Let’s Get Focused
“Cutting Corners On Safety Practices At Home Could Prove To Be Catastrophic”
Several years back I had remember having worked with a good friend of mine over a fifteen year time frame who was a
retired Senior NCO out of the Navy Nuclear Submarine program with a strong mechanical maintenance background. After
getting out of the military he went directly to work with one of the local commercial nuclear power plants here in New
England and had recently taken a golden hand shake after many years of loyal and productive service. When this incident
occurred, he was still working full time as a consulting senior D&D program manager for one of the large A&E firms.
He was getting ready for another routine and customary two week summer vacation driving cross country with his wife
and their grand children in the large family motor home. With all of his experience over the years as a mechanic, he really
liked to personally perform a lot of his own hands on preventive maintenance work himself which always allowed him to
save significant time and money of not having to put the vehicle into a shop for several weeks.
He had ordered all of the required parts in advance and had the necessary special tools to do the simply routine three
hour duration four wheel brake pads and rotor / drum change out project at his home in the front drive way while his wife
had gone out for the afternoon shopping with his daughter. He had done this particular job previously and had never
experienced any problems in the past with the way the job was performed.
He typically used the standard jack that came with the motor home, placing it in different locations underneath the
vehicle to raise it high enough off of the ground to allow him to get the tires off which would allow him adequate access
to the brake drums / rotors on each axle for the change out of the various components. On this particular day he did not
take the time required up front in advance to insure the very large vehicle was properly blocked and chocked to prevent it
rolling or slipping off of the jack.
He was well into the project when he had trouble getting the brake drum off and allowed himself to get up under the
vehicle between the fender and the top of the brake drum assembly when a strong gust of wind caused the motor home
to rock, shift and come off of the jack. The full weight of the motor home came down on top of my friend and severely
crushed him. When his family came back home later that day they found him still underneath the vehicle not moving or
breathing and immediately called 911 to get help. When the emergency medical folks arrived the sadly pronounced that
my friend was DOA.
This fatale lessons learned from this preventable accident applies to every task we do at while we are work, at play and
also when working around the house. You must always start work with the end in mind and maintain a robust questioning
attitude, never cut corners to save a little bit of time. It makes sense to keep your head in the game and make sure that
you are not preoccupied with non work related thoughts that can distract you from what you are doing. If you are going
to be doing any type of physical hands on work or home regardless of how minor in nature you must always allow for
adequate time to perform the task and make use of a mental checklist before starting work that includes the following:
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Having the proper tools and required parts
Insuring that you are qualified to perform the task
Using the “One Minute Rule” prior to starting work
Having all of the prerequisite safety steps completed and in place
Remember the 7-P’s : “Proper-Prior-Planning-Prevents-Piss-Poor-Performance”
The results of not doing these above things in advance of starting work could prove ”DEADLY”
Jimmy Elkins
General Manager
Excel Modular Scaffold
Diversity Quote
"One man may hit the mark, another blunder;
but heed not these distinctions. Only from the
alliance of the one, working with and through
the other, are great things born.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
360° Degrees of Safety
The 360° degree visual inspection is a good practice both at work and away. It is a visual inspection that
should be performed prior to operating any piece of equipment or vehicle. By walking around, looking
under and over the vehicle we are identifying potential hazards or obstructions that would prevent us
from operating the vehicle safely.
When you parked the vehicle, it may have been safe however while you were away these conditions could
have changed. Animals can crawl under vehicles for protection from weather conditions and be injured if
not detected by the operator of the vehicle. There have been some unfortunate events involving small
children being run over in their own driveways due to not being seen or a lack of situational awareness by
driver’s.
If you take the few seconds that it would require to perform a 360° degree inspection then it would be
difficult to have such events or stories to pass on. Take a look
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a good example of why we perform the 360° degree walk around.
would happen?
Let’s Talk about Distractions—Again
Distractions are a large contributing factor associated with motor vehicle accidents. There are a number
of ways for a driver to become distracted while operating a vehicle – but there are just as many
precautions and measures that can be taken to prevent the same distractions. Awareness of distracters
is the starting point to prevention. The following is a list of distractions that is provided by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
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Moving objects or persons in the vehicle
Applying make-up Eating
Adjusting climate controls
Adjusting mirrors of seat
Adjusting radio stations or changing CD’s
Reading a map
Reaching for loose items in vehicle
Looking at an item or event outside of the vehicle
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A bill board advertisement
A scenic view
Smoking and dealing with lighting up, putting
out cigarettes, or falling ashes
Emotional distraction (e.g. fighting or upset)
Daydreaming
Radar detectors
Cell phones and lap tops
Humor In Safety
In a hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday
morning, at about 11:00 a.m., regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled the
doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the supernatural. No one
could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
So a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents.
