Evergreen Industrial Services
The other day, while I was cutting vegetables and using a very sharp knife, I cut my finger. It was a very small cut, but it was bleeding and I had to administer first aid. I lost almost 30 minutes of time tending to my wound, and I became frustrated. The first thought that went through my mind was how I could blame this event on someone else. I thought about blaming my wife, who should have been the one cutting the vegetables, or I could have blamed the injury on my dogs, who distracted me.
Over many years of working in safety, I've observed that people have a tendency to avoid personal responsibility for their actions. Just this week I heard someone say, "It was the safety man's job to make us work safely." People have a tendency to rely on external resources; they get stuck in habits that keep them from having to make decisions on their own. As long as I own my mistake and learn from it, I probably will be more careful next time and either wear some cut-proof gloves or pay more attention to my hand placement. This action makes me accept the accountability as the person responsible for the accident and the person responsible for the corrective actions.
The solution to most of life's problems and opportunities is a strong dose of personal accountability. Tragically, people typically view accountability as something that happens to them when things go wrong. Accountability triggers your natural fight or- flight instinct to avoid the fallout that you know is coming. The negative view of accountability is reinforced in the common definition: "subject to have to report, explain or justify, being answerable, responsible."
Taking personal accountability is to see the problem, take ownership of the situation and solve the problem. This proves the new definition of personal accountability as: "personal choice to rise above one's circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving desired results." See it. Do it. Solve It.
At Evergreen Industrial Services, accountability is the No. 1 priority in management's commitment to providing a safe workplace. We utilize a holistic Real-Time Data Integration System that provides verification of HSSE implementation with resultant data interpretation for focused proactive safety management.
Data trends are tabulated based on whatever search criteria we choose -- including supervisor, jobsite, branch or craft -- and then a chart or graph is created. We then, in turn, analyze this data and create corrective actions for the hazards noted in audits and investigations. We are able to communicate these findings and corrective actions throughout our company. We meet weekly over a teleconference call with all of our branch's safety and operations managers to review the previous week's incidents and corrective actions. The audits conducted are reviewed by branch safety managers and weekly by our vice president of safety and corporate risk manager.
Always remember: Safety affects more than just you.
For more information, visit www.ever greenes.com or call (281) 478-5800.
