Safety is essential in the heavy equipment industry. As a business, safety impacts the company's profitability and employee well-being. So a safety-focused training program isn't just vital, it's practical. Training will begin with orientation and continue throughout the employee's tenure with the company. In heavy construction, failure to operate safely can cost lives, so the company is by nature forced to ensure employees are aware and follow safe operating practices. Vital Training Training is essential for several reasons. The company must ensure that the safety of its employees is held in high regard. The best method to ensure this is to properly train employees on how to operate safely and how to properly maintain machines to avoid accidents due to unsafe equipment. One source noted that at least 5% of payroll expenses should be dedicated to employee training (Ingalls, 2013). This can reduce insurance claims and mitigate poorly performed work (Ingalls, 2013). Insurance costs are high in this industry; therefore, anything a company can do to try to alleviate unnecessary claims helps keep costs under control. According to OSHA (2014), workplace injury prevention involves good practices, employee awareness, and a healthy work environment that may include ergonomic machines or supports for getting on and off machines. The construction industry is a dangerous industry, one that is very hard on the body. Not only can it be harmful to a body to be in and out of a car all day, but it can also be dangerous. A missed step can cause an injury. This highlights the need to properly train employees on all aspects... at the heart of the paper... employee drug policy. Cornella Brothers Excavating: Colorado Springs, CO. Cornella Brothers Excavating, Inc. (2002). Orientation manual. Cornella Brothers Excavations: Colorado Springs, CO. Driscoll, M. (2002). Web-based training (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Ingalls, P. (2013). 74 tips to reduce equipment costs (1-10). Retrieved from http://www.equipmentworld.com/74-tips-to-reducing-equipment-costs-1-10/Merriam, S.B., Cafarella, R.S., & Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Adult learning: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.American Workplace Safety Councils. (2014). Ergonomics for heavy equipment. Retrieved from http://www.osca.com/courses/osha-essentials/ergonomics-for-heavy-equipment.aspxConstruction Safety Training: Safety Management Study Reveals Widespread Benefits. (2014). Professional safety, 59(1), 12.