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A "Safe" Conversation starter!

Started by James Shaw, December 17, 2021, 03:01:20 PM

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James Shaw

I will be re-writing some questions intended to create active conversations for a few of my classes over the Christmas and New Years Holidays:

Any thoughts on some of the proposed "Chain" of questions?

Why "Nobody Likes Safety"

1)   Nobody truly wants the safety person around because they feel like they are being watched.
2)   Nobody truly wants the safety person around because they have "More Important" things to do.
3)   Nobody truly wants the safety person around because we must "check the box".
4)   Nobody truly wants the safety person around because "they have a real job".
5)   Nobody truly wants the safety person around because " I know what I'm doing".
6)   Nobody truly wants the safety person around because "I don't want to be seen talking to the safety person".

Then you have the other side of Safety when they "need safety".

1)   Everybody wants to be validated when they have done the right thing.
2)   Everybody wants to be validated when they completed paperwork.
3)   Everybody wants to be validated when they prove "Safety Participation" is at 100%
4)   Everybody wants to be validated when they "get to be part of the team".
5)   Everybody wants to be validated when they show up in the "green" for safety
6)   Everybody wants to be validated when they have an issue and need "their help".

And then people "Need to Prove Safety".

1)   Safety is part of our leadership so we "are safe".
2)   Safety is part of our "organizational value" so we are safe.
3)   Safety is part of our "culture" so we look safe.
4)   Safety is part of our "conversation" so we talk safe.
5)   Safety is part of our "job" so we have to be safe.
6)   Safety is part of our "compassion".

Last category is "I like you but I want to see other people".

1)   I like safety but I "don't have the time".
2)   I like safety but I "don't have the people".
3)   I like safety but I "really want someone else to do it".
4)   I like safety but I "do it because I am told too".
5)   I like safety but I "never get recognized for my efforts".
6)   I like safety but I "only here to get away from something else".

Here are a couple of "essay type thoughts".

1)   Being part of safety is like having a "Seat at the table" but when everyone gets steak they give you chicken.
2)   Being part of safety is like having a "Right to Speak up when nobody wants to hear you".
3)   Being part of safety is like having a "Empty audience to speak to".
4)   Being part of safety is like having a "Cadillac hood ornament on a Pinto".
5)   Being part of safety is like having a "Conversation with a volleyball".
6)   Being part of safety is like having a "The encore presentation of Groundhog Day".
Jim Shaw
USN: 1987-1992
GANG: 1996-1998
CAP:2000 - Current
USCGA:2018 - Current
SGAUS: 2017 - Current

baronet68

Under Why "Nobody Likes Safety" you forgot:


7)  Nobody truly wants the safety person around because "they are a high-and-mighty know-it-all who focuses on the shortcomings of others rather than offering meaningful solutions".
Michael Moore, Lt Col, CAP
National Recruiting & Retention Manager

etodd

Its a really mixed thing here. Sure, we need the safety folks. The problem is that they have to preach to the lowest common denominator. 

Its like reading the label on anti-freeze that tells us not to drink it. Please, I'm not a 5 year old, don't treat me like one. But yet, if the group as a whole isn't warned that they need to dress properly for sub-freezing weather, some idiot will get frostbite.

So yes, we have to sit through the same discussion every summer about keeping hydrated, that we have heard for many years.  Excuse me while I fall asleep in the back of the room.

Know your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

N6RVT

Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMIts a really mixed thing here. Sure, we need the safety folks. The problem is that they have to preach to the lowest common denominator. 

Its like reading the label on anti-freeze that tells us not to drink it. Please, I'm not a 5 year old, don't treat me like one. But yet, if the group as a whole isn't warned that they need to dress properly for sub-freezing weather, some idiot will get frostbite.

So yes, we have to sit through the same discussion every summer about keeping hydrated, that we have heard for many years.  Excuse me while I fall asleep in the back of the room.

Know your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


We do missions in cold weather.  Here in California cold weather missions are like driving in the rain, which we also have to do on missions, and often in a vehicle we are not familiar with.  Neither occur often enough for us to instinctively know how to do it.  If you didn't grow up where there was slush, black ice and just the right amount of water on the road to hydroplane, you are a good candidate for a mishap unless someone covers that before you experience it.  Both are good safety topics even for an older experienced audience.

I want to see safety classes that are relevant to what we actually do, not on how to ride a motorcycle or cook a turkey.

James Shaw

Quote from: baronet68 on December 17, 2021, 08:29:45 PMUnder Why "Nobody Likes Safety" you forgot:


7)  Nobody truly wants the safety person around because "they are a high-and-mighty know-it-all who focuses on the shortcomings of others rather than offering meaningful solutions".

I may have to consider this type of question. These questions are for are those that are taking their very first Introduction Class to Workplace Safety. It does stoke a thought for the Volunteer Side whether CAP, USGCA, SDF's?

So what is the difference between "high-and-mighty" know it all safety person when the same could be said for other roles such as Pilot's, GTM, Boat Crews, Medical Response Teams is the intent the same?

Jim Shaw
USN: 1987-1992
GANG: 1996-1998
CAP:2000 - Current
USCGA:2018 - Current
SGAUS: 2017 - Current

James Shaw

Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMIts a really mixed thing here. Sure, we need the safety folks. The problem is that they have to preach to the lowest common denominator. 

Its like reading the label on anti-freeze that tells us not to drink it. Please, I'm not a 5 year old, don't treat me like one. But yet, if the group as a whole isn't warned that they need to dress properly for sub-freezing weather, some idiot will get frostbite.

