White Tape on All 3-Pronged Electrical Tools & Extension Cords

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:

We began a new quarter on 1/1/18 for our Assured Grounding Conductor Program. We are to switch over our cords from the previous quarter's orange tape to white tape.  To all Safety Advocates/Coordinators, please help keep our employees safe and help keep us OSHA compliant by following our assured grounding conductor program. Please inspect, test and color-code with white tape all extension cords and 3 pronged electrical tools.  All extension cords and tools need to be visually inspected. If you see any defects in the cords such as bare wires, severe kinks, missing or damaged ground prong, the cord pulling away from the plug end-housing, etc., then that tool or cord would need to be immediately removed from service and reported to the lead person. If your tool/cord passes the visual inspection, your next step is to test the cord with a receptacle tester. First, you should test the outlet that you will be plugging your cord into to ensure that it is properly wired. You should see 2 yellow lights lit up on your tester and the red light should be off. This means the outlet is working appropriately. Next, plug your cord into the outlet and then test the cord with the receptacle tester. Again, you should see the same light pattern as mentioned above and this would mean the cord passed the test and it is good and safe to use. Any other light pattern means that there is a problem with the cord and the cord needs to be removed from service and reported to your lead person. If the cord passes the visual inspection and the cord tester test, you should then remove the previous quarter's orange electrical tape and install the white electrical tape about 1" down from both plug ends. Your cord is now in compliance with our 1st quarter's Assured Grounding Conductor Program. The white tape shall remain in place from 1/1/18 through 3/31/18. You are not quite done yet! All employees now need to visually inspect all electrical cords and tools on a daily basis and if any defects are found, the cord or tool needs to be immediately removed from service.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure your electrical tools and cords are in safe working order. Your actions may prevent one of our family members from sustaining an electrical shock type injury or worse yet and electrocution. If you need a roll of white tape, please contact your Superintendent. If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Conductor Program please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Next Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting on Saturday, 2/17/18 (Fall Protection - Part 2)

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

We are just getting the word out that our 1st volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2018 will be held on Saturday, February 17th at 7:00am.  We will be picking up where we left off at the 4th volunteer quarterly safety meeting held in November.  In November, we trained on fall protection.  We completed the fall protection topics of guardrails, hole covers & personal fall arrest systems.  At the February meeting, we are going to complete the fall protection training with training on warning lines, rescue planning and a few other fall protection items.  The safety meeting will be held at our office location in the warehouse at 28059 W. Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL 60010.

Also, at this safety meeting, we will be distributing the 2017 safety incentive items that everyone ordered.

We will be putting out some more information about this upcoming meeting as we get closer to the meeting date.

In the meantime, be safe for those working around you, yourself and for your loved ones!

We look forward to seeing you on February 17th. Should you have any questions regarding fall protection or the upcoming safety meeting, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

I.D.I. Worked 300 Consecutive Days Without a Lost-Time Injury!!!!!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:

I just want to congratulate every single I.D.I. employee on your safety efforts.  As of today, you have reached a nice safety milestone of working 300 consecutive days since our last lost-time injury which encompassed a total of 282,047.25 hours worked.

Great job on looking out for each other's well being and for your own personal safety.  Let's continue to work together as a team to help us reach our next safety milestone of working 365 consecutive days (1 full year) without anyone sustaining a lost-time injury.

We couldn't do this without you.  It takes a team and people who care to make this happen.  It takes everyone buying in to safety and creating a safety culture where the only way to perform tasks is the safe way.  Please continue to do your part by making good choices and choosing to work safe.  Please continue to look out for each other's well being.  If you see one of our I.D.I. family members not making the correct choice and working in an unsafe manner, you are obligated to approach them to encourage them to work safe for the sake of themselves, their loved ones and for International Decorators, Inc.  Safety is everyone's responsibility and you do have the personal choice to work safe.  Each and every one of you is helping us to live up to our safety mission statement:  "Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition as They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It!"

If not for "Pete's sake," work safe for those working around you, your own well-being and for your loved ones!

If you have any questions regarding safety, please contact our Safety Director, Safety Pete at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

I.D.I. Forming New 2018 Field Safety Committee!

As you all know, International Decorators has 2 Safety Committees.  One consists of management personnel and the other consists of field personnel.  Our 2017 Field Safety Committee has concluded and we are seeking field personnel to fill the vacant positions.  We are looking for a framer, drywall hanger, taper, painter and an acoustic carpenter to serve a 1 year volunteer commitment as a Field Safety Committee member.  This committee meets once every other month with the Safety Director (Safety Pete) starting in late January 2018, meaning that you would serve for 6 meetings during a 1 year period.  The meetings are typically held on a weekday at our office from 3:00pm – 4:30pm.  The meeting agenda typically consists of:

ü  A review of our safety goals.

ü  Recent incident/injury discussion & prevention methods.

ü  Updating and developing safety policies.

ü  Safety hazards that have been identified in the field and what we as a company can do to eliminate them or reduce them to an acceptable risk.

ü  Future safety training needs, etc.

This is basically a safety brain storming session and we are looking for your input to help us to sustain and improve on our “Safety Culture.”  The main purpose of the Field Safety Committee is about ensuring that you and your fellow co-workers have a safe environment to work in.  If you are interested in making a difference and helping out yourself, your co-workers and your employer, please contact your Superintendent, to discuss your interest level and then contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham by e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com.  Here’s a little carrot! – each meeting includes pizza, some lame comedy from Safety Pete and some end of the year recognition.

Have a Safe Day!

You've Heard the Old Saying - "Safety Pays!"

Good afternoon to all IDI employees,

Thank you to all of you who attended our 4th volunteer quarterly safety meeting on Saturday, 11/18/17, on Fall Protection Safety.  We hope the meeting was beneficial to you and your loved ones!  We truly appreciate that all of you took the time to invest in your safety by attending our volunteer quarterly safety meeting. This shows your commitment towards yourself, your loved ones, to those working around you and towards International Decorators!!!!!!! 

