The biggest argument against requiring helmet use is that it is not preventive. Education about safe riding can save more lives than the wearing of helmets. Anyone who has ever worked in the safety field would agree that education and training are far more important than protective equipment, but they would also say that both are required.

Anyway, as the post title suggests, you don’t have to take safety precautions! If you live in a state that does require helmets, it is obvious when you are breaking the law. But what about all the other safety precautions that engineers have made for us – can we override them if we wish? You bet you can!

CAUTION – THESE ARE ALL THING NOT TO DO! You may recognize that people do them, but they are increasing the likelihood of accident or injury.

1. Clip ground plugs and adapters. This is less of a problem today than it was 20 years ago, but if you had a three prong plug and no outlets to match, the quickest solution was to clip the grounding part of the plug. You could use an adapter, but unless you grounded the adapter you were doing the same thing.
2. Buckle seat belts. Those annoying bells and buzzers can go away if you just buckle the belt behind you. At least on some cars. They keep making them smarter and smarter you know. Because we still insist on bypassing proven safety methods.
3. Buy bigger fuses. Most of us have breakers in an electrical box somewhere in the house, some still have the old fuses. If a circuit blows the fuse too often you could just put in a bigger  breaker, a bigger fuse, or better yet, a penny!
4. Bring on the extension cords and power strips. As our gadget inventory grows, so does our need for electrical power. What used to only be a problem at Christmas time can plague us all year. Most of us know that overloading an outlet can be a problem, but hey, the breaker will trip of the fuse will blow right? Unless we followed #3.
5. And while speaking of electricity, if the ground fault interrupter in your bathroom or kitchen needs to be replaced, you could replace it with a cheaper normal plug and not have the nuisance of the plug tripping out at times. Double win!
6. Power mower kill switch. Most power mowers today have a bar at the handle that needs to be squeezed for the engine to run. It’s called a dead man switch. If something happens to the operator, the machine won’t keep running. Unfortunately, the operator leaving the machine run while they moved something out of the way or reached to clear an obstacle was frequently the one injured. But don’t worry, you could just use tape or twine to tie it up. Problem solved.

OK, as I stated above – THESE ARE ALL BAD IDEAS! Do not do these things. If there is a safety measure or precaution you don’t like, do not override it. You may not be aware of every aspect that it was created for in the first place. It was not created to annoy you, but to protect you in some way. Sort of like how some people see their parents.

We all override some aspect of our personal safety. I stood on a chair recently (when no one was looking) because I had loaned out my ladder. Bad choice. How about you, when was the last time you consciously chose the less safe alternative?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

I’ve lived in places that routinely get weather like this, but Atlanta gets it so infrequently that people don’t get a chance to develop the skills to drive when conditions are icy. More importantly, we don’t work on the skill of deciding not to drive. I saw several interviews on the news with drivers who thought they could handle it, but they were wrong.

Many smart people of science have made great discoveries about how consistently the world works, and if we take the time to understand the rules they have discovered, we could save ourselves from life-threatening accidents. Because, you see, you can hardly call them accidents when nature is performing as predicted.

1. Gravity works, always. The exact rate of acceleration that the earth’s gravity is responsible for (9.8 meters per second squared) doesn’t matter. What matters is that it is relentless. The farther away you take yourself from a stable, level surface, the greater will be your speed at impact with the next surface between you and the earth. Climbing a ladder without setting it up correctly, or getting on a roof without the right kind of harness or other safety precaution, or just jumping on a trampoline without spotters are all activities that people insist upon as though gravity won’t be a nuisance to them.
2. Machines can multiply forces. Why is this important? Think about your car. If you are old enough to have driven a car that didn’t have power steering, you know that having two hands on the wheel was necessary at all times. Your car wants to travel in a straight line. When you turn the wheel, even a little bit, your front wheels dig into the pavement with tremendous force to move the car into another direction. But power brakes and steering make us feel like those forces are minimal. So when I heard a driver say he though he could handle the icy hill, he was totally neglecting the fact that without the tires biting into the pavement, no steering matters, the car wants to go in a straight line. The center of the car. It may start to fishtail a bit and move sideways, but the center is moving straight, and no amount of steering is going to change how the tires behave on ice.

