safety professionals

Workplace Safety Resolutions for the New Year

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Workplace Safety Resolutions

Each new year brings about new resolutions that range from the achievable to the downright absurd. Most resolutions tend to center around personal well-being, such as promising to spend more time at the gym to get fit and setting goals to achieve professionally. However, very few take the time to ponder on how to improve health and safety while in the workplace. If you find yourself belonging to the majority who don’t make resolutions concerning workplace safety, then why not make this year the time to start making them?

After all, health and safety should always come first. Create resolutions to act on improving health and safety in the workplace. They not only ensure personal safety but also make the environment safe and ideal for others as well.

Here are some resolutions that focus on workplace safety for the New Year.

1. Review Company Policies on Health and Safety.

Take some time to look through the company policies, and review health and safety rules and regulations. Check if there are ample facilities that can prevent any hazardous substances and materials from sticking to skin and hair. Know your rights as an employee, and find out if the company that you’re working for has provided sufficient information on keeping safe in the workplace.

2. Inspect Personal Safety Equipment and Gear.

Is the safety vest still properly fitted, or have the boots lost their non-skid ability? Do the safety glasses still allow clear vision, or does the helmet need replacement? Don’t skimp on this resolution, and ensure that all your safety equipment and gear are in tip-top shape before starting work on the New Year. Otherwise, it’s out with the old, and in with the new.

3. Acknowledge Distractions – and Throw Them Away.

Distractions take away the concentration that should be poured into the task at hand. One seemingly small slip may have serious repercussions in the form of health risks, or worse, loss of life. Keep these distractions at bay when working, and focus on the job that needs to be done.

4. Know Who to Call in an Emergency.

For any workplace safety-related concerns, knowing who to call or approach is as vital as knowing how to avoid hazardous situations. Emergency situations call for immediate action, so it’s best to find out beforehand who to turn to for those times when safety is compromised at work.

Even though you’re most likely have regular safety check-ups, there’s never any harm in taking extra precautions. The New Year can bring new regulations and changes so make sure you are keeping up with current OSHA policies and rules.

Be proactive in your safety measures and remind employees of seasonal safety tips. At ResponsAble, we believe having well-trained, high quality, experienced safety professionals on a job site is the best way to cultivate a positive safety culture. Give us a call at 225-753-1909 to talk with us about your upcoming projects.

Creating a Positive Safety Culture

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positive safety culture

A strong safety culture promotes more than just safety. It cultivates worker confidence and retention, benefits organizational behavior, and can even increase productivity. According to OSHA, developing a strong safety culture has the single greatest impact on accident reduction of any process. So, how do you create and maintain your safety culture for your organization? Here are some tips: 

1. Evaluate Your Current System  

If you already have a safety program in place, but you’re seeing more accidents and near misses, then you need to incorporate a new process. Identify where the specific problems are and make necessary changes. 

2. Define Safety Standards

This step involves finding a way to measure specific indicators, such as safety incidents, safety training sessions, or safety inspections. Measuring your progress and placing a clear expectation will motivate your employees. 

3. Set Rule Compliance

Ensure that your employees know the rules and how to properly follow them. Set your employees and your organization up for success and make sure they have the skills and resources needed to remain compliant with safety rules. Consistency across departments is also critical in creating and maintaining your safety culture

4. Drive Results, Not Completion 

Completing a training session is not the same as actually seeing positive safety-related results. While you need to train employees on the company safety culture and process, don’t make your goal just completion. Make sure your employees complete the training AND put their learned skills into practice. After all, practice makes perfect.

5. Strategize Based on Your Site and Employees

Always create your safety strategy to fit your worksite and your employees. Trying to change your site and personnel to fit a previously created safety culture will end up in frustration. Use your employee’s strengths and production capacity to form a process. You can even get employee input on a new safety process. This will make them feel more involved and valued, which leads to a positive culture. Tap into exemplary employees to help maintain your safety standards. Other employees are more likely to support a plan if they see others joining in.

