I.D.I. Forming New 2016 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 2015 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 February 2016, 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 injuries 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 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!

Next Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting - 2/13/16!

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

Just getting the word out that we have scheduled our first volunteer quarterly safety meeting for 2016 and it will be held on Saturday, February 13th at 7:00am at our Barrington office location.

The safety meeting topic will be: Hazard Identification & Prompt Corrective Measures.  

Our quarterly safety meetings are the backbone of our safety culture.  This is where we all come together as one team to help keep us all on the same page with safety and to help us 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!"

Each employee that attends this safety meeting will earn 400 safety incentive points towards our 2016 Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Program.  Employees can also pick up your items that you ordered from last year’s volunteer safety incentive program as we will be distributing the items at this meeting. 

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

We look forward to seeing you!

Have a Safe Day!

White Tape on All 3-Pronged Electrical Tools & Extension Cords on 1/1/16!

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

Happy New Year Everyone!

We began a new quarter on 1/1/16 for our Assured Grounding Program. We provided white tape to all Safety Coordinators at our November volunteer quarterly safety meeting.  To all Safety Coordinators - please help keep our employees safe and help keep us OSHA compliant by following our assured grounding program.  Please inspect, test and color-code with white 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 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 field supervisor. 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 Program. The white tape shall remain in place from 1/1/16 through 3/31/16. You are not quite done yet! You 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.

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, an electrocution. If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Program, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Scanning for Hazards!

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

How are your job sites looking?  Are there any safety hazards in your work areas?  Are there employees performing tasks unsafely?  The OSHA construction safety standards, which also means OSHA laws, have a requirement called Accident Prevention Responsibilities.  Under this subpart, the OSHA regulations state that the employer shall provide for frequent and regular inspections of the job sites, materials and equipment.  So what does this mean that we/you should be doing.  This means that all employees should be frequently scanning their work areas for hazards and if hazards are identified, we/you need to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate the hazards and/or to reduce the risk of the hazards.  For example, when you arrive in the morning at your job site, you shouldn't just immediately grab a metal stud, a sheet of drywall, your taping bazooka, your paint spray gun, etc. and jump right into working with out assessing your work areas for hazards.  What you should do is walk your work area and try to identify hazards.  Ask yourself - what in here could hurt me or others, how could I get injured performing my tasks in this area, am I wearing the necessary personal protective equipment?  If there are no hazards, then all good.  If a hazard is identified, then you need to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate the hazard and/or to reduce the risk of the hazard if it cannot be totally eliminated.  If the hazard is not within our scope or control and if you cannot easily eliminate the hazard, then you need to remove yourself from the hazard and report it to your Foreman.  The Foreman will then notify his/her Superintendent and the general contractor so a hazard abatement plan can be implemented.  In the meantime, the Foreman and Superintendent need to worn all employees that could be affected by the hazard to stay clear of the hazard until it is eliminated.  These procedures not only apply to when you first arrive to work in the morning.  These procedures apply to when you begin a new task or when you move to a different area of the job site.  Also, job sites are fluid and hazards can pop up at anytime.  Employees should be visually assessing their work areas for hazards throughout the day.  It's really pretty simple and it really doesn't take much time at all.  Just be aware of your surroundings and if hazards are present, do something about them to eliminate them.

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

Have a Safe Day!

2015 Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Order Forms Due in by 12/17/15!

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

Just providing a reminder that we mailed out the 2015 Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Catalogs on 11/27/15 to all employees that participated in this program.  If you participated in this program, you should have received in the mail a catalog, an order form and a cover letter which explains your incentive point total and instructions on how to order items from the catalog.  The cover letter explained that we are looking to receive all order forms from our employees, no later than Thursday, 12/17/15.  We use a company called American Outfitters to full fill your orders.  They will prepare your orders and we will be picking up your items from them.  We will be distributing your items to you at our February Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting.  If you are not in attendance at that safety meeting, we will deliver your items to you at a job site in the weeks to follow.  If you are not working for I.D.I. at that time, we will contact you and you can pick up your items at our Barrington office location.

We want to thank all of our employees who participated in this program as this demonstrates your commitment towards your own personal safety, your commitment towards your loved ones who care about you coming home safely from work and your commitment to International Decorators.

If you have any questions about our Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Program, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689 or by e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com.

Have a Safe Day!

2015 Safety Incentive Catalogs Are In The Mail!

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

We hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Just letting you know that our 2015 Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Catalogs are going out in today's mail to all employees that participated in this program.  If you participated in this program, you will be receiving a catalog, an order form and a cover letter which explains your incentive point total and instructions on how to order items from the catalog.  The cover letter explains that we are looking to receive all order forms from our employees, no later than 12/17/15.  We use a company called American Outfitters to full fill your orders.  They will prepare your orders and we will be picking up your items from them.  We will be distributing your items to you at our February Volunteer Quarterly Safety Meeting.  If you are not in attendance at that safety meeting, we will deliver your items to you at a job site in the weeks to follow.  If you are not working for I.D.I. at that time, we will contact you and you can pick up your items at our Barrington office location.

We want to thank all of our employees who participated in this program as this demonstrates your commitment towards your own personal safety, your commitment towards your loved ones who care about you coming home safely from work and your commitment to International Decorators.

If you have any questions about our Volunteer Safety Training Incentive Program, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689 or by e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com.

Have a Safe Day!

Volunteer Quarterly Safety "Make-Up" Meeting on Tuesday, 11/24/15 at 4:00pm

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

As you all know, we held our 4th volunteer quarterly safety meeting of 2015 on Saturday, 11/14/15. 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 Tuesday, 11/24/15 at 4:00pm at our Barrington office in our warehouse. The safety training topic is called: "Making Safety Personal."

We are asking everyone to help spread the word to all of our employees so they have the opportunity to attend.

Also if you are planning on attending, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham, no later than Monday, 11/23/15 at 3:00pm to let him know as we need an approximate head-count for the meeting as we have to prepare materials and for chair rental purposes. Peter can be reached by e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com or text to (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!