Safety Meeting Starters (SMS) Sept 2012

Safety Meeting Starters

(SMS) for September 2012

Happy September! By now you know that Safety Meeting Starters is packed full of tons of

helpful and timely safety information to help you and your team identify and control hazards

and raise safety awareness. Enjoy the material, and please share it with a friend, co-worker,

staff member or supervisor.

A view from the seats!

“From Matt’s presentation I will stand up for safety and not look away…I will talk more

about safety.”

“After listening to Matt I will change my attitude toward safety and challenge my work

plan each day.”

“Matt brought great energy! His stories were personal, he was professional and

organized and most importantly he related to life…not just work.”

To inquire about Matt’s keynote presentations and seminars log onto www.safestrat.com.

Order Now - - Available today! What Safety Leaders Do, The Insider’s Handbook for

Safety Leadership Tips, Tactics, Secrets and Ideas, was released mid-April. One early

commenter wrote; “We are all very busy, so if you want to take the time to read one

book that will have the greatest impact on improving your safety program results,

then you need to read What Safety Leaders Do.” Steve McKay, Willis Insurance

Group. New Release discounts: use code GHDF4HQD and get $5.00 off per book, no

limits! To learn more and order: https://www.createspace.com/3761883

Thanks again and pass this along! Remember, no one gets hurt today! God Bless,

Matt.

Matt Forck, CSP, JLW | www.safestrat.com | 573.999.7981

SMS-Powerful Information for a RESULTS driven safety culture!

Matt Forck | www.safestrat.com | (573) 999-7981

Safety Strategies…for LIFE!

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S.A.F.E. (See Accidents Forever Eliminated) ™ at Work - A Motivational Safety Column!

Be a Safety Buddy, Pack a ‘Chute

Packing parachutes on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk is blistered fingers, tedious yet precise weaving and twisting of silk and rope, hunched over long wooden tables for hours, laboring in a windowless room that reeks of sweat and jet fuel, and more sweat. It’s a thankless job. Few, if any, jet pilots ever descend to the bellows of a ship to thank the lowly sailor who packed his parachute. Who cares…it will never be opened anyway…thought one sailor as he began to pack yet another parachute on May 19th, 1967. Little did he know this one would be put to use. Recently I facilitated a new employee safety orientation training session at a local district headquarters. One of the new employees, a gas apprentice, is the son of a man that I worked with in the mid 1990’s. That man, a line man, still worked for the utility. I left wondering what “dad” thinks now that his son is employed by the company for which he has worked for the last thirty years. Being a dad is a tricky mix of hands on and hands off, it is worry especially about safety…most of all it is building a parachute for your son so that if something goes wrong he will be okay. I wondered, after thirty years, if this man thinks he has done enough to foster a safety culture in the company that now employs his son? Charles Plumb was enjoying dinner at a Kansas City Missouri restaurant when a stranger interrupted him…”you’re Charles Plumb.” The man asked half knowing and half questioning. “Yeah, I am,” answered Charlie in mid bite. “You were shot down during the Vietnam War and spent six years in a prisoner of war camp?” “Yeah I did, why do you ask?” “I’m the guy that packed your chute that day…I guess it worked” he added. Charles is a world renowned motivational speaker and author and has shared his inspirational story of six unbelievable years in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp with thousands and thousands all across the world. With confidence and gratitude he looked back into this stranger’s dark eyes and said, “It sure did work, if your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.” As people, we are either packing chutes the ‘right’ way or we are not, there is no middle ground. We do this literally by what we build with our hands and figuratively by our actions and attitudes. It might seem that no one is looking. It might seem no one cares. And, you may never hear ‘thank you.’ But remember, it might be your son one day reaching for that chute cord…how are you ‘packin’ today? ©20121-SafeStrat, LLC-All Rights Reserved




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Safety Tidbits—the most information packed pages in safety!

