Decisions We Make
I am often puzzled by the decisions we make when it comes to safety, both personal and work. We often act without really considering the consequences of our actions. We look at the extension cord covered with electrical tape and plug it in anyway… but we don’t think that maybe we should just go out and spend the $60 for a new one. We don’t want to spend the money or inconvenience ourselves. But we’re also not giving any thought to the next person who might use that frayed old cord. What if it’s one of your children? Or a coworker? Are you okay with the fact that the cord, no matter how well it’s taped, can still short out and hurt someone or cause a fire?
And seriously, what about our coworkers? So often we’re so caught up in the grind of doing what we always do, and never give a thought to what could happen to the next guy. Production and quality are number one. HOW it gets done usually doesn’t matter. And THAT is not right in any way.
Companies love to tell everyone that safety is number one. It’s a favorite line that we hear all the time. And their intentions may be absolutely that, but unfortunately, good intentions don’t make a good safety culture. Talking the talk and walking the walk are completely different things. There are a lot who are good at the talk, but are tripping every step of the walk. Those are the times you hear things like, “I need those parts to ship out this afternoon.” Or, “I’ll watch the machine to make sure nobody touches it while you fix it. You don’t have to lock it out.” (That last statement has killed people.)
When we use phrases like this, we throw safety out. It is GONE. Now, don’t take that to mean that supervisors or managers are telling us to remove safety protocol to move faster, but often it is NOT discouraged either. They’ll often turn a blind eye when someone is cutting safety corners because it’s saving time in their eyes, and in those moments (and sometimes entire days) they’ve just become personally responsible for any accident that happens on that machine, because they saw an error and chose not to enforce safety protocol. When we hurry, we don’t think about safety, we just think about what needs to get done and how quickly it can happen. But that’s a double-edged sword, because it takes one single second of carelessness for someone to lose life or limb. ONE SECOND. Do you REALLY want to be responsible for that? It only takes a blink of an eye before your life is permanently altered. It may be crushed limbs, amputations, or even death.
Don’t be that company that thinks they are doing well because they have no recordable injuries. You are only becoming complacent in thinking nothing will ever happen. Be proactive and not reactive. Bring someone in to do a safety audit. Fresh eyes can spot those issues before you ever have to report a recordable.