If you have acrophobia, proceed with caution.

For employees at Nations Roof LLC, working on top of structuresas tall as 50 stories is the norm. From new construction in NewYork City to reroofing in Boise, Idaho, the company's roofers areexposed to extreme risks such as fatal falls and heat illnesses.Not surprisingly, these are the top sources of workers'compensation claims for the fast-growing national roofingcontractor.

In just four years, Nations Roof has grown 61% in revenue andhas been ranked fourth on roofing industry trade magazineRoofing Contractor's Top 100 Roofing Contractors list. Yetwhile the company has been experiencing this tremendous growth,claims frequency throughout its 22 offices in the U.S. hasdecreased by 25%.

The secret to this notable reduction? A shift in focus to safetytraining, injury prevention and accountability throughout thecompany, starting at the top with Nations Roof's CEO Rich Nugentdown to the foremen in the field. Here's how the addition ofDirector of Risk Management Neftali Ortiz has been key to theAtlanta-based roofing contractor's achievement.

Investing in people

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),falls accounted for 364 out of 937 deaths in construction in 2015,so it isn't surprising that falls are the most common source ofWorkers' Comp claims for Nations Roof. But with a focus on employeesafety, Ortiz set out to prevent the contractor's employees fromcontributing to that statistic.

When Ortiz joined Nations Roof two-and-a-half years ago, he wasgiven the financial freedom to make the appropriate equipment andprocedural changes to not only reduce claims frequency, but also toprotect and retain employees no matter what capacity they work in.One of the first steps in creating his risk management program wasto hire two regional risk engineers who divide handling risks andsafety for the company's locations in the Eastern and WesternU.S.

“They're the ones who have rapport with the employees,” Ortizexplains. “They see them on a daily basis and at monthly meetings,and that level of openness helps us.”

Expanding on that level of transparency, Ortiz implemented dailysafety inspections by staff at all locations. Additionally, therisk management program includes more than 1,000 inspections a yearby certified safety personnel.

“That's where we've seen [our biggest] success,” says Ortiz. “Itbrings accountability to our employees, that we're having certifiedsafety personnel come into your jobs — an unbiased approach on howwe could get better.”

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Nations Roof Risk Manager Neftali Ortiz.

Focus on prevention

An increased budget for fall-protection equipment has aided inreducing injuries. Under Ortiz's direction, Nations Roof hasinvested in 100% retractable life lines and temporary guardrails toprotect employees from falls. “I have over 9.2 miles of guardrailsin my company,” Ortiz says. “What does that do? I'm mitigating therisk. I'm eliminating the falls, which is one of the biggestexposures we have in construction.”

Additionally, Nations Roof partnered with the National Roofing ContractorAssociation (NRCA) on training employees in theimportance of fall prevention. The eight-hour Fall Protection A-ZProgram updates employees on fall protection and includes currentOSHA state plan requirements, complete with hands-on equipmentdemonstrations and techniques for self-rescue.

Heat illnesses are another area of concern Ortiz focused on,implementing a prevention program specific to every project and itsexposure to high temperatures. Each site includes a hydrationstation stocked with professional-grade hydration sports drinkSqwincher and a heart-monitoring device to ensure that workers stayhydrated and are safe from the potential of illnesses oreven death from heat exposure.

Continuing education

Nations Roof requires its employees to participate in asemi-annual safety day that covers training on potential risks theymay face on projects. The company also hosts a safety seminar oncea year at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center in Atlanta, whichOrtiz calls “the best occupational safety school in the nation.” Asafety director from every office is flown in to be updated on newequipment and laws.

“This is a constant state of education from a management leveldown to the employee,” Ortiz adds.

“After 90 days of employment, we're already giving our guys OSHA10 hours as a requirement,” he continues. “Every superintendentthat comes through the door has an OSHA 30. We're raising the baron what OSHA's expecting, and I don't throw OSHA standards atanybody because we already exceed them.”

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All employees must participate in mandatory safety trainingat Nations Roof. (Photo: iStock)

Aging workforce

Another area of concern for Nations Roof has been retainingemployees as they age and become more susceptible to soft-tissueinjuries. “In our field, the average age of our guys is 45 yearsold,” Ortiz explains.