As most of you know, we had a raffle at the end of this safety meeting.  We raffled off 1 paid vacation day to 2 employees.  You had to be present at the safety meeting to be eligible to win a paid vacation day.  You may have heard this term before; “Safety Pays!”  Well it did for these gentlemen. The winners were – acoustic carpenter, Lane Garrelts and carpenter/drywall hanger, Isidro Serrato.  Congratulations to both of you!  We appreciate you attending the safety meeting.  

Also, on a side note, our President, Jim Gaszynski, was handing out $1.00 scratch-off lottery tickets to employees who were providing the correct answers to questions about fall protection during the safety meeting.  Painter, Craig Collisi, mentioned that he won $40.00 on his scratch-off lottery ticket.  Unfortunately, Craig did not stick around to buy me, Safety Pete, breakfast.

Again, thank you to all of you who attended!

Have a Safe Day!

Next Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting on Saturday, 11/18/17 (Fall Protection)

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees,

We are just getting the word out that our 4th volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2017 will be held on Saturday, November 18th at 7:00am. The safety training topic will be Fall Protection!  The safety meeting will be held at our office location in the warehouse at 28059 W. Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL 60010.

Why are we providing safety training on fall protection?  Because, falls are the #1 cause of fatalities in construction in the United States.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 937 fatalities in construction in 2015 and 364 of the fatalities were due to falls from an elevation accounting for 39% of all construction related fatalities.  This means we are averaging losing 1 construction worker per day in the U.S. due to falls.  All of these fall fatalities are preventable!  We want to provide fall protection safety training so that you don’t become one of these statistics. We want for all of our employees to live up to our safety mission statement which is: “Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition as They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It!”

We encourage everyone to attend for several reasons of which the most important reason is for your safety and for your loved ones. Each field employee (Non-Safety Advocates) who attends this volunteer safety training session will earn 400 safety training incentive points for our current year.

We look forward to seeing you on November 18th. Should you have any questions regarding fall protection or the upcoming safety meeting, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Falls Are Leading Cause of Fatalities in Construction!

NYC Construction Worker Plummets 28 Floors to his Death

(The worksite where he died has been cited nine times since January.)

Authorities are saying that a 43-year old concrete worker who plummeted 28 stories to his death on Sept. 21 probably fell through a hole in the floor at the Manhattan high rise. The building, 1 Seaport, is a luxury residential building in the Financial District, featuring condos selling for $1.2 million to $7.5 million. 

The worker was laying concrete on the 29th floor of the building when he fell through an apparently unguarded hole in the floor and landed on the second floor of the building. Another worker at the site – which was issued a partial stop-work order from the New York Department of Buildings on Sept. 20 for “possible unsafe crane operation” – told Newsday that he heard a “big thump” and later realized it was the body of the worker. 

The all-glass 1 Seaport Residences building rises 670 feet and is described on the project's web site as "a modern lighthouse." The features 80 condos, which are encased in floor-to-ceiling glass.

According to news reports, nine violations resulting in fines have been issued to the project since January.  

Source:  EHS  Today  Construction Safety  Sandy Smith | Sep 21, 2017

The above story is exactly why we require daily 5-minute safety huddles before we commence performing construction tasks.  This is why we have 58 Safety Advocates/Coordinators.  This is why we train all of our employees to always be scanning for hazards, to report the hazards and to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate the hazards or to bring them to an acceptable level of risk.  

Make this morning's daily 5-minute huddle count!

Have a Safe Day!

Orange Tape on All 3-Pronged Electrical Tools & Extension Cords on 10/1/17!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:

We began a new quarter on 10/1/17 for our Assured Grounding Conductor Program. We are to switch over our cords from the previous quarter's red tape to orange tape.  To all Safety Advocates/Coordinators, please help keep our employees safe and help keep us OSHA compliant by following our assured grounding conductor program. Please inspect, test and color-code with orange tape all extension cords and 3 pronged electrical tools.  All extension cords and tools need to be visually inspected. If you see any defects in the cords such as bare wires, severe kinks, missing or damaged ground prong, the cord pulling away from the plug end-housing, etc., then that tool or cord would need to be immediately removed from service and reported to the lead person. If your tool/cord passes the visual inspection, your next step is to test the cord with a receptacle tester. First, you should test the oulet that you will be plugging your cord into to ensure that it is properly wired. You should see 2 yellow lights lit up on your tester and the red light should be off. This means the outlet is working appropriately. Next, plug your cord into the outlet and then test the cord with the receptacle tester. Again, you should see the same light pattern as mentioned above and this would mean the cord passed the test and it is good and safe to use. Any other light pattern means that there is a problem with the cord and the cord needs to be removed from service and reported to your lead person. If the cord passes the visual inspection and the cord tester test, you should then remove the previous quarter's red electrical tape and install the orange electrical tape about 1" down from both plug ends. Your cord is now in compliance with our 4th quarter's Assured Grounding Program. The orange tape shall remain in place from 10/1/17 through 12/31/17. You are not quite done yet! All employees now need to visually inspect all electrical cords and tools on a daily basis and if any defects are found, the cord or tool needs to be immediately removed from service.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure your electrical tools and cords are in safe working order. Your actions may prevent one of our family members from sustaining an electrical shock type injury or worse yet and electrocution. If you need a roll of orange tape, please contact your Superintendent. If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Conductor Program please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Volunteer Quarterly Safety "Make-Up" Meeting on Wednesday, 9/20/17 at 4:00pm!!!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

As you all know, we held our 3rd volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2017 on Saturday, 9/9/17. We had a terrific turn out and we want to extend a big thank you to all of you that attended.  We hope that this safety meeting was beneficial to you in regards to explaining OSHA's new crystalline silica rule that goes into effect on 9/23/17.