6. Clarify Leadership Expectations

Leaders set the tone and company culture. If your leaders aren’t expected to embrace the safety culture, then no one else will. Leadership also needs to be consistent with its focus and its message. Consistent messages and rule reinforcement builds trust in the culture and in relationships. It shows that your workplace is serious about safety.

7. Be Patient

Changes won’t happen overnight. It might take some time to fully implement your safety process and to start seeing real results. Keep encouraging your employees to practice good safety habits and it will eventually become a consistent behavior. Good habits and good behaviors create sustainability and a positive culture. 

Knowing you need to build a new safety culture is always a great start. Find the approach and process that works best for you and encourage employee involvement. Make sure leadership is consistent and encouraging to employees. Positive reinforcement is key when promoting your company’s safety culture. Safety will become second nature if employees are involved in safety and create an environment in which employees really understand the value of safety.

We believe having well-trained, high quality, experienced safety professionals on a job site is the best way to cultivate a positive safety culture. Give us a call at 225-753-1909 to talk with us about your upcoming projects.

Be a Better Employee, Land a Better Job

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industrial jobs

It’s no surprise that COVID-19 brought a lot of strain to the majority of job markets. Layoffs and furloughs left most people jobless and searching for a way to get back on their feet. With everyone looking for new employment across all kinds of industries, here are ways to make yourself stand out as the best future employee.

The Job Search

Before you get the job, you have to find a way to make recruiters notice you.

Update your resume. Many industrial labor jobs involve specialization, so it is wise to make sure to include information about certifications for special equipment, machinery, vehicles, software applications or devices that are utilized in your industry or field. These can be listed in a separate category on your resume or weaved into different descriptions of your work experiences. It is important that the recruiter knows your qualified for the job you are applying for.

Don’t forget to emphasize your accomplishments. Working within an industry, you may not have access to specific numbers to showcase your growth. Often the inside jobs are about improving production, reducing costs, optimizing processes and saving time so think about your specific actions and how the result changed the bottom line. Include that action and result statement in your work experience section.

Your resume doesn’t have to be an artistic masterpiece, but you want to make sure that it is easy to read, and that important information can be found quickly. List your most recent work experience first with bullet points to describe job responsibilities and key areas of expert industrial knowledge.

The Interview

You’ve got an interview and now what? We all know first impressions can be tough.

Polish your interview skills. In the industrial field, communication is key. Truthfully, no matter the job, communication is always essential, but it is the top priority when safety is involved. Over-communicating is always better than not saying anything at all. Effective communication shows you can verbally problem-solve with other team members. Having strong communication skills will lay the foundation for a successful interview and a successful career.

Show the recruiter what you know. Employers want to hire someone who has an interest and aptitude for the technology involved in their field. Conduct some research prior to the interview so that you have an idea of what you are experienced in from previous jobs, and even if you might not know the technology or equipment used, then show a great desire to learn it. The desire to learn new things can send employers a message that you have long-term potential.   

Show up on time. If you are early, then you are on time. Arriving 15 minutes early to an interview, or a new job, is a good way to show your future employer that you are dependable. Industrial jobs can be large so there is minimal supervision. Supervisors need someone who is accountable and excels on with little oversight. Dependability is something to constantly strive for and is a trait that will carry you far in life and in your career.

On the Job

Your search has come to an end and you landed a new job! Start your first day on the right foot.

Teamwork and kindness go hand-in-hand. People will always want to work with someone who is a team player. Don’t become that employee that no one wants to work with because you can’t learn how to solve a conflict in a respectful and calm manner. Small kindnesses, such as saying “Good morning”, can go a long way. Always be the employee to step up and offer help. These things can go a long way to promote a productive work environment.

Be active and proactive. Do what you say you are going to do and take initiative. Make sure you know yourself and your strengths so you can accurately say when you are going to get things done. One of the most important things you can do as a valuable employee is follow through on work commitments. Get your tasks done in a timely manner, but make sure you aren’t sacrificing the quality of your work just to get things done. If you get your tasks done early, be proactive and take on additional responsibility. The willingness to take initiative shows employers that you are self-motivated and truly care about your work.