Quotes of the month:

"Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and

discharged and used up in order to exist at all." - - William Faulkner

Safety Article: Being Free From Injuries; http://www.utilityproducts.com/articles/print/volume-16/issue-06/product-focus/safe-at-

work/being-free-from-injuries.html

From the Twitter Feed - - why wait for the end of the month Safety Meeting Starters when you

can get near real time safety updates from my Twitter feed! Join today;

https://twitter.com/Safestrat or @safestrat.

Safety News from Recent Tweets

Worker dead in fall from Jefferson building - http://Philly.com http://articles.philly.com/2012-

08-26/news/33403473_1_construction-worker-osha-s-philadelphia-fall-protection … via

@ArchiveDigger

Tyson faces $104,200 in fines for Dakota City worker death: http://bit.ly/OzyEKF via @scj

Heat led to KC-area mail carrier's death via @columbiatribune

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/aug/24/heat-led-to-kc-area-mail-carriers-

death/ …

Man killed by cement truck at Berwick business - -

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120824/GJNEWS_01/120829858/-

1/fosnews …

OSHA investigates after Nitro chemical plant worker dies - -

http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/201208220139 …

OSHA Report Seeks Simplified Oversight, Suspensions During Fatality Investigations | Bloomberg

BNA http://www.bna.com/osha-report-seeks-n12884911360/ …

USDA & FDA RELEASE FOOD SAFETY BROCHURES FOR THOSE AT-RISK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwQFC9nsJpA …

Firm fined after workers exposed to risk of electric shock

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-ne-05512.htm?eban=rss …-




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Firm fined after worker injured at waste site http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-wm-

10812.htm?eban=rss …-

Perfect Food Safe Picnics! http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/perfectfood.html …

Washington worker killed after fall from scaffolding - NewsTimes

http://www.newstimes.com/policereports/article/Washington-worker-killed-after-fall-from-

3804523.php?cmpid=twitter … via @NewsTimes

Investigation into deadly accident at Encana gas well in Colorado could take weeks

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Encana+workplace+accident+under+investigation/710

2304/story.html …

Adams Thermal CEO defends safety record http://argusne.ws/RBAv6C

Accident still under investigation

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120819/COMM/308190065/Accident-still-under-

investigation … via @dmregister

OSHA investigating temporary worker's death at Jacksonville Bacardi plant |

http://firstcoastnews.com http://fcnews.tv/OnABtV via @FCN2go

A fun article with some neat take-a-ways...http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/9-brilliant-

inventions-made-by-mistake.html …

October 10th is National Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day. Let's all do our part!!!

http://fb.me/1c1SJGIb4

Heat still a factor for outdoor workers: On the heels of the hottest month in US history, OSHA

continues to pr... http://bit.ly/OD2H7x

Did you know you can search OSHA enforcement inspections by the name of the establishment

http://1.usa.gov/7DqHpl

Crane danger gets Chicago company $350,000+ fine: OSHA has cited specialty metal forgings

producer A. Finkl & ... http://bit.ly/OsjPHo

Worker injured in electrical fire near Santa Cruz remains in hospital - San Jose Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_21313359/worker-injured-electrical-fire-near-

santa-cruz-remains …

Oil worker’s death could have been prevented—Osha | The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-08-11/oil-worker%E2%80%99s-death-could-have-been-

prevented%E2%80%94osha … via @wibiya




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OSHA probes ConAgra worker's death

http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/local/article_dbf4b3f2-e0b0-11e1-91a1-

0019bb30f31a.html#.UCm9UmT1mDE.twitter … via @altontelegraph

Identity released in fatal Glatfelter accident http://ohne.ws/QaofTJ via @ChilliGaz

OSHA socks Canton business with health, safety violations http://argusne.ws/QKS5oy