We offer a volunteer make-up meeting for those that could not attend the regularly scheduled safety meeting either due to working for I.D.I. on the Saturday of the meeting or due to unforeseen circumstances, etc. The volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting is being held on  Wednesday, 9/20/17 at 4:00pm at our Barrington office. The safety training topic is: "Silica Safety!"  

We will be explaining what silica is, when silica might be a hazard to a construction tradesman or tradeswoman, the hazards and health affects silica can have on humans, what construction tasks can cause silica exposures, procedures to reduce and/or eliminate silica exposures, how to protect yourself from silica dust and we will be training on all the key components of this new standard. This new or revised silica safety standard is not trade specific.  This is important for all trades that work in construction.

We look forward to seeing everyone on 9/20/17.

Have a Safe Day!

Silica Safety Training at the 9/9/17 Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

Just letting everyone know that we are switching gears in regards to the safety training topic for our next volunteer quarterly safety meeting that is being held on Saturday, 9/9/17 at 7:00am.  We had been advertising that we were going to be training on fall protection.  We will now be training on Silica Safety.  OSHA has developed a new Silica Safety Standard that goes into effect on 9/23/17 and since we are all getting together on 9/9/17, the timing could not be better to provide the required silica training.

We will be explaining what silica is, the hazards and health affects silica can have on humans, what construction tasks cause silica exposures, procedures to reduce and/or eliminate silica exposures, how to protect yourself from silica dust and we will be training on all the key components of this new standard.  This new silica safety standard is not trade specific.  This is important for all trades that work in construction.

We look forward to seeing everyone on 9/9/17.

Have a Safe Day!

GLCA's - 2017 Tailgate Cook-Off (Free Event on 9/9/17)

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

International Decorators is a member of the Great Lakes Construction Association (GLCA).  GLCA is hosting an awesome free event to all of their members.  The event is GLCA's 2017 Tailgate Cook-Off.  There will be teams cooking burgers, sausage, seafood, chicken, pizza, ribs, pork, brisket and mixing bloody Mary's and Margaritas.  This is all free to you and your family!

This means that you and your families are invited to attend this free event which is being held on Saturday, 9/9/17 from 11:00am to 7:00pm, which is a few hours after our volunteer quarterly safety meeting.  GLCA advises that they are expecting about 350 members and their families to attend. GLCA is advertising that they will have face painters, inflatable basketball, inflatable obstacle course, volleyball, bags, life size Connect Four, duck pond, a terrific band, prizes and a few other activities. They are allowing attendees to bring their own coolers.

The location of the Tailgate Cook-Off is at the Lake County Fair Grounds located at 1060 East Peterson Road, Grayslake, IL. 60030.  

They currently have 18 cooking teams ready to compete.  If you and/or your family want to attend this free event, you just need to call GLCA at (847) 623-2345 and ask for Lorraine to register to attend the event.  Just let Lorraine know that you are an employee of International Decorators. 

We hope that you are able to attend, should be a great time!

I.D.I.'s Co-worker Appreciation Event on 8/12/17!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees,

It's that time a year again to get together for some family fun and to mingle with co-workers in a non-work environment setting.  Please see the flyer below and contact Christine at our office for your tickets to the Magic Waters Water Park on Saturday, 8/12/17.  This flyer was also inserted in to your paycheck envelopes.  Hope to see you at this free event!

1st Aid/CPR - Be Prepared to Save Someone's Life!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees, 

When was the last time you took a 1^st Aid/CPR course?  Most 1^st Aid/CPR cards expire in either a 1 or 2 year period.  Why should you consider taking a 1st Aid/CPR course?  You never know when you may be a bystander near someone going into cardiac arrest.  This may occur at home, work or in a public setting and if you are prepared, you can Save Someone's Life!  

Did you know that sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States? Unfortunately, most people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital do not get cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from a bystander, which significantly lessens their chances of survival. CPR is easy to learn, and is taught to tens of thousands of people each year.  CPR saves lives.  More than 300,000 people have cardiac arrests in the United States every year.  Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when an electrical rhythm problem occurs and the heart is no longer able to pump blood effectively to the rest of the body. You might see a person suddenly collapse, lose consciousness, and stop breathing. The longer the body goes without circulation, the lower the chance of survival. By performing CPR, you are able to help the person’s blood keep circulating until an ambulance arrives and more advanced tools can be used.  We know that the chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest increases significantly, by more than double, when CPR is started early.

We are encouraging all of our employees to take a 1^st Aid/CPR course to help put you in a position to make a difference in someone’s life. 

If you have completed a 1^st Aid/CPR course within the past 2 years and if you have not provided a copy of your 1^st Aid/CPR card to our Safety Director, please do so by taking a picture of both sides of your card and emailing it to our Safety Director, Peter Graham at pgraham@4idi.com. 

Just a reminder that we also provide our employees with safety incentive points under our Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Program.  For each safety course an employee takes outside of our own I.D.I. volunteer quarterly safety meetings, an employee earns 100 points per hour for each hour of the safety training course.  So, if you voluntarily complete a 1^st Aid/CPR course and if the course happens to be a 4-hour course, you would earn 400 points for our current volunteer safety training incentive year.  Then, in December of 2017, we will mail a letter to you explaining your accumulative safety training incentive points total along with a catalog so you can redeem your points for I.D.I. work wearables and many other items.  Please just remember that after you complete a safety training course outside of I.D.I., to take a photos of your safety training certificate or card and e-mail it to pgraham@4idi.com along with how many hours long the course was so we can keep track of your incentive points. 

