Derek,
I think what your are saying is the safety rules and regulations have taken the common sense out of the equation and people aren't looking for the hazards but are merely following the rules mindlessly. I have worked many years in and around the electrical industry, and have seen some very stupid stuff happen in my time, despite the training, warnings, etc.
If this is your point, you are probably correct to a certain degree. However, if one listens to and reads safety warnings all of the time, then gets to the task and doesn't follow the needed precautions to safety engage that task, then a serious disconnect has occurred. The person either 1) doesn't need to be operating the ____, 2) isn't capable of comprehending the impending dangers, 3) hasn't paid attention to the material in the first place, 4) is putting time and money ahead of personal safety, or 5) just doesn't give a $#!^. In any of these cases, I say you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. And I will also say that I will run off anyone with this attitude because it is poison.
Why doesn't a safety program work? In a nutshell, those responsible for its implentaion, enforcement and use do not take it seriously. In other words, nobody has taken ownership in the program and seen it through. It may be poorly written, not very well thought out, and hard to follow. Each one of these is a fixable thing if the initiative was taken to do so.
As a foreman or lead, supervisor or manager, helper or apprentice, everyone in my company has the authority to stop and correct a situation. Everyone watches out for everyone else. I have trained those that came up under me that they have to maintain 100% situational awareness on the job because everyone else was trying to kill them. Is that over the edge? Honestly, I don't care if it is. The boys and girls that I trained go home every night to their families the same way they arrived. Anything less is unacceptable. Period.
My point is that safety programs do work when taken seriously. The regulations do work. The rules do work. The mundane safety meetings do work. All of these things bring awareness. And awareness is the key to keeping people safe. One of my men told me that I was brainwashing them into safety. The regulations keep the employers from putting their dollar in front of your life. For those that mindlessly go into these meetings and sleep through them and carelessly go on about their jobs... I refuse to be around them.
And shame on the employer's for letting that happen! When I am responsible for personnel, I conduct safety meetings anytime I feel that there is a need. If an operation is about to take place, there will be a briefing on the operation, and every last person on my team will bring up a unique safety topic during that meeting and discuss the risk mitigation for the hazard during this briefing. If they don't, then they don't work. End of story. My crew knows that it is the first part of their job to assess safety hazards before commencing a task.
All of the safety meetings that I have ever conducted were not conducted by me, they were conducted by the men. I guided things and kept it on track, but the men brought the topics that pertained to their jobs and current situations, and we discussed those at length. Some of those meetings lasted a couple of hours, and management raised hell. I didn't care and told them so, my people were going to be safe and if it meant that had to have a three hour meeting everyday to address the concerns then so be it.
If one of my people performs an unsafe task, then they have to face me. We will discuss the scenario at length until the person understands the danger they have just placed themselves in. Some of those discussions have ended with the employee quitting. At that is fine, too. I have fired people for safety violations, I have suspended, reprimanded, and chastised many folks. During my entire career, I have had one injury under my watch, and that was an eye injury. The kid happened to be drilling overhead and got dust in his eye. And in my eyes, that was a failure on my part. The kid didn't choose the proper eye wear for the task because he just thought he could get it done in a second and those goggle were a 5 minute walk to retrieve. He learned his lesson that day and I learned mine, too.
This may be taboo to say, but none of the people that have worked for me have been seriously injured since they worked for me. Coincidence? I really don't know. My methods of training were somewhat unique. I talk to many of them, and each one of them at one point or another has told me that no one else had their personal safety at heart like I did, and for the time I was with them I forced them to put their focus onto what they were doing and what was happening around them.
As I have said before, safety is an attitude. The person has the attitude, and they choose what that attitude is. Are there ignorant people out there? Only by the millions. Does it mean that these people are stupid or don't care? In most cases I don't believe so. I think they aren't educated properly, and sometimes that education requires a foot up the backside. There will always be those who knowlingly choose to go against the "rules" for a myriad of reasons, but that is not the fault of anyone but the person making the choice (yes, even in the face of losing a job - if your boss told you to jump off of a cliff or face termination...).
I guess we agree to a point as I say, but I think your observations may be a slight bit over the top. That's okay, in the end I believe we are trying to achieve the same result!
