Egg on my leathers.....

One of my fondest early memories was dripping egg on my leathers at riders brief before a big motocross meeting. I always had a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast, loved a runny egg. I never wiped the dripped egg off, it became a tradition if you like, a good luck charm. My sister and I raced junior motocross (and played netball and softball, ballet, tap, jazz during the week) every weekend all over South Australia and sometimes nationally. It was a huge part of our lives and I wouldn’t have swapped it for anything.

(This is not a pic of me, yet my racing number was 57 and it has remained my favourite number used in all raffles etc:)

So you may ask, what the.. I am just putting you in the picture. You see as soon as the riders brief was over we always ‘walked the track’ to get to know every bump, corner, jump, triple jump and strait before we went full throttle with all the other bikes. Then it was onto pit inspection and the fun began.

I was reflecting on this recently and thinking how I had carried this into my working life.

It was my first introduction to risk assessment I guess. Though for us it was more about figuring out the best places to pass and how tight the corners were so we knew how flat out we could go before having to whop on the breaks! That last sentence could even be a metaphor for so many working related concepts.

Have you ever been thrown in the deep end on a job? Walked into a situation where you became an instant trouble shooter facing a scenario many would choose to walk away from?

I have faced that many times in my career, though it can come with the territory at times when you are the 'newbie' in the safety and training arena on a site. I shall never forget one construction manager saying to the crew at my first pre start, ‘try not to break this one.’ Speaks volumes doesn't it.

My trials and tribulations didn’t last very long as the newbie. Success seemed to come pretty fast and surprised many.

 I believe it may very well have been because of the following tactics, which is why I am sharing this post, in the hope it may help others facing similar situations.

I made sure the very first priority I had was to ‘walk the track.’

• Work on relationships first. Know who is who in the zoo. Top to bottom.
• What are the recent challenges and changes the leadership and workforce has faced, is facing?
• Study the scope of work inside out.
• If you are the Client: know your main and subcontractors’ history and scope inside out.
• If you are a contractor: know the Clients’ expectations and players, know the other contractors’ challenges and successes.
• Go to as many pre start (and pre pre start) meetings as you possibly can in the early days.
• If FIFO get out and about after work, join the community from day one.
• Try to remain neutral in the politics: listen and empathise but form your own opinions.
• Find a mentor who has been around for a while.
• Refrain from stamping your mark too early. Gently, gently catchy monkey (you can become a legend soon enough)

There are many more, and you will have pearls of your own, no doubt at all.

I recall being asked by a big kahuna on site on my second day ‘so what are your plans for this swing, what are you aiming to achieve?

I replied with, ‘not much, building relationships is my priority for this swing.’

Needless to say his jaw dropped and he was stunned at my response.

His expectations were many, including KPI’s I had no right to participate in as far as my integrity was concerned. (Not in the first week anyway)

Once I explained my reasons for ‘walking the track’ and what I had seen it achieve in the past, he agreed it made sense. Though did still walk away shaking his head.

Naturally there are systems and technical management plans to learn and review early in the piece, that is a given.

The main point I am trying to get across here is this:

Take the time to ‘walk the track’ especially in your first few weeks. It will pay off in spades further down the line. When you are challenged on this, and you may very well be, have your reasoning ready to go in answer to the challenges. That knowing the environment you are operating in, warts and all should take priority over anything else.

The influence you will have in the future and the targeted actions you will take due to that time spent initially will usually far outweigh any wasted jump in boots and all approaches possibly used in the past.

I shall end by stating that I have had to go in boots and all at times as the situation demanded it, catch up mode on unfinished urgent work etc., yet as soon as the storm passed I was back to my initial strategy.

This will be nothing new to some out there. Though I have been surprised by many ‘professionals’ approach when first arriving to a site, the term ‘parent ego state’ springs to mind…..

 I hope those of you who haven’t tried this approach before have the opportunity to give it a shot and go in with an open mind and a strong conviction that it will lay solid foundations for you to build on.

Thanks for dropping in.I would love to hear thoughts on your experiences on this topic.

Stay safe and keep smilin'

Only use your power for good 

Cheers Drewie :)