Making safety a part of company culture

By Malco Tools.

Get a look at how Malco Tools has woven an award-winning safety culture into everything that they do.  

Malco Tools have been a leading tool manufacturer for HVAC, roofing, siding, gutters, fence and rail professionals for over 70 years now. Our story began as a small startup in the 1950s. Today, we are a national manufacturer with over 160 associates. Our success stems from many factors, including high-quality craftsmanship and our innovative development teams.  

An often-underrated part of our success is the way we have built our philosophies, goals and operations around safety. Recently, our team received the Minnesota STAR (MNSTAR) designation from the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA). This is just one of several safety awards and recognitions we have received, such as the Governor’s Safety Award from the Minnesota Safety Council. Keep reading to learn about our award-winning safety culture and how it has helped our business thrive over the years.

A safety-focused team

Every year, our team sets a goal of how many associates we can get involved in safety activities over and above their usually required activities (such as completing safety training). We’re proud to report that in 2024, we are on track to exceed our 80% goal! It may be a stretch goal, but we’d love to get this number to 100% employee participation.

A big reason for our success in achieving this goal is our active and engaged Safety Committee, which includes representation from management and supervisors. The Safety Committee actively reviews safety procedures, incident reports and inspection results and monitors progress toward the company’s annual goals.

Another way we encourage team participation in safety activities is by offering paid time for attending Safety Committee meetings, developing and reviewing safety procedures, attending the annual Minnesota Safety Conference, and more.

Additionally, all our associates — whether in production or at a desk — do stretching exercises twice daily to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and/or break up prolonged periods of inactivity.

Safety at the highest levels

From the board of directors down, Malco management is committed to workplace safety. Our safety performance metrics are a key organizational metric that we track monthly and share with all associates, the board and all levels of management — they are equal in importance to financial performance and service level performance.

All levels of management participate in safety procedures and facility-wide safety inspections. Department managers and supervisors are all held accountable for leading the safety incident investigation and analysis process.

Managers at Malco have a very robust open-door safety policy. We want to hear ideas from all associates about how we can best protect workers on the job.

Proactive planning

Although it’s unpleasant to consider the “worst-case scenario” when it comes to safety, often, the best guard against an unfortunate incident is a well-thought-out plan and well-documented processes. At Malco, we have various plans and systems to identify and control workplace hazards.

One of the key elements of our comprehensive health and safety program is a Safety Management System based on the ANSI Z10 standard, one of the country’s highest safety programs developed by the American Society of Safety Professionals. Through this system, all associates, from the President on down, participate in in-person and online safety training specifically geared to their position and role in the company.

We also undergo a significant number of safety inspections, safe work observations and other measures to ensure that all risks are properly evaluated and controlled.

Engagement with outside resources

Beyond our internal safety procedures and systems, Malco turns to a wide variety of partners and resources to ensure we stay current on the latest best practices and certifications. We know that sometimes you need an external perspective on things, which is why we bring in outside safety consultants on an annual basis to review our facility in Annandale and provide recommendations for improvement.

For many years, Malco has viewed its relationship with Minnesota OSHA as a strong partnership. Prior to earning their top-level MNSTAR recognition this year, we continuously maintained the MNOSHA Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MNSHARP) recognition for the last 20 years. Malco Safety and Environmental Manager Chris Strand is a member of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Occupational Safety and Health Review Board (OSHRB).

We’re also members of the Minnesota Safety Council, having earned the Governor’s Safety Award 14 times in the last 20 years.

We’re incredibly proud of the safety program we’ve built here at Malco. This overview only begins to scratch the surface of the many ways we go “above and beyond” to ensure our employee-owners work in a safe and ergonomic environment.

Interested in working with us? Check out our careers page.

Original article and photo source: Malco Tools