My husband works on the oilrigs as a well tester. We watched you folks do so without any eye protection! Are you crazy? Drilling a hole with no protective eyewear? Between him, a well tester, and me, a workers’ compensation lawyer, we’re cringing! Somebody could LOSE AN EYE! Seriously – Safety First, fellas! I would expect better from the Discovery Channel!! — suzemommy
I sincerely appreciate your concern for me, and agree that stupidity plays an ongoing role in my professional and personal life. But believe me, I have no wish to be injured on the job.
However, it is not the objective of Dirty Jobs to conform to any particular set of safety standards, other than those dictated by the people for whom I happen to be working at the time. I take my cues from them, and I assume whatever risk they assume, for the most part. In the end, we hope to capture an honest look at what life is like for the workers in a particular venue. We do not aspire to set an example, or be a poster child for OSHA or any particular industry. I realize that may sound controversial, but it’s the truth, and not nearly as inflammatory as what I’m going to say next.
Ready?
Of all the platitudes automatically embraced in the workplace – and there are many – there is none more pervasive, erroneous, overused, and dangerous, than “Safety First!” in my opinion.
I have heard this slogan countless times. I have seen it emblazoned on banners, T-shirts and hats. I have sat through mandatory briefings and slideshows and presentations designed to “protect me from the hazards at hand.” And I have listened as safety officers and foreman have run down list after list of OSHA requirements, all apparently construed to remind me that nothing is more important to the employer than my own well-being. What a load of unmitigated nonsense.
In the jobs I have seen thus far, I can tell you with certainty, that safety, while always a major consideration, is never the priority.
Never.
Never, ever.
Not even once.
Is it important? Of course. But is it more important than getting the job done? No. Not even close. Making money is more important than safety – always – and it’s very dangerous in my opinion to ignore that. When we start to believe that someone else is more concerned about our own safety than we are, we become complacent, and then, we get careless. When a business tells you that they are more concerned with your safety than anything else, beware. They are not being honest. They are hedging their own bets, and following the advice of lawyers hired to protect them from lawsuits arising from accidents.
You are correct to suggest that wearing safety glasses would have made the task at hand safer. But why stop there? Wearing a helmet would have made it safer still. And wearing a steel mesh shark-suit would have made it really, super safe.
I know that sounds glib, and I know that many will wish to scold me for appearing cavalier. But really, I’m not. In a car, I wear a safety belt. On a motorcycle, I wear a helmet. Not because it’s the law, but because it seems a reasonable precaution. And ultimately, the only one responsible for my own safety is me. (Besides, if the government were really concerned with my safety above all else, wouldn’t they drop the legal speed limit to 30 miles an hour and make cars out of rubber?)
Again, you’re right – I probably should have been wearing safety glasses, not because safety is first, but because I like to hedge my bets.
We can always be safer. We can always assume less risk. But if safety were really first, I wouldn’t travel at all, or engage in any activity that required me to assume any risk. And I certainly wouldn’t be hosting Dirty Jobs.
Mike
*Join the conversation in the Water Cooler – Safety Third – here
53 Comments
I am in fact happy to read this web site posts which includes plenty of useful
data, thanks for providing these statistics.
Review my page; [url=%url%]sky card share server[/url]
Gday Mike, great article. We have been trying to get this common sense approach to safety across to all our Apprentices and Trainees. We created this fun video to help them with the fundamentals. We put the “fun” back into it instead of making it dmental…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PGxKPf9eEhg
I read Mike’s post and all the comments. Here’s my analysis:
Mike was making a point that may have been misinterpreted by many people. He wasn’t saying that safety wasn’t important. And he wasn’t saying that there shouldn’t be employer-instituted safety rules. He was trying to make the point that workers should be taught in their training that their personal safety is primarily their responsibility.
To reiterate, Mike is not disagreeing that there should be safety rules in place; he is saying that the main thing that will keep workers safe is making sure they know that there is still going to be risk, and the best way to protect yourself is to be as well-informed about those risks as possible.
It’s a good point. Unfortunately, the TV incident that led to the discussion wasn’t the best way for Mike to make his point. Apparently Mike wasn’t wearing a simple (and maybe OSHA required?) piece of PPE. This seems to me to be entirely unrelated to Mike’s post and weakens his stance. Without that televised incident, he could have written that post, and still have said something like “I believe in adhering to the minimum safety requirements that are standard in the job I’m doing” and he would have had a great point and been consistent. Or, after the televised incident, he could have said, “Sorry, guys I should have been wearing some goggles there because that is the required minimum PPE in that jurisdiction” and his post could have been consistent with that.
