I have been reading some thoughts about safety from Mike Rowe and his SWEAT pledge. Here are my thoughts:
I cannot believe how wrong he is. Safety does not mean you do not do anything, it means you preserve capacity. The ability to enjoy life, work or do anything else you want.
If your job means you hang off the side of a building in a bosun’s chair, you are trained, you know the scope of your work, you have all the required tools & equipment, they have been inspected, and there is a plan in place if something goes wrong.
That is the essence of safety, a plan. You are not going out there and winging it.
If safety is stopping work being done that is a good thing. Work is not being done because workers need more training, training requirements should have been addressed in any pre work discussions.
You don’t have all the tools & equipment, how did that happen? Who is planning this work? Do they understand what is needed?
Tools & equipment not in good working order, who is maintaining this stuff? Why was it brought to site without being repaired or replaced?
What is the emergency response plan? Do you know when to call for help? Where to call for help? Who knows first aid or trained in high angle rescue?
These are all management issues. The planning of work. Putting this all on the worker is inappropriate in the extreme.
There is a thing that occurs every so often, paralysis by analysis. The work is over analyzed and nothing gets done. This is managed by having competent planners, supervisors, workers and emergency responders.
Plan your work, work your plan.