So, an employee who decided to rush through a job created an avoidable safety event. This employee shall not be named, but you and many others know who you are. As a safety professional, how many times have you talked about this person? Okay, back to the story…
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever stopped for a moment and asked yourself why you rush through just about every job you do? I don’t believe anyone is putting added pressure on you to get the job done as fast as possible and cut safety corners. Maybe you are just applying that pressure on yourself? Maybe?
I know you are a smart guy and mean well, but if you don’t slow down, you are really going to hurt yourself or someone else. I’ve had this conversation on many occasions in my past safety life. Several people took my advice and began using the 4-second rule. I’ve had others though that ignored me and thought I was full of safety crap. “I ain’t following your bull Safety Man”! In each of those events, the individual who decided to continue down the accident path and disregarded my advice ended up hurt.
A lot of times, when we rush a job, we cut corners and those corners are usually sharp. They somehow find a way to reach out and take a bite out of unsuspecting employees. Rushing to complete a job just about always places the employee in the line of fire. Rushing is a state of mind and can cause or contribute to critical errors like “Line of Fire”.
Line Of Fire Just To Go Faster?
There are four states we find ourselves in according to Safestart and I tend to agree with them: Rushing, Frustration, Fatigue, and Complacency. Each of these four states can cause or contribute to the following critical errors: Eyes not on task, mind not on task, Line of fire, and balance/traction/grip. All of these increase the risk of injury. I’m only focusing on Rushing mixed with Line-Of-Fire today.
Now let’s go back to my story of the rushing employee with a grinder. In this particular incident, the employee was not being rushed to get a job completed according to sources. This employee has a bit of a reputation as someone who’s always rushing around to get things done. He also has a significant safety record.
Each event this employee has been in has rushing written all over them. In this particular event, the employee was changing out the wheel of a battery-powered grinder. Instead of taking the battery off the grinder to replace the wheel, the employee figured he could change it out quickly and get on with his job.
Can you guess what happened next?
You probably guessed right. He bumped the trigger and the grinder wheel brushed across his hand. This employee was incredibly lucky and only received a scratch. Think for a minute about what could have happened if this employee’s luck ran out. He could have lost a finger or worse.
Whenever you rush to get a job done, you will almost always put yourself or others in the line of fire. How long does it take to remove the battery from the power tool? I timed it and it took my old slow hands less than 2 seconds.
Now, this is where I leave the employee alone and put on my safety preaching outfit. No collar required here… Do you think the 4-second rule would have helped in this situation? It takes just two seconds to remove the battery and that’s if you’re slow like me.
If he stopped for just 4 seconds, he most likely would have thought… maybe I should remove the battery. Mr. Train-wreck, this is your wake-up call. Slow down and start implementing the 4-second rule. If you can’t remember what the 4-second rule is, watch my video and it will enlighten you.
In closing, I want each and every employee to do the following four things that will help you think before you do. Stop and think about the job you are going to do and what energy is associated with it. Next, think about the small things that could lead to much bigger things.
Look for patterns that increase the risk of injury. And finally, work on and improve on those bad habits you’ve developed. The state of mind you find yourself in can cause errors. Those errors can have little risk or really big risk. Be safe for crying out loud. Don’t end up the subject in someone’s podcast or blog post…