Ensure distraction-free driving

Backpack-laden children will soon be out in force walking to school buildings from homes and parked cars, or riding bikes, scooters, or skateboards. Unfortunately, children aren’t always the most safety conscious. That’s why it is up to drivers to be vigilant, avoiding distractions like phones, eating and drinking, or even attempting to use GPS while in motion. Pay extra attention when backing up as well, as you never know when a child might pop up unexpectedly behind you.

Beware of glare

Although most associate sunnier days with summer, it is actually in fall when the glare is at its worst, due to the sun’s position in the sky being lower during fall and winter months. The lower position of the sun hits the eyes of drivers at a more direct angle, sometimes completely obscuring a driver’s view of the road, other vehicles, and pedestrians. Unfortunately, peak glare time for the A.M. often corresponds to the times when schoolchildren might be walking or driving home from school. In order to increase visibility even when the glare gets severe, keep your windshield clean, remove any obstructions from your dashboard, and be sure to keep polarized sunglasses in your vehicle at all times.

Watch for school zones & bus stops

Although it is typically better to stick to highways and interstates to avoid back-to-school traffic, there will be times when taking backroads is unavoidable. Therefore, it is important to be aware of any school zones and bus stops you may encounter, especially when it may be less clear where schools are located when driving on backroads. When possible, avoid school zones altogether. If you can’t avoid them, give yourself extra time as the speed limit is at least 10 MPH slower.

Just being aware of these safety challenges can go a long way to improve the well-being of schoolchildren and drivers alike.

Part of our safety-oriented culture at TDS is making sure our high safety standards are met, even when it can be difficult to find & retain the right qualified driver.

Since the trucking industry is still searching for ways to increase the availability of drivers, retention is truly the name of the game with fewer overall candidates. Safety is a major part of keeping the qualified drivers you want since the best drivers want a safe working environment with co-workers and supervisors who are equally safety aware.

Retention starts with recruiting

Good driver retention begins at the initial hiring process. Too often what the client wants and what the driver needs are not communicated effectively, which leads to high turnover. Miscommunication or ineffective vetting processes can also lead to lapses in safety if a driver is sent to a job where the physical or equipment requirements are beyond what they can handle. That’s why, when vetting driver candidates at TDS, we start by making sure we have the right person in the right role. For example, if the job requires heavy lifting or the use of specific equipment, we make sure the candidate has quality experience with those needs. We look at all their past employment history, so we have a record of all of their work experience. We make sure to clearly communicate the expectations of the client to the candidate before they are sent on the job.

Another important step to our process is a deep dive on the safety history of every driver we hire. We check their state DMV Motor Vehicle Record (MVR), along with PSP and DAC reports upon client request. These reports enable us to screen out any candidates that have a history of poor driving or other safety violations.

Retention doesn’t stop with the hire

One complaint we often hear from drivers recruited by companies or individuals other than TDS, is that after they are hired, the recruiters that seemed so interested in helping them find the right role suddenly disappear. At TDS, our relationship with our drivers is important to us, even after they are placed. Our team is in constant communication with our placements to ensure they are happy with the position. We check in with our drivers to make sure all safety standards are met by the customer. Our drivers know they are valuable assets, and our team treats them as such.

We offer referral bonus programs to all of our drivers to send other qualified candidates our way. The referral program is open even to drivers who have left TDS for whatever reason. Not only do we consider our drivers part of the TDS family but maintaining great relationships with former drivers is also a valuable recruitment source. A good referral from a qualified and safe driver means a lot more to us than data sent from a job posting site.

Recruiting and retaining drivers is a tough business these days, but if we maintain a focus based on safety and quality relationships with our drivers, it is a challenge we can certainly meet.

Some quick stats on the impact of workplace fatigue:

• Workplace accidents/injuries are 30% more likely to occur on night shifts than day shifts.
• Working 12 hour shifts? Your risk factor increases by 37% of accident or injury.
• Fatigue accounts for an estimated loss to employers of $136 billion in health related lost productivity.
• More than 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder.

So what can we do to help ensure safety in the workplace?

• Increase headcount to lower the need for extended hours worked during a shift.
• Whenever possible, schedule employees on a regular and predictable schedule that can help build healthy sleep patterns.
• Evaluate the work environment for opportunities to increase alertness such as lighting, temperature and bright aesthetics.
• Offer regularly opportunities for employees to collaborate or work with others for interaction.
• Provide employees with education pieces on healthy sleep patterns and how to identify the symptoms of fatigue that may impact safety and performance.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, driver, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job board  for more information!  Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 22,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

The good news? While one of the most frequently reporting injuries, it’s also one of the most preventable type of accident or injury that occurs in the workplace. Here’s little insight into the most frequent causes as well as some tips for prevention:

Causes:

• Dirty, freshly waxed, wet, poor conditioned or transitioning walking surfaces
• Uneven or irregular surfaces
• Mounting or dismounting from equipment, vehicle, ladders or platforms
• Weather hazards
• Uncovered hoses, wires or cluttered walking surfaces
• Poor lighting conditions, improperly fitting safety equipment, poor hazard signage
• Fatigue, poor visibility, impairment due to drugs or alcohol, carelessness
• Carrying objects improperly, distracted employees, rushed employees

Prevention Tips:

• Good housekeeping and regular maintenance of surfaces and work environments
• Training on safe lifting, carrying and safe fall techniques
• Wearing proper footwear and PPE
• Maintain all equipment to prevent leaks, spills, and drips
• Install slip-resistant floors in high risk areas
• Make sure all loose hoses, wires or cords are properly secured and marked

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, driver, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job board  for more information!  Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 22,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

Thankfully the most costly injuries aren’t typically the most common. Below are a few of the most expensive injuries per occurrence:

