Risk & Business Magazine Hardenbergh Insurance Group Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 30

WORLD CLASS FLOWERS
Client Spotlight:
World Class Flowers Embracing Safety
W
ith a name like World
Class Flowers, the
company should be
on top of its game. In
business for thirty-
five years, World Class Flowers has
made a name for itself distributing
fresh-cut flowers to supermarkets
nationwide. The company partners with
a Colombian farm to have close control
over the planting and growing processes,
ensuring a never-ending supply of
these colorful beauties. Mixing classic
favorites like roses and carnations with
colorful and fragrant new varieties is
the company’s outstanding strength in a
fiercely competitive market. As a whole,
however, growth in the supermarket
industry is slow, and companies can
only profit by providing the freshest
and most attractive product at the most
competitive prices.
Three years ago, World Class Flowers
was dealing with a rapid deterioration
in its workers’ compensation claims
experience.
With the help of Hardenbergh, they have
30
since made a virtual safety revolution.
Together, World Class Flowers and
Hardenbergh began to implement a new
enterprise risk management strategy.
The two companies began to explore
opportunities for safety improvements
and designed new safety protocols
across the board. For example, boxes of
flowers that arrived at the Miami and
New Jersey warehouses had always been
opened with steel blade knives, which
had no safety features and could easily
lead to accidents. Instead, the company
introduced safety knives, which are
next to impossible to cause an injury
with. In the cutting area at the end
of the factory’s conveyor belts, the
company instituted a protective eyewear
requirement and limited access to only
those employees assigned to that area.
Not only were new safety measures
enacted but with Hardenbergh’s help,
the whole company developed a “safety
culture” in which safety became top-
of-mind for both factory workers and
executives. Although employee safety had
always been an important concern, it was
now communicated to workers at every
opportunity. World Class Flowers and
Hardenbergh began each meeting with a
safety overview, including a summary of
days worked without a lost-time incident
and an opportunity for employees
to provide feedback on safety issues,
whether involving the physical plant,
employee behavior, or a specific job task.
Hardenbergh also helped the company
design an incentive program, which is
a huge factor in keeping awareness on
safety throughout the company. In each
location, if the plant goes ninety days
without a safety incident, a free catered
luncheon is provided to employees. For
a second consecutive ninety-day period,
another luncheon is held, along with
raffles of prizes like TVs or gift cards.
Since partnering with Hardenbergh,
World Class Flowers has reduced its
workers compensation premium by
approximately 40 percent. In addition,
they have successfully created an
organizational culture rooted in the
safety and wellness of its employees. +