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 is unfortunate because quite honestly, most of us are likely to err each day.

In the snow and ice we had in Atlanta a few weeks back I took this picture of icicles on my roof. Most of the icicles formed exactly as you might expect. Built by the pull of gravity, narrow at the low end with a broad base holding them to the gutter. Most were straight, and they were of varying lengths. But what about the one in the picture? Why the odd forked formation? Was it the result of an air pattern from the nearby bathroom vent that caused two streams to form? Or maybe it was the way the tree branches shaded some of them in parts of the day but not others.

If I had a goal to have no icicles form, I lost control. I would have had to put some heating wires on the roof or the gutters to assure that anything that melted didn’t re-form as ice.

If I had a goal to have identical, perfect vertical icicles, then there, too, I lost control. I may not have been able to prevent this formation, but I could have stopped it before it grew to two distinct legs.

And in safety, we try to control those things, which we have learned through experience, could result in injury or property loss. We see something that looks a little out of control, and we try to adjust it back to normal. When we are well trained, we don’t look for the failure, but we look for the potential for failure. We see things developing that could take us out of control and try to restore order.

When a person is injured or killed in a mahinery related accident, people will frequently say it was a random event. I worked with someone who received a bad hand injury reaching into a machine. He thought that he could do it safely, and had done it without incident hundreds of times. But this one time, there was a factor that was different. Not a major factor, but enough to cause a different outcome. You might say it was a random event, but what wasn’t random was his action. It was planned and reapeated time and again, just without consequence.

Do you see someone do something around machinery that makes you uncomfortable? Are you afraid to challenge them because of their experience doing the job? What if the unexpected happens? Will they walk away or is there a possibility that they could be seriously or fatally injured?

Random events. The definition is clear – you don’t know what and you don’t know when. Something is going to happen. We can’t control that, but we can control how prepared we are for possible events, and what precautions we take to stay out of Harm’s way. And to stay out of the way of his cousin, Potential Harm.

Watch out for random. Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

So why is that? Because human failure is interesting. Even when we are feeling down, we can find someone out there who had more opportunity and more advantage than we may have had, and they blew it totally.  We have FailBlog, not VictoriousBlog, and countless videos on YouTube demonstrating failed human effort.

Living in New York State in the 1990′s, we used to play the lottery quite often. Even matched 5 out of 6 numbers once for a little more than $2,000. This is in the days before multi-state lotteries with the PowerBall or MegaBall features that start at $12 million. I think the starting prize in New York was a mere $3 million.

So, my wife liked to play the same six numbers: her month and day of birth, my month and day of birth, and the month and day of our anniversary. Six numbers, easy to remember, and it was not unusual for her to ask me to stop and buy a ticket with “our numbers” on my way home.

This connects to safety, I promise.

Lottery odds are spectacularly bad, but the cost of a ticket is low. I can bet those numbers for $1. And if I won 5/6 like I did, I could make that bet for several years over, hoping to take that big win and make it bigger. I just have to buy a ticket.

Odds are long, and I played in hopes to win. But I bought the ticket, even though I am not likely to win. As they say, you have to be in it to win it.

In safety, we have nearly the same issue. I can perform unsafe acts that all have long odds in terms of resulting in injury, and I’m not likely to ever get hurt. I could hold the knife incorrectly and cut toward myself. I can use a chisel without safety goggles. And when I do that, I’m buying a ticket. I’m buying a greater chance to be hurt.

Lottery – Highly Improbable Favorable Outcome (HIFO), I have to consciously decide to buy the ticket.

Safety – Highly Improbable Disastrous Outcome (HIDO), I consciously and unconsciously buy tickets.

In Part 2 – What if I bet the wrong number?

I once worked in a paper mill that had a chlorine storage tank. Because of the tank, it was decided that everyone that worked within a certain distance of the tank must pass a fit test for respirators, and could not wear beards as they affected the ability of the respirator to save your life. So imagine how interesting it was to participate in developing a rule that employees could accept, allowing those who already had beards to continue wearing them. Yep, they had the right to refuse the equipment, which in the event of a chlorine leak, would almost certainly lead to intense criticism for allowing employees to make such a ridiculous choice.

At home, no one is advising us. We have to educate ourselves on this. There are certain fundamental things you can (and probably should) do to assure your safety on the home. What seems like an unnecessary expense could be the difference between going to dinner at the end of a chore day or going to the emergency room. So here are a few ideas that I hope you will consider.

1. There are a number of types of gloves available for you to choose. Leather gloves for heavy lifting and rough materials. Cotton gloves with textured palms and fingers. Knit gloves with a waterproof coating that are good for gardening. Vinyl, latex, or synthetic gloves that are impervious to most chemicals, good for handling paints or even picking up after your puppy!
2. Eye protection may be advertised as fashionable, but few would agree. Nevertheless, whether you need goggle type for use around your table saw, or wraparounds when using power equipment in your yard, you can find a pair that meet your needs and can even fit over prescription eye wear. And don’t kid yourself that your regular glasses are “good enough”.
3. As far as ear protection goes, I prefer the small foam type that you compress and then insert in your ear canal. But there are many other types that you can find that include those tied with string and some at the end of a plastic arc that fit behind your neck.

