When someone thinks about safety and the fire protection industry – they most likely may be thinking about exit routes or emergency action plans, fire prevention plans or ventilation plans for their facilities. While this is all important and applies to the safety of your facilities and its occupants, we also think of safety in the sense of safe working environment for our employees!
In the industry related to the maintenance and operations of a facility the safety of the employees and occupants is critical. A safe working environment limits accidents on the job or by visitors of the facility.
Why is this important? It helps keep your costs lower as a consumer. A fire protection company with a low EMR number means they have less on the job injuries, making your expenses lower and your job timelines on track with a lower chance to delay a project due to a jobsite accident. A safe environment is also a moral and a legal requirement to all public spaces.
Western States Fire Protection: Commitment to Zero
Is it ok for anyone to go home injured? If you said yes, we need to talk. The answer should be no, of course it is not ok for anyone to go home injured to their loved ones. That is why Western States has set the goal for all offices to ZERO injuries and ZERO preventable claims. It is possible to achieve zero injuries and zero preventable claims too; just look at our 2017 numbers. There were ZERO injuries reported in some months. Not zero recordable injuries… ZERO injuries, period.
BHAG
Though ZERO injuries and preventable claims are Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs), they are the right goals from multiple standpoints:
- Morally – again, sending each other home to their loved ones is the right thing to do and what we need to strive for every day!
- Legally – OSHA does state that all workers have the right to work free of recognized hazards. What does that mean for us? There will be another article discussing this specifically. It is the responsibility of all WSFP employees to look for and eliminate hazards on our job sites.
- Business-sense – Future work is affected by past claims and experience. Right or wrong, that is the world we live in. When someone gets hurt, the claim follows WSFP for at least 4 years. Preventable water spill claims and at-fault auto accidents can take years to settle and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This affects everyone and our ability to get insurance.
Zero injuries and preventable claims is not about saving money, but about doing the right thing. If you see hazards that could potentially hurt someone, even if it’s not directly related to you or your job, you have the responsibility, authority and obligation to say something or correct the hazard. ZERO is achievable if we work together as a Team and look out for each other.
“Remember Safety is not a thing, it is a culture and a frame of mind. ZERO is possible but first everyone must believe, starting at the top!!” – Rick Charles, Executive Vice President
Learn more about Western States Fire Protection and our Steps for Safety.