It became such an important issue for me that later in my career, when I had a team of about 80 people, I didn’t let a meeting go by without some discussion about safety and the importance of challenging each other over potentially unsafe behavior. One day I began talking about the cost of an accident and one of my people told me he thought that maybe that’s what I was concerned about, saving money. I replied that regardless of what you think of my intent, I offer every employee the opportunity to stop doing work they consider unsafe until we can mutually resolve the issue. How can that be a bad thing?

So at the risk of being all about the money, I recognize that sometimes saving a few bucks is a good motivator for folks. Here are a few ways in which safety can save you money!

1. Practicing good methods around the house with knives, ladders, electricity and stairs can almost guarantee a much smaller chance of heading to the emergency room for a related accident. And under no current or emerging health plan would that be an economical chance to take.
2. Keeping things clean and clutter free not only enhances the value of your home, but reduces the chance of injury and again, those same ER visits.
3. Speaking of clutter, those partially used gallons of paint from all the projects you’ve done over the years could be a problem waiting to happen. Every year or so, someone in your area is having a free disposal day for items just like that. No cost to get rid of them, and no extra fuel for fire or explosion.
4. You know that wobbly old step ladder you got from your grandparents’ house when your father helped them move to a smaller place? It might be the most expensive free thing you have in your house. Throw it away and buy a new one. Yes, this is going to cost you, but think of it as cost avoidance.
5. Have a pest problem in your home? Hire a professional to take care of it. Again, this may sound like a cost, but when you start trying to handle this yourself you are starting by treating the symptom. You may not know where the nest or hive or burrow is. I watched a neighbor go after a hornet’s nest with a power washer one summer evening. It was hanging from a second story eave, just out of reach of the stream, so he imrpovised methods of positioning himself higher. He didn’t get stung at all, but he came so close to falling from the fence he was perched on and it would not have been a minor injury. He was lucky.
6. I know you’ve heard this before, but check tire wear and inflation on all your vehicles regularly. Change those tires before they fail. Don’t wait until the day after the big rain storm when you lost control of the vehicle, do it now.

Safety, like quality, is free. Every dollar spent, along with the right discipline, will save you much more in the long run.

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!

Long before everyone had color televisions, video games and personal music players, we amused ourselves with traditional toys. Well, maybe they weren’t all traditional, but they were fun! Even with all our progress, many games and toys from my childhood are still popular today. But there are a few from Christmases past that have gone away, some for safety reasons.

1. The Sonic Blaster. This was probably my most favorite unsafe toy of all time. There was a pump handle that you were instructed to pump “no more than 8 times”, which was of course an invitation to pump until you couldn’t anymore. When you pulled the trigger, it let out all that compressed air which echoed through its long chamber in the coolest “BOOM” you ever heard. We once set a lit candle at the bottom of the basement stairs, and then blew it out with the blaster. We had ours taken away when my parents found the burnt paper plates we were lighting and blowing out like we were skeet shooting. Mattel took it off the market due to the damage it caused ear drums. Not the sound, but having it blown at the side of your head.
2. Mr. Kelly’s Car Wash.  Nothing unsafe, just boring. We started looking for inventive uses that the toy was not designed for, which is never a good thing. Little plastic cars go through a motorized tunnel where they get squirted with water and dried with little sponges. Yipee. Perhaps its purpose was to motivate us to go to college, or to be Mr. Kelly and not one of his workers.
3. Thing Maker. This was like a Fry Daddy, only you filled it with plastic pellets. When they melted, you injected the mixture into molds to make your own “Things”. There were theme sets with bugs, army men, and other creatures. Anyone who had one got a burn mark or two.
4. Photo-Electric football. You had a set of papers that had plays drawn on them. Your opponent had defensive plays. You lay them both upside down on top of each other on a lite box, and slowly pull a slide out so the light would shine through the paper. If the Offensive play moved down field without touching a player’s dot on the defensive sheet, touchdown baby! Of course if the bulb burned out and you replaced it with one that was too much wattage, you burned the plastic screen that the plays are set on, and maybe even caught it on fire. Some halftime show.
5. Jarts. Need I say more?

Any toys you remember from your past that you probably wouldn’t let your kids get near?

May your holidays and gift-giving be safe, memorable, and trouble free.

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!

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.

So here are a few everyday situations that you might think about – or maybe you don’t!

1. Driving. Most of the time, we take this for granted. But staying off the cell phone, keeping basic systems in good order – and even replacing your wipers once in a while   – can make a big difference.
2. Food preparation. Keep surfaces clean, avoid transfer of bacteria from uncooked food to your hands, countertops, and utensils. Also, when you are using sharp knives, pay attention and avoid distractions.
3. Stairways. Simple, I know, but using the handrail can significantly reduce the likelihood of a fall.
4. Non-routine tasks. Changing a light bulb in a ceiling fan? Get a good ladder or stepstool, not a chair. Using harsh chemicals to clean? Protect your hands.
5. Yardwork. Substantial shoes are important in operating any power equipment. Good leather gloves for handling brush are a big plus.

From your own experience, what other risks do we face on a regular basis?

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.

Guess what – there is a real simple safety tip that can help you have a perfect record in climbing or descending stairs. It’s called the three point system.

In basketball, a three-pointer is a high-risk shot. In safety, three points reduces risk.

The three point system is a reminder that whenever climbing a ladder or stairs, getting in and out of a tall vehicle, or any similar climbing or descending activity, we should always be utilizing three points of contact – two feet and a hand or two hands and a foot. The method comes naturally on steeper stairs, like a ladder, but it’s smart to use it all the time.

Although stairway falls are rare in terms of the number of times we use stairs, they are nearly 100% preventable using 3 points. So next time, look for that handrail. It is a simple way to significantly reduce a chance of injury.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there!