At Richardet Floor Covering in Perryville, Missouri, the materials needed to install a job may range from several bags of concrete to several pallets. That’s a lot of lifting and potential strain for installers and many trips back and forth to the installation site.
With the purchase of equipment funded partly by the Missouri Employers Mutual Safety Grant program, installers can move quicker and much easier with the Graco Tough Tek Pumping System.
“We are excited about this equipment for many reasons: in time savings and potential injuries, primarily strains,” Erin Sullivan, controller at Richardet Floor Covering said. “Strains and finger cuts are our industry’s most common injury types.”
The new equipment will allow employees to reduce the risk of strain and eliminate extra steps in the self-leveling process of floor installation, allowing workers to avoid hauling water and bags of concrete solution around the job site. Instead, they will use a hose that stretches to where the self-leveler solution (cement mix used to finish the floor) is needed.
The business has an average of 80 employees and primarily serves commercial flooring customers.
Richardet Floor Covering is one of 38 businesses recently awarded safety grants from MEM. Since introducing the program in 2016, MEM has funded $2.36 million in safety grants, impacting more than 10,000 employees.
Safety grants impact lives
All MEM policyholders are eligible for a safety grant, regardless of premium size or claims history. Successful applicants earn one-to-one matching grants from $500 up to $10,000 toward approved safety initiatives. Policyholders are required to monitor any claims data and report on the success of the safety grant so MEM can help other businesses learn from their success.
“Our mission is to bring employees home safe and sound to their families every day, and safety grants deliver on that mission,” Jim Owen, President and CEO of MEM said. “We continually make investments in our policyholders, so the cost of safety initiatives doesn’t get in the way of protecting employees on the job.”
The safety grants program is designed to help policyholders pinpoint areas of their business where employees could be injured: 47 percent of the most recent grants involve equipment targeting strain injuries in the workplace, and 34 percent addressed slips, trips, and falls.
Businesses selected to receive safety grants in between June-December 2022 include:
| Aspire Construction Services LLC | St. Charles | Genie GR-20 runabout lift with extension basket to prevent falls from elevation |
| Astrawatt Solar
|
Kansas City | Four TranzVolt solar hoists to prevent falls from elevation |
| Branson R4 School District | Branson | Rotary tire changer & wheel clamp to prevent strains and sprains |
| Catholic Diocese of KC/St. Joe (Catholic Cemeteries Associated) | Kansas City | GRABO PRO portable vacuum pump to prevent struck-by incidents |
| City of Boonville, Parks and Recreation | Boonville | Remote-controlled lawn mower to prevent caught-under incidents |
| City of North Kansas City | North Kansas City | GS-1932 slab scissor lift to prevent falls from elevation |
| City of Sedalia | Sedalia | Extractors to prevent carcinogens |
| City of Washington | Washington | Sonetics headset system to improve communication to prevent struck by injuries |
| Diamondback Services | North Kansas City | Motive driver-facing cameras and a monthly subscription for two years to reduce motor vehicle accidents |
| Electrical Contractors, Inc. | Cape Girardeau | Genie 19 scissor lift to prevent falls from heights |
| Emmaus Homes | St. Charles | Hoyer lifts, a sit-to-stand mini-lift, a ceiling track lift motor, and a walker to prevent strains |
| Executive Coach Builders, Inc. | Springfield | Rolling industrial and warehouse ladder with perforated tread and a new electric scissor lift to prevent falls from heights |
| Friends of the Zoo, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri | Kansas City | Railing system to prevent falls from heights |
| Gateway Tree Care LLC | Fenton | Kask helmet/muffs/visor/Sena kits to improve communication to prevent struck by injuries |
| Hurst Pool and Spa, Inc. (Columbia Pool and Spa) | Columbia | TX1000 wide track utility loader to prevent slips, trips, and falls |
| JAY Trucking LLC | Neosho | Genie GS-1930 to prevent falls from elevation |
| John Fitzgibbon Memorial Hospital Inc. | Marshall | Hoyer bariatric floor lift and scale to prevent strains |
| Koonse Glass Co., Inc. | Columbia | SmartLift 608 for moving panes of glass to prevent strains |
| K-Tire LLC | Hillsboro | Telescopic conveyor to prevent strains |
| L & T Landscape and Tree LLC (Reliable Tree Care) | St. Louis | Compact wheel loader to prevent strains |
| Lake Forest Estates Clean Water District | Ste. Genevieve | Pickup liftgate to prevent strains |
| Marion County Ambulance District | Hannibal | Stryker MTS power load for patient handling to prevent strains |
| Mehlville Fire Protection District | St. Louis | ROLLNRACK hose management system to prevent strains when rolling hoses |
| Midwest Building Supply | Springfield | MacroAir HVLS fan for air circulation to prevent heat exposure |
| Miller County Ambulance District | Eldon | Stryker power load system for patient handling to prevent strains |
| MRC 1, LLC (Midwest Recycling Center) | Imperial | Self-propelled electric pallet jack to prevent strains |
| Northeast Public Sewer District | Fenton | Vactor sewer cleaning truck to prevent strains |
| Pacific Fire Protection District | Pacific | Extractors to prevent carcinogens |
| Palmyra Fire Protection District | Palmyra | Fire hose hooks to prevent strains |
| Richardet Floor Covering Co., Inc. | Perryville | Floor coating pumping system to prevent strains |
| Rock Community Fire | Arnold | RescueOne transport trailer to prevent strains and sprains |
| Southern Construction | Ava | Rotating boom lift to prevent falls from height |
| Superior Moving Services, Inc. (Superior Moving & Storage) | Kansas City | Electric scissor lift with a chest harness to prevent falls from height |
| Titan Granite LLC | Fenton | XK-S workstation crane with a 1-ton vacuum lifter to eliminate strains |
| United Fruit & Produce, Inc. | St. Louis | Scissor lift to prevent falls from heights |
| Western Missouri Medical Center | Warrensburg | An adjustable double basin processing sink to prevent strains |
| Williams Patent Crusher & Pulverizer Company, Inc. | St. Louis | Container lifting system to prevent falls from heights |
| YMCA of Hannibal | Hannibal | Spectrum Traveler aquatic lift to prevent slips and falls |