A proactive person also stays on top of their industry. Technology and equipment are constantly evolving so it is important to stay on top of what’s new. Knowing what you are doing and having the proper training are of the upmost important to keep the jobsite safe and running smoothly.  

Your perception is everything. If the job you have just landed is temporary or requires work that you don’t particularly like, adopt a positive attitude from the beginning. Looking at only the negatives in your work can decrease your productivity. Adopting an attitude of success ensures that you are actively working toward the goals your boss has set for you. These experiences can be steps toward great career growth.   

Need help finding your next job? ResponsAble has the resources you’ve been looking for. Apply for our open job listings and use some of these helpful tips.

What is the Benefit of Working with ResponsAble?

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working with responsable

If you’re considering solutions for staffing your sites and jobs, you may be thinking to yourself – why would I hire ResponsAble? It’s a valid question. We’d love to tell you some of the perks and benefits of being our partner, as well as some secrets behind our process.

We’re driven by value. ResponsAble is a sincere company. We truly want to be valuable to our customers. We know that what we do isn’t needed by everyone, but we’re the best option for those who do. We want you to know that we’re here to create value for those who have a need for safety personnel.

We take what we do very seriously. We’re in this business because we believe safety matters. It’s the livelihood of real people. We also know the only way to develop a valuable business relationship is to do good work. We want to provide the best match for every job. As an additional service, we also want to be a resource for our clients in whatever their safety needs may be. We’ve built a team that takes both seriously.

We can accommodate your needs. We work with a variety of customers in different work environments. This allows us to keep our employees consistently working and allows them to bring more experience to your jobsite. As they work, they gain more and more exposure and opportunity to grow their safety tool belt.  You can discuss specific needs you have and we’ll supply the perfect person for the job.

We do both temp and direct hiring. Whatever your safety staffing need, we are equipped to handle it. Keep all of your business under one partnership. If you don’t have the internal personnel to cover your safety needs, we can supply ongoing support or on a project-to-project basis.

We keep it simple for you. We assign a ResponsAble Project Manager to every project. Their job is to assist you with the staffing needs, support you in managing safety compliance, and help recruit, vet and staff as your needs change! That’s right, we do all of this for you so that you can focus on your project.

ResponsAble helps you find the right people with the necessary skills to effectively and safely complete the job. Big or small, temporary or permanent. ResponsAble has the ability to truly customize our approach. We have the ability to staff experienced Safety Professionals and Managers, Confined Space/Hole Watch Attendants, and Industrial Laborers. Get in touch and let’s talk about how ResponsAble may be a benefit to you. 

Safety Staff are Essential | A COVID-19 Update

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essential safety staff

As the medical community and civic leaders urge only essential personnel to work, you should ask, who are essential employees? 

Safety professionals are high on the list.

Industrial companies and their suppliers are essential businesses and have remained in operation since the outbreak of the Coronavirus.  Due to the stay-at-home order issued by the Governor, most currently scheduled turnarounds have been pushed out to later this year. The disruption of the Coronavirus has brought new and unexpected needs to the businesses we serve.  Being up for the challenge, ResponsAble has been a source of essential staffing for our clients:

It’s important that we keep our distance from people, but not from safety.  An unintended, costly violation can make the current challenging situation worse, threaten the safety of your workers, and negatively affect the reputation that you’ve worked so hard to build. Here are three ways ResponsAble helps you hire qualified, capable staff: 

  1. We’re a part of your industry so we understand the regulations that you’re responsible for maintaining.
  2. We handle all the details (hiring, training, payroll, support and liability) so you can stay busy ramping up for your next project. 
  3. On-demand safety staff. We know you need experienced safety professionals (and backups) that are just a call away when you need a position filled.

We take safety seriously.

