Getting To Zero Means Getting Tough

Zero is a real possibility in safety. In fact, many companies are achieving zero right now. If others can do it, why can’t you?

The truth is that in order to achieve zero, companies, supervisors and VP’s of Safety are going to have to become vigilant and make the tough decisions. It’s not going to be easy to do it until you figure out where the hazards and job site issues come from in the first place.

Work sites are safe. It’s people who screw them up. Have a look at the following list and tell me it’s not people who screw things up:

• Park an unsecured piece of equipment where it shouldn’t be.
• Leave an extension cord running across the ground with no markings.
• A quick trip up the ladder to fetch something – no need to tie-off.
• No need for a seat belt since I’m still in the yard and not on the road yet.
• No need for a truck walk-around – I did it fifteen minutes ago.
• Maybe I should have adjusted the side mirror when I was stopped – oh well.

You getting my drift here? If it weren’t for people, everything would be exactly where it’s supposed to be. Of course, if it weren’t for people, nothing would ever get done. So there’s the conundrum.

It’s your people who give you the safety record you have. Your results on the job are the direct result of the line you take with those who do the job. The more vigilant you become in instilling a Safety Attitude, the more your results will improve.

SAFETY ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: What’s the difference between a driver who’s been drinking and a driver who’s exhausted? Sit in the passenger seat and you’ll figure out the answer – not much. So why do you allow your people to come to work after being out all night? What about letting them work hung-over? What about someone popping cold pills that make them drowsy? What about a parent who spent most of the night at the hospital with a sick child?

Are these people alert and ready for whatever happens or are they barely conscious? Could they be considered a hazard on the job? Fatigue and impairment cause accidents both on and off the job.

Do you ever wonder why Cops park a block away from the bar at eight o’clock in the morning? It’s to catch the driver retrieving his car who, although he seems coherent, is still over the limit to drive. And you’re going to let him work?

There are no more reasons and excuses for not achieving zero. If your crew knows that they are going to lose a day’s pay for showing up hung-over, sleep-deprived, stuffed full of cold medications or trying to hide the fact that they’re still drunk, then my guess is that they wouldn’t show up that way at all. People rise to level of expectation. But if you don’t impose any consequences for being impaired, then your safety record will just have to suffer the consequences alone.

Safety Training Must Account For Interruptions

On one of my most recent airplane flights, as I sat myself into my aisle seat and secured my seat belt, the chief flight attendant began her announcements including the safety demonstration required on every flight. You know the one I am speaking of: seat belts, oxygen masks, floor-track lighting and emergency exits. I could probably demo the safety demonstration if the airline were in a pinch having heard it so many times.

Just prior to the safety demonstration, the flight attendant welcomed a few new “first-time flyers.” As I pretty much live on airplanes some days, it always amazes when I see mature adults taking their first flight – or should I say, finally getting around to taking their first flight. I can only imagine what it is like to experience a flight for the first time in mid-life. (If you’re 45 years old and have never been on a plane, then you wouldn’t really understand the jokes about airline service would you?)

As we were taxiing into take-off position and as the safety demonstration was taking place, a group of three men, in the emergency row, were having a great old conversation amongst themselves and loud enough that I, three rows ahead of them, was having a hard time hearing the safety demonstration. That’s not a problem for me as I’ve been through the safety demo thousands of times, but what about the first-time flyers on the plane? Wouldn’t this be the first time they’ve ever heard the announcement? Wouldn’t this be important information?

SAFETY ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Does your safety training account for interruptions? Interruptions distract people from getting ALL of the information. A cell phone ringing during a toolbox or tailgate meeting distracts just enough that not every word is heard. Side-talking during a safety meeting means the person you’re talking to and yourself are not getting all of the information. Muttering under your breath impairs the attention of others if they can hear something. A safety attitude is an attitude of courtesy – to ensure that others AND yourself are safe. You can’t do that if you’re distracting others. And if you're distracting others, you're a hazard on the job.

Supervisors, before you hold your safety briefing, make sure you minimize as many distractions as possible – cell phones off, full attention, quiet place away from traffic and other noises as much as possible. Remember, interruptions impair learning. When learning is impaired, that’s another hazard on the job.