The following is a list of some upcoming 1^st Aid/CPR courses at the union trade schools.  If you are interested, please contact your union trade school to get enrolled:

Chicago Carpenters  -   Monday, 7/17/17 in Rockford

                                      Saturday, 8/19/17 in Chicago on Union Ave.

                                      Saturday, 9/16/17 in Elk Grove

District Council 14  –  Saturday, 7/15/17

                                   Saturday, 8/19/17

                                   Saturday, 9/30/17

District Council 30  –  Saturday, 10/21/17

If you have any questions about this article or safety in general, please contact our Safety Director, Safety Pete at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

Red Tape on All 3-Pronged Electrical Tools & Extension Cords as of 7/1/17!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:

We begin a new quarter for our Assured Grounding Conductor Program on Saturday, 7/1/17.  We are to switch over our cords from green tape to red tape. To all Safety Advocates/Coordinators - please help keep our employees safe and help keep us OSHA compliant by following our assured grounding conductor program. Please inspect, test and color-code with red tape all 3 pronged electrical tools and extension cords. All electrical tools and cords need to be visually inspected. If you see any defects in the cords such as bare wires, severe kinks, missing or damaged ground prong, the cord pulling away from the plug end-housing, etc., then that tool or cord would need to be immediately removed from service and reported to your lead field supervisor. If your tool/cord passes the visual inspection, your next step is to test the cord with a receptacle tester. First, you should test the outlet that you will be plugging your cord into to ensure that it is properly wired. You should see 2 yellow lights lit up on your tester and the red light should be off. This means the outlet is working appropriately. Next, plug your cord into the outlet and then test the cord with the receptacle tester. Again, you should see the same light pattern as mentioned above and this would mean the cord passed the test and is safe to use. Any other light pattern means that there is a problem with the cord and the cord needs to be removed from service and reported to your lead field supervisor. If the cord passes the visual inspection and the cord tester test, you should then remove the previous quarter's green electrical tape and install the red electrical tape about 1" down from both plug ends. Your cord is now in compliance with our 3rd quarter's Assured Grounding Conductor Program. The red tape shall remain in place from 7/1/17 through 9/30/17. You are not quite done yet! All employees now need to visually inspect all electrical cords and tools on a daily basis and if any defects are found, the cord or tool needs to be immediately removed from service.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure your electrical tools and cords are in safe working order. Your actions may prevent one of our family members from sustaining an electrical shock type injury or worse yet and electrocution. If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Conductor Program, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Next Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting on Saturday, 9/9/17 (Fall Protection)

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

We are just getting the word out that our 3rd volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2017 will be held on Saturday, September 9th at 7:00am. The safety training topic will be Fall Protection!  The safety meeting will be held at our office location in the warehouse at 28059 W. Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL 60010.

Why are we providing safety training on fall protection?  Because, falls are the #1 cause of fatalities in construction in the United States.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 937 fatalities in construction in 2015 and 364 of the fatalities were due to falls from an elevation accounting for 39% of all construction related fatalities.  This means we are averaging losing 1 construction worker per day in the U.S. due to falls.  All of these fall fatalities are preventable!  We want to provide fall protection safety training so that you don’t become one of these statistics. We want for all of our employees to live up to our safety mission statement which is: “Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition as They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It!”

We encourage everyone to attend for several reasons of which the most important reason is for your safety and for your loved ones. Each field employee (Non-Safety Advocates) who attends this volunteer safety training session will earn 400 safety training incentive points for our current year.

We look forward to seeing you on September 9th. Should you have any questions regarding fall protection or the upcoming safety meeting, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Company Provided PPE

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

Yesterday afternoon, I.D.I. held a field safety committee meeting.  One of our safety discussions involved employees showing up to job sites without safety glasses and/or gloves and asking for a new pair of safety glasses and gloves when they arrive at the job site.

International Decorators provides personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety glasses and gloves to our employees.  All we ask is that everybody treats the PPE with care and try to make the most use of the PPE that you can.  If all employees treated the PPE as if they paid for it themselves, this would go along way in helping us to bid jobs more competitively to obtain more work so fewer employees are having to sit and not work.  Helping us to keep our cost down by not wasting money will help to keep more employees working and this benefits everybody.  We were advised that there are times when some employees want a new pair of safety glasses or new pair of gloves every day or more often then needed.  We understand that PPE does not last forever.  We understand that safety glasses get scratched up over time and that gloves tend to get holes in them over time and that employees need to replace them due to deterioration.  We do not want our employees having to work with scratched up safety glasses or deteriorated gloves as this itself can be a safety hazard.  I.D.I. requires safety glasses/eye protection to be worn 100% while at job sites and gloves are required for specific tasks and hazards so we owe it to our employees to provide this PPE.  All we ask is that everybody treats the PPE with care.

Also, keep in mind that not every single job has a gangbox containing extra supplies such as PPE.  An employee could show up to a project with out bringing safety glasses with them and we may not have any at that particular project.  In this scenario, the employee cannot work until he/she has safety glasses.  So, please remember to bring your work boots, hard hat, safety glasses and gloves with you to work everyday.  Then if your PPE needs to be replaced due to deterioration, just show the deteriorated PPE to your lead field supervisor and it will be replaced.  If the lead field supervisor advises that we do not have extra safety glasses or gloves immediately available, then you should contact your superintendent for further direction. I also want to remind everyone that our drivers carry extra PPE on their trucks so we can typically, under most circumstances, get the needed PPE to your site in a fairly short period of time.  Under no circumstances though can we allow an employee to work without the necessary PPE and this is for your safety.

Lastly, we know that most employees care and do their best to make the PPE last.  We are just trying to get everybody on the same page for the benefit of all of our employees.

We appreciate our field safety committee bringing up this matter!

