There are parables about common safety programs that bring no positive results. We've all seen such leader-designed programs. We call them "safety flavors of the month." When programs are designed and fabricated without input from all employees, they are destined to fail. Leaders who are physically distant from the everyday crafts issues can be problematic. I never wanted to obfuscate the craft vantage point when I was in a management position because, without the craft involvement and commitment, you've only created another off-the-shelf safety program.
Wind
Parables about planting seeds date to biblical times. Farmers know that without protection from the wind, seedlings and even mature plants will suffer. There's also a lot of wind and hot air in construction when superintendents and project managers stand before the craft groups and repeat the same messages they gave the day, week and month before. So, I ask you, "What's wrong with this picture?" Experience has taught me the people doing the work know the most about the work. If there is a problem, the crafts know it. They know because they created it. And, if they created it, they can solve it when given the opportunity. Hot air from those who don't do the work is like seeds blowin' in the wind. Things get done when the workers have a say and seeds are sewn.
Rain
The parable "When it rains, it pours" certainly applied when Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast and brought over 50 inches of rain to some neighborhoods. Besides the street flooding, water in homes and swollen bayous and creeks, vegetation and farmlands were also devastated. Total losses are not yet compiled, but estimates say damage may exceed $160 billion. Millions of acres of crops were flooded and left standing in water-drenched fields during harvest time, creating losses from which it may take years to recover.
In the construction business, excessive rainfall is like all the "hangers on" that are assigned to projects. Bench warmers who are not on the "A" team somehow get to spend billable time on projects, often frustrating those who are really doing the work and deserve to be there. Companies have to survive, and getting billable hours is one way to do it. Project leaders often would rather the bench be located at another site.
Thorns
The parable about the seed that fell among thorns illustrates the fact that some can be choked by worries as they go their way, meaning some problems don't have to be problems. As an example, I was taught that the simplest road to success is to remove all the extra issues and roadblocks that prevent safe and productive employees from doing their jobs. We once had an owner who imposed extra safety precautions that sounded fine for employees working in operating units, but when working grassroots greenfield construction, you don't have all the hazards of in-plant work. In other words, safety requirements should fit the safety needs. One of my first grassroots plant construction jobs did not involve hazardous chemicals at all. It was about snakes in a swamp-like area that was chosen for the new plant site. Who would have guessed in the new employee safety orientation that snakes, ticks and chiggers would be the hazards?
Neglect
Of everything one can do to people and things, neglect is probably the worst. Wind, rain and thorns can be overcome. Neglect is difficult.
You've heard the stories of horrendous neglect like the 4-year-old child who was abandoned and left dead on a Galveston beach and a California couple's 13 children. How can things like this happen in modern- day America? It's a result of watering the weeds. It's a result of doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. When things become more important than people, weeds grow and neglect thrives.
Since we must water, let's hit the right targets for the right reasons and eliminate the weeds. What we see today is unconscionable: people desiring awards more than actions, dollars more than deeds and success more than service. It's time to make construction, safety and workers great again.
For more information, contact HASC by visiting www.hasc.com.
