Safety Topic: Protecting Our Customers' Properties

Luis, Mynor & Ruben after this week's Safety Training

Did you know that Kane Landscapes has won Safety Acheivment Awards from the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) for 8 years in a row? Safety is a top priority for Kane, which is why we conduct weekly saftey trainings. Not only are we concerned for our employees's safety, but also for the safety of our customers and their properties. That is why this week's safety topic is "Protecting Our Customers' Properties".

Our customers' “property” can include their house, deck, porch, sidewalk, fence, cars, plants, grass, etc.  When we begin work on a property, our employees are trained to think about the work we are going to be doing and the potential damage that could be done to a property.  Damage typically comes from four main causes:  flying materials, travel ways, material storage, and operator error.

Flying Materials: Our employees are trained on how material is going to fly away from each tool and piece of equipment that they use to make sure materials are thrown away from the home, property, and people.

Travel Ways:  When beginning a landscape project our employees look at where the work is going to be performed and look at how we are going to get the material/equipment there.  If it is a long distance and/or a lot of trips are required it is best to try to establish some sort of path to reduce the amount of damage and therefore repairs.  If it is a pretty short job site a plywood path may be the best option.  If it is larger project even the plywood will cause damage to the turf causing it to have to be replaced.  So, cutting out the pathway with a sod cutter is the way to go.  When repairing a path it is easier to grade and level soil and lay sod than it is to remove uneven sod then grade, level, and sod.

Material Storage: The most damage caused from material storage is from bulk materials such as mulch or stone.  When dumping a load of bulk materials our employees must always lay a tarp under the load.  The tarp helps protect the surface underneath while dumping, loading, and helps for a quicker cleanup.  A tarp should also always be used when unloading materials from the bed of a truck to help catch extra material. 

Operator Error:  This is the most common type of error.  It is the responsibility of all of our employees to work safely, not only for personal safety but to prevent property damage.  Our employees are trained to wear protective gear appropriate for each task they perform, to operate machinery safely, and to perform all of their work safely and efficiently.