But because he seemed to use the lack of basic PPE as a reason for his post makes him seem a little cavalier about safety. This is what leads to the responses that are upset with Mike’s handling of the situation, because even though he makes good points about personal responsibility in his post, this whole thing started from Mike’s defense of not wearing a simple piece of PPE that is standard for the task he was doing.
My opinion: I think Mike should have waited for a better moment to begin his Safety Third conversation. And I think Dirty Jobs should probably have a safety consultant on the show (if they don’t) that knows about the safety requirements and best practices for the jobs they’re doing. (At the very least, even if the safety concerns weren’t the highest priority, it would prevent the employers featured on the show from getting citations from OSHA.)
Just a small point of fact, most state allow for the denial of a workers compensation claim in the event an employee is injured on the job and that injury could have been prevented by PPE that was provided by the employer and not used by the employee. With that being said, have you consider the idea that you, Mr. Rowe, could be inspiring someone to conduct themselves in a fashion that would lead to the economic demise of their family?
Safety professional here, lots of great points being made on both sides of the argument but the bottom line is smart organiztions understand that safe work is efficent work. You just have to have the right system in place with buy-in from top to bottom. A well run safety program is an investment with significant returns. As far as common sense goes I’ll say this; if you value your sight you will do what is needed to protect your eyes. If you love your family and want to see them at the end of the day you will do what is needed to get home in one piece. Health should not be effected by work. That being said, how awesome would it be to be watching the show one day and see Mike have a finger cut off or have a flying projectile impale his eyeball. That’s what I call must see TV.
Mike is right; an individual should be responsible for his or her own safety on the job, and from an employer point-of-view, making money is the point of doing business. Perhaps individuals would take more responsibility for their own safety if they were financially obligated to make themselves “whole” after an incident that could have been prevented had safety precautions been followed. The employer/insurance companies must pay for individuals’ carelessness. That is the workers compensation system we have all adopted. Should we go back to a system where an employee had to prove the company was negligent in providing a safe working environment, and the company proving the employee was trained and given the proper equipment to do the job? The only people that make money in that system are the attorneys.
You fall from roof and break your back because you did not wear the fall protection your employer provided for you.
You will receive all the medical treatment and wage compensation you rare entitled to, even though it was your choice not to wear fall protection. If that “financial safety net” was not there, would individuals still act the same? Would you wear your hardhat and safety glasses if you had to pay for the loss of an eye, or countless neurological tests and therapies on your damaged brain? Self-preservation for oneself or ones family has not been a motivation, maybe the threat of losing money would be.
Mike Rowe is a genius!!
We have gotten so wrapped up in all of this Safety first stuff! Glad to see someone dare say that we should practice common sense.
Go Mike!!
I sent your blog to my Safety Manager of the heavy construction company I work for. Here is his response:
Danny,
If making money is first then so is safety. Injuries cost money and reduce efficacy and deplete an organization’s skill and knowledge base. Like Mike, I believe that a life without risks is not a life worth living. I also believe in learning from the my mistakes and the mistakes of others. Safety is the game of using all your wits to calculate the best odds of success. Remember that I ride a bicycle on the road, white water kayak and live with a beautiful woman. But these are intelligently planned risks. There is the chance that I will get hit by a texting teen, drown in a white water rapid or have my heart broken. And yet, because of these risky activities I have a rich experience of life; I feel more alive. I like that feeling.
Cheers
-Bruce
I own a small construction business (flooring). I would like to say safety is job one, but I would be lying. Making a profit is job one. Keeping our customers happy is also up there. But, safety is very important. We have training & safety guidelines, but it is ultimately up to the employee to use good judgement. Over the years, all accidents in my company have been from employees doing dumb things. No amount of training or PPE’s would have prevented any of them (we do supply & use PPE’s). Accidents cost me money, but I am more concerned with the injured worker. I don’t want any accidents to happen.
