Is Safety Just a Spoken Word?
August 28th, 2009
Is Safety Just a Spoken Word?
by Ron Hinds
Featured in the Midwest Contractors Magazine, August 2007
“Safety” and what does the word mean?
“Safe” as defined in the dictionary means:
- Secure from harm, danger, or evil.
- Free from injury or danger.
- Free from risk.
“Safety” as defined in the dictionary:
- As it relates to the construction industry is the state of being safe.
Or the word “Accident” as its meaning defined in the dictionary:
- An unexpected and undesirable event.
- Something that occurs unexpectedly or unintentionally.
- A nonessential circumstance or attribute.
- Fortune of chance.
Or the word “Accidental” as defined in the dictionary.
- Occurring unexpectedly and unintentionally.
- Not intrinsic: Nonessential. (Intrinsic) as of or relating to the fundamental nature of a thing: Inherent.
Now that we know the meaning of the word can you say your company provides a work place secure from harm and danger or evil? You can say it but is it true? Does your company provide your employees with the training that is required under Federal Regulations? When asked, what is the most important aspect of your company, do you say Safety or do you respond as to the bottom line. Profit may be part of the life blood of a company but without a “great”, not good, safety record you will never achieve the transfusion to keep a company up and running. One incident can bankrupt even the largest of companies. I know from past experience as a Masonry Contractor with 50 to 60 employees that Safety takes a back seat when it comes to getting the project done. I had my share of so called “accidents” or as I like to call them” Incidents”. I always blamed them on the employee because he was not paying attention or did something stupid. I never blamed myself because I did not have a Safety program nor did proper training or for that matter even offer it to my employees. I was always was trying to get the project done so we could move to another project. The contractor always wanted us to be there two weeks earlier than scheduled and when we were there they would want more bricklayers this week and want us to lay off next week because the door bucks were delayed. Sound Familiar? This was back in the 60’s and 70’s. Not much has changed in 40+ years has it?
Safety is truly the life blood of your company. I can drive by a job site and just by looking tell what kind of safety program the Controlling Contractor has. I have traveled extensively over the years and it has always been related to the construction industry and what I see on some of the constructions sites would make an OSHA inspector gasp in disbelief. You know it doesn’t make any difference in the size of the project or what part of the country the project is in there is always room for improving the safety program. I can tell you it is getting better because some of the companies are recognizing that they can not let people ignore the regulations. It is the responsibility of the Controlling Contractor to make sure that all sub contractors and all employees abide by the Federal Regulations and Company Safety Policies. This is a good thing. But there are still a lot of large and small constructions companies that are crossing their fingers and holding their breath that nothing will happen that will jeopardize the speed of getting the job done or the profit expected upon completion. I am so tuned in on the aspect of safety on projects that I carry a camera and when I see something that could jeopardize someone’s life I take a picture to use in one of my classes. I took a picture of a personnel basket on a project and when I viewed the picture on my computer I discovered five OSHA regulations violations in the back ground. I took a picture of a dump truck with a trailer attached transporting a 15,000lb backhoe traveling on the highway at 60mph with the backhoe tied down with one chain about the size of something that would hold up a porch swing. What in the world was the driver thinking? Or better yet he was not thinking of his safety or anyone else’s’. The sad reality of this situation is that it is not uncommon.
When I contact a company about Safety and offer to do safety training the answer is pretty much the same. Yes we need the training but we are really busy right now and don’t have the time. When we get some slack time we will give you a call. The slack time never comes so the training never gets done until something happens and then it’s a call and panic sets in. Most of the training I do is in from the panic mode. They show up on a project and the Controlling Contractor won’t let them run the equipment unless their employees are certified in the operation of that equipment or they are not in compliant in other regulations wither Federal or Company. I often wonder how many contractors never bid a project because they don’t want to deal with the safety requirements. I also wonder about the companies that have their own safety directors and if these safety directors have the same problems in getting the employees trained. There are safety companies that have programs where the contractor can send new hires for a one night seminar and get all the training done. If you know of one of these companies beware!! You can not pencil in safety training. If the safety company is not going by the Federal Regulation and State or Company Regulations then the training is worthless. Be aware of companies that are doing training for a cheap price and do not nor can not show proper credentials. Safety programs take time and when the proper time is not allowed you receive inaccurate training which could become a liability problem.
Most companies that are required to have Insurance or Bonds will need to produce a company safety handbook and company safety program. This is sometimes a problem with sub contractors or companies that are new or growing very fast and with the help of companies like mine we are able to provide then with the handbooks, programs and proper, accurate training. I have also had the occasion to write job specific safety programs for contractors because the controlling contractor requires then to have a written safety program designed for that particular job. Regardless of the size of the company they can not prevent someone from violating the rules of safety but they can develop a safety program and train their personnel so that it will put the risk at almost zero. The key is Training and Awareness.
