Years ago, the colorization of black and white movies was a controversial event. Yet it happened, and it stuck. Many of you remember when the movie companies used to say, "Coming to a theatre near you in living color." Today, black and white movies are in the past. I say this because my grandson recently saw one of my Little League baseball pictures from the 1950s and asked why it was not in color. If only his generation knew of the vast changes that took place since I was his age.
Movies
Hollywood is full of pretenders, and they are among the highest-paid in the nation. Acting and trying to make viewers believe in their characters is a special talent. Our jobsites also have their complement of pretenders. Leaders blame workers for injuries and non-conformances in quality. Such events are generally caused by pushes for production, even though leaders and managers say it's not so. Leaders don't always say it, but through rants, raves and body language, they infer, "Get 'er done." To superintendents and foremen, that means "push until we catch up."
Quality versus safety
In March, a tragic event occurred near Miami. A newly constructed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University had been set into place over a two-way, eight-lane street. As traffic stopped, waiting for lights to change, the bridge collapsed; four cars were pancaked, two others partially trapped and six people were killed, including a construction worker and a student. Days before the collapse, "some cracking" was discovered in the newly cured concrete and reported to the Florida Department of Transportation via a voicemail that was "listened to" after the incident. It was speculated that the cracks may have been the cause of the nearly 1-million-pound bridge failure. Was this another example of "Do it right the first time?" or maybe, "Measure twice, cut once"? Of course, only time will reveal the ultimate cause. When finished on time, within budget and without serious incidents, high-visibility projects see accolades roll. But when push comes to shove and incidents occur for contractors and the public, heads sometimes roll.
Safety results
Safety statistical data often is an indication of how successful a job can be. One remarkable project in Texas City, Texas, a few years ago ended with no recordable injuries with over 1 million work hours completed in about three months of activity. Given the key performance indicators, it is no wonder the project was successful. There were thousands of behavioral audits and hundreds of inspections of work in progress, equipment and tools. In addition, ordinary craft workers were involved in the walkabout inspections, safety suggestions, celebrations, and even in the new employee orientation and training. The project leaders believed that the full use of craft workers provided the project with ideas and suggestions that, when listened to, became part of the buy-in to safety and total success of the project.
Is it really coming?
When I was a kid, popular movies would go away for a while, then return to our local theatre. One I remember well was the movie "Mighty Joe Young." It was about a young girl named Jill Young who raised an orphaned baby gorilla that grew up to be a 2,000-pound giant named Joe. Jill is duped by some Hollywood pretenders into taking Joe to Hollywood to help save her dad's ranch in Africa. But while performing, Joe is taunted by jerks in the audience and goes wild, and authorities threaten to euthanize poor Joe. How does it end? I don't know. And if you want to know, you'll have to watch the movie or read the storyline online. You see, my parents didn't have money for movies back then, so we were excited when the advertisement came saying, "Coming to a theatre near you: Mighty Joe Young." By the time the movie returned, our neighbors had a radio and a television, so we listened to "The Green Hornet" and "Boston Blackie" on the radio and watched "Houston Wrestling" instead of going to the movies. If you find out about Joe, pass the word on. Oh, and if you see safety at a jobsite near you, you'll be blessed.
For more information, contact HASC by visiting www.hasc.com.
