Safety Initiatives are of Paramount Importance in the Roofing Industry

RCS Influencer Ross Riddle says that safety of team members always come first. 

As a roofing material distributor in highly competitive southern California since 1946, safety is of paramount importance to our organization. Since most of our team have been with us for 25+ years, their safety comes first. 

While we may have different safety concerns than most roofing contractors working on the rooftop, we do have some similarities in other areas, in particular when it comes to vehicles. When employees are heading out every day using company-owned vehicles, it’s important to make sure the trucks are in the safest condition possible.  

With regards to our delivery equipment, we do the following:

• Daily, our drivers fill out a pre-trip truck inspection form
• Weekly, our drivers, and a supervisor, check all fluid levels, brake adjustments, tires, etc. to make sure all are in proper working order
• We do required B.I.T inspections on each truck every 90 days
• P.P.E. equipment is checked regularly (harness kits, etc.)

Just as we have yards with equipment, many contractors do as well. They also are often using pieces of equipment on the rooftop including hot air welders, generators, etc. on the job. It is just as important to ensure all equipment is in proper working order. With regards to yard equipment, we do the following:

• Daily, forklift operators fill out pre-trip forklift inspection forms
• We insist our material yards, offices, and showrooms are kept neat, clean, organized
• To keep trip and fall accidents at bay

It takes a lot of work to maintain a strict safety program and many contractors have a person dedicated to focus on safety at their companies. Not everyone will have the resources to have an employee that just manages safety programs, so it is important to know that there are safety resources available through your local and national roofing associations. By being a member, you have access to ready-to-use safety toolbox talks that make it very easy to ensure you are constantly educating your team.

There are also third-party solutions that allow you to stay in compliance. For the last fifteen years, we’ve used the services of Safety Compliance Company to administer our monthly safety program to keep us on track, and up to speed.

Ross Riddle is the president and CEO of South Coast Shingle Company. See his full bio here.