If anyone has any questions about this article, please contact our Safety Director, Safety Pete at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Summer Heat - Drink Plenty of Water and Communicate With Your Supervisors!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:

Summer is here and we are getting 90 plus degree weather this week.  Just putting out a reminder of what to look for as far as heat exhaustion symptoms, prevention methods, etc.  We don't want our employees sustaining heat exhaustion type injuries as they are preventable.

Symptoms:
The symptoms of heat stress disorders are very slow to start, but increase in intensity if precautions are not taken. The onset of the initial symptoms are mild and usually involve headaches, thirst, tiredness and weakness. Heat stress can move to heat stroke, a life-threatening medical emergency, quickly when the body's natural cooling system breaks down and causes the body core temperature to rise and overheat the brain. Some of the symptoms of heat stroke are immense thirst, severe headaches, disorientation, dry/hot skin (no sweating) and possibly collapse.

Treatment/Prevention:
The following ideas may aid in combating heat stress disorders:
1. Employees accustomed to working in the heat are better candidates for job assignments where heat stress disorders may occur.
2. Until employees acclimate to the high temperatures, allow them for short frequent breaks to cool down.
3. If heat is affecting employees, it’s a good idea to rotate employees job tasks from the heat exposure area to a non-heat exposure area on a regular basis to help in avoiding heat stress symptoms.
4. Employees are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids (water, Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) to replace electrolytes. Water is actually the best choice. Employees should not drink any carbonated beverages (Coke, Pepsi, Energy drinks, etc.) as these only increase dehydration and give a false sense of being properly hydrated. Also, the use of alcohol the evening before the work shift, can lead to dehydration even before heat exposure.
4. Don't forget to protect your skin - wear sunscreen.

We need to keep an eye on each other and if an employee appears to be suffering from heat stress disorder, remove him or her from the heat and provide a cool, shaded place to rest and provide them with plenty of water. If the employee is disoriented or non-responsive, call for medical attention immediately, (911 in most areas). The goal is to recognize the hazards and symptoms of heat stress disorders and stop them before they occur. Remember, there is no better cure than prevention. Everybody working in the heat should be communicating and checking on each other

As always, if you are having to take extra breaks due to the extreme heat, you must notify your lead supervisor who in turn must contact your Superintendent.  

Should you have any questions regarding heat related stress, you are encouraged to call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

Aerial Lift Training Cards - in paycheck envelopes / mail

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees,

We want to thank all of you who attended our volunteer quarterly safety meeting held on 5/6/17 or the make-up meeting held on 5/17/17 on aerial lift safety.  We hope this meeting was beneficial towards your safety and personal well being.  Each of you who attended is being issued an aerial lift safety training wallet card.  If you worked for the week ending 5/27/17, your aerial lift wallet card will be in your paycheck envelope that you receive this week, so please look for it.  If you did not work for the week ending 5/27/17, we are mailing the aerial lift training cards to your home address.  In the event that you attended this safety meeting, however, you don't receive your aerial lift training card in this week's paycheck envelope or in the regular mail, please contact our Safety Director, Safety Pete, so he can get a card issued to you.

As always, please let me know of any questions.

Have a Safe Day! 

Volunteer Quarterly Safety "Make-Up" Meeting on Wednesday, 5/17/17 at 4:00pm!!!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

As you all know, we held our 2nd volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2017 on Saturday, 5/6/17. We had a terrific turn out and we want to extend a big thank you to all of you that attended.  We hope that the meeting was beneficial to you in the battle against injuries.

We offer a volunteer make-up meeting for those that could not attend the regularly scheduled safety meeting either due to working for I.D.I. on the Saturday of the meeting or due to unforeseen circumstances, etc.

The volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting is being held on  Wednesday, 5/17/17 at 4:00pm at our Barrington office. The safety training topic is: "Aerial Lift Safety - Boom Lifts and Scissor Lifts."

We use aerial lifts almost daily at one job site or another and it is important to know the do's and don'ts of working in aerial lifts.  Hazards of working in or around aerial lifts involve all 4 parts of the OSHA's Focused Four topics which are Falls, Electrocutions, Struck-by and Caught-in/Between type hazards as they cause a significant amount of fatalities in the construction industry.  We will include training on how to prevent injuries/fatalities involving aerial lifts.  We feel this is a very important topic as we use a numerous amount of aerial lifts on a given day and employees are required to have had aerial lift training before they can operate an aerial lift.  Please help spread the word of the meeting date, time and topic.

In the meantime, keep safety at the forefront of your mind with each task that you perform. Everyone should be participating in the mandatory 5-minute morning daily safety huddles to help promote everyone performing in a safe manner.  Some quick reminders - 100% hard hats, safety glasses & work boots.  Check your extension cords and electrical cords daily and remove them from service if defective. Inspect all tools, equipment, scaffold and aerial lifts prior to use and again, remove them from service if they are defective.  Face shield and fire extinguishers required for chop saw and partner saw use.  Fall protection required for all employees exposed to falls of 6' or more to lower levels.  No standing on the top 2 steps of portable A-frame step ladders and can only use in the fully open position with the spreader arms locked.  Keep an eye on each other and help keep our I.D.I. family members safe so they can go home each day to their loved ones in the same condition as they arrived.

We look forward to seeing you at our volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting on Wednesday, 5/17/17.

Should you have any questions related to safety, please discuss with your lead field supervisor, your Superintendent and/or contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

I.D.I. to Participate in National Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down on 5/8/17!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) is promoting to all construction companies to participate in a National Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down during the whole week from 5/8/17 - 5/12/17.  The purpose of the Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down is to raise awareness of preventing fall hazards in construction.  Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction workers as 350 construction workers died from falls in 2015.  Those deaths were preventable!

