A Date to Remember

I remember August 6th, 1986 vividly.

I remember August 6th, 1986 vividly. I had planned to quit my job on that Wednesday, but when I awoke that morning I was completely unaware that my life was about to change in countless other ways.

I was only half listening that morning when all of the sudden I heard someone over the company radio yelling, "There is a guy in here with a gun shooting people."  I thought I heard wrong.  After all, I was just there; there was no one in there with a gun.  Why would someone say that over the company radio?  It did not make any sense.  Little did I know, it was true.

I learned a few things on August 6th that I want to share with you.  The first thing is that you never really know what is going to happen to you on any given day.  The people that I worked with all expected to go home that night just as they had come to work that morning.  However, an unexpected tragedy occurred and through no fault of their own, some of them were killed on the job.

The second thing that I learned is how great the devastation is when someone gets killed on the job.  I realized that it does not matter one bit how someone gets killed on the job.  It does not matter to the victim, to their family, to their friends.  I learned you cannot control everything, but you do have the power to control a lot.

The case of August 6th is unusual in that it was a random event.  But each year roughly 100¹ people in Wisconsin just like you and me get killed on the job.  Over 5,600 workers get killed each year in the U.S. and over 4.4 million workers get injured on the job.  This is not usually due to a random killer, but because of preventable accidents.  If you look at the circumstances of most of the fatalities and injuries you will find a common theme. Shortcuts.  People involved took shortcuts doing their jobs.

Do you  believe that sooner or later an accident will happen no matter what you do?  In reality, people cause ninety-six percent of accidents through actions or inactions.

We face safety challenges every single day and it is tempting to do what is fastest and easiest to get the job done.

Considering all the pressures you face on the job, it is easy to become complacent and fall into bad habits, especially when you are tired or you have done a common task 1,000 times. 

Safety is a value to you if you take the time to look at a situation and take safety precautions that not only help you but also help others, even it it is not your responsibility.  You become a safety leader.  Safety leaders motivate others with their attitude by constantly setting a positive example. 

Remember it is your responsibility to evaluate your own working conditions and it is up to you to follow your safety rules and procedures. 

Do not wait for a death or injury to motivate you to be safe.  Do not ever do anything to risk giving you or your co-workers a date to remember like I remember August 6th, 1986.