The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) continues efforts to educate and advance awareness for better industry safety practices in its Safety and Compliance Workshop held this week in West Palm Beach, Florida. Dozens of waste employers and their teams were in attendance to hear from experts sharing knowledge on how to reduce on-the-job accidents and injuries, in addition to learning tips to improve OSHA/DOT compliance within their organizations. SWANA Executive Director David Biderman stated, “Our panelists specifically discussed several recent accidents in Florida and offered insight on related insurance and DOT issues that provide important guidance to the mix of private and public sector attendees present.” Speakers, Nathan Brainard, Vice President of the Insurance Office of America and Tony Cardamone, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Concorde Inc., highlighted the leading causes of incidents, how to prevent them, changing unsafe behaviors, reducing insurance costs, OSHA regulatory and enforcement trends, and minimizing risk through DOT compliance, screening and records/data management.
Added Biderman, “Attendees left this workshop with practical tips that they can implement immediately to improve safety performance and reduce the risk of incurring an OSHA or DOT violation. Creating a culture of safety in the solid waste industry is a primary goal of SWANA.” SWANA’s recent efforts to support this goal have included the creation of Chapter-level Safety Ambassadors, a first-of-its-kind municipal data collection survey, and hosting safety events around the country, like an upcoming workshop in New York on June 16, 2016.
For more information on SWANA’s Safety Matters program and access to free safety-focused resources, visit SWANA.org/safety.