You are currently viewing Best Practices for Safety in Commercial Landscaping and Tree Trimming

Best Practices for Safety in Commercial Landscaping and Tree Trimming

There are basically four key points to best practices for safety in commercial landscaping, commercial irrigation, or tree trimming. These four key points keep safety “top of mind” for our team at LMC.

1. We are landscapers. We understand the risks of the equipment we use, and we don’t want anybody injuring themselves. We want people to be safe and to go home to their families at the end of every day as healthy as they started the day. Injuries also have a significant cost effect for the company. We work hard to maintain our competitive pricing and competitive wages in the commercial landscaping industry. Limiting injuries by all means necessary helps us in keeping our costs low where we are able to pass those savings on to our customers.

2. Training is the obvious key. It is our job, as leaders in the business, to make sure that our staff is well trained in all aspects of their job so that they can perform the tasks of their position in the safest manner possible. Training for safety is never over. We have weekly tailgate meetings for every crew to prep them on anything from weather to new equipment to potential hazards of the job. Preparation for safety training is just as important as the repetition of best practices in the field. We work hard to plan ahead for a consistent, informative schedule of training modules to, again, keep safety top of mind for all of us.

3. Personal Protective Equipment. Every employee on the commercial landscape or tree trimming crew have specific PPE that is required to successfully perform their tasks safely. From boots, to ear plugs, to goggles, to safety vests, or gloves – our crew leaders make sure that their team is properly outfitted for the work at hand every day. Having the right PPE in place is a very important pillar of best practices in safety and we employ a strict, no excuse policy to ensure that our crew members are properly protected. Another important piece of safety training that falls into the PPE category is maintaining proper safety devices installed by manufacturers where we ensure that they are being utilized effectively by our crews and are functioning properly. For example, blade guards, safety switches, or ZTR roll bars may hinder use from time to time but making sure that the equipment is being used as it was intended means our crews are safer and that is paramount to everyone at LMC. Our in-field training protocols also help to educate crew members on the proper to use each piece of equipment. We support these efforts through our in-house small engine mechanics who regularly inspect all pieces of equipment to make sure that they are in maintained and operating properly.

4. Safety on the Road. We have landscape maintenance, irrigation, landscape installation, fertilization and tree trimming crews all over the Greater Houston area on any given day. This means lots of miles on Houston roads which makes safe driving a priority. In addition to constant training on safe driving practices, we use a GPS system that is installed on all of our field trucks. This system allows us to measure safety by providing us up to the minute information on speed traveled, route taken, and an overall safety score that the program assesses every day for each driver. Our crews know this system is in place and it holds everyone accountable to keeping safe driving at the forefront.

At LMC, we have always valued the importance of safety for each of our employees for their health and well-being. We work diligently to maintain our safety record and will continue to keep best practices in safety a priority of the company for years to come.