Saturday, January 20, 2024
We are faced with fall hazards on a regular basis in construction. It happens so frequently that sometimes don't give it any thought. We climb up a 10-foot ladder and lean out to do our work, we approach an uncovered hole because we just need to pick something up, we walk near an unprotected edge because we will only be there for minute. I am sure you can think of many other instances where we unnecessarily exposed ourselves and others to risks that could have cost lives. Why would anyone do that? Why would anyone put themselves or others into a position that they could lose their life, become disabled for the rest of their lives, put their family in financial hardships and all the other things that come with serious accidents? The answer is simple, they wouldn't unless there was an overriding reason that was even more important, such as defending your country, your God or your family. So then why, do we take those risks all the time, without giving any thought, for silly reasons like picking something up, completing a single task that will not take long, or maybe just stepping to the edge to get a better view? Because we are not giving it any thought. And that is the problem. We have to keep safety in mind all the time. Our lives, our health and our families depend on it. We cannot consider things like JHAs a formality that we just do because someone is tracking it. We have to consider the actual hazards for the day and tasks and talk about them and make the crew thinks about them and mitigates them. We have to use our pre-task card and challenge. The purpose of challenging was never for the person coming into the work area, it was for the person doing the challenging. Every time they challenge someone, they are re-reading their Pre-task card and going over the hazards. You cannot do that without thinking about and being reminded of the hazards. We have to say something when we see a hazard. If another contractor has created a hazard, the supervisor has to know, we have to stop work in that area and we have to get these hazards addressed. We have to know that fall hazards are very serious and it only takes an instant for a life changing accident to happen. We have to know that electrical hazards very serious and it only takes an instant for a life changing accident to happen. We cannot take it lightly when we have a near miss, or we see something that is not right and could have easily been a fall fatality or an electrocution. If we laugh off those things and don't take time to look at ourselves and our actions, then we are living on borrowed time and counting on luck to keep us safe. We are being foolish. Luck will often visit the foolish person, but it never sits down to stay.
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