A Single Family High Rise

If you're looking for a new house, I'd definitely recommend looking in another neighborhood. This is not exactly home-owner friendly, if you ask me. Can you imagine trying to open the garage door on an icy day? Besides, no normal car would be able to go up and down this ski-slope of a driveway without ripping the muffler off.  But hey, look on the bright side, at least it's out of the flood zone, and you get a daily workout just going to get your mail.

What Motivates You to Work Safely?

A safety program is of limited value if the program is not supplemented by strategies designed to motivate all employees to allocate the necessary time and resources on safety. Every safety program needs to have well-defined rules and procedures, but have you ever asked yourself what it is that motivates you to work safely?

This can be a very difficult question to answer if you do not take a few minutes to gather your thoughts and remember what is important in your life. Motivation is "something that causes a person to act in a certain way or do a certain thing." If you still can't answer this question, perhaps the answer lies in one or more of the five basic items below: 

1) Money is very important to you. If you disregard the safety rules and procedures, you could become injured and be unable to temporarily or permanently earn your usual income. If you do not follow safety rules, you could be fired for insubordination and your income source would be gone. If you have very expensive tastes or a large family to support, your paycheck is probably very important to you.

2) Recognition and achievement are important to you. Perhaps you are aware that you must comply with safety rules and procedures to be considered for promotions. Maybe you are the type of person who seeks recognition for a job done safely.

3) You have a strong desire not to get hurt and you want to live a long and healthy life. Perhaps your lifestyle includes activities such as jogging, tennis, swimming, skiing, surfing, softball, or basketball. A serious injury at work could temporarily or permanently prevent you from participating in these "non-work" related activities. The fear of getting hurt motivates you to work safely at all times.

4) You are a very good safety leader and "team player." If you are one of these types of people, you will be concerned about the safety of others as much as your own safety. Your concern for the safety of others may motivate you to address safety concerns quickly before a serious accident occurs.

5) You clearly understand the potential disciplinary action that could result if you disregard safety rules and procedures. Perhaps you know of an incident where one of your fellow workers was suspended or fired for a safety violation and you want to avoid having the same thing happen to you.

SUMMARY: Every decision we make and every action we take is motivated by something. If you try to understand what motivates you to work safely, and frequently remind yourself of this motivation, then you will greatly minimize your risk of injury.

IT'S WORTH IT, ISN'T IT?

It's Your Decision

Most of us like to get our work done with the least amount of effort, and as quickly as possible. We all want to get the most work out of the energy we use on the job. This is good because it often results in discovering newer and more efficient ways of getting our job done. This energy-saving attitude can also be bad if we make a wrong decision and take dangerous shortcuts.

 

All of us at sometime or another have exposed ourselves to possible injury by taking a shortcut when, with a little extra effort, we could have done it the safe way. When we were kids, we took shortcuts by jumping the fence instead of using the gate. Now that we are adults we do it by crossing the street between the intersections. Why? Because we want to get there as quickly as possible, and use the least amount of energy we can while doing it.

 

There is no doubt about it, the safe way is not always the shortest or quickest way. The safe way usually takes some extra effort while the unsafe way often appears to be more efficient at the time. When we are faced with these situations, each one of us will make a conscious decision about what actions we will take next.

 

Sometimes we talk ourselves into taking an unsafe shortcut by flawed reasoning. We convince ourselves that it is worth taking the risk because we're in a hurry and can probably get away with it this time without being injured. After all, we have done it before and were not injured then.

Take the electrician who was working on a ladder. He was almost finished with the job except for a little work that he could do only by reaching a little farther than he knew was safe. He knows he will be taking a chance, so he has to make a decision whether to get down and move the ladder or to take a shortcut. Suppose he takes the shortcut. He may get away without having an accident, or he may fall and suffer an injury that will change his whole life - or even end it. Whatever the result, his decision to take a chance is not a good one. Whether he wins or loses this time; risking his neck to save a few minutes' time is rolling the dice - a gamble that he will, eventually, lose.

When you get right down to it though, most of us don't take shortcuts to save time as much as we do it because the safe way is just too much trouble. Like using the wrong tool because it's too much trouble to get the right one. Like climbing the rebar because it's too much trouble to get a ladder. Or maybe like lifting more than you know is safe because it's too much trouble to get someone to help you. Or maybe it's like the guy swinging around like a monkey on the side of some forms, holding on with one hand while trying to strip forms with the other, all because it's too much trouble to go get a safety harness and tie off like he knows he should. Or how about another guy that was chipping concrete without safety goggles because it was too much trouble to go hunt up a pair.

Remember, you always have a choice, but only you can decide to do it the safe way. The safe way is usually not the shortest or quickest way, but it's your decision.