Most but not all Insurance Companies get actively involved in the insured company’s safety program. Especially when the rate goes up because of the excessive amount of claims. The insurance company will not do the training required, in most cases, so that is where companies like mine come in. Make sure the Safety Consulting Company you use is insured. If your company is involved in litigation you want the company that provided the training to be insured also. I find it interesting that large and some small companies use in house trainers and that way they have all the liability responsibility within their company. Usually when a company is about to lose their insurance carrier, is when I get a call to help with getting their safety program on track.
Safety is not just a word, it is a way of life and without a serious safety program someone’s life may be at risk. The next time you put up a safety sign at your work place think about how you are going to enforce the message. If you have a safety program and it’s not working, think of ways to get your employees to comply. Try penalties for violations such as time off without pay or whatever your company policy demands. Reward employees for good safe practices such as a bonus or trip. Make your company safety policy strict and enforceable. Make the supervisors as responsible for safety as others. I know of companies that the supervisors are the biggest violators and get upset when an employee refuses to do a task because of a safety factor. Supervisors need to attend all training sessions and participate with the other employees. Just because you are a Supervisor does not exempt you from being certified in Safety Regulations. There are certain Regulations that are specific for supervisors.
When I do a safety training program it is rare if the owner or supervisor is present. Most owners do not even show up to address the attendees on the importance of the program. That tells me that they are only interested in the minimum importance of the safety training. Just get it done. Now I know there are exceptions to the rule but having trained hundreds of employees in different aspects of safety I can only recall a couple of times when the owner or key supervisor(manager) showed up and addressed the class or for that matter attended the class. Not to worry because I do a very good job of covering the importance of the program and stress the company’s concern for their safety because they have me there doing the training.
There are safety companies that require your company to sign contracts and they offer all kinds of inspections and training for their services. This is all well and good except you rely on this company to tell you when you are in need of safety corrections and they are only on your project once a month and send you a report on violations if any are noticed. What if you don’t fix the problem? Well next month they send you the same report. The training is not always according to Regulations. How do I know this? Because I have looked at the training provided and they have not done it according to Federal standards. So what difference does this make? A lot if your company has an accident or incident and litigation follows and the question is asked what kind of training was provided and you find out it does not follow Federal Regulation guide lines. Why not train your people correctly and then they would be qualified to recognize any violations on any project and correct them at that moment in time or better yet not have the violation happen in the first place. “But the company I have the contract with appears at the OSHA hearing and gets the fine lowered or dropped”. Big deal so can anyone else. Why have the fine in the first place? There are programs where OSHA will inspect your site at no risk to you. What’s the big deal? Do your responsibility as an owner and there will be no risk. Beware because there are companies that will call OSHA and report violations on your company so they can get your consulting business. Usually OSHA does not show up at your site or business unless there has been an accident or fatality or called by an employee complaining of a violation or by someone wanting to cause you problems. Learn how to handle an OSHA inspection and your rights.
Dealing with an incident. How do we get the incident corrected after it happens? We call it Root Cause Analyst. I have a report that has to be filled out in detail and reasons given for the incident and corrections that will insure that it will not happen again. There are several methods to getting to the cause and resolving the problem but if you don’t do it, how will it ever be corrected? Have someone in the company that is responsible for your safety program and keep records of all employees training and certification. Keep these records current and provide additional training when necessary. If someone has an incident or near miss make sure they are re-trained and it is documented. It is the owner’s responsibility to insure that all employees are trained and the training is documented.
Your company should have employees trained in – First Aid/CPR – Mobile Equipment Certified if an operator of equipment – Competent Person, when doing excavation work & Confined Space, when working in a space with limited access or egress – OSHA 10/30 hour – Company Safety Program – Employee Safety Handbook – DOT Regulations for all drivers of company vehicles – Safety Seminars for all Supervisors – Daily Inspection Reports for all Projects – OSHA Inspections and how to handle them – Tool Box Meeting – Record Keeping – Sexual Harassment – Documentation of all Training – Copy of Company Policies.
So is Safety just a word Spoken?
Safety is a way of life if at the Job Site or at Home. Work Safe, Play Safe and enjoy life. Don’t be the person that had to say “I COULD HAVE SAVED A LIFE THAT DAY BUT I CHOSE TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY”. (Don Merrill)
Ron Hinds
Southwest Missouri Safety Co LLC
Ron Hinds is a safety consultant with over 49 years experience in the construction industry. Starting with learning the brick mason trade in the late 50’s and being a masonry contractor in Kansas City Mo. In the late 60’s and early 80’s. After that he started a construction equipment business selling and renting construction equipment until June of 1999 when he sold the business to United Rental Inc. He stayed on with United Rentals Inc. doing several projects including Safety Consulting, Writing Policy and Training Employees in all aspects of Safety. In 2006 he was forced to retire but soon realized that was not ready for retirement. He formed a Safety Consulting company under the name of Southwest Missouri Safety Co. LLC. Ron has a web site and specializes in Construction Safety Regulations. He is certified in all aspects of training. Ron has invested a lot of time and money to make sure he has the training and equipment to train personnel properly. It is important that everyone receives correct and accurate training. The company is insured and insists on providing each company we do business with a certificate of insurance. Ron has trained hundreds of employees and enjoys working with companies and their safety concerns.
