Noah hasn’t chosen his career path yet but is very interested in auto mechanics. He is working part-time in a private garage, learning the basics of the trade. In my discussions with him I am concerned that he is possibly being used as cheap labour which rings all kinds of bells with me.

Is he being taught the correct way of doing things or is he being shown how to take shortcuts for maximum profit? What training has he been given regarding the use of equipment such as car lifts, the use of chemicals/solvents, electrical equipment, compressed air, the dangers of gas/diesel exhaust? The list goes on.

Never does something become so important as when it affects one personally. I will do my best to educate him on looking after himself.

The key word is education, regardless of the trade or profession. Learning something for the first time occurs much faster than unlearning it and relearning something new. Once something is learned incorrectly, it becomes very difficult to change a bad habit. The main, evidence-backed time frame for habit-breaking, suggests it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days. In other words, to set expectations appropriately, it can take anywhere from two months to eight months to build a new behavior, not 18 days.

That is why employer training and patience are key when it comes to training new and young employees as well as long-time, mature employees who have done the same thing over and over for years.

Health and safety training helps create a safer work environment where employees are better able to focus on tasks without worrying about their personal safety. This enhanced focus will result in higher work output and an increase in productivity and profits. An added bonus is worker satisfaction and higher morale; whereby, workers will put forth their best efforts. Both workplace parties are rewarded; workers, whose employers ensure their safety, will reward those employers with loyalty and higher performance.

I reflect on my own path when I was nineteen and entering post-secondary education. The last thing I thought about was my mortality; I was young and had my life ahead of me. Noah is now at that crossroads. From my vantage point, I want only for him to live a long, fulfilled life free from worry, pain, or any barriers to achieving that.

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of December.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post HE’S AN ADULT NOW appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.

On these walks I regularly see roofers at work. All too often the workers are young, students perhaps or those with minimal education and doing a job that is both hard and hard on the body. Naturally I wonder what kind of training they’ve been given. How often I shudder when I see them working without the personal protective equipment needed for the job. Worse still are the workers who are wearing their safety harnesses, however, attached to nothing. Usually, the ropes and lanyards are lying on the roof.

Three hazards in one:

1. The workers are wearing harnesses that hamper them but aren’t doing the job for which they are intended because they’re not attached to a lifeline.
2. The ropes and lanyards just lying on the roof are a tripping hazard.
3. Worker lack of understanding of the purpose of the PPE and frustration, maybe even anger that the equipment is more of a bother than a help.

Then I look at the vehicles that these workers have arrived in. In most cases, and this is not precise research, but an observation over years, these vehicles do not identify the roofing company. That tells me that the owners do not take pride in their company, do not want to be identified by showing their name on their vehicles and are avoiding possibly being reported to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) by passersby.

Twice this summer I confronted onsite workers asking why they weren’t wearing their lifelines. In the first instance it was actually the owner/supervisor who told me that they would attach once the shingle packs had been offloaded the lifting device. The building being re-shingled was a three-story commercial establishment with a steep pitch. The workers had their harnesses on and were carrying the heavy shingle packs up the incline while having to step over the lifelines laying on the roof. I walked away and when I passed later in the day, not one of the workers was attached to a lifeline but hey, they had their harnesses on. Yes, I called the MLITSD.

I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts that the workers had working at heights training to satisfy Ministry requirements; however, the supervisors did not have the training to know what their personal liability was in the event of a tragic accident.

It’s all about knowing the facts, having responsible owners who value their employees and provide the right training, equipment and supervision. Those are the employers who proudly display their logos and brands on their vehicles. Those are the employers potential workers should be looking for to keep them healthy and safe.

If you’re not comfortable with it, DON’T DO IT!

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of November.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post JUST WALKING BY appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.

So, instead of writing a lengthy Blog this month, I thought I’d share with you the following plaques which are a memorial to real people who tragically lost their lives in workplace accidents. I have only included a sampling of the 100 workers memorialized. This sampling demonstrates that workplace accidents do not discriminate between age, gender, occupation, or types of accidents.

In each case, a person died leaving behind a spouse, a sibling, a parent, or a child. They went to work on the morning of their deaths never dreaming that they would not see their loved ones again.

Gallery – 100 Worker Monument Simcoe Park, Toronto Ontario.

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As I stood reading each plaque, I was amazed and pleased to see how many people stopped and took the time to read the stories. Those memorialized have left a legacy however brief and tragic. May you and your families be spared that pain and loss in order to leave a happy and lasting legacy.

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of October.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post LABOUR DAY appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.

By definition ‘conscience’ is the sense or consciousness of one’s own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good; an inner feeling or voice acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.

