Painters USA industrial and commercial safety program.
We take steps to protect our employees and yours, following your rules and OSHA guidelines for workplace safety.
Safety is not just a priority — it is a Core Value.
At Painters USA, safety is more than a policy, more than a program, it is a deeply held core value and the foundation of every decision we make. Priorities can shift, but core values never change. Safety is not something we schedule, it is something we live. It is embedded in every process, every action, and every job site.
We believe that every employee, client, and partner deserves a safe work environment, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards to ensure it. Working safely is a condition of employment, and every member of our team, from the field to the executive level is accountable for upholding our Core Safety Beliefs and Life Critical Rules.
We invest in ongoing training, innovative technology, and open communication to build a proactive culture where hazards are identified early, risks are controlled, and safe behaviors are recognized and reinforced. Our commitment to safety goes beyond compliance, it is a moral responsibility and a promise to every person who trusts Painters USA with their project.
At the end of the day, there is no deadline, no budget, and no priority more important than ensuring everyone goes home safely.
We don’t compromise. We don’t cut corners. We protect our people, our clients, and our future, every day, on every project.
Certified Safety Professional® in charge
Regional Safety Manager Darren Lottes, is guided by a strong, core philosophy: Injuries and incidents are preventable and safety is an integral part of everyone’s job, from new employees to seasoned veterans. Darren works tirelessly to make sure they all make it home unscathed, every single day. He further believes that injury prevention has a direct impact on morale, productivity, company earnings, and customer satisfaction.
Following are three key questions asked of Darren to describe how he ensures that safety is actually carried out where it matters the most—at client job sites.
Safety Performance You Can Measure
At Painters USA, safety isn’t just a talking point—it’s a measurable commitment. Our team consistently maintains a safety rating below the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) industry standard for our classification, demonstrating our dedication to the wellbeing of our employees, clients, and jobsite partners.
Two key metrics help quantify safety performance across the industry:
Painters USA is proud to maintain exceptionally low TRIR and EMR scores, outperforming industry averages year after year. These results reflect our unwavering focus on employee training, jobsite planning, and proactive risk mitigation.
Our clients can trust that every project is completed with safety as the top priority—because when safety is strong, productivity, quality, and reliability follow.
Painters USA Training & Certifications
Aerial Lift Qualified Operator
Most warehouse and distribution center ceilings range between 28 and 36 feet high. With advances in steel integrity and durability, storage tanks and silos have gone vertical to take up less real estate. These are just two examples that demonstrate how industrial and commercial cleaning, painting, and coating projects include surfaces that are way up there! Painters USA uses aerial lifts (also known as scissor lifts) or aerial swing stage platforms (also known as a Mobile Elevated Work Platform or MEWP) to get the work done safely and efficiently, even at the uppermost reaches of your facilities.
Our Crews are OSHA 10 / 30 Card-Carrying Pros
We deliver OSHA 30 training (Construction version) to supervisors and OSHA 10 training to team members. This translates to 30 hours or 10 hours of workplace safety instruction by authorized trainers. Covering topics like general worksite safety and common hazards, OSHA training prepares our crews to prevent and avoid safety and health hazards. Painters USA also has OSHA outreach trainers certified to conduct OSHA 10 and 30 trainings in-house
Fall Protection Competent Person
Slips, trips, and falls are the top reason employees get hurt, even though they are highly preventable through safety training, non-slip floors, light and bright facilities, and other means. Painters USA crews get OSHA Fall Protection Competent Person training so they can recognize and minimize falling hazards, especially on elevated platforms or lifts. This training is another way we deliver peace of mind to our clients.
Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO)
OSHA’s lockout / tagout (LOTO) standard protects workers by outlining actions and procedures to follow while servicing machines and equipment. As Painters USA workers perform their industrial cleaning and coating tasks, LOTO training and awareness prepares them to follow the rules when doing their work around machinery that is locked or tagged out. It’s one more safeguard that allows our clients to rest easy when Painters USA is working in their facilities.
