jobsite analyses. “They identified hazards based on what we were doing that day, trained our staff and our subcontractors on how to do it safely, then monitored throughout the day,” Lautenschlager said.
Teaming up with Part-Time Support When needs reach beyond specific projects to regular support, many companies turn to RMS for Safety Partnering. Sometimes that occurs when a company first
Kapena O’Neal
Left to right: John Lindenschmidt, Tammy Hines, Kevin Beswick, Angela Beswick, Leah Saylors, Kapena O’Neal
hires a true safety professional, someone with expertise beyond what exists in their organization. “We help mentor and direct that individual so they’re not floundering on their own,” Lindenschmidt said. In other situations, “Some companies say, ‘For the turnover I’ve experienced and the lack of being able to monitor and measure this individual—plus the major overhead—how about you guys do it for us?’” Lindenschmidt said. “We’re in a sense their part-time safety director.” Before taking on a role within an organization, “We work with clients to evaluate where they’re at now,” Lindenschmidt explained. “We spend time going through their current operations, policies, procedures, and record keeping, then we provide a customized roadmap of where we can support them.” RMS then suggests a block of hours to accomplish those goals. “It gives clients a way to budget their costs so they can afford to do what we mapped out together,” Lindenschmidt said. “We provide efficiencies in the cost, then we’re there to give a proactive push. As we proceed, our services can flex with the needs of the client, whether that’s growing or minimizing.” With each client, RMS takes a cooperative approach. “You can’t totally outsource safety,” Lindenschmidt said. “You can outsource the resources that help manage the activities and support the overall safety process, but our role is to keep management engaged and train them to be comfortable assuming the duties of record keeping, training documentation, and other leadership activities. We go in with an attitude of working ourselves out of a job. We’ll serve as an ongoing technical
Mike Mariner
resource for specialty training and special projects, but let’s empower them with all they need to know so they can manage it. That’s the best safety program—one that’s managed with the full commitment of the company.” In order to accomplish that, “A lot of our job involves changing the safety culture,” said Kapena O’Neal, RMS Safety Advisor. “We want everyone, including the guys in the field, to understand how this affects them—not just in their job, but on a more personal level. It’s for the purpose of being able to go home and spend time with their families.” Mike Mariner, Director of General Indus-
try, Safety, and Ergonomics at RMS, added, “We do less policing and more coaching. It’s not just about minimum standards or compliance; we make sure to educate along the way and explain the reasons why. When there’s better buy-in—when it’s really a partner program—there’s more sustainability and better results.” Throughout the process, “We approach it as a team within RMS,” Lindenschmidt said. “When we support a client, their needs are potentially many and we can’t provide all those services with one individual. I’m proud that we have a group of people with a wide diversity of experience and subject-matter expertise. Whatever the client needs, the person in charge of that account brings in the right resources.” Beswick provided an example of that team approach: “CCB engaged us to serve as their part-time safety director (see “Case Studies: Safety Partnering” sidebar). We decided the main person is Kapena [O’Neal]; he’s there each week. Part of Kapena’s job is to identify their needs. When they wanted training that involved first aid/CPR, he pulled in Tammy [Hines]. No one is good at every single thing. We play to our strengths for the benefit of the client.”
What RMS Clients Say “They have good moral values and I enjoy working with them. If we need anything in the safety realm, I can call Kevin [Beswick] any time and he’ll bend over backwards to support us.”
Roger Reynolds, Safety Team Leader, Indianapolis Power and Light
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Case Study: Training
What RMS Clients Say
Charles C. Brandt Construction Co.
“They’ve been very proficient in helping us with our safety policies. I just don’t have time to do it myself. They really try to understand our needs. We don’t get generic policies; it’s always customwritten for us.”
Traci Hardin, Vice President, Safety and Compliance, Meyer Najem Construction LLC, Fishers, Indiana
Case Studies: Safety Partnering
Indianapolis Power & Light Company “Our operations manager saw a gap and knew that one safety person couldn’t fill that gap, so he brought in John Blankenship from RMS,” said Roger Reynolds, Safety Team Leader for Indianapolis Power & Light Company. “John spends 90 percent of his time in the plant just walking and looking at jobs. He’s my eyes and ears when I can’t be out there. He works nights or overtime if I need him to.” Reynolds calls Blankenship “a true professional, a seasoned veteran” because of his years in the safety field and his background in power plants. “He wasn’t just a safety person and he wasn’t someone green.
