The Importance of Training for Jobsite Safety

MCS Influencer Randy Chaffee says that roofing and construction companies should be cognizant of their safety practices because they could save a life.

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of an interview between our Multimedia Manager, Megan Ellsworth, and Owner of Source One Marketing, Randy Chaffee. You can listen to the interview or read the transcript below.

Megan Ellsworth: Alright, hello everyone, my name is Megan Ellsworth here at metalcoffeeshop.com, back again for another influencer response and I'm here with Randy Chaffee. Hi, Randy!

Randy Chaffee: Hey Megan, how are ya?

Megan Ellsworth: Good. It was so good to see you last week at METALCON Excited to hear what you have to say about this month's topic.

Randy Chaffee: You got me. It was great to see you and Heidi and everybody out there. Good show at METALCON as always.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, it was a great show. All right, so this month's question is, how is safety changing on the job site and what should contractors be aware of?

Randy Chaffee: I think the biggest change with safety is to be conscious of it. There's so many of our, you know, there's people that will get really involved with the safety and understand using all the tie-offs and all the fencing and all the things they're supposed to do. But it's a little concerning at times, the number of people that don't adhere to those things and they don't pay attention to those things.

It's really important because it only takes one time to not only have a disaster for your business, but a disaster for somebody's life, right? And it takes that one moment. And I think it really starts with using associations, whether it's NERC or whether it's the NFBA or whether it's whatever associations you belong to, almost all the associations have the ability to help you with that. They have plans written, they have outlines you can use, you can literally plug and play a lot of times and to put it into your business.

And it's unfortunate that we don't promote that more probably as an industry. And in most of the industries out there also have legal assistance to help you if you get yourself in trouble with OSHA or some of those from time to time. So I think the real key is probably culture to begin with. You've got to decide as that business owner that that's one thing that's a pain. Nobody wants to do it because it's extra cost, extra time, extra issues.

But what is the cost from an individual that works for you, losing their life or losing their ability to work. Just having that on your head, right? But let alone the fact of the actual legal cost that happens if happened on your job site. So I think it really comes back to being cognizant of the importance of doing that and just deciding it has to happen. Appointing a safety officer, which most companies will do, and even as small companies can still have that person that's in charge. Let's just train our people, make it part of what we do. So, that's the real short version of a long subject.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. I love that you said that it kind of goes hand in hand with culture, like cultivating a culture of safety within even just the office, let alone the job site. That's so important.

Randy Chaffee: Well, it is, because you think about, even in the office, ergonomic chairs and just the little things that we do. And it all comes from, we're going to make this a safe environment for our employees, because I think that's important. I think we all deserve that. And if we're employees, and we all owe that if we're employers, to have a safe environment for our people. And I think people will be more perceptive of doing their job.

Megan Ellsworth: Right.

Randy Chaffee: If they feel like the company they work for cares about them, right? It's just all part of that ongoing culture. So I think that's where it has to start. And like I said, it's not that complicated. Well, that's me back up. It is pretty complicated. Safety is a tough, complicated issue. But there's a lot of help, I guess, is what I want to say. You don't have to do it on your own. Yeah, you don't have to go spend the tens of thousands of dollars, maybe, or more with attorneys and do a lot of those things.

So many of as I mentioned, these associations that we all are involved with have so much of that done on a regular basis that is really, again, that's one of the benefits of being involved with associations, right? A lot of people, especially contractors, independent nature as they are, will tend to, I don't want to belong to this association, there's nothing there for me. Well, that's one of the big things right there, is the fact that they can partake with thousands of other people and it's already been done for them. And again, like I said, there's a lot of cases.

Megan Ellsworth: Right.

Randy Chaffee: It's really almost plug and plays. Just take this booklet. Here's the training manual. It's already written for you. Here's how you lay out a training program from a safety standpoint. And here's how you implement it and here's how you document even to how do you handle when accidents do happen, right? That's important too. And you just don't wanna be on your own with that. But the last beauty of being involved with any of the associations is if worst case something does happen.

You do have some backing. You don't have to go out alone. You don't have to fight OSHA alone. You don't have to fight the legal system alone. If you do get in trouble, it's nice to have that backing of somebody, right?

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Have a community behind you.

Randy Chaffee: Exactly. So that would be my biggest suggestion is if you're not doing it. It's a little late when you got a guy in the hospital and you got that call, right? That's kind of a bad time to think about. Maybe I should have done this.

Megan Ellsworth: Right? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, Randy, what great advice. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. I am excited to hear what you have to say next month.

Randy Chaffee: You got it. We'll see you next month, if not before. All right. All right. Thanks, Megan. Good talk, as always. Cheers.

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome, fabulous, see you then!