So that’s it. Ice is not asphalt, and gravity never quits.

Any simple science lessons you have encountered that help you be safer?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

As we move into the remaining weeks of the year, we tend to participate in activities and work that only occur in the last six weeks. It would be easy to overlook the little things, but it would be a better idea to think about the potential hazards and take the right precautions.

1. Outside decorations. Many people hang lights or other decorations on the outside of their homes. Make sure you use the right type and length of ladder. Don’t overextend it, set it to the right angle, and remember three points of contact.
2. Outdoor electrical decorations. If you have decorations outside, you need to make sure you are using the right electrical wires and plugs. Protect electrical components from moisture and use only items that are approved for outdoors.
3. Indoor electrical decorations. The big things here include running extension cords and plugging too many things into one outlet. Many modern lights and decorations run with cool LED technology, but there are still lots of electrical decorations that run hot. You need to protect against burns and the potential for fire if a hot bulb is too near something flammable.
4. Cut trees. There are several approaches to keeping a cut tree hydrated while you keep it in your home. If you do have a tree and then travel, consider taking the tree out of your home before you leave.
5. Candles. One year we had a fired in our house. My parents had a wood cabinet in the family room, and the top was decorated with pine roping and pillar candles. The pine had dried out and caught fire as one of the candles burned low. The fire was put out before anything burned besides the cabinet. We only burn candles in glass jars now.
6. Traffic. Shopping, errands, airport runs to pick up family, all put you out in traffic more than usual. And frequently at times when traffic is crazier than normal. We don’t go out the day after Thanksgiving anymore. Nothing is happening that can’t wait, and no savings worth the additional hassle. People are stressed, and that’s when they make mistakes.
7. Food. Different kind of watch out here, but this is as important as any. Not only is it important that you manage your calorie intake, but you also need to be paying attention to food handling. Keep preparation surfaces clean, cook meats thoroughly, and use common sense with storage and re-use.

This is a great time of year for so many people, don’t let the energy of the season lead you to take shortcuts or make a mistake that could snowball into a problem.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

If he had fallen a little bit to one side or other of the roots, he may have been bruised but OK. Bad luck was hitting the roots, bad choice was trying to reach too far. We should have gotten down and moved the ladder to where we needed it to be. I think of this every year when I get out the big ladder to do my Christmas lights.

Anyway, there are a few moments of personal safety that I would like back. None of them had serious consequences, but the outcomes could have been much worse. I can’t be lucky forever!

1. When Mikey Franco encouraged me to take the short-cut path down the hill to the valley by my childhood home. I tumbled, rolled, and screamed, and in the end I had a few scratches and bruises. It was not a short fall. It could have killed me.
2. When I drove my VW hatchback into the side of another car that had spun out on the freeway in a snowstorm. By the time I saw the other car, the best I could do is try and steer between the car and the guardrail, but steering wasn’t really working. I was driving too fast for the weather. Seatbelts saved my life.
3. When I was installing some new equipment early in the engineering part of my career. Long hours and frequent changes to machine adjustment led me to reach in where I shouldn’t have. I walked away with a contusion, and I’ve seen others lose fingers doing the same thing.
4. Driving in another snowstorm 10 years later because we had tickets to see a play in Schenectady. Nothing happened. It was just stupid.
5. Driving after alcohol consumption. I did it, more than a few times. But one time in particular I’d like to have back. Not because of anything that happened, but when you don’t remember how you got home, and you realize you drove, that’s just wrong. That was over 30 years ago and taught me a lot.
6. Oh yeah, and the time I picked up the hot end of a just-burned-out sparkler. You never do THAT twice, but wish you had never done it in the first place.

All things considered, I’ve been pretty lucky when I’ve made bad choices. How about you? Any do-overs?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

When my son was first driving, he told me he thought he was a good driver. I told him he was, but that the real test is how he would handle the vehicle and himself when the unexpected happens. A tire failure. An animal runs in front of the car. Driving in a snowstorm. Now he’s 27, and he’s a better driver than he was before, because he’s gained experience and learned from that. He’s had many “moments of choice” when he had to call on his knowledge or experience to turn into the skid, or ease slowly to the side of the road, or take whatever maneuver the situation may have called for.

