INFORM
COMPANY PROFILE
THE TOP PRIORITY
HOW A S OUTH CAROLINA LANDSCAPE COMPANY INTEGRATES SAFETY INTO ALL OPERATIONS
G
o home from work the same way you came in. This is what employees with The Greenery landscape company say each morning as a commitment to stay safe and healthy on the clock. The Greenery is a full-service commercial landscaping organization operating through 12 branches across the southeast. Seventy percent of the business operations are commercial maintenance, and they provide some construction and design services. The Greenery launched in 1973 and became employee-owned about 12 years ago. The company has a lot of success stories, but their
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proudest accomplishment is not their wide reach or profitability, though. It is their low injury record. Administrators for The Greenery say safety is their top priority. They’ve developed an extensive safety plan and training course to integrate safety protocols in all daily activities.
EVERYTHING WE DO REVOLVES AROUND SAFETY
TRAINING/SAFETY RODEOS
the field and will even still drive a skid-steer if need be. “Any meeting we have starts off with safety. If it’s a crew meeting, if it’s an admin meeting, if it’s a meeting in the field or in operations, they all start with safety,” says Director of Workforce Development and Safety Jerry Ashmore.
“I can relate well with our folks. I can understand some of the issues that they face, and hopefully I can help them resolve things,” he says.
Jerry joined the green industry by cutting grass in high school, then earned two landscaperelated degrees and worked his way up during 21 years with the company. He tells teams that he understands firsthand what it is like to be in
That connection helps Jerry develop and push out safety strategies to field teams. He played a key role in developing the company’s safety standards using direction from similar sized companies in the U.S.,
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