Folks that do things, will break things. Just ask the America’s cup
sailing racing team how many masts they break a year. Folks that
do things, like my 59-year-old brother careening still down mountains
on his mountain bike as a weekend warrior, will break both
bike parts and body parts for the thrill of the action. This is what
we do. And do well.
When it comes to “safety” – and more so, the dreaded “safety
talk” – a little, and yet very real, voice takes over in one’s head. It
usually says, “Nothing would ever get done if we followed all those
rules;” “Whoever made these rules up, never drove a pile;” or “That
may be so, but I know safety better than this yellow-vest, know-nothing
safety officer.” Or maybe you just meander in your mind to your
coaching plan later that day for your kid’s baseball practice after
work that day. Either way, getting “safety talks” to be relevant,
authentic, inspiring, core to the real issues, is a challenge. I have
attended tailgate meetings that accomplished that – my favorite,
on a pile job where the foreman stated, “None of this is worth a broken
fingernail. Job 1 is return home safe to your family.” He meant
it, and the crew heard it.
So that’s the first step – audience, history and realspeak. It must
be real, or it’s not even safety, but rote lines read to check a box. The
crew lives and breathes safety. Don’t ever forget it.
Safety is not magic, but it is magical
From handling many “boo-boos” over the years – some in court,
some worker injuries, some “near misses” – and developing forward
thinking strategies and safety programs, I have come up with
this checklist, using “S-A-F-E-T-Y” as a way to remember and teach
it. Just one way to organize it.
S is for “Space”
Think here about “the byte” – the area where you don’t want to
be – no escape in machinery, of the lofted pile closes in, or the
simple example of the crowded childhood fishing derby where, all
way too close, little Johnny flings his hook, line and bait across the
water and catches the ear of some other kid. More space usually
means more “buffer space” and more “recovery space” – more area
to avoid injury in the event of an unintended event, a boom break,
an unlocked down brake or even a mud clod falling down off the
bonnet of the Delmag hammer due to the muddy site conditions.
We all know those movie scenes when a shootout begins and Bruce
Willis or Tom Cruise says to his partner, “Cover me” – he knows
where the “byte of the bullets” are. So, too, should your crew. Since
sites are dynamic and pile rigs move, it’s not feasible to chalk out
byte lines, but there should always be a detailed discussion of the
byte lines before entering the site. And maybe for some, orange
or red chalk or spray would be a good idea. It’s like, “Don’t stand
behind the batter in case he fouls one off.”
In my experience, the failure of “byte” identification, planning,
reminders and scolding is a very common explanation for workplace
injuries. Simply, “byte” is the area of risk where one can be
trapped in the “scissors” effect of mechanical equipment moving
independently to trap a worker in a high injury risk. And, back to
our long, solid, successful cultural habits of self-reliance and rugged
individuality, we can fall into the trap that “to each his own”
and not scold, let each crew member (especially with more seniority)
gauge for themselves, forgetting the risk to crew, to the job, to
the bottom line, and that safety buy-in requires leadership and no
real exceptions.
My state’s transportation department has some nice summaries
on “Recovery Space” and “Buffer Space.” On tight access
median highway work, I counseled to include reference to those
state safety guidelines as undergirding the pile handling safety plan
submittal required to start work. And, sadly, I saw that reference
crossed out by agencies. But we gave clear notice that we would
cite to those state safety policies and guidelines if someone else on
the job – the GC, another sub – moved our laydown area and put us
closer to the K Rail and traffic when doing pile hoisting.
Variations on the theme, “more space, less byte, more safe”
include fall protection plans, confined spaces, overhead load situations,
traffic control plans, and night work – since with less light,
QA/QC – SAFETY
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