Suspended Scaffold (Swing Stage) Competent Person
Two-point adjustable suspension scaffolds hung by ropes or cables, also known as swing-stage scaffolds, may call up images of window washers dangling on the sides of skyscrapers. But they’re also an effective way to perform some cleaning and coating work. Painters USA offers OSHA suspended scaffold training to many of our employees so they will understand the nature of falls and falling object hazards, proper use and handling of materials on the scaffold, and maximum loads. It’s another commitment to our safety culture and clients’ peace of mind.
Scaffolding is the second-most cited OSHA violation behind fall protection, and commercial / industrial painters spend a great deal of time on scaffolds. With over four decades of experience, Painters USA knows well that scaffolds are valuable equipment, which is why we train our team members to be a scaffold competent person. They learn scaffold types and requirements, practices for safe usage, fall protection, and more, all so that our clients have one less thing to worry about as we work in their facilities.
Respirator Fit Training
Painting and coating fumes can be harmful to the people exposed to them. OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard requires an appropriate, tight-fitting respirator for these workers. Painters USA equips our workers with NIOSH-certified respiratory protection to protect them from vapors, mists, and fumes. We are diligent about personal protection equipment (PPE) of all kinds to ensure our employees stay healthy and can perform the work needed by our clients with the greatest comfort and efficiency.
Cleared to Work on Maritime Sites
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential, better known as TWIC, is a Maritime Transportation Security Act background checking requirement for workers who need access to secure areas of the nation’s maritime vessels, ports, and facilities. Many of our field employees have a TWIC card to be eligible to work on projects like fuel terminals along the Gulf coast or industrial facilities along Midwest waterways. It’s one more requirement that Painters USA can meet.
Confined Space Training for Tight Spots
What do tanks, silos, vaults, tunnels, equipment housings, ductwork, and pipelines have in common? They’re all considered confined spaces—configured with limited or restricted egress that creates hazards and complicates emergency rescue and first aid. To ensure our workers are not vulnerable, Painters USA follows OSHA guidelines for working in these potentially hazardous settings by training and certifying our crews and foremen to work in confined spaces.
Safety Leadership Workshop
Painting and coating projects demand strong jobsite oversight, and that starts with knowledgeable leaders. Painters USA invests in ongoing Safety Leadership Training to ensure foremen, supervisors, and project managers are fully equipped to keep every jobsite safe.
Our Safety Leadership Workshop empowers team members with the skills to identify hazards, ensure proper PPE use, conduct toolbox talks, and enforce OSHA standards. By strengthening safety accountability at every level, we protect our employees, safeguard our clients’ facilities, and deliver a better overall project experience.
Sales Safety Excellence Training Safety
Sales Safety Excellence Training Safety is a company-wide responsibility—even before a project begins. Our sales team participates in Sales Safety Excellence Training to ensure they understand the environmental, operational, and compliance factors that affect jobsite safety.
This training helps our team identify potential risks during walk-throughs, communicate safety expectations clearly to clients, and collaborate effectively with operations staff. With a strong foundation in safety principles, our sales professionals help set the stage for safer, more efficient project execution.
Hazard Communication (HAZCOM)
Hazardous materials are common in industrial and commercial coating environments, and clear communication is critical to maintaining a safe jobsite. Painters USA provides comprehensive Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) training to ensure all employees understand how to read Safety Data Sheets (SDS), identify chemical hazards, follow proper labeling practices, and comply with OSHA’s HAZCOM Standard.
This training empowers our teams to handle materials safely, reduce exposure risks, and protect both workers and facility personnel.
Environmental Safety Awareness
Protecting the environment is an essential part of every project we complete. Painters USA trains all employees in Environmental Safety Awareness to help them recognize and prevent environmental risks, including spills, waste mismanagement, air quality concerns, and contamination of soils or waterways.
Our teams follow strict containment procedures, waste-handling protocols, and best practices to ensure every job is completed responsibly, safely, and in full compliance with regulatory requirements.
Safety Included with Every Project
The consequences and risks of safety shortcuts are simply not worth it. No matter how easy or complex your commercial or industrial facility needs are, we always perform our work safely. and we can help you find ways to “paint in” safety at your facilities.
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