Reducing injuries among grounds maintenance workers

Lawn cutters, landscapers, arborists and others responsible for maintaining public and private grounds are three times more likely to be killed on the job than other workers, reports the US Centers for Disease Control.

Based on data from 2003 to 2008, fatal events included

• transportation incidents (31%)
• contact with objects and equipment (25%)
• falls (23%)
• traumatic acute exposures to harmful substances or environments, e.g., electrocution and drowning (16%).

“There’s no reason why grounds maintenance workers should be at greater risk than any other workers,” says Monica Szabo, a director of Public Services Health & Safety Association, one of the four organizations comprising Health & Safety Ontario. “The work may involve a unique combination of hazards, but the individual hazards are common to a number of industries. Workplaces in many sectors deal with cutting tools, ladders, lifting devices, machinery, heat stress…”

The nature of the work

Recreational facilities, public buildings, parks, golf courses, resorts, corporate head offices and other workplaces typically employ or contract for grounds maintenance workers. The work may involve operating on- and off-road vehicles, heavy equipment and power tools. This work may take place at heights, along roadways, and in all weather and seasons. Contracted workers may travel to multiple sites in a day, and perform a wide range of tasks under varied circumstances.

Prevention challenges

Challenges in the groundskeeping industry come in many forms, including the following:

• workforce: often comprises permanent, part-time and/or seasonal staff, including young and new workers, who have a range of job experience, literacy levels, and OHS training
• nature of the work: multiple tasks in a day, involving a wide range of equipment and environments
• multiple training requirements: from the comprehensive (rights and responsibilities, WHMIS, personal protective equipment, etc.), to task- and hazard-specific (overhead power lines, tree work, bodies of water, unstable and slippery ground surfaces, steep grades, trenches, roadway traffic, etc.)
• supervision: because workers tend to travel throughout the day, and often work on their own, they have limited access to onsite coaching, supervision and guidance
• limited internal resources, common in any sector with a high number of small businesses. Many lack the resources to employ OHS professionals, and business owners and supervisors may lack the knowledge, skills, and resources to identify hazards and develop safe work practices

Taking action

“Having full-time health and safety staff is not a prerequisite to injury prevention,” says Szabo. “Commitment is.”

“There’s a lot you can do to prevent injuries, but you don’t have to do it alone. We’re working with your trade association, Landscape Ontario, to help,” says Sandro Perruzza, chief of client services with Workplace Safety and Prevention Services.  Appearing below are suggested steps to help create a health and safety program in your workplace that will reduce injuries among your grounds maintenance workers:

• Conduct a hazard assessment to identify hazards that your workers may be facing.
• Inform yourself of the nature of the hazards, recommended injury prevention strategies, and available resources.
• Develop and implement prevention strategies, with worker input, that address specific hazards and tasks and are suitable by language and literacy level.
• Ensure ongoing hazard identification is conducted by knowledgeable people at the beginning of each workday, and before work begins at other sites throughout the day.
• Use tailgate or toolbox safety training techniques, and repeat and reinforce safety topics regularly. Make the safety topics specific to the tasks, location and season. Topic possibilities include:
  • tree care, trimming, and removal
  • safe operation and maintenance of machinery and vehicles, such as chain saws, edgers, hedge trimmers, riding lawnmowers, tractors, trucks, and other highway vehicles
  • preventing slips, trips, and falls from heights
  • safe use of ladders and lifting devices
• Encourage continuing safety education through training courses, workshops and conferences, such as Health & Safety Ontario’s Partners in Prevention events taking place across Ontario. Check out our fall schedule.
• Join a Safety Group, so you can share your experiences and learn from other organizations. If you are a member of Landscape Ontario, you can also visit its site for more information

How we can help