OSHA, union investigating death of postal worker in Allen Park

http://www.freep.com/article/20120801/NEWS02/120801076/OSHA-union-investigating-

death-of-postal-worker … via @freep

Man pinned by front loader

http://www.centraladvocate.com.au/news/national/national/general/man-dead-in-tragic-

workplace-accident/2644314.aspx …

Judge fines backhoe operator in double fatality almost $30k | OHS Canada

http://www.ohscanada.com/news/judge-fines-backhoe-operator-in-double-fatality-almost-

30k/1001595637/ …

See the note about blind spots; http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampden/investigation-

into-death-of-westfield-officer-jose-torres-could-take-months …

Death at Danville plant under investigation http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts-police-

and-fire/2012-07-28/death-danville-plant-under-investigation.html … via @news_gazette

Man Killed In Accident At Evonik Stockhausen Plant Greensboro | http://digtriad.com

http://on.wfmy.com/QzWaM1 via @digtriad

Vallejo: Superman roller coaster remains closed while crews investigate weekend stall - San Jose

Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21203633/vallejo-superman-

roller-coaster-remains-closed-while-crews …

OSHA investigating accidental death of Greensboro industrial worker

http://on.myfox8.com/EsPquwX

The Safety Notebook:

• Safety Duct Tape - - 72 minutes of safety material to recharge your batteries for only 99 cents!

http://www.amazon.com/Safety-Duct-

Tape/dp/B005Q2XQM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1319715328&sr=1-1

• Keep Going for Safety - - http://www.utilityproducts.com/articles/print/volume-16/issue-2/safe-at-

work/keep-going-for-safety.html

• OSHA Quick Cards - - If you have not used OSHA quick cards before, then you will love this website.

It’s a terrific reference for quick hit job briefings, safety awareness and safety meetings;

http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/quickcards.html




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SAI - - Safety Awareness Items (ideas to get

raise your team’s awareness!

1. 100 Grand Candy

Bar

Your Are Worth More Than a 100

Grand or Protect That Investment-

You!

2. 3 Musketeers Safety is a Team Sport…Work

Together.

3. 3-In-1 Oil Don't Let Rust Form on Bad Habits.

4. A Round-To-It Get Around To Safety on Each Job.

5. Advanced Healing

Lotion

Safety is Advanced Healing.

6. Air Freshener Keep Safety Fresh.

7. Allen Wrench Use the Right Tool for the Right Job.

8. Almond Joy

Candy Bar

Safety is Just Another Joy.

9. Animal Crackers Be a Safety Animal.

10. Apple A Safe Habit A Day Keeps Injuries

Away.

The Untapped Secret To Selling Safety -And 401½ Tangible Items Guaranteed To Help Make

That Sale! - - How well do you sell safety? The truth is that we are at the mercy of our ability to

sell, no matter how “tight” the presentation. Regardless of our education or the facts surrounding

an issue, we are still in a position where we have to make the sale in order for a positive change to

take place. And, the better we are at selling, the greater our results. The fact of the matter is that

there are secrets to selling…even selling safety. One such previously untapped secret is revealed

here and your safety results will never be the same! “Matt’s passion for safety continues to shine

through as he drives to inspire us to be the best we can be” wrote Bill Dampf, safety professional

with three decades of experience. “Through this latest effort, he provides us with hundreds of ways

to promote safety awareness to our employees. Although keeping our workers safe is always a

challenge, this simple approach to helping us sell safety can be a tool that all of us can use.” Price:

$8.99 - - AND use this discount code to save $2..00 per book, B9F5UNDN.




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This month’s Special buys! Books your team needs!

Gutsy – - Go Until Time Stops You!

Life is difficult,” is how renowned therapist and best selling author M. Scott

Peck opened his popular series, The Road Less Traveled. No disrespect to Dr.

