Do We Listen to Forklift Specialists About Safety?

In a recent issue of Utility Products and mentioned in the October issue of Professional Safety magazine, forklift specialist Tom Reddon forwarded some advice for companies to heed, that he called his top five ways that safety   could be improved on the worksite for all workers.

Professional Safety magazine editors did ask for feedback from readers about whether they agreed or disagreed with the list, and I am curious to know what you think as well. Please leave some comments and your thoughts. I may include my take as I go over the list. But I would expect that whether you agree or disagree, this list may and should initiate some conversations among the various levels at your worksite so that workplace safety does move to the front of mind – which may and should benefit all workers and the company in the end, and maybe that was all Reddon was seeking here.

Reddon’s list of safety improvements are as follows:

1. Promote training. Sure, your workers should already have a basic background and skill set to do their jobs, but Reddon believes that making safety training a priority n the job can decrease ignorance while increasing awareness of hazards, and thus can combine to reduce incidents, or at least the severity of them. Barb’s Note: I have always advocated training, whether it’s updating on best practices or conducting training reviews. Communication is big key, and keeping safety awareness front-of-mind prevents that dangerous ignorance from setting in. I don’t think it has to be daily or weekly, but it should be regular and feature all employees, from the rookies to those closing in on retirement. Everyone needs this information.
2. Spill kits. Reddon believes that having these on hand when working around chemicals and other dangerous liquids can help prevent large hazardous situations. Barb’s Note: It’s first about prevention, then it’s about mitigation. Having a way to mitigate potential damage is the way to go if an incident does occur. Spill kits should be required for chemicals and dangerous liquids, but they’re not. However, there must be something in place to handle these hazards before they spread.
3. Fire safety is foremost. Fires can occur under virtually any work situation and can do massive damage if not handled. Understanding the risks and hazards that could cause fires is helpful to inform workers, and having a fire prevention or suppression protocol in place and training all workers about such can help everyone feel more safe around fire risks. Barb’s Note: Agreed. This goes back to communication and education.
4. Practice breeds improvement. As workers learn safe work practices and do them continually while on the job, they may eventually learn more efficient and safer ways to do things and they can then teach that to others around them, which helps boost overall morale. Barb’s Note: Agree, to a point. The best way to get good at safety practices is by doing over and over again, but you do have to be careful about the concept of drift, which I have written about before. It is one thing to really find a more efficient way of doing things, but if you “drift” too far from what is known to be safe, you could then “cut corners,” which can lead to an O-ring situation (think of one of the U.S. space shuttles that blew up).
5. Be a vigilante. Reddon says always be on guard, aware and observant for any risky behavior or hazardous situation and make sure there is accountability in safety protocols so it will be easy to address incidents and prevent them from happening again. Barb’s Note: In some companies, it is difficult to see everything, so this vigilance needs to be on the workers and line supervisors who can see what is happening, address it and report it quickly so a hazard can be dealt with properly. Accountability applies to everyone, and that may well mean an employee “snitching” on another one who might be ignoring safety protocols or just exhibiting risky behavior. This isn’t about ratting out someoe who is wrong, as much as promoting everyone’s safety, because one person’s risks will be a hazard to everyone around that person.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with Reddon’s assessments? Do you have example s about how implementing any of these suggestions paid off on your worksite? Or do you have stories where you did something different than one of these suggestions and that has improved safety? Would love to get your comments – if I see some good ones, perhaps I’ll follow up with a post and add some of those comments to drive conversation about safety.