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It frustrates me when a safety person has no real-life experience and all he knows are the documents and OSHA standards. John served as an OSHA compliance officer, but he also worked construction and maintenance before that. He came out and hit the ground running.”
Charles C. Brandt Construction Co. “We’ve hired people in the past, but today for Charles C. Brandt, a full-time safety position isn’t something we feel is required for the amount of work we have, so we opted to go with RMS doing this three days per week,” Lautenschlager said. O’Neal plays the lead role in meeting CCB’s needs. Among his many duties, “I can be a bit of a buffer for the superintendents on the job,” he said. “If there’s a safety issue, I talk them through what they can do to abate the hazard. When I leave, they can tell their subs, ‘I just got chewed out by my safety guy. You need to take care of this.’ I don’t mind being that bad guy. The superintendents say it helps.” Within CCB, though, “I can say without hesitation that everyone respects and likes Kapena [O’Neal],” Lautenschlager said. “He communicates well with the guys on the jobsite; he understands the way things are done, listens to what they say, and they come up with a solution together.”
Customized Training and Hands-on Simulation The team approach used in Safety Partnering also defines how RMS conducts training. “What we take pride in—and strive to ever do better—is providing a diversity of instruction,” Lindenschmidt said. “We really work hard to bring in skilled subject-matter experts for every topic we present. One instructor doesn’t conduct the whole course.” RMS customizes training sessions in the same way they customize safety programs. “A lot of preparation goes into each event,” Mariner said. “We want to reinforce their written policy and program, so when we talk about fall protection, we’re not strictly talking out of the OSHA Standards Book; we’re talking about fall protection out of their safety manual” Attendees also learn leadership skills. “Safety involves employees looking after each other,” O’Neal said. “When we cover hazard recognition, I’ll say, ‘This is one of your co-workers. How would you approach him if you know he’s putting himself in harm’s way?’ Some guys say, ‘I’d kick him off the job.’ But what does that do for him? Other guys say, ‘I’d ask him to safely get down, explain to him what he was doing, and come up with a way to do it safely.’ He might have to go home for the day, but when he comes back he knows how to work safely.”
CCB took 20 employees—from laborers to superintendents—through six weeks of training two afternoons a week at RMS’ HOPE Arena. “The training was outstanding,” Lautenschlager said. “You can tell when they teach, they care. It’s nice to have someone tell you about scaffolding— which could be considered the most boring topic in the world—and know he genuinely cares about scaffold and your safety.” The training also covered Competent Person, excavation, fall protection, first aid/CPR, signaling, and cranes. “They have
a hole for excavation and a place to do fall protection,” Lautenschlager said. “We typically conduct training at our office, but when they showed me the facility and what they were going to do, there was no way I could provide that here.”
Finding Gaps and Elevating Results For clients who implemented a safety program but aren’t getting the results they want, or who just want to elevate their program to the next level, RMS offers a Management System Analysis. The customized, in-depth audit occurs in a client’s office instead of at a jobsite.
According to Beswick, “It’s for someone who says, ‘I want you to really pick my safety program apart with a fine-tooth comb to see if there are any gaps. Are we not implementing steps the way we said we were? Are there areas we can improve?’” Beswick explained a recent analysis conducted for Blood Hound (see “Case Study: Management System Analysis”). “We asked for their program in advance, then our team of Kapena [O’Neal], John [Lindenschmidt], and I sat down with their management team. We spent a whole day going through questions and uncovering possible areas of improvement. We talked
about which items they wanted to accomplish and created a streamlined action plan. At the end, they walked away with a list of things to do and who’s responsible by what date, then we met a month later to review progress. We build in a system of accountability; we identify realistic solutions then we keep them moving down the road.” RMS also facilitates Cultural Gap Analyses, surveying a company’s management group and employees about how effective they think their safety program is. RMS then compares the results of the two surveys to identify any gaps.