Every task that you do is worth looking at for safety purposes. Can it be done more safely? Is the only thing that is keeping your from that next step the fact that you haven’t bought what you need? The you should prioritze getting those items, use them, and take steps to keep yourself safe.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Whether at work during a safety investigation or sitting in the principal’s office explaining why your paper reads like the Wikipedia entry on the same subject (maybe is ’cause I wrote that, too), here are a few of the FGA’s for why someone took a shortcut.

1. I know the procedure says to shut the machine down, but by clearing the jam on the fly we saved 4 minutes of production.
2. Jimmie told me to.
3. I was afraid that if I went through the major intersection, a policeman might see me holding my beer.
4. I didn’t think anyone really read the middle pages of the term paper.
5. Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have won.
6. I was being creative.
7. Because the way you showed me to do that takes too long.
8. Because if we get ahead on our production, we can stay in the break room from 3 to 5 playing cards.

Don’t be in a hurry to the point you look for short cuts. It’s OK to fix processes and make them easier. In fact, every business values that. But short cuts that compromise your safety or the safety and integrity of others are not worth it.

Is there a short cut that is worth taking? Tell me about one that is a good short cut.

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!

1. Litigation. There are lots of sites that tell you of the stupidest warning labels on things. Like the stroller warning that tells you to make sure there is no child in the stroller before folding it for storage (find this and similar warnings here).  As a result things are made safer all the time, and we become less sensitive to failures that could happen. Good that things are made safer, bad that we become less responsible for outcomes.
2. Legislation. Safer cars, safer braking, safer restraint systems – all good. OSHA regulations – also good. Thinking that as long as I follow the rules all the laws protect me – not so good. There will never be enough legislation (I hope) to force everything to be idiot-proof. As I’ve heard it said, we are always making better idiots.
3. Over-Parenting. How much is too much? Almost every parent finds themselves in a situation where their child is hurt and wonders what they could have done or should have done differently. I didn’t make a point of stepping in the way of my kids for everything they wanted to do that I felt was not totally safe, but I did say “NO” when they wanted to play on a friend’s trampoline, which the parents had placed way too close to the side of their house. Even when you try to prevent something, your child may try it anyway and will then learn that you were correct or that you were just too cautious.
4. We’re busy. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of hearing about texting while driving. It’s a bad idea, don’t do it. But in the rush to get through our busy day, it can easily feel like sending this one very important message can be done safely. Busy-ness is not a good excuse for safety shortcuts.
5. Convenience. I’ve stood on chairs hundreds of times in my life. But now when I need to clean the ceiling fan or change a ceiling light, I get out the ladder. It takes more time, but it is markedly safer.

We can’t eliminate all risk. But we can learn to do a better job of assessing risk and making choices that will lead to safe outcomes nearly all the time.

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!

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.

Traveling on many roads, the speeds change as you move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Sometimes the speed changes as you enter a town.

However it’s posted, wherever you drive, you are accountable for driving the posted limit. Needless to say, that is not the most adhered-to regulation in the US. Here are some excuses people use when stopped for speeding.

1. I was going downhill
2. This car is new to me
3. That’s how fast everyone was going
4. Don’t you allow up to 7 mph over the posted limit?
5. I have oversized tires, so my odometer isn’t calibrated. (True, but not a valid excuse)
6. I’m wearing new shoes and still getting used to how they feel against the pedals
7. I’m low on gas and trying to get to the gas station
8. I’m late and in trouble with my spouse
9. You never have radar set up here
10. My detector was broken

Some of the reasons may get you just a warning. Of course, if you pay attention to the signs and follow their guidance, you don’t have to have an excuse at the ready.

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!

Culture is, in a way, a misleading word. It is a collective noun. It represents a collection of attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, rituals, totems, and whatever else one tries to look at to define a culture. In business, this includes results.

The most important part is you. By your leadership, your actions, your statements, and your attitudes you communicate your personal part of culture. I could work for a company with a strong culture of safety controls, but that doesn’t define who I am. Maybe I have even stronger (or weaker) views of controls.

When you have an idea, an innovation that can bring a higher level of performance, people want to hear it. They want to understand the value of the idea, and they want to know what it takes to implement it. If it involves substantial change in what is expected of people, we may use “our culture” as the excuse to not proceed. But what about “our culture” can we tap into to make the idea work?

One of my blogging HR friends, Trisha McFarlane wrote an interesting post earlier this week regarding the legacy we leave with our workplace. For me, it’s not so much about what got done, but how I did it and what that means for the future of the company.

It’s not as important to me to measure how many people got hurt while I was a supervisor. It’s more important to me to know we eliminated several causes of recurring injury. It’s more important for me to know that when I left a role, the team’s view and ownership of safety was better than it was before. I don’t care if they credit me with that change, I just care that it happened.

What’s your safety legacy? Are you generating expertise that will be better than you?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

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.