On this week’s episode of the Rocket Roof Show, we spoke with Max Ogran. Max is not a commercial safety expert, he doesn’t work for OSHA or anything of the sort. However, in his early years, Max worked with a commercial maintenance company and had a lifechanging injury from safety procedures not being followed.
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When Max was 20 years old, he was sent up to a roof with a team member to repair a small section. Little did he know that the skylights had been painted over and were flush with the roof. One misstep caused him to fall through the skylight down forty feet to the concrete below. He was lucky to survive but spent the following 6 weeks in the hospital. Thankfully, he did not have any injuries to his head and they were all focused on his wrist and his hip, but numerous reconstructive surgeries were required.
But that isn’t where Max’s story ends. After the recovery period, he was partially disabled in his hip, but was still able to live a normal life. However, ten years later, he woke up one morning in excruciating pain with a high fever. After his wife took him to the emergency room, they quickly found out the previous injury in his hip had a septic pocket of infection. He was once again rushed into emergency surgery. When he came out of surgery, the doctor had nicked an artery that caused internal bleeding. After 7 blood transfusions, he was finally able to get out of ICU and relearn how to walk again. However, he will still need a hip transplant before he’s 40 and suffers from arthritis daily.
Max’s story is a cautious tale. Most young adults aren’t worried about the consequences of being up on a high building. They think they’re bullet proof; until something happens. Max’s company did not go over any safety procedures or give him any instructions of hazards to watch for. Luckily, he had workers’ compensation that covered the extent of his injuries. But Andy mentions that contractors need to be focused when it comes to their insurance policies. Many have subcontractors that are required to carry insurance, but they cancel policies quickly, or have ghost policies that never truly existed. In that instance, the company who hired the subcontractor would be liable. This can cause the entire company to lose everything. Not just effecting the business owner, but their crews will be out of work and office staff will have to find additional employment. It truly ripples through the lives of many people.
That is why having a safety plan in place is paramount. Andy suggests that contractors take these steps for a proper safety plan:
- Have a safety manual
- Have daily safety meetings with your team
- Have “Toolbox” talks over different subjects of safety
- No one works alone, always in pairs
- Reach out to OSHA representative for assessment
- Reach out to third-party safety experts
If you don’t know where to start with safety, today is the day to make a plan. Reach out to Andy or other trusted contractors to create a safety manual and implement safety plans within your own commercial roofing business.
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