Pit & Quarry, January 2014

SAFETY hesitation In fact we may even bring a coffee with us tune our radio eat breakfast or text someone Not all of us do all of these things but if you do and the results of these activities are good over time we tend to start thinking of the activity as safe Witt continues If you think about it why do we still find workers killed in confined spaces machinery entanglements or falls from elevations The absence of injuries during risky activities makes most of us think that activity is something we can handle The more you handle it the safer it becomes At least thats our perception This is not to say employees cant become very good at very risky activities Witt adds We can he says But most of those who do dont think of what they are doing as safe We the average worker tend to believe that the dangerous things we used to do are now safe because we somehow have mastered them Bad thinking on our part This is true Witt says because risk is real There is nothing safe about the work we are asked to do every day he says In fact in most cases someone died recently doing this work Thats how dangerous and risky our work really is Now this is not to say we are all doomed Ask yourself have the results we experience been because we have used the tested and proven technology available to us including lockout tag out monitors and properly done inspections Do we train ourselves or our workers for the specific tasks we need to do Do we evaluate our dangerous work before we send ourselves out there Change your mentality The ability to analyze risks effectively is key for employees to keep themselves and others safe People have a tendency to become complacent and overlook risky situations over time This is common in the aggregates industry where an it wonthappen to me mentality often prevails Risk analysis isnt a tool todays generation uses as effectively as previous generations did Young people have different levels of exposure to risk than previous generations In previous generations kids learned from doing Today it can be argued that kids arent given the same opportunities to learn from experience This lack of experience sends people into the workforce who arent able to adequately assess the risk in situations And its a mistake to teach people no risk exists As an example consider backup cameras on vehicles Giving operators false security by suggesting backup cameras will prevent them from backing into or over an object can lead them to inadequately assessing a situation This is when complacency sets in and incidents occur People have to realize the risk involved when backing up a vehicle with blind spots While companies are able to reduce risk they will never be able to remove it completely because people are risk takers and take the necessary precautions to conduct the task safely Risk analysis in industry is generally defined as Job Safety Analysis JSA JSA is the process of looking at an assigned task determining what could go wrong and making the necessary adjustments to decrease risk prior to starting the task Lets look at this analogy through a common task incurring risks such as rigging If the task is to rig a piece of equipment from the ground to the roof of a building the number one risk analyzed in a JSA would be the equipment falling due to equipment failure A simple solution to the analyzed risk would be to assure no personnel are permitted under the equipment being lifted through the use of perimeter barriers and tag lines Accidents by definition are unplanned events unexpected releases of stored energy generally resulting in harm damage or loss Through proper risk analysis planning and training accidents should never occur on a jobsite Proper planning and communications through the chain of command are vital to the functionality of a company A team is needed to develop a culture To develop a team you have to develop good communication P Q Scott McKenna Catamount Consulting www catamountconsultingllc com is a professional member of the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals a certified instructor with MSHA and an OSHA Certified Construction Trainer 68 PIT QUARRY January 2014 www pitandquarry com ISTOCK COM BHOTTING Through proper risk analysis planning and training accidents should never occur on a jobsite