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Sign Company Safety
Program Demands Wide Scope Vision Signs, Inc., is a busy place. The Las Vegas sign company is currently building four giant display screens for the refurbished Fashion Show Mall among other projects that includes work for New York, New York and Lowe’s. The display screens, each 42 by 24 feet, will brighten the futuristic Cloud hovering over the entrance to the Fashion Show, and feature television quality pictures that allow for multiple images or a single image spread across all four, 800 sf faces. |
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Trina Jarchow, safety director of Vision Signs, Inc., said
that the Fashion Show Mall signs are just one of many jobs that require a
commitment to making what she called an "extremely diverse shop" into
an extremely safe one.
A safety director must know the demands of the trade, as well as keep current with manufacturer’s specifications for tools, machines and materials on the job site. Added to this is the need to remain updated on laws and regulations, both for general construction and the specific trade. Jarchow’s company does electrical, sheet metal, painting, works with neon, welds, saws and installs product on site. It’s a load and a half, and she credits the managers in the various departments for making sure that safety is everyone’s concern. "We have a safety committee that includes the production manager and installation manager," she said. "They delegate responsibility and make everyone accountable." She walks the shop at least once a week, and maintains a written plan thick enough to be a phone book. With everything they do, the hazcom requirements alone keep her busy. Yet safety training is essential, and she makes sure that employees are thoroughly trained prior to work. "We do training on each piece of equipment, and an annual re-training," Jarchow said. "Everyone is trained before they operate any equipment." The company was hit with a detailed OSHA inspection in 2001, and Jarchow recalled how the inspector walked their shop for two days and interviewed seven employees. It was an experience that could have cost them many thousands of dollars in fines, and instead found them praised by the regulatory agency. For everyone at Vision Signs, it was also validation that their safety program and ongoing training is well worth the investment. "The inspector said he was really impressed," Jarchow said. "We have a full facility here and do everything. Some equipment we have is old and didn’t come with guards. We had built a guard for it, and the inspector took pictures of it to use as an example when people say they can’t guard the machine." |
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Jarchow is a third-generation sign maker. Her father,
Richard Larsen, started Vision Signs, Inc., in 1996 with 10 employees. Today,
there are well over 100 employees with 15 installation trucks in the field. To
Trina Jarchow, one of the most gratifying aspects of the growth is that Vision
Signs, Inc. relies almost solely on word-of-mouth for new business.
"When your customers sell for you, that says a lot about your service and the product you provide," she said. |
| Balancing her workday with a growing
family is an added challenge for Jarchow. Her husband, Kevin Jarchow, runs
an importing business. Their two children, Sean and Caitlyn, are two and a
half and 10 months old.
For employees of Vision Signs, Inc., it’s all about family. Especially safety. "We want them to go home to their families," she said. "It’s a team here, and feels like everyone here is family." |
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Call (702) 615-7644 |