The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 a.m., all of the doctors and nurses
nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon
was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to
ward off the evil spirits.
Just when the clock struck 11:00, the part-time Housekeeper, entered the ward and
unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.
Portable Electronic Distractions
Cell phone use has become so popular these days that many times we don’t realize when,
where, and how often we are utilizing them. There is no question that the use of a cell
phone is distracting.
In addition, text messaging has become very popular. State laws have changed to address
the new hazards associated with distracted drivers due to cell phone use.
Studies have been conducted to identify the statistics for motor vehicle accidents as a result
of cell phone operations while driving. An estimated 21% of injury crashes were reported to
have involved a cell phone distracted driver.
There is no call or text that is worth your life, another vehicle operator, a pedestrian or a
passenger that you are responsible for in the vehicle.
As we approach outage times, many of us will have travel plans to support different locations. The following are a few
tips to keep in mind:
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Avoid driving if you are tired and try to get plenty of rest prior to making long trips
Use turn signals to indicate your turning or changing lanes to other drivers
Don’t Tailgate
Obey posted speed limits and avoid speeding
Never Drink and Drive
Make necessary mirror, seat or functional adjustments when you first get into the vehicle rather than while you are
driving.
Always come to a complete stop at Stop signs, look in all possible directions for traffic to flow prior to entering the
intersection – Never assume the other drivers sees you are is going to stop – WAIT.
Keep your eyes moving and scanning the roadway while driving – try to identify the hazards or potential accidents
before they occur.
Avoid the “No-Zone” with trucks, busses or large vehicles. These types of vehicles are known to have multiple blind
spots. If you can’t see them – They can’t see you.
If you have difficulties with night driving, try to plan your trips for long distances during daylight hours.
Your Safety Attitude
As we prepare to start our work week, take a moment and reflect on the past. Think about an injury that happened to you, a co-worker, or a
friend. After the injury did you notice your attitude about safety changed? Did you wish that you had said or done something to prevent the
injury? We all should have a questioning attitude and never over look a situation that can put us or others in harms way. We should ask
ourselves:
What barriers are in place to protect me?
How can we make this job safer?
How can someone get injured here?
Dow we have the right tools for the job?
If you see someone that is challenging safety, stop and talk to them. Tell them what you think they are doing wrong. It is better to say
something than nothing at all. How would you feel if you could have helped prevent an accident and did nothing at all?
A good safety attitude means being appreciative of those that remind us to be safe and thanking those that suggest a way to make a job
safer. If someone asks you where is your personal protective equipment, don’t get defensive, thank them. They could be saving your life.
Your words and actions affect your safety attitude and could affect the safety attitude of those around you…..even your family.
A good safety attitude means taking time. Safety costs time and is well worth it. Say you have a task to move some material and you forgot
your PPE. You don’t feel like taking the time to get it, so you continue with your task. Chances are you won’t get injured, but why take the
chance. Is a cut or pinched finger worth the time savings? Remember that 75% of time pressure is self-induced. Take time to make sure you
have the right equipment and PPE for each work task no matter how insignificant you make feel it is.
Use the human error reduction tools that are available—Stop when unsure and unsafe, Qualify, Validate, Verify, S.T.A.R., clear
communications, procedure use and adherence, and peer coaching and checking.
Your attitude towards safety is a habit that affects everyone. It is easy to overlook safety, but is it really worth it? It makes a lot more sense
to be proactive and have a good safety attitude. Your words and actions affect your safety attitude and could affect the safety attitude of
those around you……….even your family!
If we can Predict it, then we can prevent it!
At this point, we should have a better
understanding of what feeds and drives the
results we see.
Being responsible Team Players within BHI,
think about what you are doing today,
tomorrow and each day after to deliver Safe
Results.
Openly discuss with your crews what is being
done to…..
• Stay Fully Conscious at work
• Focus on Intellect and steering clear of the
Emotional, Moving and Instinctive Centers