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.

As any grandmother would, I bought the requisite souvenirs for him including a beautiful program which outlines the storyline, illustrates some of the most memorable scenes, and gives bios and descriptions for all the people responsible for putting on the show. In addition, there are so many questions asked and ideas born from phrases and sentences found in the program.

“Seeing with the mind’s eye”; “What if by engaging our imagination and opening our minds we could unlock the door to a world of wonders?”; “This show is about our amazing capacity for wonder, our insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge, the transformative power of our imagination, the might and magic of our faithful ally – optimism – is no accident”.

I was intrigued by the characters, the costumes, the sets and most of all the talent of everyone seen on the stage and unseen behind the scenes. Obvious to the eye was the prowess, ability, skill and courage of the performers.

Because I am a person who is always early to the party, we were in our seats about twenty minutes before the show started. I was able to watch some of the stage crew preparations for the performances. One of the lighting specialists had to climb up a very narrow, uncaged ladder to the lighting platform. She had on a harness and lifeline as she ascended the ladder.

The aerial performers, likewise, wore lifelines as they performed their death-defying acts high up in the tent. Flying through the air, balancing on seemingly imbalanceable apparatus and teetering on unseen platforms required impeccable timing and precision. What was most evident to me was the need for synchronicity and teamwork, the dependence of one performer upon another and their collective dependence on each other and on those not on the stage but without whom the show could not go on.

The first main character in KURIOS is The Seeker who “is convinced that there exists a hidden, invisible world – a place where the craziest ideas and the grandest dreams lie waiting”. He is “as ingenious as he is ingenious” (clever, imaginative, inventive, creative, inspired). There is Mr. Microcosmos, “the leader, the authority figure” and “the embodiment of technological progress”. Then there is Nico, “a little bashful and extremely sensitive; this level-headed feller always rises to the occasion”. Can we relate these characters to the hierarchy in the workplace? The engineer, the manager, the worker.

In the end, as taken as I was by this incredible production, I realized and appreciated that the stage too is, in its simplest form, a workplace. It takes knowledge and specialists to conceptualize the end product. They are the seekers. It takes many supporting and behind-the-scenes workers to direct the concept into existence. They are the managers. And it takes many others to finesse the final product. They are the workers.

I believe that “…the might of our faithful ally – optimism…” synchronicity and teamwork will result in safer workplaces where workers feel appreciated, safe and happy to spend their working hours.

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

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

The post Under the Big Top appeared first on Mentor Safety Consultants - A Safety Co Partner.