This essay is not a lesson in ethics, goodness or virtues but written as self-recognition that I do not always follow what I know to be true, important or even life-saving.

I recently returned from a driving vacation to South Carolina. Together with another person we decided to drive from the Niagara Ont. area to Greenville S.C. in one shot, roughly 1,250 km. We left at 4.30 am knowing it would be a trip of approximately 16 hours. We planned to take turns driving to give the other person a chance to rest. What we did not plan for was the almost consistent rain the entire way.

To begin, we started out tired, not having slept well in anticipation of the trip ahead. We did not count on the entire trip taking place in rainy conditions. And we did not realize that there would be mainly large trucks on the road for a good part of the trip.

As I was driving, I thought about all the truckers on the road and wondered how they could do this day in and day out. Now that I’m back in Ontario I looked up how many hours a driver can drive on any given day in Canada as per Canadian hours of service? The answer: 11-hour driving rule: A driver can only drive up to 11 consecutive hours before he or she is required to take 10 consecutive hours off. 14-hour driving limit: A driver cannot drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty.

How many other scenarios can you think of where you do something that goes against not only the written rules, but also against what you know to be the correct way of doing something? It may be using a chair instead of a proper stepladder to change a light bulb at home “just this once”. It may be not wearing safety glasses “just this once”. It may be bypassing a lockout procedure “just this once”. It may be going up a ladder without proper fall-arrest gear “just this once”. The examples are infinite.

“Just this once” has been the cause of many needless accidents both at home and at work. “Just this once” is the only chance you have to prevent death which, when you think about it, is the ultimate “just this once”!

My conscience told me that we should have been better rested for our trip; we should not have planned to do the entire drive in one day and perhaps even postponed the trip by a day because of the dangerous driving conditions in the inclement weather. This time we were fortunate to arrive safely. Will I do this trip in the same way again or listen to my conscience? I only have one life. “Just this once” is not a chance I want to take again.

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of June.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post Just this Once appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.

This is because you have two eyes that observe the world from two different positions. It’s a matter of parallax. (If you do this with a little kid you’ll appear like a magician to them.)

The parallax aspect is useful in comparing points of view and one’s place in a given situation. Parallax arises due to change in viewpoint occurring due to motion of the observer, of the observed, or of both.

Long ago, an ancient Chinese sage expressed parallax this way:

You can’t talk about the ocean with a frog who lives in a well. He is bounded by the space he inhabits.

You can’t talk about ice with an insect who is born and dies in June. He is bounded by a single season.

You can’t talk about the meaning of life with a person who is certain he knows everything there is to know. He is bounded by his own beliefs.

I can understand another person’s point of view even though it differs from mine. Why? Each individual sees something from a different perspective.

I can understand another person’s point of view even though it differs from mine. Why? Each individual sees something from a different perspective.

Last month I wrote about finding a root cause for an incident or accident to prevent a possible recurrence with a potentially tragic outcome. This month I want to focus on the importance of interviewing witnesses to an incident or accident as part of thorough investigations.

Whenever I taught an accident investigation course I went through a very simple exercise with the class. Standing in front of the participants, I let a pencil fall to the floor. Then I asked one person to my right to describe what he/she saw. They may have said that they saw my hip hit the desk which caused the pencil to roll off. Then I asked a person to my left to describe what they saw. They may have said that my hand brushed the pencil causing it to fall to the floor. The person on the other side may not have seen this because my torso blocked their view. The person directly in front of me saw me throw the pencil to the floor. It’s all a matter of perspective.

The whole point of the exercise was to demonstrate that it is important to interview multiple witnesses with varying perspectives and information relevant to the incident.

“the facts ma’am, just the facts”

1. Interview witnesses separately, so that their recall is their own and not influenced by another person’s observation which may cause the first person to change their report.
2. Each witness saw the incident from a different viewpoint depending on where they were standing when the incident happened. Note – even though the witness report should strictly detail factual observation, individuals may “colour” their report based on personal experiences, knowledge, opinions and attitudes.
3. Interviews, to gather testimonial evidence, should be conducted as soon as possible after an incident to ensure accuracy of memory (memories fade over time).

Witnesses may be anyone with information relevant to the incident/accident including:

• People directly involved
• Supervisors
• Others at the workplace
• External people such as material experts

Effective witness interviews require patience to:

• Focus on preventing future accidents (not on blame),
• Ensure everyone involved is aware of the investigation and the need for confidentiality,
• Respect the needs of persons interviewed and preparation.

Written, testimonial witness evidence is generally admissible in court; whereas, oral testimony or hearsay, a statement about what a witness heard someone else say, is not admissible in court.

