It may also be wise for contractors of any size to turn a little scrutiny back on the customer. Should you bid for someone who is interested only in a low price, Rick Palmer said that if you can help it, you probably don't want to work for them anyway. His own company, Lewis Palmer Painting Co. of Amarillo, TX, goes to customers and asks them point-blank what they're looking for. If that's their real desire, then they're not a good customer. If they're looking for a good job done within their rules on a relatively intelligent schedule, if they're willing to work two-way communication and the price is secondary or even tertiary, we'd do a lot of work with them.
Safety is the least of their worries until there's an accident.
Palmer said OSHA is on the verge of a crackdown. At this moment, I believe the odds are that if you're on a commerical project, you'll get one inspection out of 43 chances. By next year, it'll be one out of 20. If we do it with a cheerful attitude and line-item cost factors, then companies have no gripes. Increased societal awareness of safety, OSHA ispections, and the simple peace of mind from not being in danger while at work should convince even the smaller contractors that the time has arrived to start getting a safety program in place, and not just in industrial work.