In presenting training, Beswick said, “A lot of safety trainers spend all their energy on statistics and fatalities to scare you into doing something, but if your students enjoy it they retain more. They look forward to the next class.” Lindenschmidt added, “Safety is a tough topic to present. If you don’t keep it engaging, people zone out very quickly. We introduce levity and a wealth of great videos that make a point but are humorous and entertaining.” Throughout each training session, RMS actively involves participants. “We long ago recognized that adults learn best by doing and getting their hands on something,” Lindenschmidt said. “We incorporate group exercises that really challenge them to think about what we said in the lecture component and actually do it.” The name of RMS’ training facility embodies that philosophy: Hands-On Practical Experience (HOPE) Arena. “HOPE Arena is our warehouse converted into simulators,” Lindenschmidt said. For instance, “We have the ability to hoist people off the ground so they really get a feel for what it’s like to wear a full-body harness.” Additional simulators cover confined spaces, trenching, scaffolding, fall protection, residential roofing, and more.
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What RMS Clients Say “RMS is not a consultant that will come in and just go with your flow; RMS will challenge your flow. Our goal is to one day win the Excellence in Safety Crystal Eagle Award [from CCS]. RMS is helping us propagate that throughout our organization and get us to that goal. If we never win it but we’re always sending everybody home safe every day, then what else can we ask for?”
Mark Mason, President and CEO, Blood Hound Inc., Brownsburg, Indiana
Case Study: Management System Analysis Blood Hound, Inc.
“We worked with RMS to identify and track leading safety indicators so we don’t have to worry about the incidents that turn into trailing indicators,” said Mark Mason, Blood Hound’s President and CEO. For instance, with the company’s driver safety program, “They helped us refine how we approach employees and coach drivers when they have an incident. Our employees aren’t even getting involved in accidents that aren’t their fault now because they learned the safety habits to stay away from unsafe drivers.” Mason also credits RMS with helping to simplify safety initiatives. “If we bring it down to a smaller piece, whether it’s the safety message we send to employees or a CCS submittal, sometimes less is best. It’s more easily understood.”
How Strong Is Your Defense? When litigation occurs, RMS helps compa-
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nies evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the case. “If a worker gets seriously hurt or killed on a construction site, there’s likely to be litigation claiming someone failed in their duty to keep that accident from happening,” Lindenschmidt said. “Because of the multi-employer nature of construction, the contractor, general contractor or construction manager, and potentially the owner may all be sued.” Attorneys for the plaintiff or defendant often contract with RMS for expert testimony. “My role is simply to evaluate the facts and let them know my opinion as to accident causality—who was responsible as I see it,” Lindenschmidt said. “If it provides them with what they’re looking for, they retain me to move forward. If it doesn’t, then they’re educated on the potential weaknesses of their case. I don’t serve the attorney; I’m trying to educate a potential jury about the facts and my opinion of usual and customary practices to create an explanation of who’s responsible.” That experience helps RMS with other
services. “We see how attorneys work and how cases are evaluated in the courtroom so we can bring that knowledge to our clients,” Lindenschmidt said. “We want our clients to avoid those situations. But we can tell them if it does happen, here’s where you want to be with your documentation to prove to a jury you’re doing what’s reasonable in safety management.” RMS also helps defend clients cited by OSHA. “We have seasoned professionals who worked for OSHA, served on OSHA’s Board of Safety Review, and were involved with the investigation of serious injuries and the defense of violations,” Beswick said. “They bring real-world experience to help clients deal with citations and make any adjustments necessary to avoid future issues.”
Preventing Accidents through Design RMS also looks to the future of safety management. “We’re positioning ourselves to support what’s coming down the pike,” Lindenschmidt said. “For instance, Pre-
vention through Design (PtD) looks at how we build things, to the benefit of the user and the constructor. Historically, we have simply tried to control the usual hazards of building construction and maintenance with more safety rules and PPE. We need to tackle the design of these projects in effort to totally eliminate or greatly reduce the hazards before we even start the construction.” A basic example is reducing the fall hazards of working at elevations by designing the building structure to facilitate subassembly on the ground and integrating fall protection to control the exposure to serious falls. “Let’s not wait until construction phase starts to try and control hazards but let’s eliminate the hazards in the design phase” says Lindenschmidt. Prevention through Design is still gaining traction, Lindenschmidt said. “Some get it already and know it’s good business. But we’re way behind Europe and Australia; they codify it and require it as law. We’re not there yet, but it’s the next frontier in
the U.S. We already have an ANSI standard that sets it as a consensus, but only few have stepped up to the plate.” Lindenschmidt expects owners to eventually demand that architects and designers utilize Prevention through Design. For now, RMS provides presentations to help educate the industry on how the strategy can impact their business, prevent injuries, and provide a positive return on their investment.