• Amputations
• Dislocations
• Electric Shock
• Crushes
• Traumas

While some of those injuries have an individual cost over $100k, even inflammation can cost an employer nearly $25k. The key to injury and illness prevention is regular risk assessments followed by implementing any necessary changes. For best results in addition to your risk and safety teams, include employees from each role in your assessments and planning. Those individuals who are exposed to the environment and job duties on a daily basis can give great insight into things that may be easily overlooked by others who aren’t performing the essential duties for extended periods of time.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, driver, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job board  for more information!  Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 22,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

If you are an employer in the retail industry (e.g., pharmacies, supermarkets, and big box stores), the following tips can help reduce your employees’ risk of exposure to the coronavirus:

• Encourage workers to stay home if they are sick.
• Provide a place to wash hands or alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60% alcohol.
• Maintain regular housekeeping practices, including routine cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and equipment with Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus.
• Practice sensible social distancing, maintaining six feet between co-workers and customers, where possible. For example, some worksites have already begun to demarcate six-foot distances with floor tape in checkout lines. Workplaces where social distancing is a challenge should consider innovative approaches, such as opening only every other cash register, temporarily moving workstations to create more distance, and installing plexiglass partitions.
• Use a drive-through window or curbside pick-up.
• Provide workers and customers with tissues and trash receptacles.
• Train workers in proper hygiene practices and the use of workplace controls.
• Allow workers to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent them from spreading the virus.
• Encourage workers to report any safety and health concerns.

For more information, visit www.osha.gov/coronavirus or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

Thank you and stay safe!

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Technical, and Trillium Environmental. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2018 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

If you are in the manufacturing industry, the following tips can help reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus:

• Encourage workers to say home if they are sick
• Establish flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), if feasible.
• Practice sensible social distancing and maintain six feet between co-workers, where possible.
• For work activities where social distancing is a challenge, consider limiting the duration of these activities and/or implementing innovative approaches, such as temporarily moving or repositioning workstations to create more distance or installing barriers (e.g., plexiglass shields) between workstations.
• Monitor public health communications about COVID-19 recommendations for the workplace and ensure that workers have access to and understand that information.
• Train workers on how to properly put on, use/wear, take-off, and maintain protective clothing and equipment.
• Allow workers to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent spread of the virus.
• Encourage respiratory etiquette, including covering coughs and sneezes.
• Discourage workers from using other workers’ tools and equipment.
• Use Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus.
• Promote personal hygiene. If workers do not have access to soap and water for handwashing, provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol. Provide disinfectants and disposable towels workers can use to clean work surfaces.
• Encourage workers to report any safety and health concerns.

For more information, visit www.osha.gov/coronavirus or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

Thank you and stay safe!

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Technical, and Trillium Environmental. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2018 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

Ten Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus

All workplaces can take the following infection prevention measures to protect workers:

1. Encourage workers to stay home if sick.
2. Encourage respiratory etiquette, including covering coughs and sneezes.
3. Provide a place to wash hands or alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60% alcohol.
4. Limit worksite access to only essential workers, if possible.
5. Establish flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), if feasible.
6. Discourage workers from using other workers’ phones, desks, or other work tools and equipment.
7. Regularly clean and disinfect surfaces, equipment, and other elements of the work environment. Use Environmental Protect
8. Agency (EPA)- approved cleaning chemicals with label claims against the coronavirus.
9. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use of all cleaning and disinfection products.
10. Encourage workers to report any safety and health concerns.

For more information, visit www.osha.gov/coronavirus or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

While a number of states across the country are still on full shutdown with stay at home orders in place, there are still frontline workers out in the middle of this pandemic taking care of the sick, working at grocery stores, hauling consumer goods, etc. For all of those deemed essential during this unprecedented time, please stay safe and thank you!

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Technical, and Trillium Environmental. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2018 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

OSHA is committed to protecting the health and safety of America’s workers and workplaces during these unprecedented times. The agency will be issuing a series of industry-specific alerts designed to keep workers safe.

If you are in the package delivery industry, the following tips can help reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus:

• Encourage workers to stay home if they are sick.
• Establish flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts) where feasible.
• Practice sensible social distancing and maintain six feet between co-workers where possible.
• Minimize interaction between drivers and customers by leaving deliveries at loading docks, doorsteps, or other locations that do not require person-to-person exposures.
• Encourage respiratory etiquette, including covering coughs and sneezes.
• Promote personal hygiene. If workers do not have access to soap and water for handwashing, provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol. Provide tissues, as well as disinfectants and disposable towels workers can use to clean work surfaces, including vehicle interiors.
• Allow workers to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent them from spreading the virus.
• Discourage workers from using other workers’ tools and equipment.
• Use Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus.
• Encourage workers to report any safety and health concerns.

For more information, visit www.osha.gov/coronavirus or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

It should go without saying, but for all of the essential workers currently out there working hard to keep the rest of us safe, thank you for all that you do!

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Technical, and Trillium Environmental. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2018 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

[Pictured from Left to Right: Brandon Silvera – Divisional Vice President; Jeff Waugh – Area Manager and Safety Committee Member; Wolf Hopen – San Bernardino Area Sales Manager; Daniel Gonzalez – San Bernardino Recruiter; Toby Copeland – CA Area Manager; Jamie Ellis – Senior Safety Manager]

The San Bernardino office completed 2019 with ZERO injuries and an overall internal audit score of 96%. A huge congratulations goes out to Wolf and Daniel for a job well done! Trillium takes safety seriously on and off the job site and we are more than proud of the work this team has been able to accomplish over the past year. Here’s to a fantastic 2019 and to keeping it up throughout 2020!