Green Mountain Communications employees - all 47 of them - know that “safe environments and installations are our highest priority.” This is said with no pun intended by Stephanie Testa, the company's human resources generalist. No pun, because “highest” is a good word to apply to safety at Green Mountain.
The company designs and installs communications towers, and owns, manages and leases antenna sites on towers located in New England. We've all seen these towers and antenna sites, which can rise hundreds of feet in the air. But Green Mountain employees have installed not just traditional cell towers, but also wireless sites in church steeples, on flagpoles and rooftops and in cell “trees.”
The one common thing at all of these locations is that employees are working at heights, and working at heights continues to be a leading cause of fatal injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Green Mountain, however, has a lost-time injury rate of zero.
The emphasis on safety at the company comes from the top, with President Victor Drouin, and extends to the company's newest employees. All new hires are advised that the company has a strict 100 percent tie-off policy. They also must pass a background check, a pre-employment drug screen and a Department of Transportation physical.
Employees receive comprehensive training and are provided with and trained to inspect their own personal protective and fall protection equipment. Once trained, new employees are mentored by experienced employees, and “are not pushed to begin work on the tower until they feel comfortable to do so,” says Testa.
“Our employees know that safety and quality are the top priorities,” she adds. “We do not put them in situations where they are rushing to finish a job and having to cut corners that are unsafe.”
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