Over the past several weeks, we have worked to meet the needs of a changing safety climate and needs. Here are some positions we’ve seen an increased need to recruit and supply:

essential safety staff

Health Screening Personnel

We’ve gained experience in supplying Health Screening Personnel over the past month, and now have the capability to supply Health Screening Technicians to your job sites.  Here’s how this position can help:

The Health Screening Technician may be responsible for assisting the Client with policies and procedures that promote a safe and healthy working environment.  May be capable of performing assignments of limited scope and complexity following the direction of an assigned Client supervisor. Health Screening Technicians can promote safety and health by performing temperature screening for personnel, completing CDC questionnaires based on CDC guidelines, and directing personnel for any advanced medical attention.  Health Screening Techs are also knowledgeable of CDC guidelines for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other applicable standards.

Industrial Laborers

We also have a database of Industrial Laborers available for your specific projects.  Industrial Laborers help prepare and maintain a site by cleaning, loading, unloading, and transferring of materials to where they may be needed on a work site. These workers have a valid Basic Orientation Plus and TWIC. Each laborer is screened to ensure a strong work ethic, strong mind and strong body.

essential safety staff

Permanent Positions

ResponsAble can source Direct Hire and Temp-To-Hire employees for our clients.

With our Direct Hire service, ResponsAble Safety Staffing agrees to recruitment services, through the provision of resumes for candidate evaluation, in support of our Client’s stated intent to locate, identify and potentially hire candidates as full-time employees. Contact us for more information, including pricing.

Our ResponsAble Temp-To-Hire services include contract employees whom are assigned to a ResponsAble Client with the negotiated intention of “temp-to-hire”. The temporary employee must work for a Client as a Contract Employee from ResponsAble Safety Staffing for a total of amount of consecutive verified hours before becoming eligible for hire by Client.  It is at our Client’s discretion to determine if and/or when they may choose to convert the Contract Employee once eligible for conversion. It is also at the Contract Employee’s discretion to negotiate the terms of their offer for hire by Client and acceptance or refusal of hire offer by Client.  Contact us for more information, including pricing.

We specialize in all the work and details that you don’t have time for when you need additional safety staff. Give us a call today for a free needs assessment to find solutions for safety measures such as health screenings of your workers before entering a jobsite, or simply recruiting qualified safety personnel. Let us know how we can help at (225) 753-1909 or John@rasafetystaffing.com.

Important Qualities in a Safety Staff Member

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safety staff member

Safety staffing is a niched industry with unique skills and experience to consider. If you’re an employer thinking of hiring through ResponsAble, here is a peek at the qualities we’re looking for when building our growing database of staff. We recruit year-round so that when the time comes, we’ve got an ongoing stream of talent equipped to handle any job that comes your way.

If you’re looking to apply to the ResponsAble team, here are some requirements for becoming a part of our task force. The following are characteristics that our staff pride themselves on. If it is a good fit, you’ll be onboarded and placed through ResponsAble so that you’re prepared for every job that comes your way.

Checklist of RA Safety Staff

  • Interested and available for contingent and project-based hiring.
  • Resourceful and solution-minded, not a roadblock.
  • Ready to hit the ground running after training.
  • Desiring to be in-the-field rather than behind a desk, willing to be available to other workers on the jobsite and support team members in safety needs.
  • Professional demeanor and behavior in the work environment.
  • Organized and prepared for job responsibilities at all times.
  • Leader by example and influence, not authority or position.
  • Experienced in safety work.
  • All staff must have completed:
    • a basic orientation from the Safety Council
    • the TWIC credential
    • a hard skills test based on the position they’ve applied for
    • a behavioral based soft-skills interview

Depending on the job applied for or requested, our staff also are prepared for jobs with these characteristics:

  • Heavy Industrial Labor positions.
  • Able to repeatedly lift and hold heavy weights.
  • Physically and emotionally prepared to work within confined spaces.
  • Understanding nature of the work will often include 10-12 hour shifts 5-7 days a week with exposure to natural elements of temperature and weather.
  • Willing to work night shifts.

The characteristic that sets ResponsAble staff apart is their dedication to represent and work toward safety compliance as a leader and employee. ResponsAble helps you find the right people with the necessary skills to effectively and safely complete the job. Big or small, temporary or permanent. Let’s get the job done. https://responsablestaffing.com/contact-us/