With that being said, what I see that is wrong with the safety push these days is that most contractors I work with that have the biggest safety programs, are more concerned with paperwork that protects their behinds than the actual safety of the worker. We have to fill out form after form to work for them. I have one job that had an inch of paperwork, most of which was for safety. Did that do anything to protect a worker? NO. It was just put in a file & if there was an accident down the road, they could pull out the file & show everyone was properly trained. To me, that is not as much for the safety of the employee as it is for their protection against law suits. We frequently have to provide job specific safety plans, msds, etc. All of it is glanced at & thrown in a file. We sit through job safety orientation meetings that sometimes last a couple hours. While some of it is important, after a while all the worker hears is blah, blah, blah. This is because they just drone on, even after the important info is out there.
I think safety should be looked at more reasonably. I do agree with Mike that it is mostly up to the employee. But, employers should take reasonable precautions, without going overboard.
I’ve been in construction for 18 years. I’ve worked for various companies and not always the safest ones. My current employer is the best so far. I’ve never been reprimanded for stopping a job because of safety. They preach “leaving the way you came in”. They spend money on training but also focus on the hazards not just wearing your PPE. I would like to point out that without the companies involvement the “safety first” slogan is bogus. Try to focus on the strides we have made in the last 100 years and not how they are marketed. Safety may not always be first to the employers but it should be for you and the family you go home to.
38 comments – wow ole man you really touched a nerve on this subject. HOWEVER while reading your orginal comments this one really stood out! “When we start to believe that someone else is more concerned about our own safety than we are, we become complacent, and then, we get careless. ” A culture of – unquestionable trust – superior preformace and total commitment would most likely change the behaviors of all unsafe acts commited daily – don’t you think?
Mike, Two comments on the area of safety:
1. Who is a leader? Anyone with a following. You obviously have a following.
2. You are an Eagle Scout. Keep the faith, baby.
Me, I’m a safety officer in a hydroelectric plant where safety really is job number one, and I am the grandson of a man killed outside a coal mine, and the nephew of a man killed just inside a coal mine — way back when safety wasn’t a priority.
Mr. Rowe,
Even though I work as a safety professional I do somewhat agree with your statement. For a corporate viewpoint, safety is important to avoid litigation and to continue gaining new contracts with companies who demand a solid safety record. As with all corporations, though, it is all about the bottom line.
Those who do not work safely typically are doing this on their own, not because of some corporate mandate. Most businesses want their employees to perform safely and the real reason why is efficieny. We all know that efficiency affect the bottom line and if a person is working safely, they are working efficiently. The truck driver that feels he need to break the speed limit to be efficient is fooling his or her self. A leading cause of accidents (incidents) are due to speeding and there is nothing cost effective about crashes or even speeding tickets, being a little late is more efficient.
You speak about what is reasonable, and I agree, but you are talking about yourself. For many workers, what is “reasonable” may be something completely different from what you believe and could possibly endanger themselves, or worst, someone else. Safety isn’t about denying one person, it’s about protecting everyone around that person. You may wear a seat belt but if your passenger isn’t wearing one and you are involved in a collision, the force can send that passenger through the cabin of the car like a missle, you may be wearing your seatbelt and lost your life when the back seater becomes a projectile and kills you on impact. His selfish act cost you your life.
Safety first, is truly a lie, but when we consider that working safely is more efficient, and protects the bottom line better than wokin unsafely, the we can see the truth. Add to that the fact that since the Occupational Safety & Health Act we have greatly reduced the number of workplace injuries and fatalities so wokers can go home and watch your show (which I truly enjoy) I feel that we have made great strides. It continues to have importance because we have watched technolgy change, environments change, and people are different. It is an ever-evolving process.
Thanks again for pointing this out. The safety first slogan should be banned because it does breed complacency that leads to injuries and fatalities. We need to continue to train workers on the most efficient practices and I think we would be surprised how much safer the workplace will become.
I have watched your show, “Dirty Jobs” on numerous occasions and will continue to do so for it brings back memories of the crappy jobs I had to do when I was growing up on the farm and while in the Navy. With that being said I can’t say I exactly agree with your idea that ‘Safety First’ is a load of unmitigated nonsense. I am sure there are companies out there that do not have a high opinion of safety but that is their problem which will probably come back to haunt them in the future.
For example, if a worker gets hurt because of not wearing or having the proper safety equipment, not only will there be the medical and worker’s compensation cost, but the company (either temporarily or permanently) will have to replace him or her with another worker. If it is a smaller company and the worker has a specified skill, that may take some time, which will cost the company in lost production time and profit.