If you are in a job that has anything to do with people, especially leading or training them in any way, safety is part of your profession, whether you acknowledge it or not. You are in a position to help prevent accidents and injuries. For you, the moment of choice is happening constantly. You are looking at the equipment, the machinery, the workers, the office, the conditions all around you and trying to make them all flow together in a way that is good for your business. And the safest possible way is good for business.

Have you had a moment of choice today? I’ll bet you have. It may have been a choice regarding taking that cell phone call in the car, or even considering reading or answering a text message while driving. Maybe it was walking through a factory, you saw someone doing something that could be done with far less risk, and you took the time to point out the alternative, or you chose not to.

Did you have a moment of choice this week that you can point to as one that made a big difference, either for your own safety or those you work with? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

In the skit, the SNL anchor is interviewing another pilot who acknowledges Sully’s heroic effort, but is a little bitter. Why? Because he learned how to avoid the birds.

I’m not a pilot, but I would think that if Sully could have avoided the birds, he would have. This was not a 4-wheel drive truck going 35 miles an hour when a child’s ball rolled into the street. This was a massive airplane. There is no traction in air for quick maneuvers or an easy way to swerve away from the danger – I don’t think. But the idea was still interesting to think about.

In industrial safety, as I have written before, an accident is frequently discussed afterward with the use of the word “luck”. Sometimes good luck is at play, and sometimes bad luck. It was bad luck that the flock and that airlane were on intersecting flight patterns. It was good luck that Sully happened to be a student of exactly that type of landing. Another pilot may have been able to do the same thing, or maybe not.

The pilot on SNL seemed to think that the skill of avoiding the birds is what should be acknowledged.

Do you have someone with a knack for not getting hurt? They seem to avoid the dangers? Or maybe they just know more about spotting the problems and steering clear. It might be that you have something to learn from them.

Oh, and for the record, I think Sully is a real hero. Not for making the landing, but for being ready to do just that. For caring enough about his work to know what to do when the unexpected happens.

Let’s be careful out there.

But what insurance should you carry? How much and for what incidents? There are all kinds of sites that will help you understand the ins and outs, and why you should or should not have a particular insurance. And they don’t all agree on very much. There are some that will tell you that for life insurance, only choose term insurance. Whole life policies are a bad investment.  That may be true, depending on your particular circumstances, how you are saving, and how much monthly cash you have available for this purpose.

Just as important is to routinely look at your insurance in light of changes to your pay, your lifestyle, the economy, and even your outlook.  Here are some situations where you might want to consider re-evaluating your insurance purchases.

1. You have established a good emergency fund. Whether or not you are a Dave Ramsey fan, you have tried to save into a rainy day fund. You have likely encountered need for extra cash from time to time. A household emergency fund is for addressing some of the real life things that happen. Your refrigerator fails and you need to buy a new one. You have an accident and have to pay the deductible on your auto insurance. If your emergency fund is getting rich enough, you should consider raising the deductibles on your auto and homeowners policies. You can use the reduction in premiums to increase what you are putting in the fund!
2. A change in any family member’s life status. Sometimes a change means they are no longer covered on your employer-supplied health care plan. My son is only covered until age 23, and only if he remains a full time student in the meantime. We will go off family coverage at that point, but he will have to have his own coverage (or not – but that’s just crazy as he is diabetic).
3. Your cars are getting older. If you carry collision insurance, there comes a time when the cost of the insurance is just not worth it. The insurance company will total the car in a situation like this. Cancel the collision and put the money saved in the new car fund.
4. Age. As my family grows older, I need less life insurance. It’s time to reduce my term coverage as my youngest becomes self-sufficient.
5. Real estate values. Do you have replacement coverage? Does the replacement value automatically escalate each year? Is it enough or are you possibly over-insured? This might be worth looking at.
6. Accumulation of “stuff”. Have you documented the valuables in the house, including jewelry and electronics? Laptops, plasma screen TVs, and high value electronics may all be in the house when the fire hits. Is your coverage good enough?
7. Because you have choices. Why do you think Geico has those creepy eyes looking at you? And when your friendly HR rep reminds you that it is time for annual enrollment, do you look at the new choices or just the bottom line difference for same coverage? Change is hard sometimes, but there may be a value in considering a move from the PPO to the HMO. Of course YMMV.