What is a Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down?  A Safety Stand-Down is a voluntary temporary stoppage of work for employers to talk directly to employees about "Fall Hazards and to reinforce the importance of Fall Prevention."  It is to heighten everyone's awareness and a reminder to everyone of the serious nature of how a fall can change your life and the life of your loved ones!

I.D.I. will be participating in this Safety Stand-Down and here is how:

On Monday, 5/8/17, we are advising all Safety Advocates/Coordinators & Superintendents to gather our crews and to all perform the same fall protection toolbox talk.  The toolbox talk that we want everyone to perform is in your Safety Advocate/Coordinator Manuals.  It is under the Fall Protection tab of your manual, it is toolbox talk # FP8 and it is called:  What is Fall Protection?  We in turn have to advise OSHA as to how many employees participated in the Stand-Down and we will be gathering those numbers from our toolbox talk rosters.  OSHA's goal is to have 1 million construction workers participate in the Stand-Down. During your fall prevention safety stand-down, share stories with each other about falls you may have been involved with, witnessed or know of, to help make it personal and to make each other think about what could happen to you by taking a short-cut on safety.  During the rest of the week, we want all of our 5-Minute Morning Safety Huddles to include discussions on fall protection.  You can discuss falls from ladders, scaffolding, roofs, wall openings, holes in the floor, shafts, pits, etc.  An example would be that if you have a portable step ladder at your site, have the ladder present during your safety huddle and show all employees the hazards of working on ladders such as, no standing and working on the top 2 steps, must use in the fully open position with the spreader arms locked, keeping your belt buckle or belly button between the ladder rails which prevents you from leaning out to far so the ladder doesn't tip causing you to fall.  If you need help with fall prevention discussion topics, you can always refer to your Safety Advocate/Coordinator Manual.

Let's work as a team to make this Safety Stand-Down a success by getting everyone involved and participating.  Your efforts help us to live up to our safety mission statement:  "Everyone Goes Home Alive And In The Same Condition As They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It!"  Should you have any questions, please contact our Safety Director, Safety Pete at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Final Reminder - Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting this Saturday, 5/6/17 at 7:00am!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

Just putting out a final reminder that our second Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting of 2017 is being held this coming Saturday, May 6th at 7:00am at our main office located at 28059 W. Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL.  The main training topic will be on Aerial Lift Safety including both scissor lifts and boom lifts.

We use aerial lifts almost daily at one job site or another and it is important to know the do's and don'ts of working in aerial lifts.  Hazards of working in or around aerial lifts involve all 4 parts of the OSHA's Focused Four topics which are Falls, Electrocutions, Struck-by and Caught-in/Between type hazards as they cause a significant amount of fatalities in the construction industry.  We will include training on how to prevent injuries/fatalities involving aerial lifts.  We feel this is a very important topic as we use a numerous amount of aerial lifts on a given day and employees are required to have had aerial lift training before they can operate an aerial lift.  Please help spread the word of the meeting date, time and topic.

In the meantime, keep safety at the forefront of your mind with each task that you perform. Everyone should be participating in the mandatory 5-minute morning daily safety huddles to help promote everyone performing in a safe manner.  Some quick reminders - 100% hard hats, safety glasses & work boots.  Check your extension cords and electrical cords daily and remove them from service if defective. Inspect all tools, equipment, scaffold and aerial lifts prior to use and again, remove them from service if they are defective.  Face shield and fire extinguishers required for chop saw and partner saw use.  Fall protection required for all employees exposed to falls of 6' or more to lower levels.  No standing on the top 2 steps of portable A-frame step ladders and can only use in the fully open position with the spreader arms locked.  Keep an eye on each other and help keep our I.D.I. family members safe so they can go home each day to their loved ones in the same condition as they arrived.

We look forward to seeing you at our volunteer quarterly safety meeting this coming Saturday, 5/6/17.

Should you have any questions related to safety, please discuss with your lead field supervisor, your Superintendent and/or contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Next Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting on Saturday, 5/6/17 at 7:00am!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

Just getting the word out that our next Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting of 2017 will be held on Saturday, May 6th at 7:00am at our main office located at 28059 W. Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL.  The main training topic will be on Aerial Lift Safety including both scissor lifts and boom lifts.

We use aerial lifts almost daily at one job site or another and it is important to know the do's and dont's of working in aerial lifts.  Struck-By and Caught-Between type injuries are 2 of OSHA's Focused Four topics as they cause a significant amount of fatalities in the construction industry.  We will include training on how to prevent Struck-By and Caught-Between type injuries involving aerial lifts.  We feel this is a very important topic as we use a numerous amount of aerial lifts on a given day and employees are required to have had aerial lift training before they can operate an aerial lift.  We will continue to advertise this meeting as we get closer to the meeting date.  In the meantime, we are asking for everyone's help to spread the word of the meeting date, time and topic.

In the meantime, keep safety at the forefront of your mind with each task that you perform. Everyone should be participating in the mandatory 5-minute morning daily safety huddles to help promote everyone performing in a safe manner.  Some quick reminders - 100% hard hats, safety glasses & work boots.  Check your extension cords and electrical cords daily and remove them from service if defective. Inspect all tools, equipment, scaffold and aerial lifts prior to use and again, remove them from service if they are defective.  Face shield and fire extinguishers required for chop saw and partner saw use.  Fall protection required for all employees exposed to falls of 6' or more to lower levels.  No standing on the top 2 steps of portable A-frame step ladders and can only use in the fully open position with the spreader arms locked.  Keep an eye on each other and help keep our I.D.I. family members safe so they can go home each day to their loved ones in the same condition as they arrived.

We look forward to seeing you at our volunteer quarterly safety meeting on 5/6/17.

Should you have any questions related to safety, please discuss with your lead field supervisor, your Superintendent and/or contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Hope to see you at the meeting so everyone can ensure they perform safely while in a scissor lift like Jason Fye!