Training is also a major portion of safety. This means the worker is trained to do the job correctly, knows all the safety features of their equipment and does not take shortcuts that will endanger him/herself, their coworkers or the facility as a whole. For example industrial fires, spills and explosions, often occur because someone was not paying attention to safety. This inattention may not only result in death or injury plus huge litigation and insurance costs, it will also result in loss of production, equipment and quite possibly the business as a whole.
Obviously I am a safety professional and like many in my profession it is a collateral duty. Even as safety personnel we cannot prevent people from doing stupid things or every accident that happens. But if as a result of our efforts, we can prevent that one accident in a thousand which may have cost the worker his or her life, the life of their coworker or even quite possibly the business or a facility then the safety professional has done their job and has earned the money the company spent to hire them.
Finally any competent company that does not realize that safety is part of their profit margin will most likely not survive a major incident because of this inattention to safety.
Mike I love your show, but you are way off base here. To use your words: “Reasonable Precaution”. Yes it is possible to go “too far” but your argument goes over from ‘reasonable’ to ‘ridiculous’. For example, a leading cause of injury in the home is a slip/fall in the bathtub/shower, but does that mean that you will stop bathing? About 40,000 people die on America’s highways every year, but does that mean we will stop driving our car? In the episode mentioned, the minimum PPE expected is Safety Glasses, a Hard Hat, and some kind of Gloves. This is not some evil plot to take away profits from the company, or to diminish the “fun” factor, or going along with Tribal Knowledge (“but this is the way we have always done it”). We have two eyes and ten fingers with no replacements available, and whether you like it or not you are a role model to your fans. You need to talk with your legal advisor before you continue to do shows with this blatant disregard for your own safety and of those who watch your show. BTW total cost of that PPE mentioned? Z87+ Glasses: >$5, Class G Hard Hat: >$20, Leather Gloves: >$5
I’m really surprised by the comments being left here. Mike has expressed the first honest opinion about the “Safety First” mania I’ve heard spoken publicly. He said it best at the electronics recycling center. “So if we don’t get anything done the bosses won’t care, as long as we’re safe.” Of course they care about safety, but productivity will always reign supreme. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, but the “Safety First” slogan is misleading and dishonest. And it diminishes personal responsibility in the name of hedging liability. Mike isn’t saying “screw safety”, he’s calling a spade, a spade, and admitting that there can be a healthy balance between work safety and productivity, and that’s what the boss really expects.
Mike, I am in the safety management field and you would be escorted off my rig for that violation. The safety manager and your peers let you down and flirt with injury with total disregard for your safety.
Maybe we should send all our useless benefits, technology and science geared to improve safety in America to 3rd world countries were people work under horrendous conditions with little to no protection by any agencies, private owned businesses, not to mention the luxury of PPE. Maybe they can survive only on common sense.
What is pair of safety glasses to Mike? nothing. What are gloves, steel toes or hard hats for many? a nuisance. What are have government and other agencies done for the furtherance of safety in this nation? apparently very little.
All have to say is this is one spoiled country with 0 gratitude towards the plethora of resources to make companies better and employees safer. Very very bad attitudes from Mike Rowe down -including myself.
I’ve refused to watch your show since the irresponsible episode where you were involved in an underground storage tank removal.
I hope parents take action after observing your poor example and encourage Discovery to either take responsibility and learn what safety precautions are required by the industry you are filming or boycott the show all together. It doesn’t matter how you feel personally. At least observe the rules that are in place for a reason.
Although it is sad to say, many companies do not put safety first, but those of us who have chosen a career in safety take our jobs quite serious and strive to make the work place as safe as possible. The part about hedging your bets and wearing safety glasses is a statement that you should ask someone who has lost an eye by not wearing them. Safety and production can work hand in hand if management and the workers are of a mindset to do so. Mike what will your statement be should you become injured for not having the correct safety equipment on? As for assuming, we all know what that will get us. Next time instead of following their lead, maybe you and your staff of safety folks should suggest using the proper safety equipment. Who knows, you may prevent some future injury!
