Safety folks get a bad rap at times. Kill joy, expensive, unnecessary and my favorite "I've been doing it this way for 20 years lady" (usually just before the accident). One example is the dress code I advocated for meter readers. As every one of them had been bitten by something - dog, cat, bird, otter, mink, owner -I insisted on long pants. After I left of course, freedom from dress codes prevailed with, no doubt, an equally escalating workers' comp bill for a more serious injury. My thinking was nothing like a mouthful of denim to deter a ravaging beast.
At the same place the safety folk (all 2 of us) did not approve of the white trucks the CEO wanted to buy for replacements. It was his trademark apparently. Our ugly bottle-green trucks stood out like an atheist at a prayer meeting. Again as soon as I left, white was the color of choice. Ever notice how nicely plain white stands out in our Michigan winters? You would think those flashing lights would be a dead give-away, but with so many distractions available in the cockpit, the fact that a multi-ton white truck was in front of you does not seem to register. Of course, folks have been known to drive right into the back of a fire truck which are lit up like a Christmas tree. Usually alcohol is a factor and like moths to a flame they are curious to examine the pretty flashing lights. Fortunately most fire folk are paramedics as well, so win-win.
I had the opportunity to interview two younger safety folk for the podcast this week and I asked them about the "safety cop" reputation we sometimes have. Their perspective was enlightening and gratifying. It may be a generational thing (which we debated) but I admit the next generation is much more cognizant of interpersonal relations and rewarding postive behaviors. Carrot over stick so to speak. One quoted studies proving positive recognition among peers meant more than the pizza parties thrown for no accidents in the quarter; an old practice that management loved, but safety folk knew just led to a bit of dishonesty in reporting mistakes and accidents. Or not reporting problems at all. When an employee feels safe to express his or her views and not be throttled or told to MYOB good things happen.
I was humbled by the interview in which they expressed their appreciation to me as a mentor (read relic) of the olden days. Also good to know some things haven't changed as we agreed a sense of humor, asking questions, really listening and taking it on the chin sometimes, are skills that have remained. They were surprised that just 25 or so years ago I endured a certain amount of derision for being the first female president of the local chapter of a national professional safety group. I just wished more women were involved in the sausage factory I oversaw. LOL. Hopefully that is changing.
EGG TIME Easter weekend brought the boy out to color eggs. He was then tasked with finding 15 of them strewn around the yard. I thought at almost age 11 the egg hunt was passe but he was all for it, however I am going to have to be more creative in hiding places. He was done in minutes.
And at this holiest of times, Passover, Easter and Ramadan overlapping how does the world react to these holy events - bombing the crap out of each other...... Peace, really, Peace out 💚 💙💛🙏
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