Green Tape on All Extension Cords & 3-Pronged Electrical Tools as of 4/1/17!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:

We begin a new quarter on, 4/1/17 for our Assured Grounding Conductor Program and we are to switch over to green tape.  To all Safety Advocates/Coordinators - We need your help to keep our employees safe and to help keep us OSHA compliant by following our assured grounding conductor program. Please inspect, test and color-code with green tape all 3 pronged electrical tools and extension cords. All electrical tools and cords need to be visually inspected. If you see any defects in the cords such as bare wires, severe kinks, missing or damaged ground prong, the cord pulling away from the plug end-housing, etc., then that tool or cord would need to be immediately removed from service and reported to the lead person.  If your tool/cord passes the visual inspection, your next step is to test the cord with a receptacle tester.  First, you should test the oulet that you will be plugging your cord into to ensure that it is properly wired. You should see 2 yellow lights lit up on your tester and the red light should be off. This means the outlet is working appropriately. Next, plug your cord into the outlet and then test the cord with the receptacle tester. Again, you should see the same light pattern as mentioned above and this would mean the cord passed the test and it is good and safe to use. Any other light pattern means that there is a problem with the cord and the cord needs to be removed from service and reported to your lead person. If the cord passes the visual inspection and the cord tester test, you should then remove the previous quarter's white electrical tape and install the green electrical tape about 1" down from both plug ends. Your cord is now in compliance with our 2nd quarter's Assured Grounding Conductor Program. The green tape shall remain in place from 4/1/17 through 6/30/17. You are not quite done yet! All employees now need to visually inspect all electrical cords and tools on a daily basis and if any defects are found, the cord needs to be immediately removed from service.

If you do not have green tape, please ask your Superintendent as they have green tape to provide to you.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure your electrical tools and cords are in safe working order. Your actions may prevent one of our family members from sustaining an electrical shock type injury or worse yet and electrocution. If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Program, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

I.D.I. Drivers Now Carry WD40 in Addition PPE, Etc.!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

We just want to inform you of a suggestion that came out of our small group break-out sessions from a previous volunteer quarterly safety meeting.  One of the small groups was discussing that there are times when baker scaffolds remain at a job site for a long period of time due to reasons such as we are on a large project that takes a long time to complete.  We were advised that some of the baker scaffold components can become difficult to manipulate due to dust and exposure to the job site elements.  It was suggested by the small group that our drivers carry WD40 to hand to a field employee so they can lubricate baker scaffold components that may just need a little lubrication, such as baker scaffold wheels & brakes and the positive engagement locking pins. This was a terrific suggestion and we appreciate that this was brought up during the small group break-out session.

Our drives are now carrying WD40.  So, if you are at a job site and you need WD40, just ask one of our drivers.  In addition to WD40, our drivers carry personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hard hats, safety glasses, dust mask, gloves, face shields, 1st aid kits, high visibility vests and extension cords. If you need any of these items in small quantities, you can obtain it from our drivers.  If you need these items in larger quantities, you need to order them through your Superintendent.  Please do not rely on the drivers to provide you with items to stock your job site as far as PPE, etc.  They carry these items in small quantities more for the emergency basis, etc.

This is one of the reasons we implemented the small group break-out sessions as it provides an avenue for our employees to share their safety ideas, thoughts and concerns.  Great job on bringing this matter to our attention and also with providing a solution that benefits the company and our employees!

As we trained on at our February volunteer quarterly safety meeting, continue to inspect your scaffolds, equipment and tools daily before use.  If you come across anything defective, you are required to remove it from service and report the defective equipment/tools to your Superintendent so we can coordinate getting it removed from the job site as quick as possible and back to the shop for inspection, repair and/or destruction.

If you have any questions about this, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham.

Have a Safe Day!

Safety Meeting Photos!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

I.D.I. held our volunteer quarterly safety meeting on 2/18/17 and our "make-up" safety meeting on 3/2/17. Below are some photos from both safety meetings.

We want to say thank you to all of the employees that attended our 2/18/17 and 3/2/17 volunteer quarterly safety meetings on Baker Scaffold and Mini-Perry Scaffold Safety!  We hope this safety session was beneficial to all of you in helping to win the battle against injuries. We appreciate all of you taking time out of your busy lives to help make our safety culture the best in the construction industry.  I.D.I. has the best employees!

Have a Safe Day!

 Recognizing our 2016 Field Safety Committee members for 
voluntarily serving on the committee for the year.
 Thank you for helping to make I.D.I. the industry leader in safety.

Great job - gentlemen! 

Recognizing our 2016 Safety Coordinators of the Year

Thank you for helping to oversee that all of our employees

are able to go home safely to their loved ones!

 Tom Graham & Vito Rizzi are setting up a double-stacked baker scaffold
to help with our safety training session.  These guys sure know how to get it done safely!

 Vito is so excited to be helping with our safety training that he decided to do a little dance.
The Safety Dance of course!

Expert Drywall Finisher/Taper, Jesus Nunez being recognized

by owner, Bill Preston for his 35 years of service, dedication & loyalty.

You da man - Jesus!

Final Reminder - Volunteer "Make-Up" Safety Meeting is Tomorrow, 3/2/17 at 4:00pm

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees,

As you all know, we held our 1st volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2017 on Saturday, 2/18/17. We had a terrific turn out and we want to extend a big thank you to all of you that attended.  We hope that the meeting was beneficial to you in the battle against injuries.

We offer a volunteer make-up meeting for those that could not attend the regularly scheduled safety meeting either due to working for I.D.I. on the Saturday of the meeting or due to unforeseen circumstances, etc.

The volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting is being held on  Thursday, 3/2/17 at 4:00pm at our Barrington office. The safety training topic is: "Baker Scaffold & Mini-Perry Scaffold Safety."

