In the past I have written about luck and it’s role in safety. We think we can control everything, but there is very little we truly control. I’ve worked around big machines my whole life. Machines don’t kill people, but people die from making mistakes while working with them. Machines are totally unforgiving of human error, which…
Tag Archive: excuses
Luck and Lottery – Part 1
The most frequently heard lottery stories seem to be related to the misfortune of winning. There are news stories and television programs devoted to the exploration of how winning the lottery results in breakdown of the individual or family involved. We don’t however learn about the countless many who win and do not go on…
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Important at Home, Too
In all my years in manufacturing, the subject of Personal Protective Equipment caused more debate and dissension than you might imagine. What you have to wear, when you have to wear it, if you can have facial hair, your obligation to care for the equipment or share the costs are all topics that sometime even…
Frequently Given Answers – 8 Reasons to Take Short Cuts
Short cuts. As a kid this meant cutting through a neighbors yard, or through a path in the woods at the park. I don’t know when I first heard the word used to mean “anything that shortens the time it takes to accomplish a task”, but that is the way the term is used most…
5 Reasons We Aren’t Always As Safe As We Could Be
As an advocate for personal safety, the tools I use most often are awareness of possibilities and appreciation of risk. If you make yourself aware of what could go wrong in a situation, and weigh that against the risks involved, you can make the best choices for your safety. Here are a few items, some…
Avoiding the Birds
On a Weekend Update Thursday edition last week, the Saturday Night Live team came up with a pretty funny story about Captain Sully Sullenberger returning to the cockpit. Sully is now famous for his emergency landing of a USAir flight in the Hudson River. In case you don’t know the details, birds were sucked into…
10 Excuses for Exceeding the Speed Limit
Driving within posted speed limits is not all that complicated. Most are 35, 45, 55, or 65 miles per hour. There are exceptions of course, but experienced drivers should know the established speed limit for the roads they travel. If you asked most of us where on those roads the speed is posted, we might…
You ARE the Culture!
Company Culture. Our safety culture. The culture of the team. These are all frequently cited as the reason programs succeed or fail. And yet many safety programs are aimed at affecting the culture. Changing attitudes and actions. Culture is, in a way, a misleading word. It is a collective noun. It represents a collection of…
8 Frequently Given Answers – Management Response
Accident investigations are essential for improving safety. There are many American companies who manage safety well and do a good job of investigation and resolving problems. 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…
In a Hurry? Breathe!
If you were invited to review a pile of accident reports from a company that utilizes a good investigation process, you will see that several factors contribute to most accidents. A very consistent error is related to human behavior. Accidents happen most frequently when people feel rushed, or when they are frustrated by the problems…
