Safety: The Focal Point of Sy-Con
At Sy-Con, we don't skimp on safety.
I can hear it now: "But Sy, come on, this ditch we've got doesn't seem deep enough to bench."
Live by the book. If a ditch caves in and someone gets hurt, you're not only dealing with workers' compensation (also called workman's comp) and all sorts of red tape, now you've got a guy hurt, and it belittles the safety culture. Every guy should get home to their family at night in great shape. That should be your focus.
Big, small, it doesn't matter. Wear your hard hat. Put on that vest. I'll make these points time and again. If you want the truth about safety in excavation, check out the video below:
Safety is the focal point of what we do at Sy-Con. I'm going to walk you through why it's important and give you some tips that we follow.
The Real Impact of Safety
Construction safety goes beyond putting your hard hat on when you're on the job site. It's got to be at the core of what you do. There's a cost for cutting corners, and it can be a high one. That's why we don't skip it. We have our tailgate meetings. We collaborate. We know what's expected of us, and we do it with pride because those rules are in place to get us all home to our families.
The Human Cost of Cutting Corners
It's an obvious thing to write, but it's worth emphasizing: construction is one of the most dangerous industries to work in. The machines are powerful. The equipment is heavy. The sites are filled with tripping hazards. Holes here. Wires there.
(Quick rabbit trail: Have you ever heard the clip of Howard Cosell making the call when George Foreman knocked down Joe Frazier? "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" That's what we see happening more than we should when someone forgets their steeled toes with grip and doesn't have their head on a swivel.)
There are all sorts of hazards that can lead to serious injuries or worse. You've got to wear the right equipment. And you've got to follow all safety guidelines set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Why?
Not to get too grim here, but many of the deaths that happen in construction could have been prevented. It's tragic. Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in our industry. Having a plan, communicating the plan, equipping your team, knowing the hazards, and preparing for the worst can really keep people safe. Working from heights is no joke. Prioritize your people's well-being.
Building More than Structures
Workers who know their leaders value their safety and follow the rules themselves are more likely to buy in. If they're not, get them out of there. Build a culture of safety. Let guys who want to step up take point. Let them handle quality control (QC) and the safety side as a whole. Wesley is handling a lot of the safety and QC work for us.
What matters most is that we're talking about safety before we go and do the work. When everyone is on the same page, it creates a synergy. All that effort and alignment on safety results in a better end result.
The Business of Safety
Our commitment to safety is all about our people, but it's good for business, too. Construction companies have to pay out a good chunk of change for work-related injuries. According to the Visionary Law Group, businesses in our industry have to pay $3,054 each year in workers' comp. When someone gets hurt, you could see your insurance rates increase, your medical costs pile, and you're a man down. Cue project delays. Productivity decreases, and the safety culture dips. Companies that maintain excellent safety are helping themselves in the long run.
Many workers in today's competitive job market choose employers who prove their dedication to worker well-being. Safety reputation functions as a strong tool for recruitment because it allows organizations to capture excellent talent. Professional safety measures in construction create an environment where workers can perform their tasks with confidence. Everyone benefits when safety practices are executed properly because workers stay healthy and project operations become more efficient. You can build a successful, safe construction business if you commit to some of the following safety tips.
Five Safety Tips
1. Know What's Happening Across the Entire Job Site
Construction sites are always changing. The equipment and the location of other team members can move frequently. Then there's the weather. A lot can happen. If your team isn't paying attention, a lot can go wrong.
That's why you can't skip those tailgate meetings. Make sure everyone is on the same page. Everybody has to be aware of what's going on around them. It's not an industry where you can solo everything. Talk to your guys and make sure they're always alert, thinking things like:
Is there equipment operating nearby?
Are there overhead hazards?
Who's next to me, and what are they up to?
What are our goals for today?
What equipment and machinery are around me?
Invest in some handheld radios and keep open lines of communication. You want to create a culture where guys feel comfortable asking questions and feeling like they're in a safe spot. Situational awareness is everything.
2. Maintain Three Points of Contact
In life, a lot of bad things follow the phrase, "It ain't gonna happen to me."
Maintaining three points of contact is one of those rules in our industry. If you think you're going to use one hand to carry up some tools rather than wearing a belt or getting it lifted up, you're asking for trouble.
Slow down. Be smart.
Always make sure the guys on your team have two hands along with one foot or two feet together with one hand while working with ladders or using equipment or scaffolding systems. If everybody followed this, we'd have a lot less bad outcomes in our line of work.
3. Use Personal Protective Equipment Properly
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be used correctly and continuously throughout each shift. The fit of your hard hat needs to be tight. Your safety glasses should meet impact resistance standards and match the requirements of whatever it is you're working on. Check your PPE often. If you're working from heights, make sure your harnesses are in good shape and worked up right.
4. Get to Know Your State OSHA Board
Work with your state's OSHA board. They're a great resource. I get it. It seems a little counterintuitive. For the last four years, we've invited Arkansas OSHA to come review us.
No, it's not some pie-in-the-sky meeting. Yes, they do write up things we need to improve on and talk with our teams.
But at the end of the day, we're having them out to our job sites because you want to be having those conversations with the state board, not the feds. You want to improve your procedures and culture before the big dogs swing by and start really marking up your business and putting you on ice. The things you'll learn from your state OSHA are invaluable. Use their markups to improve your processes and make things even safer for your team. Your state board team can act as a buffer when the federal teams are in your neck of the woods — showing all that you're working on.
5. Follow Lockout/Tagout Procedures
Hazardous energy sources are no joke. The operation of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, or thermal equipment must follow appropriate lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures before any work can begin. The OSHA website has a ton of information on any safety topic you can think of, and their page on LOTO has all you need to get started. They gave this example of things that can happen when it comes to hazardous energy and improper LOTO procedures:
A steam valve is automatically turned and burns the workers who are repairing a downstream connection in the piping.
A jammed conveyor system suddenly releases, crushing a worker who is trying to clear the jam.
Internal wiring on a piece of factory equipment electrically shorts, shocking the worker who is repairing the equipment.
Sy-Con and a Ripple Effect of Safety
We want safety to be at the forefront of everything we're doing. Our guys need to feel comfortable asking questions and making sure they understand every aspect of their work and the sites they're on. At Sy-Con, we collaborate. We want to create a ripple effect of safety: I prioritize it, our safety leaders take charge, and everybody pitches in so we can all go home happy and healthy. Listen, when your team embraces safety practices individually they generate an upward wave that benefits the entire job site. When they work together as a unit, supervisors can focus on productivity improvement instead of reacting to accidents. It's good for the people who work in the industry. It's also good for business.
