Fatalities...A National call to ACTION!

Fatalities, and serious injuries are absolutely preventable!

Each of the pins on the map above represent incomprehensible broken dreams. Parents of children that will never attend graduations, weddings, the birth of future grandchildren. The sadness and pain is too much to fathom.

Having personally dealt with these types of tragedies, I am all too familiar with what seems to be the never ending aftermath:

• Broken hearts of surviving family members, friends & co-workers
• Regulatory agency investigations and subsequent citations
• District attorneys and their sometimes unnerving investigative tactics
• Long tail lawsuits, depositions
• What seems to be the never-ending activities that take away from the recovery and focus on the prevention of future serious events
• The long term effects on the safety professional, project team and the company
• add your own thoughts in the comments

OSHA Data:

Construction Leads All Industries in Total Worker Deaths

https://www.constructconnect.com/blog/construction-news/construction-leads-industries-worker-deaths/

Please visit the Stop Construction Falls website for inspiration:

The article is a call to ACTION, your action is needed! Please take a moment in honor of those who have lost their lives, the affected families represented there to consider how your organization could prevent a fatality. While the pins on the map above represent all types of fatalities as we approach May 8-12 is National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction Week. Please join the the many industries in fatality and fall prevention.

https://stopconstructionfalls.com/2017-stand-down-poster/

We are only a short time from this all important Safety Stand-Down. The site has many inspiring ideas to assist in developing your own call to action in your company. Be audacious in your own planning for this event.

Another resource for the Safety Stand-Down:

Below is a link for infographics that will aid in developing your own customizable materials for the National Safety Stand-Down:

https://stopconstructionfalls.com/2016-infographics/

Also the AGC 2017 Work Zone Awareness Week Survey may inspire some additional fatality prevention ideas:

National Work Zone Awareness Week 2017 is scheduled for April 3-7. The theme this year is “Work Zone Safety is in Your Hands.” Resources are aplenty on their website as well. In support of National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction Week they have made available: Fall Prevention Fact Sheets

These calls to action for companies and safety professionals require four essential ingredients:

Love...Energy...Audacity and Proof; four words that describe passionate and extreme safety leadership:

• Cultivate Love

Consider that without the commitment of your heart, there is little to take a stand on or to be courageous in the face of adversity. People that cultivate this type of love inspire others to do the same. The first call to action is to communicate the love you have for the frontline workforce. The love and sadness you will feel after a significant event will not be of as much value compared to what you can do with it before a serious loss.

• Generate Energy

A leader is a generator, a force for action and an enthusiastic believer in the people they lead and in their capacity to accomplish great things. If you are not the catalyst to inspire action, then who is or will be that force. Just DO it!

• Inspire Audacity, and

So...what are your noble principles and core values? Nail them on a wall. Tell everyone, everywhere you go: "This is what's important around here. Judge me by my ability to live up to them." Print copies of the poster above, be audacious, speak with leaders to generate their energy and inspire their audacity. Most great leaders will appreciate your having "leaned-In" to the issue.

• Provide Proof

Prove your leadership potential through alignment between your words and your actions.

1. Prove it to others - Help develop the resources for the National Safety Stand-Down.
2. Prove it to yourself - Stay committed to having an amazing National Safety Stand-Down. Trust me your audacity and zeal to drive this all important message will not go unnoticed. All safety professionals should be passionately engaged in being the catalyst for a great event this year.
3. Prove it to others that your proving it to yourself. When others see you preparing for this awesome opportunity, they know your are a committed safety professional. In this you will get much recognition and you will have affirmation that you are an industry safety leader.

These four guiding principles are essential for the true safety champion. How each individual applies these will put "fuel in the tank" of the extreme leader. Their application in the safety profession is amazing.

Please post in the comments your activities and resources for National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction Week. You may just save a life through your L.E.A.P. for safety.

In closing to all safety professionals, it is my personal belief that until you experience the loss or serious injury of a loved one or have experienced one of these events, you are ill equipped to manage the aftermath. I have a very true to life experience in this regard that I am willing to share in private message simply out of respect to the companies and safety professionals that were involved.

There are no courses that will completely prepare you like first hand experience. It's in the first hand experience that you will either collapse or become an audacious safety practitioner. I pray you never have to go to this dark place.

I encourage you to seek out safety professionals that have "been there", ask them of their stories, learn from these professionals what you can, because they typically have knowledge that may prevent the next serious incident.

I truly and sincerely thank you for your time if you made it to this part of the article! Please post your "Best Practice" ideas and thoughts in the "comments" section.

David A. Watts is a Senior Safety Culture Professional and Founder/Owner of L.E.A.P. for Safety Safety Culture, LLC. With more than 25 years of passionate safety culture influencing servitude and leadership, he works with leaders at all levels and proudly serves the work forces in the Construction, Mining, Electrical and Gas Field Service industries to coach leaders, train supervisors and engage employees in building cultures of safety excellence. Certified Facilitator of Extreme Leadership an exploration of the necessary ingredients of the impassioned extreme leader.

David is a L.I.O.N. - LinkIn Open Networker with thousands of connections and openly invites you to join his ever growing network.

Check out his LinkedIn group with thousands of members and openly growing:

Safety Professionals Driving Continuous Safety Culture Improvement

You may reach David at [email protected] or 858-431-6989