How SunWorks Landscape Partners Puts Safety First
At SunWorks Landscape Partners, the day starts and ends with safety. The team’s commitment to prioritizing the health and wellness of its employees is clear in the robust training programs it develops and provides to partner companies throughout the organization.
“We have over a thousand employees going out every day to do various jobs throughout the country, and the most important thing is that they all come home safely,” said Nate Carlson, SunWorks CEO. “In many cases, our employees have families who depend on them. This is hard, physical work, and if someone is injured on the job, that can have a very negative impact on their quality of life and their ability to provide for their loved ones.”
In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the landscaping industry’s average total recordable incident rate (TRIR) was 2.9, meaning that for 100 full-time workers, roughly three injuries or illnesses occurred.[1] SunWorks, on the other hand, reported a TRIR of 1.92 in 2024.
“We really put safety first, and it shows up in our scores,” said Brian Chapman, SunWorks Director of Fleet Management and Safety. “I’ve been in the landscaping industry for a decade now, and traditionally, this industry sees more of a get-the-job-done culture than a safety-first culture. Other companies prioritize getting their guys on the road as fast as possible, whereas we take the time to do daily vehicle and equipment inspections, weekly safety meetings, and biannual safety rodeos. With everything we do, safety is always at the forefront.”
Prevent and Protect
SunWorks’ focus on both proactive and reactive training ensures that all employees have consistent access to industry best practices. The team always aims to cultivate an environment of forthright communication in order to identify and prevent potential incidents.
“None of our safety program is designed to belittle or badger people,” said Brian. “A safety program built solely on punitive discipline is bound to fail because people are not going to self-report near-miss incidents. If someone does something blatantly negligent, or we see a dangerous trend occurring, we can take steps towards verbal and then written counseling. But in between those steps, we set up ample training opportunities to remediate these issues.”
“Safety doesn’t happen with leadership coming in and giving people a list of things to do,” Nate said. “Safety happens out in the field when our employees have the equipment, training, and resources they need. We identify subject matter experts within our partner companies so that we can develop the best training programs and provide excellent resources to each SunWorks business. It’s a very grassroots, locally led effort.”
A Nationwide Network
Partner companies within SunWorks gain access to a network of safety professionals throughout the company. The organization’s safety committee – consisting of company presidents, general managers, and safety representatives – meets monthly to discuss each branch’s TRIR, driving scores, and incident log.
“Every month, we break down any incidents that have happened and identify root causes,” Brian said. “Once we determine the response plan, we share this information with all companies so that we don’t see the same incident pop up elsewhere. Outside of these meetings, I’m on the phone with every safety leader at least once a week to see if they need anything.
“I also speak with Dan Resendes, the Safety Director at Astra Service Partners (Orion’s heavy mechanical service provider) all the time to share ideas. It’s great to have a thought partner outside of the organization as we continue to refine what we’re doing.”
Training for Every Challenge
Alongside the team’s consistent safety check-ins, SunWorks hosts biannual Safety Rodeo events at each branch. Employees cycle through stations covering everything from natural disaster response (e.g., hurricane remediation training in Florida and tornado cleanup work in Texas) to role-specific industry certifications.
“Many of our production managers, area managers, and branch managers have their OSHA 10 certifications already, and we’re working towards getting all of our crew leaders certified as well,” Nate said. “We’re also training all of our leaders on first aid so that for every five-person crew going out to a job site, for every truck we have on the road, we have at least one OSHA-certified safety manager who is proficient in basic first aid.”
Making Each Mile Safer
One training topic SunWorks designates for all employees is driver safety. All drivers within SunWorks are enrolled in both a public records monitoring service and a fleet telematics program. These tools help leaders consistently measure road safety metrics and identify drivers who may require supplemental training.
“Our fleet technology provides us insight into everything from how many minutes a vehicle spends idling to acceleration and speeding,” Nate said. “It also gives every driver a data-backed score, which is continually updated by the platform’s algorithm. We have contests to reward top performers, and if we spot that someone’s score does not meet our standards, we conduct remediation training. Driving is the most dangerous thing most people in America do every day, and as a route-based service business, we spend a lot of time on the road in large, heavy vehicles. Safety on the road is incredibly important to us because driving is statistically the thing that is most likely to result in a safety incident impacting our team or someone in our communities.”
Every Employee, Every Day
By leveraging top-of-the-line technology and committing to a relentless focus on safety, many SunWorks partner companies achieved a perfect record of zero incidents in 2024. Even with this success, the team is working hard to keep improving. Brian reports that SunWorks will hold their first annual Safety Summit in 2025: “This will be our first annual gathering where every company safety leader will come together to innovate our current safety program offerings.”
The importance of safety increases as SunWorks expands its geographic footprint and welcomes more employees. As the company grows, the team remains dedicated to putting safety first.
“Safety is our first core value here at SunWorks,” Nate said. “We put a ton of resources into producing a high-quality product and are constantly refining our processes to make everyone’s job easier and more efficient. But first and foremost, we want to ensure that all of our employees go home safely at the end of every day.”
[1] 2023 total recordable cases for landscaping services as reported by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
