Rancho Mesa's Lauren Stumpf and Account Executive of the Landscape Group Greg Garcia discuss three ways to improve safety in the workplace.

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Director/Producer/Host: ⁠Lauren Stumpf⁠

Guest: Greg Garcia

Editor: Megan Lockhart

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

Transcript

Alyssa Burley: Hi, this is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today's top Rancho Mesa News, brought to you by our safety and risk management network, StudioOne™.

Lauren Stumpf: Welcome back everyone, this is Lauren Stumpf, Rancho Mesa’s Media Communications and Client Services Specialist. My guest today is Greg Garcia, Account Executive in the Landscape Group with Rancho Mesa. Greg specializes in providing commercial insurance and risk management to lawn and landscape businesses. Today, we’re going to discuss three ways to improve safety in the workplace. Greg, thank you for joining us.

Greg Garcia: Hey Lauren, great to be back in StudioOne™, thanks for having me.

LS: It seems obvious that every company should strive to create the safest work environment possible. Having a strong safety culture is not only, most importantly, beneficial for employees’ health and well-being, but is helps keep claims down and control insurance costs. Greg, can you explain to us ways in which a company can improve their safety?

GG: Yeah, absolutely. First, routine maintenance and cleaning of equipment is essential for any landscape company wanting to ensure all of their equipment is running properly and is ready for a day’s work. From a safety standpoint, we see the biggest risk comes from those companies who use sprayers to fertilize lawns and plants for their clients. By not cleaning out the sprayers daily, landscape companies are putting their employees at risk of being exposed to pesticides and herbicides, which can be detrimental to the employee’s heath.

LS: So, it sounds like routinely checking and cleaning pieces of equipment can not only improve a company’s productivity and profitability by making sure the equipment is ready for work, but can also lead to a much safer working environment for their employees. Greg can you give us another way landscape companies can boost their safety?

GG: Absolutely, the next one would be personal protective equipment, PPE, which is one of the most important things landscape companies can use to protect themselves while working. Whether it be thorny bushes they have to cut back, the use of loud chainsaws or mowers, or just the effects of being out in the sun, it is important to assess the job site hazards and then make the proper PPE choices. A few examples that landscape companies are doing to help their employees fight the effects of being exposed to the sun are wearing long sleeve shirts, wearing sun hats that provide shade to the face and neck, and finally, wearing proper sunglasses to help with the heavy glare. Always keeping up to date and staying informed on proper PPE will ensure that your landscape company is doing all they can to help stay safe.

LS: Okay, so now that we’ve covered routine equipment maintenance and personal protective equipment, can you tell our listeners a third way to improve safety?

GG: Yeah of course, and we kind of touched on this earlier, but that would be addressing job site hazards is vital for companies in the landscape industry. Whether it be safety managers, supervisors, or foremen, they need to get out to job sites early and really see what hazards are out there. For example, look to see if there are any poisonous plants at the jobsite, are there any pieces of debris, or puddles in the walk ways that could create a trip and fall hazard. All of these exposures need to be noted to ensure everyone is aware of potential risks. Every jobsite is different, so it is crucial that your team remain proactive and really hone in on the potential risks at each particular jobsite.

LS: I can for sure see how analyzing jobsite hazards ahead of time would be very beneficial for a landscape company’s safety program. As well as ensuring employees are wearing proper PPE and keeping up on the maintenance of equipment. Greg, before we conclude, do you have anything else to add?

GG: Yeah I would say, if equipment checks, PPE checks, and job site checks are not currently in your landscape company’s safety routine, I would strongly suggest starting that routine, today. There are safety resources in our Risk Management Center that clients can utilize to help improve their safety program.

LS: Absolutely, and listeners can subscribe to our weekly landscape-specific safety emails to ensure they are getting relevant training materials weekly. We will include a link to sign up in the episode notes.

Greg, if listeners have questions about more ways to improve safety in the workplace, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?

GG: Yeah I can be reached at (619) 438-6905 or ggarcia@ranchomesa.com.

LS: Greg, thank you so much for joining me in StudioOne™.

GG: Awesome Lauren, thanks for having me.

AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning into our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information, visit us at RanchoMesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.