Sample Clip: Working Safely in a Changing Environment

by Carl Potter copyright 2002

Change is here to stay... no kidding! Everyone is worried about the future and wants to go back to the "good old days". Companies are merging, divesting, selling, and changing names. Unions and companies are in negotiations. Stock prices are uncertain. There is pressure to produce more with less. All of this makes it a challenge for employees to keep their focus on safety. Often employees think the company no longer cares about safety. But, who is the company?

A company is made up of its employees. Whether you are the CEO or college intern, you are part of the company. As part of the company, you can care about safety by having a goal to go home every day without injury. Taking personal responsibility for safety is a number one priority. In changing times, it is more important than ever to take personal responsibility for safety. Let's look at an example of how one person took personal responsibility for safety.

Here's the situation. The company was going through a buy-out and the management team wanted everyone to reduce expenses. Cash was "king" and everyone was trying to do his or her part to save money. In this case, the employee, we'll call him Joe, inspected a forklift and found several things wrong that would take the machine out of service. On top of that, the cost of repairs was going to be over $1,500. A manager had to approve the expenditure. When Joe told the manager about the situation, the manager asked, "Can you just use the forklift like it is for the rest of the month?" Joe explained that according to the inspection sheet and the company's written work practices, the machine must be locked-out until repairs were made. As a result, the manager...