July 2023 - 55

MANAGEMENT
OSHA [The Occupational Safety and Health Administration]
standards that we have to have a specific program in place?
It's not just the safety and health documents that talk
about the overall safety program. Does [the retailer] have
powered industrial trucks? Do they have different types of
equipment? Are they using hazardous chemicals? For most
garden centers, the answer would be yes.
" Hazardous chemicals are not limited to your typical
plant pesticides, though, " he says. " It could be they're
using ordinary household cleaning products more than a
typical household would. Or they're using different types of
hazardous chemicals in the facility, such as paint, gasoline
or liquid propane gas. "
He says garden centers should have a handle on where
they need improvements, such as where injuries or
accidents have occurred, and then focus on those areas
with a methodical approach.
" Focus on the things that are causing problems right now
or the tasks that are more likely to cause somebody to get
hurt and try to take it step by step. "
He says garden centers can work with their insurance
provider if they have a safety services or safety department.
In addition, he says OSHA has resources and materials on
osha.gov for companies to identify OSHA standards and
requirements, as well as to help with complying to those
policies or requirements.
Safety From the Top Down
Policies and procedures can go a long way toward
making a garden center a safe place to shop and work, but
how can management get their staff on board with safety
policies - especially seasonal or hourly workers?
" I think that the biggest thing is leadership, " Bruce
says. " Having a strong message from the owner, the
upper management and the company, and then making
sure that the supervisors and the crew leaders are all
properly trained and understand the importance of
workplace safety. "
He says, from the start, garden centers should have a
For lifting and handling injuries, he says IGCs " should
have a formal training program in place. Identify the
common things that employees have to move and
determine the safest way to move them. Do they need
to have a piece of equipment to do it? How much weight
should they lift on their own? Maximum weight varies by
the person, but typically it's between 40 and 50 pounds;
some companies set it lower than that. "
He says garden centers should do an assessment to
figure out what their people commonly move, then come
up with training and the procedures on how to do it safely.
How to Get Started
As important as workplace safety programs are, not all
retailers have a program in place. Bruce suggests, for IGCs
without a current plan, to first do a needs assessment or
a gap assessment to see where they are: " What are the
" stop-work procedure " or " stop-work policy " in place and
train employees that it's OK to stop if they think they're
doing something that is unsafe or could cause injury.
" So many times, people - especially those at the
associate level - feel pressure that they have to get it
done, and they don't have the time for safety. If a stopwork-policy
is really driven down from the management
team, it can go a long way to get everybody involved and
prevent injuries. "
An incident reporting program should also be in place,
where employees are not only encouraged but also expected
to report hazards back to their manager or supervisor.
Bruce says having a safety team or safety committee helps
in promoting workplace safety for all employees. " Developing
a safety committee is a really valuable tool that a lot of
companies miss out on, " he says. Depending on the size of the
company, he says the committee should meet regularly - at
least quarterly - and should be a good representation from
different departments within the company.
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July 2023

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