The roofing industry in the North East is complicated to say the least. At S&S Roofing, we serve a wide swath of that region — from Virginia to Massachusetts. The thing about being so mobile and covering a huge geographic region is getting all of our crews on the same page. One thing that we take pride in is our commitment to safety, and all of our commercial roofing crews are on board with our safety program.
As with anything, the culture of safety has got to be a cornerstone of any roofing business. The risks are just too high (no pun intended), to trust to chance and if everyone on the crew is constantly thinking about safety the rest will take care of itself. A safe company will maintain a level of performance that companies that do not focus on safety may lack. Safety not only benefits the employees when they are on the job but the company as a whole. Join us today as we talk a bit about safety in the commercial roofing industry. Because we feel like this subject is extremely important to everyone.
Safety is a Mindset
When you embark on a large task, what is the overall goal? Generally completion is the ultimate end goal, but the framework around the task involves much more thought and planning. There are all sorts of moving parts like budgets, materials, permitting, and personnel, all of which contribute to the job being finished on time. In the industry today, safety has become one of the integral parts of the planning process. After all if an accident occurs, and if it is serious enough, the possibility of the jobsite being shut down for an extended period of time is entirely possible. This means that every safety measure possible must be in place before the job starts. The easiest way to do this is to instill how critical safety is into your workforce. Making safety your number one priority reinforces this mindset in your employees.
Safety as a Culture
Twenty-five years ago, safety was present but not very well addressed. The incidents still occurred but the focus was not as great on safety as it is today. When you hire a new employee, they should be safety minded from the get-go. Regardless of their previous experience, every employee should be required to attend safety training and have an open opportunity to identify potential safety issues no matter if on the jobsite or in the office. A company that makes safety part of its culture will accept critical safety related observations from the boots on the ground as well as office personnel. Sometimes a pair of fresh eyes are what is needed to identify a potential problem. If everyone participates in this safety mindset the safety record should reflect the culture.
Mandatory Safety Training
You will always have those that are resistant to the safety program and the idea that working safely benefits everyone. This is a situation that you need to watch closely as an indifferent attitude towards safety can quickly spread. The best way to combat this is to hold regular safety trainings and meetings. While some employees may roll their eyes when a safety briefing is made mandatory, most of them generally are receptive to learning new ideas, especially if you take pride in your safety program. Many roofing companies will hold daily safety tag-ups that get employees thinking about a certain keyword or focus for the day. Anything you can do to get safety in front of each and every employee the better.
Bring Safety Home
Practicing safe working conditions at home and on the jobsite is one of the best ways to get yourself thinking about safety. When you bring it home, it really reinforces the behavior. Safety as a whole used to fall on the employee, in today’s roofing industry the responsibility is on the employer as well as the employee. Safety benefits everyone, it helps get the job done faster, it keeps employees from missing work due to injury, and financially, the employer will not have to deal with workers compensation.
Develop A Comprehensive Safety Program
If you are a company that does roofing, or anything requiring any degree of heightened safety awareness the best thing to do is to establish a comprehensive safety program, if you don’t have one already. Your employees and your bottom line will thank you in the long run.
At S&S Roofing, we know what safety means to the completion of the project and that is why we have become one of the most trusted commercial roofers in New Jersey and all along the East Coast. We take the safety of our crews very seriously but still are able to finish the project in time. If you need maintenance, repairs, or replacement of your commercial roof, please contact us today and remember, be safe out there.