Peck, but one doesn’t have to be a best selling author to understand that life

is tough. In truth, we are all looking for the same thing–to be GUTSY. Don’t

believe me, let’s define it, “gut, adj, gutsy, -ier, -est: arising from within,

from the innermost parts of the soul. Immediate and powerful impact,

relevance, courage, brilliance, passion, fighter, significance.” The problem is

that in this ‘life is difficult’ world, it is easy to get derailed, pulled off the

GUTSY track and into the daily grind of life. GUTSY will not only keep you

focused and on track, it will remind you of just how special you are. Oregon

State Director of Basketball operations, Coach John Saintignon said, “GUTSY

is great, and I will use it over and over!”

Price: $11.95 but save $3.00 per book with this discount code: F9QNKXRZ

To Learn more or order click here; https://www.createspace.com/3412870

Involved Safety Meeting Activities—101Ways to Get

Your People Involved!

Let’s be honest, attending a safety meeting is often like going to

church…we are only there because we have to be! Add to that the fact

that in a traditional sit and listen safety meeting, retention is as low as

10%; it makes us wonder why we even bother. But it doesn’t have to be

like that! This simple yet transformative book holds two key secrets. First,

learn how to take any safety rule or procedure and transform it from sit

and listen to get up and do; increasing retention four fold in the process.

Next, the book contains 101 motivational involved safety meeting

activities that will change your safety meeting culture forever. “A home

run!” says Mark Towers, “Here’s how to jump start your safety meetings.

Inspiring, essential and a must for safety professionals.”

Price: $12.95 but save $3.00 per book with this code; 7PFWJA5P

To Learn more or order click here: https://www.createspace.com/3435479




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OSHA Corner:

OSHA investigating temporary worker's death at Jacksonville Bacardi plant

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It was just before 5 p.m. Thursday, according to Jacksonville police, when they

were directed inside the Bacardi plant to a piece of equipment where they found the lifeless body of 21-

year-old Lawrence DaQuan Davis inside it. Sgt. Jay Farhat with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said, "All

we know is he was working underneath a piece of heavy equipment and was crushed."

The plant is a bottling facility, which is located at 12200 Main Street on Jacksonville's Northside. All of

the Bacardi rum for North America is produced at the plant. The tragic accident happened in the

production area off the bottling line, according to Bacardi officials. Brian Sturtecky is the area director

for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

"We have up to six months to conclude our investigation. If any hazards are found during the

comprehensive inspection as a result of this accident citations will be proposed to the employer,"

Sturtecky said. Meanwhile Patricia M. Neal, a spokesperson for Bacardi said, "The accident is still under

internal investigation. The production area of the facility was temporarily closed, and has now been

cleared to resume operations. The rest of the campus has been operating under normal procedures.

"Bacardi prides itself as having safety as its number one priority. Our sincerest condolences go out to the

family and we're offering on-site counseling and support for our employees." Bacardi employs 250

workers at the Jacksonville plant. Tammie Fields, First Coast News

Accident still under investigation

11:01 PM, Aug 18, 2012, Tiffany De Masters, Federal safety inspectors still are investigating an incident

at the U.S. postal distribution center in Urbandale in which a truck driver died as a result of an accident.

Larry Davidson, acting area OSHA director for the Des Moines office, said the agency has six months to

complete an investigation. “If we can get it done sooner we will, but we really can’t say when it will be

complete,” he said.

OSHA investigators visited the site July 9 to investigate the accident, which occurred a few days before.

Carl Magee, 46, of Pekin, Ill., reportedly tried to jump aboard his rig after it slipped out of gear and

began to roll away from a loading dock. He lost his balance and was run over. He later died from his

injuries. The U.S. Postal Service and MCA Trucking of Little Rock, Ark., for which Magee worked, also are

conducting an investigation into the incident. Distribution center officials are waiting for OSHA’s

completion of its investigation, said Richard Watkins, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.

This is the second fatality in four years that OSHA has responded to at the distribution center. Lee H.

Spencer, 64, was run over by a tractor-trailer in 2008 and killed. The investigation found that the

accident was the result of an employee’s failure to follow regulations.




