Roger Kauffman
Electric Motor Repair Co.
Baltimore, Maryland
Management Services Committee Member

Safety. Let’s face it. Most of the time it’s the last thing on your mind. Priorities are to get the job done, meet customer expectations and come in under budget. These are the things most people think about. 

That should not be the case — ever!  Safety is that part of your business that, if left unattended, can wipe out all of your accomplishments — perhaps even your very existence. It’s the part that won’t call you up to find out where it is and how long it will take to get it back. It is quite silent unless someone pays deliberate attention to it. 

In order to be effective, safety needs to be what you do rather than just something you talk about. Making safety a priority should be more than just having it as the subject of a wall poster or just mentioning it at a quar­terly service center meeting. However, that is a good start if those efforts are part of your overall safety program. 

Re-evaluate work habits
In order for safety to become part of your overall work “culture,” it must be acted on daily. That means it should become important enough for you and/or your employees to stop and re-evaluate work habits. 

For example, using a grinder with­out the benefit of proper eye protection and shields should get immediate attention. The unsafe practice should be stopped and the proper gear worn. This takes energy. This should be your first thought: “Your people should stop what they’re doing and put on the safety gear.” 

I know that it’s much easier to not spend the energy and take the attitude that “nothing will happen; we do this all the time.” If safety is only an issue when an accident occurs, then you’ll probably have more than your share of accidents and potentially more severe ones. So enforcing safe work practices is one key to making it “what we do.”

Focus on potential problems
Another key to fewer and less se­vere accidents is to look for potential safety issues to focus on, such as de­fensive driving. Educate your people to anticipate what might happen when driving to and from a customer loca­tion and how to take preventive action to avoid it. 

Failing to recognize and deal with potential safety problems can lead to major consequences. As my father used to say, “play with fire long enough you’ll get burnt.” 

So if you ignore making safety part of what you do, you will eventu­ally deal with the consequences that may rob you of profits and resources. The most valuable and difficult to find and replace of course is “human capital.”

Categories: Safety

Tags: Safety

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