Recognizing what can hurt you is a constant and never-ending process. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you happen to be doing, you need to be on the lookout for what can hurt you.
It’s easy for anyone to fall victim to the thinking “This is a simple task” and “Nothing serious can go wrong.” For the boss, it’s easy to fall victim to the thinking “Hazard recognition is my follower’s job – not mine.”
That line of thinking goes on all the time. Most of the time, nothing bad happens. But most of the time isn’t the same as all of the time: sometimes something very bad happens.
Which is exactly what happened in this tragic case:
It’s easy for anyone to fall victim to the thinking “This is a simple task” and “Nothing serious can go wrong.” For the boss, it’s easy to fall victim to the thinking “Hazard recognition is my follower’s job – not mine.”
That line of thinking goes on all the time. Most of the time, nothing bad happens. But most of the time isn’t the same as all of the time: sometimes something very bad happens.
Which is exactly what happened in this tragic case:
No matter who you are – someone assigned to perform a task or someone responsible for the work – where you are – on that job or at home – and what you are doing – performing hazardous work or a simple task – being constantly on the lookout for what can hurt you is the best defense against being a victim of a hazard.
Paul Balmert
November 2019
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