After reading this article and the comments posted about it (basically trashing safety), I am both surprised and offended. Of course we all know that a company’s main objective is production, you’re in business to make parts. Without making parts the place closes the doors. But a company must also make a commitment to provide a safe workplace. Let it be understood that if you can’t make a product safely than you didn’t make a good part. A company truly needs to do is instill safety into each employee, they must make a full commitment to make the workplace safer, listen to safety concerns and correct them, spend necessary monies to engineer fixes and not just rely on overbearing PPE to protect workers. The last thing is to worry about compliance with OSHA or any other governing agencies. Yes, without compliance you risk penalties, but if your first concern is compliance, you will fail to create the culture that encourages safety and communication about safety. Employees will not be engaged in the program. Safety needs to be both proactive and positive. After a company does its part, it is up to “The Employees” to make it their responsibility to make safety first. After all, they need to make the commitment to their self and their family to go home each day.
The comment about a safety professional basically being a figurehead is ridiculous, although it can and does happen in some companies. Companies that do not communicate safety at all levels seem to fail to make safety a main priority, but that doesn’t mean that that can’t change. What people need to understand about a safety professional is that they are more of a coach, a trainer, and a resource, than they are a worker. Without a knowledgeable safety professional; who would have the experience, the resources, the knowledge and the attitude to make the appropriate recommendations? Who would provide adequate protection and training to employees? It can’t be done but just saying wear safety glasses and make safety first a slogan. Safety professionals must conduct job assessments to determine potential risk and make recommendations for the appropriate engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment to use in order to keep the workers safe. After making recommendations and purchasing the equipment, workers need to be trained on the hazards of the job and how to protect their selves from the hazards. It is then “again” up to the employee to make Safety 1st, not the company. We all know how change is taken at companies and what happens on off-shifts when no one is around. “When the boss isn’t around, the employees will play.”
Everyone always wants to point the finger at the company when it comes to safety. But if you look at on-the-job (OTJ) injuries, you will find that greater than 90% of the OTJ injuries occur due to the employee not following a job procedure, not wearing appropriate PPE, etc., all things that relate to poor behaviors. Employers put procedures in place and purchase the appropriate PPE, but if an employee neglects to follow those rules and procedures, there is nothing the employer can do beside discipline them. And we all know what employees think about discipline right? When you truly look at a safety program the “real” commitment to safety needs to be on the employees just as much as it is on the employer.
Safety is a program that needs to be supported and committed to from the top. Safety communication and focus needs to be at the top and communicated to the bottom, but also from the bottom to the top. In places where I see poor safety, there are many other areas of concern. A lot of times you will see poor housekeeping, neglect for company property and equipment, poor attitudes and behaviors, etc. American workers have lost what this country was built on, hard work and dedication. Employees need to be forthcoming with information about their jobs and the risks associated with their job tasks. They must also understand their responsibilities and rights under a safety program. But when you have employees who have poor attitudes, lack of respect for the company, lack of respect for others, you are not going to have a world class safety program or a world class company. You can also link poor attitudes to poor quality and poor production. The thing that I see that is wrong with today’s workforce is that everyone expects everything to be handed to them on a silver spoon. They want a CEO’s salary for doing a laborer’s job. They want gift cards for reporting safety concerns, they want days off work for coming to work. And now schools are talking about giving students gift cards for coming to school. Don’t get me started. This country has lost it all, and we as a people have allowed for it to happen. We have catered to the “idiots” of the world and now we are left with nothing. Our political parties’ battle over who has the best solutions for unemployment when the truth is that people just don’t want to work. And then we hand them food stamps and welfare to help them out. Where has the world gone, when we no longer do what is right, because there is nothing in it for “me”? Employees these days could care less if an employer had to shut their doors. All that they would want is that last paycheck. If you still believe that your employer does not care about your safety, take a look at you behaviors and the behaviors of your co-workers and then you will more than likely see where the true issues lie.
By you doing this you are poluting the people even more.Go back to signing.
Wow!!!! what a topic… and it didn’t end here.
Mike, maybe your PR staff should take a look at the comments left in Safety News Alert -link below
I can’t deny that your perspective on safety as well as others has made me think about an issue I personally have to deal with in a daily basis since I work in manufacturing being involved in the production process and safety training.
As a result, we are passing up a questionnaire, including your comments and some of the other posts to check what our people at all levels think in this matter.