Witness evidence is critical to establishing a root cause for an incident or accident. It is up to the interviewer to direct the witnesses to stick to “the facts, ma’am, just the facts!”

While parallax may sound like the name of some prehistoric creature, it is in fact a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight. A trained investigative interviewer will want to gather witness evidence from all lines of sight.

While checking the location of my index finger against the twelve on the clock on the far wall, the big hand just jumped an hour. LUNCHTIME!

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of June.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post PARALLAX appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.

Happy April, the harbinger of Spring. I love using uncommon words, reading catchy phrases and spinning them into meaningful thoughts and messages. While I have personal and unique reflections, I come across many thought-provoking quotes that make me pause and think about what they really mean.

This morning I read this: The Invisible Obvious. Credit goes to Robert Fulgham, one of my favourite writers.

What could I possibly make of this statement? How could I relate the invisible obvious to health and safety?

But, before I begin my rumination, here is how Mr. Fulgham explained what he was thinking in his own words. “Imagine that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are far out in the English countryside in pursuit of a unique case involving an agricultural mystery. They have settled down in their sleeping bags in a small tent for the night. Just before dawn, Sherlock nudges Dr. Watson awake, and says, “Watson – look up and tell me what you notice.” Dr. Watson tells him that he sees the stars – that the clear sky means the weather will be good in the coming day – that the very faint light in the east says it is almost dawn. “What do you notice, Holmes?”
Holmes sits up. “I notice that someone has stolen our tent during the night.”

When I read this for the first time, I saw only what Watson saw when looking up, the sky, the stars and signs of good weather to come. It took the good detective Holmes to see the invisible obvious first, that the tent was gone making it possible for Watson to see the sky and the stars.

And that brings me to the importance of thorough and detail-rich investigations of accidents and incidents.

It is obvious that accidents must be investigated for several reasons; firstly, to discover the cause and secondly, to report to the Ministry of Labour and the WSIB as required by law.

Why should we investigate incidents, after all, nothing happened; but isn’t an incident an “almost accident”, something that could have had a totally different and catastrophic outcome? And that is why we also investigate incidents thoroughly!

Let’s investigate a plausible accident scenario.

Because there is an injury, a full and thorough investigation is required.

The investigation reveals the following details:

• Employee had worked seven, 12-hour shifts in a row.
• Accident happened at end of shift.
• Employee was standing on the top step of the ladder (an unsafe action).
• The employee was approximately 10 feet above floor level.
• No fall arrest or restraint system was used.
• A ladder inspection policy is in place, but there is no evidence that the ladder hds ever been inspected.
• Investigation reveals the ladder was damaged and did not provide a stable working platform in any environment.
• Interview with facility manager reveals that he did not inspect the ladder when it was due for inspection. He was aware that ladder needed to be inspected.

Factors and Possible Causes Affecting Incident

• Extended work hours may have caused employee to be tired and not clear-headed.
• Employee violated safety rule (standing on top step).
• No fall arrest system in place (required at 6 feet above floor level).
• Ladder was defective and unusable.
• Ladder had not been inspected.
• Facility manager was aware that ladder needed to be inspected but did not adhere to the existing policies and procedures for ladder inspections.

What is the Root Cause?

Which factor, if not present, could have prevented the accident?

If the facility manager had inspected the ladder and discovered the defect, the ladder would not have been used, and this accident would have been prevented.
Failure to follow established ladder inspection procedures is the root cause.

What about the Other Factors?

• Extended work hours might contribute, but there is no statistical evidence available that indicates extended work hours increase the risk of accidents.
• The safety rule violation could be a contributory cause in this accident, but not the root cause. However, if the ladder had been used properly, it is possible that the incident might have been prevented.
• The existence of a fall arrest system may have prevented or reduced injury. This could be a contributory cause.
• The fact that the ladder was defective is certainly a contributory cause. But if the facility manager had followed procedures and removed the ladder from service, the accident would have been prevented.

The root cause of this accident could even be tracked deeper than just finding the facility manager’s failure to inspect the ladder. With more in-depth analysis, it might be found that the real cause (invisible obvious) was a failure in the system itself. Perhaps the safety system in place had no means of ensuring the facility manager actually carried out these inspections.

It is for reasons like this that accident investigations are best conducted by a team. This can ensure that as many possibilities are explored until all causes are discovered.

When an accident or even an incident occurs, we cannot depend on obvious causes, it is the invisible root causes that must be uncovered so that future tragic events can be prevented.

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of May.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post THE INVISIBLE OBVIOUS appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.