Protect your employees with the proper PPE

As a propane delivery company owner or manager, it’s your responsibility to make sure employees stay safe on the job.

One important procedure is ensuring your staff is prepared with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE). Conducting a safety meeting is the first step to a safe and successful propane delivery season.

What to cover in your next meeting

There’s no better time than now to review the PPE section of your policies and procedures manual. Have your employees bring their PPE to the meeting so you can inspect it and ensure everyone has what they need.

What do employees need? This will vary from company to company, so be sure to refer to your own manual for details. Many companies require employees to have safety glasses, gloves approved for the product they’ll be handling, and nonslip steel and composite-toe footwear, but requirements will vary depending on job function and tasks being performed. You may wish for your employees working in loud environments to carry ear protection, while those working in gaseous environments may be encouraged to wear flame-retardant clothing. All PPE should be present and in good working order.

Note: An employee handbook is not the same as a policies and procedures manual. Rather than discussing the company’s culture, policies outline how you want to do business, while procedures are a step-by-step guide on how employees should complete each task.

How to document your safety meetings

This answer will vary based on your company’s policies and procedures manual. One universal recommendation for your safety meeting is to keep proper documentation on who attended the meeting; this will allow you to follow up with employees who missed it due to vacation, parental leave or other reasons.

Brent Cammett is the safety and compliance director at P3 Propane Safety. He has more than 30 years of experience, led multistate safety programs, conducted safety training and audits, and owned and operated his own fuel company. You can reach Brent at brent_cammett@bostonenv.com or at P3propane.com.