Fed Up
The way you look at something is the starting point for how you will react to that situation. Do you look at it with eyes wide open, or with blinders on? If I were to make an educated guess or even if I were a gambling man, I would say the majority look with blinders on.
Now before I get to much flack, I said the majority, not everyone, there is a difference! So, where do I get my information from, besides the coin-operated Zoltar fortune teller machine locked inside my panic room? I get it right from OSHA. Every year they put out the top ten violations, and almost every year, they are the same violations! The top violation since 2014 has been Fall Protection - General Requirements (1926.501). In reality, the top three violations have been the same since 2014. Number two in the list is Hazard Communication (1910.1200), and number three is Scaffolding - General Requirements (1926.451). So, this is one reason I say the majority of people look with blinders.
We are constantly lulled into complacency because of sayings like “we always have done it this way” or “I haven’t been hurt yet.” These are all things that we say to each other while the banner above us reads “Safety First.” These are only a fraction of the phrases I hear in almost every place I visit! Some of my other all-time favorites are “we are behind schedule,” “we take care of our own,” or my all-time favorite, which is “it’s not in our budget.”
Could someone please explain that one to me? How is safety not in the budget? More specifically, why is the safety budget so low? Many places will opt for the quick online 30-minute segment that will get them some paper stating they had training. Well, did they get anything out of it? The majority of the people that I talk to agree they don’t get much out of the online training, just that ever-important piece of paper that their company wants.
According to BLS’s 2019 workplace injury statistics, 22 states had a rate of non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses that was significantly above the national average, and I live in one of them. But yet we still continue to ignore it, maybe in hopes that it just magically disappears! Each day I strive to have companies listen to my message. I will continue to fight for those who think they have no voice. Each day I will continue to tell people, there is nothing that we build or manufacture that is worth your life!