Safety is more than liability protection

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how making safety a part of your company culture can lead to a more cohesive team. 

Safety is a crucial part of any business, but especially in more high-risk fields such as roofing. Many contractors use guidelines such as OSHA to help them create the safety practices in their companies. This is a great first step, but those that go a little bit further and start building safety culture on top of those practices will find a variety of benefits awaiting them. In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Karen Edwards sat down with Eric Vittardi to talk about this and how SafetyHQ, a Foundation Software brand, can fit into that. 

Safety is a longstanding conversation in the roofing industry, with staple issues such as fall protection always on peoples’ minds. But the topics encompassed in safety extend far beyond just that one issue. Eric explained, “Safety issues include drugs and alcohol. Mental health is also absolutely huge. We want to show that safety is about the full spectrum, it's the employee as a whole.” One of the key ways to build this more holistic perspective and culture of safety is keeping open dialogues. Eric shared a bit from his experience back in the field, saying, “I remember being a young guy doing a lot of that type of work and you don't want to speak up to the concerns that you have about this or that. You don't want to be the guy that's slowing things down.” By talking about issues or near-misses in a constructive way, rather than calling someone out or penalizing them, you can raise safety awareness, create a space for people to speak up and overall make your team stronger.  

Not only does having a well-rounded perspective on safety ensure that your company is legally safe, but it also helps you with employee retention. Eric explained, “Especially with the hiring environment as it is, it's tough to find people. So you have to really invest in those people that you have on your job sites as it is. Getting skilled labor is difficult, replacing skilled labor is even more difficult. So if for nothing else, invest in the team that you have so that they're there.”  

And SafetyHQ’s technology is here to make that investment as seamless as possible. Their software is specifically designed to aid contractors in navigating safety and compliance in construction. Eric explained, “What we really try and do is help a lot of contractors simplify and manage their safety program for them. So as far as helping track and manage things like JHAs, toolbox talks, incident reports, data and analysis associated with all those things so that you can make decisions on leading indicators before they become accidents.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the episode to learn more about building a safety culture and how SafetyHQ, a Foundation software, can help you do that.