Weekly Tailgate Meetings

The Work-Safe Mindset

Working safely is a good idea. Everyone would agree with this. But what does that mean? From a general perspective, safety would never be an issue if nothing ever moved. If we never did anything, the only accident would be caused by decay in the chair we sit in. So if we did nothing, we just need to be careful where we sit, and put a pillow under the chair. We accept that there is risk in everything we do, but the rewards must be worth the risk. We can only make an informed judgment if we have knowledge. The weekly safety meeting is one source of this knowledge. If the weekly safety meetings are viewed as an interruption in your workday, or a paper to keep the office happy, then your chair is decaying.Sooner or later, you will end up on the floor. All the knowledge in the world is useless if it is ignored when you pick up your tools and go to work. Some of you may remember the old U.S. Forestry advertising campaign with "Smokey the Bear", and the slogan "Only YOU can prevent forest fires". Smokey didn't work in our field, but the concept still applies - "Only YOU can prevent injuries". Use the knowledge you have, as well as your own common sense, and develop a strong sense of self preservation. You will reap the rewards. We are open to suggestions from anyone on topics for discussion, or ways to improve our work-place safety. Please contact your supervisor or me directly. We would appreciate your comments and input.

Randy Schmidt