Today, we had a safety stand down at my job. The reason for our safety stand down was that we are concerned that our next injury might be a fatality. Our OSHA Injury rate was 0.28 and our severity index was 15.3. What that means is that we had a lot of injuries, and that several of them were lost time - someone was out of work for an extended period of time.
During our last refueling outage, we had a major injury where a worker had a 300 pound device dropped on her, and she ended up with broken bones and internal injuries. We could see her injuries on our video monitors in the Outage Command Center, and I have to tell you, that is an image that is forever burned into my memory. Prior to that, I had been blessed to not have witnessed major injuries or accidents. My goal is to return to that blessing, and not have to see another person seriously injured.
After the stand down, we had a group meeting to discuss what we would all be doing differently. The bottom line, is do we Walk the Talk. Our safety guiding principles are that All Injuries Are Preventable and Leadership Is Responsible for Safety. As we all discussed, you need to internalize the fact that injuries are preventable, and we are all leaders. So, we are all responsible for safety.
During my 45 minute drive home tonight, I contemplated how this fits into our everyday life. I know that at home, I do not always wear gloves when working outside, do not wear hearing protection when using yard equipment (lawn mower, string trimmer, etc.), and often venture out into our poison ivy without long pants on. These are conscious choices, eventhough I know better.
So, in your everyday life, whether at work or personally, do you do things that you know do not meet your own standards? Do you internalize the values and principles that are important to you? Do you practice these behaviors (behaviors are key to this message by the way)? Do you practice the values and principles that are important to you in front of others (whether this is co-workers or your children)?
One example we all could relate to was wearing seat belts. When the law first came out, it was not a normal or comfortable behavior. Most of us would always strap in our children, but did we, in the early days, always buckle in ourselves? But the first time one of our children asks us - are you going to do your belt Daddy/Mommy?, we truly understand the message we are sending.
So take a moment to reflect, what message are you sending to others with your behaviors? Have you truly internalized your values and principles? Do you Walk the Talk?
6 comments:
I used to be amazingly surprised when people around me would say A but when put to the test always do B or C if it was the easy route to what they wanted at the moment. I listen to some until my head spins about how corrupt pols, the rich & those in power are, & then shortly thereafter, the very person complaining is doing something self serving & passing it off as ok or "the norm." I figure if I think everyone else should examine their "norm" (like pols, the rich, those in power), I should also; a lot of people don't share this feeling. Compulsory ethical compromises, with hope they are never Found Out, abound. ~Mary
I have to admit Mary answered that one rather well for me....It's easy to say yes, we do the right thing. If we're in a hurry we might tend to pass up the right thing , for the easier option. (Hugs) Indigo
Agreed Taking the easy way out rarely gets the best results. Thanks Mary and Indy :o)
I've always believed that the best way to lead is by example. You can't tell people to do one thing and then do something different--that's a terrible message to send. I hope that the efforts of all of you at Cook will result in much lower injury rates.
Beth
do you walk the talk....so full of meaning...
i buckle my seatbelt, i wash my hands, i look both ways...i do all of that...
but as I sit here craving a cigarette...I am reminded that I can't. Because I dont want my son to do the same...
walking and talking are such a huge part of our development as individuals... but somehow as we grow older, we assume we have both down to a science, having no idea that it means so much more.
Thanks for this entry...it "hit" me
Kathleen
journals.aol.com/kathlyna22/Upagainstyou
Kathleen,
Thank you so much for visiting, and I am glad that I was able to make a connection with you. That is what our writting is about, and you give me a reason to keep up with this Journal. Thankyou :o)
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