ForConstructionPros.com

Spring is in full swing, and your rental counter is likely to be full of home-owners and landscapers looking to rent lawn and grounds equipment. This can been a boon to your bottom line, but don't forget that your top priority with these customers must be safety.

Emphasizing safety will not only keep your customers alive, healthy and coming back to your store, it might even help reduce your insurance costs. While having a good safety program in place will not reduce your premiums on its own, it can improve your accident record, which can help lower your premiums.

Included in any good safety program should be the importance of conveying proper safety information to your customers.

"Rental centers should strongly urge their customers to read the owner's manual for the piece of equipment they're renting out, and make sure that the manual is included with the equipment rental," says Bill Harley, president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute. "[You] should also explain the operation of the equipment and the specific safety concerns with that piece of equipment."

In addition to the owner's manual, any related safety literature, if available, should be included with the rental. Also, showing short safety videos at your rental center can help customers better understand the equipment they're about to rent.