At what point, on a job, is safety forgotten? We all do a safety job scope meeting right before the job starts. Then what?
Is safety forgotten until you see something that triggers a thought… well that doesn’t look safe.
Is the answer, it’s always in the back of my mind. But honestly, is it?
To many linemen, once the job starts, you’re thinking about lunch, a project at home, what do I need to get at the store before I get home, kid’s events etc., etc.
When a safety event occurs the million questions you answer right up to the moment of the event.
Then nothing, you stand in a safety stand down and give your thought process on what happened.
If you could go back 30 seconds before the event and record what you were thinking and doing. What would it show?
What everyone on the crew was thinking and doing. Real thoughts! Not what would let you cover your butt.
Wonder, I wonder where were you in your head?
And the worse part, there is no avenue for this conversation.
Because safety is about lies, what do I say, so I don’t look like a complete selfish, unfocused moron.
Safety has all the rules, all the equipment, everything you need to safely complete your job.
Safety should be about focus.
How do we train a crew to be focused on the job, start to finish?
At the end of the day every crew member should be able to explain everything that happened that day. What safety rules were stretched to the breaking point and what was done totally safely.
But the truth is most cannot tell you what happened before lunch.
And companies cannot afford to take the time to discuss safety this way because it hurts production.
But somewhere out there is a program that teaches focus.
Safety programs fail because everyone has heard every safety program before and, honestly, we are tired of hearing it every day.
Right up to the moment of a safety event that goes wrong.
Thomas Palmer - Lineman