We take work safety pretty seriously at Loma Vista Nursery. Of course, there are Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) and Worker Protection Standard (WPS) rules that we – like all plant nurseries – must follow.
Our nursery goes the extra mile to prioritize safety and training as part of a daily coaching and reinforcement program. Safety has always been important to Loma Vista Nursery, but when we switched insurance carriers to IMA Financial Group, we saw a shift because our firm has a dedicated compliance staff member who makes suggestions on how to improve our safety protocols. Incorporating coaching provides us with a consistent set of wins, which benefits everyone.
We caught up with Lyndsi Oestmann, Loma Vista Nursery’s owner and president, to find out more about the program, along with what’s in the secret sauce that makes it so successful.
Q. What does Loma Vista Nursery’s safety program look like?
A. We take safety and training a step further than what is required by incorporating coaching into our ongoing program. Training addresses protocols like maintenance and how to safely operate machinery, equipment and tools. Coaching reinforces team members as they go about their workday. This cements safe behaviors and choices, and corrects unsafe behaviors real-time, as they are observed.
Coaching reinforces team members as they go about their workday.
Q. Can you explain a little more about how coaching works?
A. Sure. Basically, safety training is the “how-tos” of using machinery, equipment, tools and the like. Coaching gives everyone the authority to look out for one another. It provides positive reinforcement and corrects unsafe behaviors when team members are executing the responsibilities of their job. For example, we educate and train about how and why to use a seatbelt when operating a tractor. Coaching takes that a step further. Managers reinforce employees when they are wearing them and correct unsafe behaviors when they are not.
Every employee who operates equipment is required to complete Loma Vista Nursery’s in-house certification program.
Coaching includes modeling correct ways of wearing personal protective equipment and outlines procedures for safely operating machinery, like our gas-powered sheers and GreenElf fertilizer dispensers, as well as our tractors and skid loaders. Every employee operating equipment must complete our in-house certification program – that’s training. Operators receive a safety vest as a sort of diploma when they complete our in-house certification program – that’s coaching. The safety vests are a signal to management that employees who operate our equipment have the tools and knowledge they need to work in a safe manner.
Teams function best when they are set up for success.
Q. How do you encourage participation and compliance, Lyndsi?
A. My job as president and owner of the company is to protect its assets and investments – and our team is No. 1. So, it’s also my job to “sell safety” as part of a company-wide coaching program. Teams function best when they are set up for success. When safety is a mindset, it is woven into the fabric of the nursery’s culture. For us, safety means every member of the team goes home in the same condition they arrived. It also means everyone is working toward common goals of caring for one another and growing the business.
Team members “win” with safety events that recognize staff and semi-annual bonuses that reward safe practices.
Team members know the rules and how the score is kept. This very easily applies to employee participation that defines leadership and individual responsibilities on a daily basis. It explains how performance is measured and offers a way to “win.” Team members “win” with safety breakfasts that recognize staff and semi-annual bonuses that reward safe practices. The result is invested employees who look out for one another and the company’s best interests.
A safe work environment is a desirable place to work that attracts and retains top talent.
Q. Why is maintaining a culture of safety so important?
A. A healthy workplace begets a healthy workforce that supports a healthy bottom line. Unsafe work conditions and lack of attention to workplace safety causes undue stress. A safe work environment and positive safety culture are primary elements of our employee engagement and retention plan.
Safe work environments inspire confidence in the company’s leadership and reinforce its commitment to employees. The company then becomes a desirable place to work that attracts and retains top talent.
Creating a culture of safety increases efficiency and reduces expenses.
Q. This would seem to have a direct correlation to the company’s bottom line. Is that correct?
A. Very definitely. We learned from our risk control partner, IMA Financial Group, that 80 to 85 percent of all workplace safety-related incidents are the result of unsafe acts. Between 15 and 20 percent of safety-related incidents are the result of unsafe conditions.
Creating a culture of safety increases efficiency and reduces expenses. For any plant nursery, the cost of a workplace accident is lost time in worker productivity and grower efficiency and it’s a direct hit to its workers’ compensation insurance. Loma Vista Nursery saves about 20-percent a year on workers’ comp insurance premiums because we have a very low experience modification rating, which is a scale used to price policies. Any decrease in expenses is an increase to the bottom line.
When integrated into a safety and training program, coaching has a direct effect on changing unsafe behaviors.
Q. What causes people to change unsafe behaviors?
A. Coaching. In our experience, even the best education and training program will fail without a coaching and reinforcement model. When we relied solely on education and training at Loma Vista Nursery, we did not get results. Coaching for safety – and reinforcing safe behaviors while correcting unsafe choices – is how we got great results.
For more on how to create a culture of safety that works, read the Nursery Management Leadership Playbook column, “The Culture of the Matter: Through a practice of coaching and reinforcement, safety on the nursery becomes a strategic profit center.”
Learn More About Loma Vista Nursery’s Landscape Plants
Loma Vista Nursery grows a variety of perennials, trees and shrubs for Midwest independent garden centers, landscape contractors and wholesale distributors. Our staff members – all experts in the field – love helping people learn about plants and the healthy varieties we grow.
For help with orders and plant-related questions, send an email to sales@lomavistanursery.com or call (785) 229-7200. Review Loma Vista Nursery’s plant catalog for information and visit our website to learn about our values and best practices as a Midwest plant grower.
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