Having a safety-first culture in any business or organization benefits all; it keeps employees safe and reduces safety incidents, improves productivity, and it benefits the business or organization’s long-term success. Tucker Paving has been operating in Central Florida, providing site development services, asphalt and concrete paving, and more, for almost 30 years. Safety is always our primary concern, and we are always actively promoting a safety-first culture. We’re sharing our keys to success because having a safety-first culture benefits us all.

Building Blocks to Building a Safety-First Culture

  1. Safety Starts at the Top. Tucker Paving has long credited our safety success with the “expectation that everyone, from the company President to the new team member, shares the responsibility of achieving the highest level of safety performance.” In short, safety starts with our company’s leaders. If employees see a supervisor or even an owner doing something that goes against safety protocols, then it sends the message that the culture of the company is to only pay lip service to safety protocols, rather than actually following them. This leads to employees also not following safety protocols and accidents and injury are the result. So everyone—even those at the very top of a company—must set the example when it comes to safety.
  2. Get Everyone on Board. Unfortunately, some companies may have a problem with an anti-safety culture. This could be due to beliefs like ‘we’ve always done it this way,’ that safety protocols take too much time or effort, or that following safety protocols makes you weak. Every single employee needs to be on board to have an authentic safety-first culture because one bad apple can poison the bunch. Employees reluctant to follow safety protocols need to be convinced using tool box talks and meetings that share the benefits of safety protocols and the dangers of ignoring them, incentives (including monetary incentives), celebrations, and more; the alternative is that employees that absolutely refuse to follow safety protocols should not be part of the team; because what they are actually doing is endangering themselves, their coworkers, and the company as a whole.
  3. Send a Clear Message About Safety. A company’s safety management strategy needs to communicate expectations, protocols, and rules clearly. An employee should never be in doubt about what is or isn’t correct when it comes to safety. This can mean ensuring trainings are up-to-date and done in the employee’s native language, that signage matches protocols and rules, defining who is responsible for what in terms of safety, that company-provided PPE and safety equipment is in good working order, etc. 

Safety is always our biggest focus at Tucker Paving. We have nearly 30 years of experience in the asphalt and concrete paving industry. We complete projects for residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Contact us by calling (863) 299-2262, or fill out our contact form online, and let us help you with your next project.