Thank you for expressing your views and stirring up critical thinking among workers, business owners and safety professionals; even though debatable, it will ultimately help companies like mine be as productive as they are safe.
http://www.safetynewsalert.com/mike-rowe-safety-first-is-a-load-of-unmitigated-nonsense/
In case you didn’t know, injuries, illnesses, and fatalities are really, really expensive. So, “Safety First” is actually “Business First” and vice versa. Separating and ranking them is “anti-business.” They go hand in hand. Businesses that are operated profitably are also operated safely. They have great reputations among employees and consumers. Businesses that are operated unsafely have bad reputations. As an example, look at the millions and millions of dollars that Massey Energy (no longer in operation as that entity) has lost because of the terrible business practices that lead to the deaths of 29 miners. Another high-profile example is the Deep Water Horizon where 11 oil rig workers died and 17 more were injured. BP is out billions of dollars already and that’s just beginning. Massey and BP are examples of failed safety cultures. Those are big corporations that may have enough money to deal with the damage. Still its LOST money. And LOST lives. For small businesses that don’t value safety, even just one eye injury or the loss of a finger can cost a company tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. For small business owners and supervisors this means: “Ooops, there goes the kids’ college fund. Ooops, there goes this year’s trip to Cancun. Ooops, there goes the boat, the house, and the business. All gone.” In the 1/2 second it takes to cut that finger off, a small business could go from high flying and making money to absolutely destitute. Its not worth the financial risk to ignore safety, plus its just wrong to not care for the well being of the employees.
For all of those giving Harry a bad time, think for a few minutes. . . Thanks to ignorant and greedy people we are in this position of having the government control your daily actions by REQUIRING employers to be responsible to protect lazy workers who would prefer to just get the job done, right or wrong, at the expense of others or not, as long as they get paid at the end of the day. And protect against other workers who’s greed drives them to try to get hurt (real or faked)in order to collect a paycheck that all of you crying that safety is stupid are earning. Big picture folks – for every injured worker – YOU PAY for the medical, thier house payment, thier food, etc. And Millions of those dollars are being paid to people who have learned to scam the system and blame the employers who are REQUIRED to protect them so they can collect YOUR money.
Attitude is everything, Mike Rowe, you of all should know that. Sorely disappointed in your pissy attitude toward a fan that would like to watch your show for many years to come with both your eyes intact.
Mike, you do a great job of putting on a dog and pony show every week for folks. However you and most of your loyal enablers commenting here are missing the point. I do agree that the slogan “Safety First” is vapid. But “getting the job done” is but the means to a larger end. Maximizing profits is the #1 priority for all for profit organizations. In order to maximize profits you must balance an equation that involves two basic principles. Revenue and Expense.
Getting the job done helps with generating revenues but it adds to the expense. So that isn’t the sole answer is it! Workplace safety is about minimizing losses, thereby minimizing expenses. Workers Compensation insurance, direct out of pocket medical bills, lost time, turnover, job retraining of new employees, etc. These are all expenses tied directly to accidents. To suggest that all employers don’t care about their employees health and safety is dishonest as well. However even those heartless employers who you say don’t care about the safety of their employees DO CARE about their wallet! One back injury or lost limb can ruin the profit margin on any job. So I promise you that they do care about that.
Most quality employers recognize this fact and as you indicate “hedge their bets” (how crude of a statement is that) by investing in small but important safety features such as proper PPE, basic hazard recognition awareness, etc.
Like I said the slogan is indeed vapid and all too often safety professionals preach to people instead of coaching and teaching people, so I understand the skepticism, but any CFO worth their salt will tell you that safety on the job makes good financial sense. I would encourage you to do some homework before inflaming the masses with your ignorant words. They tend to get star struck at times, and think because you’re on T.V. you know best. Oh wait that obviously applies to your belief system as well.
This is great conversation and is a dirty little secret that not many want to admit, but companies exist to make profit. They do have to perform within the limits of the law, so there are some requirements that the law has made in order to help protect those that don’t take their own safety seriously.
On the flip side, for a good safety culture, instead of directing people of what OSHA says, we should strive for people to change how they plan and execute their jobs. injuries are almost always a direct result of not performing the job properly. Planning how to perform the job means that the job is being reviewed to be completed in a timely manner, to specifications, and without incident. All are part of the equation, and if one is left out, then the job is not done properly.
