Accountability

I spent two days last week in a Supervisor Safety Seminar. I know what your thinking, poor guy having to suffer through 2 days of that. I have to tell you that i was impressed. As an adult i usually subscribe to the thought process that the the brain can absorb what the butt can endure. This class was different. It was actually well worth attending. I believe that this company "Gets It".

Last year 9 people died in the Permian Basin in the oilfield. This raises the age old question of how many deaths are acceptable? Is Zero Accidents possible? How much money should be spent to achieve Zero Accidents? This particular company has great records. 97.6% of their accidents were negligence on the part of the injured employee. Now we are back to accountability.

Here are some terms you see a lot in the industry:
EMR - Experience Modification Rate, this determines how much you pay for Workers Compensation Insurance. Any number below 1 is acceptable.
TRIR - Total Recordable Incident Rate, this is how often your people are getting hurt. The lower the number the better.
Fatalities - How many people died on your watch.

Here is a question, Can a company work 1 year without any accidents? Of course it can. The probability of that happening is slim. We keep telling our people to be safe but are we holding them accountable? Here is an example:

In a refinery, the pedestrian has the right of way. A guy is walking and comes to a crosswalk. A 5 ton dump truck is backing up down the street. The dump truck has a backup alarm blaring. The guy walks out and gets hit by the dump truck and breaks his arm. The guy suffers a Recordable Injury and a Lost Time Accident. The guy said "but i had the right of way". In this case the guy defended his right of way with his life. If he was watching out for his own safety he would have let the truck go by. Should this guy face disciplinary action?

This is the type of incidents that happen that we need to change to achieve Zero Accidents. We need to hold people accountable for their actions.

Does passing more laws and making more rules help? Is it possible that by having all these rules a person can be lulled into a false sense of security? If a person thinks that the rules will keep him safe then that person is an idiot. The rules don't keep you safe, your brain keeps you safe. I'll give you an example: you walk up on a Breaker Box that is supposed to be Tagged out. you see the tag hanging but the breakers are sparking. Are you going to reach in there and touch it? Of course not, you can tell it is not properly tagged out. You just became accountable for your safety. If you use your brain, you will stay safe. You must be accountable.