Our founder, Laura Grandlienard, was recently interviewed about shop safety for an article in the May issue of Stone World. Here’s an excerpt written by Jennifer Richinelli and Jason Kamery. You can read the full article at the Stone World website.

With the hazards of working in the stone industry always a concern and OSHA tightening its rulings on silicosis, fabricators continue to implement procedures and emphasize to their employees the importance of safety in the work place.

SW: What policies and procedures have you established to ensure safety in your fabrication shop?

Laura Grandlienard: Our shop manager, Omar Salazar, is our safety officer. Rebecca Watson is our safety coordinator. They work closely with the North Carolina OSHA consultants and keep the team informed. OSHA reviews our policies and procedures on an on-going basis.

We have volunteer OSHA inspections planned and un-anticipated visits at our facility. In October 2016, our safety and health inspection assessment came at a surpassing rating that the director was impressed, but yet questioned it. OSHA management came in as a surprise visit to revalidate the assessment. They were amazed that the dust-free workplace could have such a positive impact. They will continue to monitor us, but also would like to establish a case study on silica, which is a compliment to our team. We transitioned from dry fabrication to a wet process. We find that working with safety each day is just part of our daily process. The value in that is our whole team is always prepared, regardless if in the field, the fabrication shop or showroom studio, and can be stopped and questioned. We have invested in our team to ensure they are safety conscious and aware that they are well informed and understand the pros and cons of why it’s important to each individual. Safety saves lives, saves money and saves time.