In response, Nations Roof created a transition program foremployees who have increased difficulty completing the tasks theyonce did and it places them into roles with less exposure.

“Rather than being a roofer that's on a job for eight hours aday, what about a service technician who's on the job for two hoursa day?” Ortiz asks. “They're able to train and teach somebody else.It's a good transition for us, specifically in roofing, to be ableto put somebody in a job that is less risky, but they're still ableto complete a task.”

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Buffering employee selection

Employee selection was also highlighted as an area in whichpreventive measures could result in a reduction of claims. On theadvice of Nations Roof's broker, Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Frank H.Furman Inc., the company began to use a pre-employment assessmentprogram called Exemplar, which profiles an applicant's predictivebehavior contributing to risky behavior.

“Exemplar helps us recognize employees that have differenttendencies,” Ortiz explains. “It'll let you know if they are morelikely to submit a workers' comp claim, or don't listen toinstructions.”

Yet the human element isn't completely removed with the newscreening process. “There are some reservations as far as languagebarrier and education levels,” says Ortiz. He explains that theExemplar reports are reviewed to make sure there aren't factorslike those that can throw off an applicant's profile.

“It's a process of evaluation,” he says. “We're able to weed outsome of the ones that aren't [affected by outside factors], andthat's where it's good.

“It really comes down to 'What's your safety experience?'” Ortizadds. “Questions like that throw people off, and then you startfinding out the culture that somebody came from.”

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The human factor

At the heart of Nations Roof's risk management program isa genuine interest in keeping employees safeand communicating that to them.

“There's a human factor in what we do on the construction side,”Ortiz says. “You can train and have all of the state-of-the-artequipment — which is great — but, if the employee chooses not to doit, it's all in vain.

“I always start my training by saying, 'Hey, how many of you arehere because you love to roof? If you won the lottery, would you behere tomorrow?'” Ortiz says. More often than not, employees end upagreeing when he asks: “How many of you guys are here because youhave to provide?”

“And it's so cliché to say 'We want you to go home safe,' likeevery single safety guy says,” he continues. “It's another thingwhen you say 'First off, you're a great employee. We like the workthat you do, but there are some things that we're going to have tochange.'

“It's just affirmation,” Ortiz explains. “To retain employees,you have to communicate, and that's kind of helped us in ourapproach.”

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Ortiz has received support from the CEO and other seniorexecutives for his risk management program, especially asignificant investment in fall-protection equipment. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Support from the top

Ortiz insists that a major cornerstone to Nations Roof'sWorkers' Comp risk management program has been the support he'sgotten from the company's top executives, namely CEO Nugent andPresident Jake Hyatt.

“Most guys' first concern is, 'How much do I have to spend?'”Ortiz explains. “Our CEO says, 'I care for our guys and I don'twant anything to happen on my watch.'”

As a result, Ortiz has been able to receive the proper fundingfor Nations Roof's successful programs. Having leadership that iswilling to invest in safety has made Ortiz's job easy, he says.“I've invested $2 million in safety since 2016,” he marvels. “$2million!”

That budget assistance has also helped forge the strongrelationships Nations Roof now has with third-party administratorSedgwick and insurance carrier XL Catlin.

“I'm always focusing on the top because to have my CEO involvedin my process is pretty impressive for a company our size,” Ortizsays. “[Nugent is] CC'ed on any claim that's open, and he responds!'What's going on? Is everybody OK? Was there any bodily injury?'The fact that I have that, that's our success.”

Accountability and communication from top to bottom at NationsRoof is one of the most impressive aspects of Ortiz's position.

“I'm Puerto Rican, and we have a large Latin population,” heexplains. “To be able to talk to our guys directly in Spanish oneminute, then with the CEO and executives [in English] the next, itkeeps the humility in what we do. No one's better than anyone else.Nobody has a job more important than someone else's.

“Honestly, my job is fun,” Ortiz adds. “We're doing something inconstruction that not too many contractors are doing. We've raisedthe bar, and the results are there.”

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