Tool Box Talk: “Just This Once”

“Just This Once”

Is there ever an excuse not to work safely? In one sense or another we may get confronted with this question every day.

“There are deadlines” or we are at the end of our work day and have “that one ‘little’ task to do,” or the weather is nasty and we want to take that little short cut to get the job done “quicker.”

All the pressures and temptations we may face every day ask this same question: “Is there ever an excuse not to work safely?”

We sometimes want to say, “We are ending our shift and maybe just this one time I will take a chance. I can get away with it once.” Unfortunately, that seems to be the time when we have our worst injuries.

There is a real life example from a Machine shop.

The rule in the shop (as in our shop) is that no running is allowed. The head sawyer was finishing a job and the truck picking up the order was literally waiting for the last piece.

When the cut was finished, the sawyer grabbed the part and ran towards the delivery truck. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and the sun was at the perfect angle to blind him as he came around a corner.

The sawyer kept moving quickly towards the delivery area. He noticed that there was a forklift parked but assumed that it was in the normal parking spot and that it would not be a problem.

The forklift was not in the normal parking spot and someone left the forks off the ground while they went to arrange a pallet they were about to pick up. The sawyer caught his right foot under the forks.

The foot literally jammed between the fork and floor. He suffered an almost complete tearing of several ligaments and tendons as well as two hairline fractures.

His ankle required surgical repair and there is some doubt he will ever return to his old job.

NOW

If you were to ask this man if he had an excuse for not working safely he would probably reply that it was the last piece and he wanted to finish quickly.

If you asked him if it was worth it, the answer would be obvious. Did the sawyer know the rule about not running in the shop?

You bet he did. By running in the shops he did not have time to avoid an unforeseen hazard and was seriously injured.

The vast majority of industrial injuries are the result of people doing something that they know is wrong. We might think that the rule can be broken just this once.

However, the reason most company safety rules and most legislation is in place is because someone was seriously injured or killed not following the safest work practice.

If you think what you are about to do is unsafe, it probably is. Stop and think about it. Is there ever an excuse not to work safely?

There is in our language a dangerously disarming phrase by which people often persuade other people to compromise principles. It is the phrase “Just this once.”

“Just this once” has a siren-like lure. It is the forerunner of the phrase “Just once more.” It is the beckoning voice of a false friend that leads us from safety to a false position, first “Just this once,” and then “Just once more.” “Just once more won’t matter.” “Just once more, and then I’ll quit” and so we sometimes move from one false step to another, often deluding ourselves into thinking that this is the last time.

“Just this once” becomes especially serious when people persuade other people that a principle is a matter of frequency rather than a clear-cut matter of right or wrong.

It is true that a one- time offender is locked upon with more leniency than a frequent offender. But stealing “Just this once,” lying “Just this once,” deceiving “Just this once,” or breaching a safety rule urged upon anyone “Just this once” is a dangerous doctrine. “Just this once” is a long step, but “Just once more” is an easier step, and so men often forget their own fetters from link to link.

If it isn’t right, let it alone. Don’t do “Just this once” what shouldn’t be done at all.

TO SUPERVISORS

Sometimes you get caught unaware. A crew member violates a safety rule, or equipment fails, and everyone wants to react immediately.

So some supervisors say, “OK, just this once.”

Why it’s wrong!!!!!!!: Once a worker hears this, he or she feels it’s okay to employ “just this once” the next time.

In a high-hazard situation, such as a confined rescue, that can be fatal. Even in less hazardous situations, like using a piece of equipment with a broken guard, it presents a serious risk.

Better: The supervisor says, “Not even this once. But we can attempt to fix that guard and get maintenance up here for an emergency work order.”

This reinforces the safety culture of identifying hazards and thinking about how to apply them, even in emergency situations

And a bonus quote from Dag Hammarskjold:

“A task becomes a duty from the moment you suspect it to be an essential part of that integrity which alone entitles a man to assume responsibility.”

Thanks for the share, TO!