Proactive Approach

Safety

all team members includes reviews on emergency procedures, resident transfers, standard precautions, proper use of personal protective equipment, chemical safety and vehicle safety. Other department-specific annual training includes ladder safety, lockout/tag-out electrical safety and safe injection practices.

“While some of the basic review material is presented in an online self-study format, our team members find the most valuable training time comes from hands-on exercises, drills, skill check-offs and interactive discussions,” Bentley said. “Additionally, all directcare and most other team members in the company are adult CPR/ AED certified and renew this certification every two years.”

Technology Keeping Employees Safe

“In the forklift space there’s a ton of innovative technology happening right now to keep people safe,” Brink said.

This includes operator assistance technology and impact technology, which allows the firm to monitor its fleet of trucks in order to identify areas of the operation that are heavily prone to forklift impacts as well as to identify people in the organization or topics that need to be trained because of what the company can see happening with its fleet.

“For instance, you [set the rule that] in this area I’m going to limit the speed of the fork truck, or I’m going to restrict the truck from this area of the warehouse because that’s where people are,” Brink said.

The operator assistance technologies provide real-time information that helps the company set up rules and guidelines on the vehicles so operators have a better awareness of conditions around them.

“We carry hundreds and hundreds of products, and I think you see safety equipment becoming more available and having more options all the time,” Brink said. “But the truck lifts specifically is an area of focus for us, and the technical products that are becoming available are a big piece of that. There are lots of things that you can do with industrial equipment now that can dramatically increase safety.”

QLI’s latest innovation has been the addition of hands-free mobile communication badges for its direct care teams.

“These badges help team members connect instantly with one another, which not only improves resident care, but also provides a platform to broadcast information quickly in the event of a security concern or emergency situation,” Bentley said. “We also recently added an improved web application that allows for HIPAAcompliant communication company-wide and within work teams. This is yet another way we can get information out quickly when needed to keep our team members and residents safe.”