The Edge July/August 2025

PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS

Technology Tools to Increase Safety By Jill Odom

TECHNOLOGY IS FREQUENTLY IMPLEMENTED TO BOOST SPEED AND efficiency, but it can also impact your team’s overall safety. Some of these tools are becoming more commonplace, while others are more recent introductions. As you consider ways to strengthen your safety measures, don’t forget to look at different ways technology can be integrated as well.

Not only can these types of mowers prevent slope-related accidents, but they can also reduce the manhours required for specific tasks. Klausing Group, based in Lexington, Kentucky, implemented remote-con trolled mowers after demoing several different brands. Since adding these ma chines, their customer base has appreciat ed their commitment to safety. “We took several years to make the decision; we knew that it was the piece of equipment we needed,”says Luke Tedder with Klausing Group. “We just wanted to make sure we were investing in the right one, and that took some time, but I would say absolutely demo these pieces of equipment.” BODY CAMS Similar to dash cams, adding body cams to your crews provides another level of protection. Instead of dealing with customer complaints that a technician didn’t treat a site, you can provide proof of service with recordings. Additionally, if clients aren’t convinced your services have made an improvement in their yards, these recordings can serve as before and after footage. GrassRoots Tree and Turf Care Inc., based in Acworth, Georgia, implemented body cameras in 2020. On the first day the cameras went out, one of their technicians came back that afternoon and a customer claimed he hadn’t treated the backyard.

AI DASH CAMS Dash cams have been around for years, but some of the newer integrations include machine vision and artificial intelligence to help identify risks, prevent collisions and protect your drivers. For example, Lytx Surfsight dash cams use AI to

alent in everyone’s daily lives,” says Paul Milano with Davey Tree. “At the end of the day, we know we will make an impact even if we help prevent just one driving incident.” Other apps that help mitigate distract ed driving include OnMyWay and Dont. OnMyWay automatically disables text and app alerts when driving faster than 10 mph and allows hands-free phone calls. Instead of blocking phone access, Dont monitors phone usage and sends alerts for rule violations. Dont features an admin dashboard where reports for each driver can be accessed. REMOTE-CONTROLLED MOWERS A lot of focus lately has been on autonomous mowers, but remote controlled mowers can be particularly useful for increasing safety. If your landscape company maintains sites that have extreme slopes or bodies of water nearby, remote-controlled mowers can protect your crew from the alternatives. Rather than risking a rollover with a ride-on mower or snake bites when string trimming overgrown areas near ponds, remote-controlled mowers eliminate these threats.

identify distracted driving behaviors proactively and then send real-time multilingual audio and visual alerts to help drivers self-correct. Lawn But ler, based in Knox ville, Tennessee,

implemented these AI-powered cameras in their fleet to help change driver habits. Seth Kehne, president of Lawn Butler, says it has even effectively altered his own driving behaviors. “One of the best things about it is that it knows when you’re distracted driving,” Kehne says. “So if you have your phone in your hand, or you’re just kind of not paying attention, or you’re eating, it’ll beep at you, which is a really annoying beep, but the camera beeps at you. Then, if you keep do ing it, we’ll send a video to your supervisor.” DRIVER SAFETY APPS Another way to address distracted driving is through apps like TRUCE. This app uses zoning intelligence to know when a user is in a hazardous environment and automatically blocks distracting apps and features. The Davey Tree Expert Company, based in Kent, Ohio, started using TRUCE in 2021. It limits cell phone capabilities and notifi cations when it detects a beacon installed in Davey vehicles. “Distracted driving has become prev

Photo: Lawn Butler

Photo: Klausing Group

12 The Edge // July/August 2025