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Every first Tuesday of the month the Bencardino Excavating safety committee meets in a conference room to brush up on jobsite safety procedures and discuss ways to improve the well being of employees.

“It’s definitely a good thing for employees,” says Chris Cannon, Bencardino Excavating employee and current chairperson of the safety committee. “It keeps us staying aware on-sites.” The safety committee is made up of five Bencardino employees. Each member has been randomly appointed and will be swapped out after one year on the committee. This periodic turnover gets more of the Bencardino team involved and educated on workplace safety.

This month’s meeting refreshed existing committee members and educated the committee’s newest member Andy Payne, for the first time on the safety certification requirements as outlined by the Department of Labor & Industry. The presentation covers topics including: onsite hazard detection and inspection, investigation techniques, reports and the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

The safety procedures reviewed each month are extremely important in keeping proactive about staying accident-free everyday on the job site, but particularly this time of year, when the excavating and construction season picks up, more jobs and new employees means more potential for hazards.

Louis A. Bencardino, owner of Bencardino Excavating, prides his business on being a safe, healthy work environment for all employees. It is his hope that the committee will bring the tools and lessons learned during these monthly meetings on job sites to set a precedent for safety.

Here are some simple ways to be proactive about keeping your employees safe and worksites accident-free:

? AWARENESS

o Learn how to identify risks and hazards and share with fellow employees

o Have managers review past accident reports to become aware of any risks that may be associated with equipment or jobsites

o Encourage employees to walk jobsites regularly to identify potential hazards which may often go overlooked

? COMMUNICATION

o Keep an open communication between managers and employees and encourage employees to report any potential hazards and make suggestions for safety improvements on-site

o Brief all new employees on jobsite safety before beginning work

For May’s committee meeting members have been asked to bring their hardhats and look forward an exercise in the field. At Bencardino Excavating, workplace safety is a priority to keep the employees healthy and deliver high quality service to every client.