In-Depth: Workplace Safety
By
KFBB News Team
Story Created:
Sep 9, 2010 at 5:23 PM MST
Story Updated:
Sep 9, 2010 at 9:11 PM MST
When some think of work, sitting behind a desk comes to mind, but for employees of Marks-Miller Post and Pole out of Clancy, 9 to 5 is much more.
"Worst case-scenario of course would be losing a limb, either in a saw or getting it tangled up in moving equipment and I suppose even worse than that, there is the potential for death," says Marks-Miller Post and Pole Co-Owner Darrell Miller.
Miller has seen it all "chainsaw cuts,” which he adds don’t cut very well.
In the 34 years Miller has been in business, there hasn’t been any workplace deaths at his business, but state-wide it’s a different story.
Last year, 50 workers died on the job making Montana the deadliest state to work in.
"Montana, we're a natural resource state and we're working outside a lot and so that is part of the deal and then the nature of natural resource industry; mining, timber, agriculture, it's all a higher risk industry,” says Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Keith Kelly.
There’s no denying that the equipment these men and women work with on a daily basis has the potential to be dangerous, but local business owners like Miller say that awareness and research on the state level have improved drastically within the past five years.
"Montana getting really, really good. State Fund is excellent to work with, their more than willing to come out and help. State Department of Labor has a lot of resources available and they are there to help. Both of those places have helped us tremendously and I think as an employer you want to make sure that you don't view those agencies as enemies, they are there to help you,” adds Miller.
With the Montana Safety Culture Act and support from Work Safe Montana, The State Fund and the Department of Labor and Industry - safety is the number one priority in the workplace.
"We have a Montana Safety.com website here for the Department of Labor and Industry to give hints and guidance with regards to consultations we can do to make the workplace safer wherever you are and we have folks on staff that do those various things,” says Kelly.
With 66 amputations and over 6,000 trips, slips and falls reported last year, employers are making employees aware of work safety.
"Number one, we have to create a safe environment or a safety culture if you will, by making sure our employees know that the number one priority on a daily basis is safety. Number two thing we do is to provide physical barriers so that we minimize or reduce the risk of physical injuries to our employees and third thing, we want to make sure we do is to never be complacent and think we're in a position to think that that's not going to happen because it is an ongoing thing that you have to be aware of daily," says Miller.
While accidents happen, it's detrimental that safety is on the minds of workers at all times.
Kelly says "It’s critically important that we can send mom and dad home from a good days work with limbs intact and bruises not there."
Due to Miller’s diligence in promoting a safe work environment, Marks-Miller Post and Pole has received the coveted "Sharp" award for outstanding work safety and health from the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Federal Administration for the past three years.
For more information on workplace safety in the Treasure State visit:
http://www.worksafemt.com/
http://www.montanastatefund.com/wps/portal
http://erd.dli.mt.gov/safetyhealth/sbhome.asp
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