9

OSHA has visited the site twice since the 2008 incident. In 2010, the facility received a $2,450 fine

because drivers were detaching their tractors from the trailers while dock clerks were inside securing

loads.

Washington worker killed after fall from scaffolding

WASHINGTON -- A construction worker was killed in an accident when he fell from scaffolding on

Monday afternoon, town officials said.

The worker, whose name has not been released, was working at a site on Wykeham Road, according to

First Selectman Mark Lyon.

The victim was flown by LifeStar helicopter to St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury.

Lyon said Tuesday that he did not know much beyond that, as he had not yet been briefed on the

incident, which happened sometime after noon.

Determining what exactly happened will fall on the Department of Labor's Division of Occupational

Safety and Health, which investigates workplace accidents.

"I had two compliance officers on site yesterday," Robert Kowalski, OSHA's acting director in Hartford,

said by telephone Tuesday. "The accident is, in fact, under our investigation." Kowalski said the

investigation's findings may not be released for another 30 days. No further details were available.

[email protected].

Worker dead in fall from Jefferson building August 26, 2012|BY MICHAEL HINKELMAN, Daily News Staff Writer -

-

Police inspect the scene Friday at 10th and Sansom streets after a 39-

year-old construction… (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / STAFF…)

A 39-YEAR-OLD construction worker slipped from the roof of a

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital building at 10th and Samson

streets Friday morning and fell eight stories to his death, police said.

Police said the man, whose name has not been released, was

working on the roof when he fell. He was pronounced at the scene at

10:25 a.m. A spokesman for the Medical Examiner's Office, Jeff Moran, said an examination as to the

cause of death would be performed Saturday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration had begun an investigation into the

deadly fall. Leni Fortson, a spokeswoman for OSHA's Philadelphia area office, declined to comment on

the investigation.




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ISMA-Involved Safety Meeting Activity Activity: The ‘At-Home’ Safety Survey Estimated Time: 15 Minutes Materials Needed: Paper and pen for participants. Reference materials: See ISMA below: The ISMA: With everyone in the group having a paper and pen, ask them to answer the following at-home safety questions with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

1. When cutting grass at home, do you wear steel toe boots or shoes? 2. When weed eating at home, do you wear safety glasses? 3. When weed eating at home, do you wear long pants or jeans? 4. When using a chainsaw, lawnmower, weed eater or other loud power tool at home, do

you wear hearing protection? 5. When working off of a ladder at home such as painting, cleaning gutters or hanging

Christmas lights, do you use fall protection and properly secure the ladder? 6. Did you change your smoke detector batteries within the last year? 7. Do you have fire extinguishers in the home? 8. Does your family know your fire escape plan in case of a fire at home? 9. Does your family know your storm emergency plan in case of tornado or other natural

disaster? 10. Do you have flashlight(s) and battery powered radio ready in case of severe storm or

natural disaster? Have the group tally their scores. 0-3 Yes= Safety is not for everyone! 4-6 Yes= I recognize safety at home but don’t go as far as I should… 7-10 Yes= Great Job! You value yourself. The Take-a-ways: There is no better barometer for safety than what we do at home. Safety at work is easy when tools and equipment are supplied yet if you really want to know if you value safety, take a real look at what you do at home. If you do it (safety) there, you will also do it at work. By the way, statistically, you are much more likely to be hurt at home than at the work place…just thought you’d want to know!

Want 101 ISMAs? Check out ISMA (Involved Safety Meeting Activities—101Ways

to Get Your People In Involved! at Matt’s website;

http://www.thesafetysoul.org/Matt%20Forck%20Safety%20Speaker%20Review%20Boo

ks.htm




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SPOT-M –(Safety Picture of the Month)

Bet your life on a Cone?

This job is on a very busy street and the only hazard on

this job that can change one’s life or cause death would

be the traffic. In this case the protection against the

only hazard on the job that can take ones life was a

simple traffic cone. Are you ready to bet your life on one

cone? What else are you betting your life on?

