Rolling the Dice
In my job there are plenty of chances to confront people who are doing things that don't make much sense to me. As an inspector who has a little power to discipline I'm always surprised when I see something way out of whack.
A few years ago I walked up on a mason who was setting brick about 35 feet in the air. He was on a scaffold that was not protected. One wrong step and he'd hit the ground. He was a big man - at least 250 pounds. He was working hard.
"What are you doing for fall protection?" I asked from the ground below.
"Bumbles bounce," he said.
I laughed.
Then there was a 19-year-old who stuck his right hand between two guards on a press unit. He had been trying to do the job quickly, un-jamming a stuck piece without de-energizing the equipment. He lost three fingers on his strong hand. I had a chance to interview him months later.
"How much extra money did you make?" I ask.
"60 bucks," he said.
Twenty bucks a finger.
And I've thought about it a lot, of course.
What makes a man take chances?
About 15 years ago I was on a site as we tried to piece together why a man who was 60 feet in the air didn't use his fall restraint.
As you can guess, the man didn't survive.
His days stopped at just 35 years old. He left a wife and a baby at home.
Why?
All through the investigation, which involved the media, OSHA, the employer and the man's co-worker we all just looked at one another and mouthed that one word question.
Why?
Having been in the business of safety now for better than 20 years I ask myself that question on a daily basis.
I ask those I see doing dumb things the question over and over again.
And do you know what I've figured out?
1). People suck.
2). No one likes being told what to do.
3). It's not natural to do it safely.
4). No one believes that it'll happen to them.
5). Everyone thinks they can save a little time if they just do the horribly dumb act quickly.
I have a number of tools in my bag of tricks to try and help these guys make the right decisions every day. I'll often take a photo of a guy doing something moderately stupid. Then I'll call him down to look at the photo.
"What should I do with this?" I'll ask. "Send it in the report to your boss?"
Of course the guy will beg for forgiveness.
"Are you going to think of me the next time you wanna' do something stupid?"
"If you erase it?"
"When's your birthday?" I'll ask.
Then I'll take my time making sure that they see me hit erase.
"I only do that for someone once," I'll say.
And you wonder...
...why do we roll the dice and play easy with our lives?
"Bumbles don't bounce," I yelled back at that guy on that scaffold. "You're gonna' make a huge freaking mess on the sidewalk!"
"I'll get a rail," he said.
And sometimes that's all we really ever need.
Just someone walking by us...
...reminding us that we're being dumb.
A few years ago I walked up on a mason who was setting brick about 35 feet in the air. He was on a scaffold that was not protected. One wrong step and he'd hit the ground. He was a big man - at least 250 pounds. He was working hard.
"What are you doing for fall protection?" I asked from the ground below.
"Bumbles bounce," he said.
I laughed.
Then there was a 19-year-old who stuck his right hand between two guards on a press unit. He had been trying to do the job quickly, un-jamming a stuck piece without de-energizing the equipment. He lost three fingers on his strong hand. I had a chance to interview him months later.
"How much extra money did you make?" I ask.
"60 bucks," he said.
Twenty bucks a finger.
And I've thought about it a lot, of course.
What makes a man take chances?
About 15 years ago I was on a site as we tried to piece together why a man who was 60 feet in the air didn't use his fall restraint.
As you can guess, the man didn't survive.
His days stopped at just 35 years old. He left a wife and a baby at home.
Why?
All through the investigation, which involved the media, OSHA, the employer and the man's co-worker we all just looked at one another and mouthed that one word question.
Why?
Having been in the business of safety now for better than 20 years I ask myself that question on a daily basis.
I ask those I see doing dumb things the question over and over again.
And do you know what I've figured out?
1). People suck.
2). No one likes being told what to do.
3). It's not natural to do it safely.
4). No one believes that it'll happen to them.
5). Everyone thinks they can save a little time if they just do the horribly dumb act quickly.
I have a number of tools in my bag of tricks to try and help these guys make the right decisions every day. I'll often take a photo of a guy doing something moderately stupid. Then I'll call him down to look at the photo.
"What should I do with this?" I'll ask. "Send it in the report to your boss?"
Of course the guy will beg for forgiveness.
"Are you going to think of me the next time you wanna' do something stupid?"
"If you erase it?"
"When's your birthday?" I'll ask.
Then I'll take my time making sure that they see me hit erase.
"I only do that for someone once," I'll say.
And you wonder...
...why do we roll the dice and play easy with our lives?
"Bumbles don't bounce," I yelled back at that guy on that scaffold. "You're gonna' make a huge freaking mess on the sidewalk!"
"I'll get a rail," he said.
And sometimes that's all we really ever need.
Just someone walking by us...
...reminding us that we're being dumb.
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