Eliminating Strains and Sprains To help companies reduce some of the less-visible but still costly workplace injuries, RMS employs ergonomics experts like Mariner. “The loss leaders are mostly musculoskeletal situations—strains, sprains, lower back, or upper extremities,” he said. “Those injuries typically don’t happen overnight and they don’t heal overnight. We want to do the best we can to avoid ergonomic stressors. In the construction industry, the biggest step is preventing manual material handling through mechanical assists and engineering opportunities.” Hines added, “A lot of the injuries could
be prevented through design, which would save the company money in the long-run.” However, sometimes the stressors can’t be totally eliminated. “With repetitive tasks like roofing, drywalling, or flooring, workers are in some very unique and awkward postures,” Mariner said. “We need to be proactive and address those activities with practical solutions such as job rotation, better skill sets, or better tools and education.” In addition to ergonomic solutions, RMS’ team of general industry professionals specialize in industrial hygiene and other safety issues for those who may never step foot on a construction job site. “We want to make sure all employees go home to enjoy the things they love,” Mariner said. “Construction and engineering/architectural companies have other employees who participate in their overall deliverables; it’s not just guys in the field but people in their headquarters and shop, too.”
we all hold near and dear is helping everyone in a servant way,” Lindenschmidt said. “We want to follow the best example of servant leadership, Jesus Christ, and apply our God-given talents.” For Beswick, “That philosophy means treating others as I want to be treated and doing everything to serve the Lord. Every client is important from a business standpoint. But I also know that every little thing I do is something I’m laying down at God’s feet.” Hines shared the Scripture that drives the business: Colossians 3:23, which says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord and not for human masters.” That belief often strengthens customer relationships in new ways, she said. “This is the one company where I’ve been able to put Scripture or something positive in my signature line. You wouldn’t believe the amount of communication that drives
from clients. I think it allows them to think they can open up more and it brings a personal side to our business. When that communication opens up, they soon find out that we not only provide “safety services”, but also prayer.” Beswick added, “You don’t have to be a Christian to work for RMS and you don’t need to share our beliefs to be a client, but we’re open to talking about it with those who are interested.” In quiet ways, the company’s servant leadership approach drives better customer service. “It’s always been our motto to do a good job, spend every client’s money like it’s ours, be ethical, and use our God-given talents as best we can to serve Him,” Lindenschmidt said. “What I’m most proud of is the quality of people on our team. We’re collectively doing really good work with all the right motivation and that’s important to me.”
A Foundation of Servant Leadership With all of RMS’ services, “The attitude
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JOHN LINDENSCHMIDT
KEVIN BESWICK
President
Manager Construction Services
KRISTIN GEARY
ERIC HARTLEY
RICHARD NENNIG
KAPENA O’NEAL
Ergonomic and Wellness Specialist
Project Safety Manager
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Safety Advisor
Safety Advisor
MIKE MARINER
DARREN BAKER
JUDY HILKERT
TAMMY K HINES
Director Industry and Ergonomics
Manager ofTraining & Administration
BOBBY PURVIS
Project Lead Safety Manager
Safety Advisor
ANGELA BESWICK
Accounting/HR Benefits Coordinator
LINDSEY JONAITIS
Project Safety Manager
Senior Safety Specialist, MSBA, PHR
STEVE BOESTER
KARI BOWMAN,
TOM MCCOY
ROBIN MARTH
DAN MILLER
JOHN BLANKENSHIP
Senior Safety Advisor
Safety Specialist, MS, CAPS
Project Safety Manager
LEAH SAYLORS
LISA SCHUITEBOER
KEVIN VINSON
Special Projects Coordinator
Ergonomic Specialist
HSE Specialist
Safety Specialist
KEITH WHITE
Project Safety Manager
Ergonomic Specialist
Safety Advisor
CHRISTINA WORRALL
Ergonomics Advisor/Administration
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8227 Northwest Boulevard, Suite 230 — Indianapolis, IN 46278 — Phone: 317-872-8227
RMS-Safety.com