Baker scaffolds and mini-Perry scaffolds (mobile workstands) are one of the most common pieces of equipment our employees use when they need to increase their work height.  We want to ensure that everyone is aware of how to use this equipment safely, how and when to inspect this equipment, when to use safety rails, etc.  Our goal of this training is to prevent injuries/incidents involving baker type scaffolds.

Each field employee (non-Safety Advocates) who attends this volunteer safety training session will earn 400 safety training incentive points for our current year.

We will also be distributing the 2016 safety incentives to the employees that participated in last years incentive program.

We look forward to seeing you at our volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting on 3/2/17.

Should you have any questions about this meeting, please ask your Superintendent or contact           our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689 or at pgraham@4idi.com.

Have a Safe Day!

  

I.D.I. - Award Winning Safety!!!!!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

Look what you did!  I.D.I. is a member of Great Lakes Contractors Association (formerly Lake County Contractors Association) and last night we received the highest safety award for a contractor member in the 100,001 - 500,000 hours worked category.  We received this award for achieving ZERO LOST-TIME INJURIES during the 2016 calendar year.  You all earned this award.  I.D.I. has safety policies and procedures in place, we train on those policies, our employees attend the training, participate in the training, but at the end of the day, it is really up to each individual's personal choice that is made each second/minute of the day with each task being performed.  Employees have decisions to make when faced with challenging situations and our safety culture is about making the correct appropriate safety decision every time.  In 2016, you all made the choice to work safe.  This award is about you and your loved ones!  Our goal is to not just receive this award occasionally.  It's about safety consistency. Minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, year in and year out making safe choices, both at work and at home, looking out for each other and having a positive attitude towards safety. I.D.I. has earned this same award in the past such as in 2014.  We have never earned this award in back to back years. We are off to a good start of having back to back years with zero lost-time injuries as we are 2 months into the 2017 year and have not had a lost-time injury. You all have worked 443 consecutive days since our last lost-time injury.  During those 443 days I.D.I. employees together worked 468,454.75 hours.  We are approaching 1/2 million hours worked without a lost-time injury.  Please keep our safety mission statement at the forefront of your mind with each task you perform:  "Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition As They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It!"    

*** Congratulations to all I.D.I. employees ***

Have a Safe Day!

Volunteer Quarterly Safety "Make-Up" Meeting on Thursday, 3/2/17 at 4:00pm!!!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees,

As you all know, we held our 1st volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2017 on Saturday, 2/18/17. We had a terrific turn out and we want to extend a big thank you to all of you that attended.  We hope that the meeting was beneficial to you in the battle against injuries.

We offer a volunteer make-up meeting for those that could not attend the regularly scheduled safety meeting either due to working for I.D.I. on the Saturday of the meeting or due to unforeseen circumstances, etc.

The volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting is being held on  Thursday, 3/2/17 at 4:00pm at our Barrington office. The safety training topic is: "Baker Scaffold & Mini-Perry Scaffold Safety."

Baker scaffolds and mini-Perry scaffolds (mobile workstands) are one of the most common pieces of equipment our employees use when they need to increase their work height.  We want to ensure that everyone is aware of how to use this equipment safely, how and when to inspect this equipment, when to use safety rails, etc.  Our goal of this training is to prevent injuries/incidents involving baker type scaffolds.

Each field employee (non-Safety Advocates) who attends this volunteer safety training session will earn 400 safety training incentive points for our current year.

We will also be distributing the 2016 safety incentives to the employees that participated in last years incentive program.

We look forward to seeing you at our volunteer quarterly safety make-up meeting on 3/2/17.

Should you have any questions about this meeting, please ask your Superintendent or contact           our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689 or at pgraham@4idi.com.

Have a Safe Day!

  

Final Reminder - Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting on Saturday, 2/18/17 at 7:00am!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees,

Just putting out a final reminder that our first Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting of 2017 is being held this coming Saturday, February 18th at 7:00am at our main office located at 28059 W. Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL.  The main training topic will be on Baker Scaffold and Mini-Perry Scaffold Safety.

Baker scaffolds and mini-Perry scaffolds (mobile workstands) are one of the most common pieces of equipment our employees use when they need to increase their work height.  We want to ensure that everyone is aware of how to use this equipment safely, how and when to inspect this equipment, when to use safety rails, etc.  Our goal of this training is to prevent injuries/incidents involving baker type scaffolds.

In the meantime, keep safety at the forefront of your mind with each task that you perform. Everyone should be participating in the mandatory 5-minute morning daily safety huddles to help promote everyone performing in a safe manner.  Some quick reminders - 100% hard hats, safety glasses & work boots.  Check your extension cords and electrical cords daily and remove them from service if defective. Inspect all tools, equipment, scaffold and aerial lifts prior to use and again, remove them from service if they are defective.  Face shield and fire extinguishers required for chop saw and partner saw use.  Fall protection required for all employees exposed to falls of 6' or more to lower levels.  No standing on the top 2 steps of portable A-frame step ladders and can only use in the fully open position with the spreader arms locked.  Keep an eye on each other and help keep our I.D.I. family members safe so they can go home each day to their loved ones in the same condition as they arrived.

We look forward to seeing you at our volunteer quarterly safety meeting on 2/18/17.

Should you have any questions related to safety, please discuss with your lead field supervisor, your Superintendent and/or contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Below are photos of I.D.I. employees that were "Caught Working Safely" while on baker type scaffolds!

Painter, Joe Bellich - caught using a mini-Perry scaffold with the wheels locked and working at a safe rung level height!

Painter, Dennis Johnson was caught working safely on a low height baker scaffold with locked wheels!

Acoustic Carpenter, Chris Frankowski was caught working safely on a baker scaffold with locked wheels!

Great job Ismael Davila - wheels locked and working at a safe rung level height!