SAFETY TALK

…….Safety is not something you have, it’s something you do

I Chose to Look the Other Way (1)

What would you do if you saw an unsafe act, or an unsafe condition or an unsafe piece of equipment? What would you do? Would you do something about it or would you

LOOK THE OTHER WAY?

Here is a real story of someone who “Looked the other way”

“Jonathan and I grew up together. I guess you could say we were best friends, but what kind of friend stands by and lets the other one die? I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way,” says Steve.

Steve recalls that he and Jonathan had played high school football together and were best friends who had worked at the mill for nearly 25 years. He adds that Jonathan was still the star, except at work instead of football. He knew how to do every job at the mill. “He was always being asked for help or advice on how to work on complex equipment or improve a work procedure,” says Steve. “He was the ‘go to guy’ to get things done.”

One day, Steve walked past the winder area and saw Jonathan on the winder with the guard off. “Some of the new guys were around also, so I figured he was teaching them the service procedure just like he had taught it to me earlier.” While Jonathan was instructing the new hires, Steve noticed that the winder intake had not been turned off or locked out. “That should have been done first before the guard was even removed,” notes Steve. “I thought about saying something about it, but who was I to correct him in front of all the new guys he was training.” “Besides, maybe I was wrong. Maybe he had found a different way to make the winder safe for service,” Steve says. “So I shook it off and went on my way. That’s when I heard the winder start up.”

Steve turned around and hurried to the winder in a panic. He tried to pull Jonathan out, but he was already waist deep in the winder. “By the time I turned around he was already waist deep in the winder. I ran over there and hit the E-Stop and tried to pull him out, but it was too late. Some friend I was. I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way,” Steve concludes.

“There were a lot of reasons I didn’t speak up on the day Jonathan died, but none of them make any sense now. There is never a good reason to let someone be in harm’s way,” says Steve.

What Would You Do?

REMEMBER. WE ALL NEED TO WORK SAFELY……YOUR FAMILY IS WAITING FOR YOU AT HOME