I’ve been building a bookcase in my home. Concrete didn’t seem very suitable for this application so I’m making the frame from ornamental steel tubing. But while welding and drilling and tapping holes, I find myself taking safety shortcuts. Like, do I really need to put the goggles back on to grind this one little spot? Can’t I get away without wearing gloves? Do I need to clamp this piece to drill one hole? My excuse is always that it’s only just this one time then I’ll do it right after that.
I know that keeping workers safe, and convincing them to keep themselves safe, is not something that can be compromised and yet we all know that the safety rules aren’t always followed—even by ourselves. When I am writing an article for Concrete Construction, I often decline to use even very good photos that have suspect safety practices, and yet, I still miss some.
In the slide show from a recent article on hand-set formwork systems, ASCC’s safety expert, Joe Whiteman, pointed out a number of safety lapses in the photos. Some might be considered minor, just like in my workshop, but I don’t want to make excuses. I need to look more closely and rule out photos that show things like workers with their safety glasses on their hard hat instead of on their eyes, no gloves, lack of toe boards on scaffolding, or lack of rebar caps. And I need to follow this advice at home, too.
It really does only take once!
