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Contributed by: Admin 2

Safety Competency & Culture: Is Your Facilities Maintenance Partner Committed to Workplace Safety

Contributed by Mark Gilbreth, Regional Sales Executive

A successful facilities maintenance company approaches its scope of work as a complete delivery system that not only includes its core services but also ensures delivery of promised service quality, customer experience, and safety culture. This service delivery system produces desired results only when it is driven from the top. A committed leadership is directly related to on-ground quality, efficiency, performance, and employee engagement. Similarly, the service provider’s safety culture should also embedded at all organizational levels and is valued by all employees.

While safety initiatives for facilities maintenance companies has always impacted the way they perform their duties, the recent pandemic has added new dimensions to the safety goals and priorities. The daily jobs require numerous safety measures to be taken care of and a strong, positive safety culture ensures consistency on each working day. The successful implementation of safety standards greatly depends on a comprehensive safety training program.

Some of the most important elements of the safety training program for facilities maintenance include:

  • The program must be based on clearly defined training objectives for all new employees
  • Follow-up monthly training sessions with focus on key safety topics such as:
    • Hazard Communication
    • Chemical usage
    • PPE usage and disposal
    • Equipment update
    • Aerial and forklift training
    • Fire safety
    • Bloodborne pathogen precautions and what to do if exposed
    • Developing expert guidelines on COVID-19 related safety measures
  • Conduct safety inspections, supervision, and sustained job training to reduce potential workplace hazards

With scheduled safety training meetings and ad-hoc inspections by a dedicated Safety team, facilities maintenance service providers are able to create safety consciousness among employees and enable them to use their skills and knowledge to perform self-inspection to identify possible on-site health and safety risks.

During the process of selecting a facilities maintenance partner, the service provider’s safety training program is an important benchmark to understand the level of commitment to efficient and safe service delivery. At the same time, it is beneficial for customers to work with a facilities maintenance company that has received awards and certifications that recognize its consistent and effective safety practices.

Diversified Maintenance is committed to environmental, employee, and customer health and safety; and has a dedicated Environmental Health & Safety team that develops comprehensive safety training programs, performs safety audits, improves internal processes, and reduces risks and incidents across all customer sites. Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) has also honored Diversified Maintenance with a second CLEAN Award for Safety, recognizing its safety culture, policies, and procedures. To learn more about our commitment to enhanced safety and best practices, send me a note at: Mark Gilbreth mgilbreth@DiversifiedM.com.