Choose in favor of your safety!




12

Tools for Pros!

Solving Safety’s Homeless Problem What Leaders Understand about those who get injured…

If there was a solution to the homeless problem in the United States, a solution that was

actually less expensive compared to today’s current cost, would you be in favor of pursuing it?

And, in a similar way, if there was a solution to the injury problem within your organization, a

solution less expensive than today’s current cost of injuries, would you pursue that too? Are

you sure?

Understanding the problem - - The talented Malcolm Gladwell, in his February 2006 essay

appearing in the New Yorker entitled, Million-Dollar Murray, Why problems like homelessness

may be easier to solve than to manage, shed new light on the homeless problem. Gladwell

writes,

“A young Boston College graduate student named Dennis Culhane lived in a shelter in

Philadelphia for seven weeks as part of the research for his dissertation. A few months

later he went back, and was surprised to discover that he couldn't find any of the people

he had recently spent so much time with. "It made me realize that most of these people

were getting on with their own lives," he said. Culhane then put together a database—

the first of its kind—to track who was coming in and out of the shelter system. What he

discovered profoundly changed the way homelessness is understood. Homelessness

doesn't have a normal distribution, it turned out. It has a power-law distribution. "We

found that eighty percent of the homeless were in and out really quickly," he said. "In

Philadelphia, the most common length of time that someone is homeless is one day.

And the second most common length is two days. And they never come back. Anyone

who ever has to stay in a shelter involuntarily knows that all you think about is how to

make sure you never come back."

The Power of ‘Power Law Distribution’ - - Power law distribution, related closely to the 80-20

rule and sometimes called a ‘hockey stick distribution’, simply means in this case that not all

homeless are the same. If they were the same, then one homeless person’s stay at the shelter

would be more or less like that of another, which is like that of another. But, that is not what

Culhane discovered. Instead, the vast majority of homeless are in and out in two days or less.

Or, at the other end of the distribution, a very small percent of homeless people are the

problem, and solving their homeless situation could dramatically change the face of the

problem. And, greatly reduce the time, money and resources spent on the problem. Are you

drawing any correlations to safety yet?




13

In the case of the homeless, this small percent of chronic homeless represents a significant cost.

Gladwell writes;

It turns out, furthermore, that this group costs the health-care and social-services

systems far more than anyone had ever anticipated. Boston Health Care for the

Homeless Program, a leading service group for the homeless in Boston, recently tracked

the medical expenses of a hundred and nineteen chronically homeless people. In the

course of five years, thirty-three people died and seven more were sent to nursing

homes, and the group still accounted for 18,834 emergency-room visits—at a minimum

cost of a thousand dollars a visit. The University of California, San Diego Medical Center

followed fifteen chronically homeless inebriates and found that over eighteen months

those fifteen people were treated at the hospital's emergency room four hundred and

seventeen times, and ran up bills that averaged a hundred thousand dollars each. One

person—San Diego's counterpart to Murray Barr—came to the emergency room eighty-

seven times.

And what about Safety - - I would assert that injuries, near miss incidents, equipment and

property damage, like the homeless problem, have a power law distribution relationship. In

other words, not all of our employees get hurt or ‘tear stuff up.’ Instead, the vast majority of

employees, over a thirty year career, will experience only one or two injuries. But, at the other

end of this distribution are a few chronic injury repeaters.

The plan for incident repeaters - - to address the incident repeater problem, we should consider

the following steps:

First, identify your repeaters. This step takes some work, but it is worth the effort. On a spread

sheet or some other data management tool, enter the injury dates, type of injury and any other

pertinent information for all of your employees into this data system. Once that is done, you

can sort by number of injuries, from zero to the employee with the most recorded injuries. In

most cases, you will see power law distribution in action. Update the data annually thereafter.