What other reasons have you had to reconsider your insurance purchase? Please feel free to share you wisdom in the comments.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

I have submitted lists before of employee answers and supervisor answers to investigations questions. This last list in the series are the answers that management gives in companies do not manage safety well. These FGA’s are not from my current company, but I have used them as examples in training others to do investigations, to help contrast effective resolution from rationalization.

1. Our record is consistently strong.
2. We have trained employees to not do what the injured employee did. He made a bad decision.
3. That machine is guarded correctly. The employee made a bad choice.
4. The supervisor usually stops people when they are doing what the injured employee did.
5. That equipment meets OSHA guidelines.
6. We are committed to the safety of our employees.
7. The employee should have shut the machine down.
8. No one has been hurt that way before. It must have been a fluke.

There is one last set of FGAs to look at. What good management does. We’ll see that list soon.

As always, let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists are more clever. Lots.

This makes sense, especially given the level of automation that exists today. When things are running well, employees are monitoring the process and making sure there are adequate materials coming in and product is taken away. When the process starts to fail in some way, stress goes up, as does the interaction with the process. This presents an opportunity for mistakes or accidents.

I spent a good part of Thursday traveling, and saw a lot of frustrated people and unusual procedures that only added to peoples’ frustrations. The flight was a Delta flight, a Canadair jet that requires planeside check-in of a typical carry on bag. The smaller Canadair jets seat 48 people, and are boarded from the tarmac. You leave your bag on the cart next to the steps, and when you get to the destination you retrieve it the same way. This was a larger jet that used the jetway to board. So here in Atlanta, when you get off, people line the jetway until the bags are brought up to the jetway 2 or 3 at a time.

Atlanta was my destination, but people with connections were not happy. This is when the behavior got bad. A hot jetway full of people (August in Atlanta, remember) and they start crowding the little doorway to look down the stairs and see when their bag is coming up. If your bag did come up, and you weren’t crowding the front, you wouldn’t know. So people were upset with the process, now they are upset with each other.

Then there is the train you take from the terminal to baggage claim and the airport exit. There are three long escalators, and when the train doors open it looks like the post at the Kentucky Derby! Where are these people running to? Seriously, I timed the difference between the guy who sprinted up the escalator and my passive ride, and it was about 30 seconds. What will he do with that time? Can’t save it, time doesn’t work that way.

If he was headed to a family emergency, I hope he got there safely and in time for what he needed to do. But the hurry, the rushing, the dodging around people will, at some point, cost a person more time than they saved. And may cost more than just time.

So, the next time you feel hurried or catch yourself trying to somehow make up for lost time, don’t forget to breathe. Ask yourself if it will really make a difference. Time is a great equalizer, no one gets more minutes in an hour than anyone else, and no one gets less.

Do you rush through things, or work yourself into a rushing pattern when you don’t really need to? It might be a habit worth changing.

Let’s be careful out there.

Anyone who has seen this knows that the measures are most often given in terms of injury rates or accident avoidance.

But for me, the measure is what I see when I am inside. I look to see if there is a well kept facility or if there are lots of unorganized storage or messy work areas. I watch the operators interact with machines, and I look for where fire extinguishers are. In short, I look for practices that indicate loss prevention as a value.

There are lots of people who think that accidents are, well, accidents. That they are bound to happen. That if I work in this facility long enough I am likely to lose a finger just like my Uncle Joe did when he worked here.

If the safety programs are window dressing, then safety is an illusion. Some people believe that their co-workers were fated to be injured. That’s why some people who never smoke a day in their lives still get lung cancer. Or why a lean athlete might still die at an early age due to heart ailment.

What do you think? Is it worth any effort to take extra caution? When are safety meetings and risk mitigation efforts too much?

Let’s be careful out there. I mean, if you think it matters.