So yes, we have to sit through the same discussion every summer about keeping hydrated, that we have heard for many years.  Excuse me while I fall asleep in the back of the room.

Know your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


I have voiced this opinion several times about focusing the training in the industry and other organizations.
Jim Shaw
USN: 1987-1992
GANG: 1996-1998
CAP:2000 - Current
USCGA:2018 - Current
SGAUS: 2017 - Current

James Shaw

Quote from: Dwight Dutton on December 18, 2021, 02:44:11 PM
Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMIts a really mixed thing here. Sure, we need the safety folks. The problem is that they have to preach to the lowest common denominator. 

Its like reading the label on anti-freeze that tells us not to drink it. Please, I'm not a 5 year old, don't treat me like one. But yet, if the group as a whole isn't warned that they need to dress properly for sub-freezing weather, some idiot will get frostbite.

So yes, we have to sit through the same discussion every summer about keeping hydrated, that we have heard for many years.  Excuse me while I fall asleep in the back of the room.

Know your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


We do missions in cold weather.  Here in California cold weather missions are like driving in the rain, which we also have to do on missions, and often in a vehicle we are not familiar with.  Neither occur often enough for us to instinctively know how to do it.  If you didn't grow up where there was slush, black ice and just the right amount of water on the road to hydroplane, you are a good candidate for a mishap unless someone covers that before you experience it.  Both are good safety topics even for an older experienced audience.

I want to see safety classes that are relevant to what we actually do, not on how to ride a motorcycle or cook a turkey.

I have made this same argument unless there was a focus relevant to my colleagues.
Jim Shaw
USN: 1987-1992
GANG: 1996-1998
CAP:2000 - Current
USCGA:2018 - Current
SGAUS: 2017 - Current

Pinecone

Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMKnow your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


And how many of them will drink several Gatorades a day, thinking that it is the best way to hydrate?

etodd

Quote from: Pinecone on March 08, 2022, 09:49:14 PM
Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMKnow your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


And how many of them will drink several Gatorades a day, thinking that it is the best way to hydrate?

You really missed the whole point of my post.
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

Pinecone

Quote from: etodd on March 09, 2022, 01:29:10 AM
Quote from: Pinecone on March 08, 2022, 09:49:14 PM
Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMKnow your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


And how many of them will drink several Gatorades a day, thinking that it is the best way to hydrate?

You really missed the whole point of my post.

And your point is?

My point was knowing your audience is to also know what they might think is correct, that is not so.  A lot of safety training is counteracting "common knowledge" and "common sense" which is wrong.

James Shaw

#10
Quote from: Pinecone on March 15, 2022, 08:42:33 PM
Quote from: etodd on March 09, 2022, 01:29:10 AM
Quote from: Pinecone on March 08, 2022, 09:49:14 PM
Quote from: etodd on December 18, 2021, 04:05:31 AMKnow your audience.

 If you're going to give a safety lesson on hydration, and you walk in the room and see its a bunch of 60 year olds, simply hold up a bottle of water and say don't forget to drink. Then sit back down.  Everyone knows what you mean. Most take water pills for high blood pressure and already drink lots anyway. They know, they already know. LOL

Now, if you are talking to 13 year old Cadets who just joined ... give them the full 20 minute lecture.


And how many of them will drink several Gatorades a day, thinking that it is the best way to hydrate?

You really missed the whole point of my post.

And your point is?

My point was knowing your audience is to also know what they might think is correct, that is not so.  A lot of safety training is counteracting "common knowledge" and "common sense" which is wrong.

Personally I don't think that safety has much to do with "common sense". Common sense - {good sense and sound judgment in practical matters} doesn't address the perception people have of risk or their ability to identify a hazard. You can't see electricity but we know it is there so if we can't see it then why can we still get shocked if we touch it? Safety is more about our perception of risk and using the information we have been taught to help us identify the hazard. Every time we have an event or interaction that event provides positive or negative re-enforcement to the person. If it works we are good. If it doesn't we are bad.

If you have an incident that requires an investigation the Investigator is not going to ask about what you thought should be done based on common knowledge/sense they will ask you to prove that they have been trained on the subject to an acceptable degree.

Up until the last couple of years all we would see is commercials of athletes drinking "Gatorade" when they were training making people believe that it is the best alternative. Only in the last couple of years have they pushed "enhanced" water but still water. 

You have to know your audience and you have to know how to relate the topic to something the people have experience with.

This is a great discussion. :)
Jim Shaw
USN: 1987-1992
GANG: 1996-1998
CAP:2000 - Current
USCGA:2018 - Current
SGAUS: 2017 - Current

Pinecone

Quote from: baronet68 on December 17, 2021, 08:29:45 PMUnder Why "Nobody Likes Safety" you forgot:


7)  Nobody truly wants the safety person around because "they are a high-and-mighty know-it-all who focuses on the shortcomings of others rather than offering meaningful solutions".

That is a training issue for the safety person.

I have been a professional in safety and health for coming up on 38 years.  I started in consulting, so my way dealing with safety issues is not being high and mighty, but by being education and solution based.

That is, if I see something wrong, I use it to educate people one what is wrong, why it is an issue, and most importantly HOW TO FIX THINGS, short term and long term.

I also take except about a mishap investigation that requires the person involved to prove they were properly training.  Having the proper training for workers is the responsibility of the supervisor and the organization.  NOT the individual.

Remember, the purpose of a mishap investigation is to see what went wrong in the whole process and figure it out how to fix it.