Next, determine your ‘repeater’ universe - - once you have the data, you can begin to sort the

data according to what you believe to be most effective in order to address an incident

repeater issue. For example, some organizations with ‘life long employees’ like utilities,

railroads or petroleum will find employees with more than 20 injuries over twenty years. On

the other side of the coin, industry with a greater percent of turn over might find workers with

five injuries over five years. A good rule of thumb would be to set the universe of the 20

percent with the highest incident record.

Make an action plan - -once you have identified your ‘universe’ then set an action plan. Again,

this is where data is important. Using the employee’s incident history might allow you and ht

worker to identify trends and set tailored action plans aimed at the root of the injuries.

Track and follow thru - - the action plan is only effective if there is measured progress and an




14

accountability element. To that end, a part of the action plan needs to be periodic reviews

(every quarter, for example) along with specific assignments and ‘to dos’ associated with the

plan.

The Homeless Problem Solution - - To solve the homeless problem, one would need to address

those individuals who are chronically homeless - - at the end of the hockey stick curve. Philip

Mangano, was appointed by President Bush in 2002 as executive director of the U.S.

Interagency Council on Homelessness said this (again from Gladwell’s article):

“Take some of your money and rent some apartments and go out to those people, and

literally go out there with the key and say to them, 'This is the key to an apartment. If

you come with me right now I am going to give it to you, and you are going to have that

apartment.' And so they did. And one by one those people were coming in. Our intent is

to take homeless policy from the old idea of funding programs that serve homeless

people endlessly and invest in results that actually end homelessness."

Are you ready for a similar approach with safety? Stop addressing an incident or injury with a

‘one size fits all’ solution if the data show otherwise. In this case, the data would be that the

person involved is an incident repeater…safety’s homeless, and in need of a new program for

intervention.

The hard cases are hard! One final note to this story. You may recall that a construction worker

named Rodney King was pulled over by the Los Angeles police for a traffic violation on March 3

1991. In the interaction between police and King during the traffic stop, King was beaten by

officers as other officers looked on, the incident was caught on tape and later caused intense

public outcry.

Attorney, former Secretary of State and deputy Attorney General Warren Christopher was

named to head a special commission to investigate the LAPD and excessive force. What he and

his commission found is a common theme…a power law distribution in that a hand full of

officers, just 44 out of nearly 2,000 officers had six or more excessive force complaints in the

four years studied by Christopher’s commission. In that case, why weren’t the officers fired?

Probably for the same reasons your incident repeaters are still employed. Gladwell summarizes,

“The report gives the strong impression that if you fired those forty-four cops the L.A.P.D.

would suddenly become a pretty well-functioning police department. But the report also

suggests that the problem is tougher than it seems, because those forty-four bad cops were so

bad that the institutional mechanisms in place to get rid of bad apples clearly weren't working.

If you made the mistake of assuming that the department's troubles fell into a normal

distribution, you'd propose solutions that would raise the performance of the middle—like

better training or better hiring—when the middle didn't need help. For those hard-core few

who did need help, meanwhile, the medicine that helped the middle wouldn't be nearly strong

enough.”




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If there was a solution to the homeless problem in the United States, a solution that was

actually less expensive compared to today’s current cost, would you be in favor of pursuing it?

And, in a similar way, if there was a solution to the injury problem within your organization, a

solution less expensive than today’s current cost of injuries, would you pursue that too? What

do you think now?

Matt Forck, CSP and JLW, is a leading voice in worker safety. Matt leads SafeStrat, LLC, a safety

keynote and consulting services organization dedicated to building people. Matt works with

clients in all business sectors and with trade organizations in over ten countries. Learn more

about Matt, learn about his safety and motivational books and sign up for FREE safety resources

at www.safestrat.com.

Source, Gladwell, Malcolm; Million-Dollar Murray, Why problems like homelessness may be

easier to solve than to manage, New Yorker, February 2006.

Safety Meeting Starters (SMS) Sept 2012

Education

Transcript of Safety Meeting Starters (SMS) Sept 2012