What works best? Following the law? Changing the culture? It seems that one drives the other. The first time that you see an amputation on the job, or your family member is killed due to a work related accident, then you realize that culture has to be changed…..but not without some teeth to affect those that have not had it happen to them. Mike knows this and made a concious choice to not have some extra protection. Same as any of you that choose to work assuming you can either avoid the hazard or it would not affect you, but if you are injured, don’t assume that you should be taken care of through your own company’s insurance. At that point, your choice put your own liability in your hands and not that of the company. So I say choose to speed, choose to not follow the rules. If you are negatively affected by that choice, then you have to pay for it. That is freedom.
“Safety First” always made my eyes roll since it was such an absolutist position. Everyone knows that work has to be done to support the company and our families and that it has to be done on schedule and within budget or there won’t be more work to be done. We have to recognize safety as a critical part that helps also ensure our personal and company success.
As a safety manager I explain to managers and employees that “We need to work safely to get the work done at all” or “We know that schedule, budget and quality are needed in our work, but safety is no less important so we can meet the schedule, within budget and provide quality of work to the customer. Safety is the 4th leg of a stable base for work.”.
What’s important to note that Mike Rowe and others are pointing out 2 fundamental truths, the individual IS responsible for themselves and the employer’s first priority is to stay in business and make a profit in the “real world”. The individual is responsible for their own safety since they make the decision to pay attention or not to safety training and follow or not follow safety guidelines and procedures, or make the decision to use or not use safety equipment. The employee has this responsibility because they’re the individual at risk of an injury that can wreck the quality of their life forever. The employer makes decisions about what they can afford to pay for and what the return on investment in safety programs, training, equipment may be measured against their costs, the cost of injured workers to the efficiency of the work (and whether they can even deliver a product if a worker is injured) and the costs of medical expenses and the potential cost of fines and their consequences.
The cost of injuries and fines go beyond the immediate limited impact on a manager or department or division and can result in millions of dollars in work not being won when a citation or DART or TRIR or EMR out of whack with industry and customer requirments knocks the company out of the competition with companies that pay more for safety up front.
The employee and the employer have responsibility to make sure the employee stays safe on the job because the employee cares about themself and their family and the employer recognizes the value to the company of keeping the employee safe and productive. If the employee sees safety as a way to help the company get more work and be more profitable or the employer sees the employee as a valued member of the company “family” to care about their well being, all the better.
If an employer truly says “business first”, then surely he/she knows that unsafe business practices will cost WAY more to their bottom line than just about anything else. Sure, there are plenty of employers out there that do not put safety first, but those are usually the ones with the highest turnover, the highest worker’s comp and disability costs and the most OSHA citations (which of course costs even more money and results in bad publicity and bad reputation for the company). Thankfully, I know plenty of employers who know that safe workers = lower costs and a fitter, happier workforce.
Mike, I would like to provide some feedback in regards to the comment that safety is third. This is a great conversation and I would suggest that these comments about “safety third” maybe an un-advertised mainstream idea for many companies out there today. However, I have worked in general industry and now as a government contractor and both companies that I worked for enforced the “safety first” mentality. Yes, it is just that, a mentality that must be engrained in the safety culture of the company from the top down. Risk is inherent in every task that we perform from the moment we get out of bed. The role of safety and of all employees should be risk identification and management. Notice I did not say risk removal or aversion (even though that is the preferred idea) as we cannot realistically remove all risk from the workplace. Yes, I am a safety professional but I have come from the ground up working as a laborer in the trenches in construction and manufacturing environments. I used to have the same ideas that safety was just one of those boxes checked by management to cover their rears. It was the realization after a major incident in which I saw a fellow employee lose a couple of fingers that I realized those “BS” safety rules may have some weight and that no amount of profit is worth my fingers or anyone else’s. The company also changed the safety culture (over a period of years) to one that employees were empowered to drive the safety program and not just be told what to do. What did this require? The removal of some of the hard core old timers that have shared the same ideas within this thread as well as the clear enforcement of safety policies regardless of any position status. I have seen management fired on the spot due to neglect of safety policies for the mere generation of a little extra product.
As stated by many of you safety is not a profit generating program per say. We never have a tangible gain from having a fully functioning and employee supported safety program which really makes it tough for us to present our side of the game. Yes we have to comply with the basic OSHA regulations and simply stating that you follow the safety guidelines of the companies you are working with is a dangerous position you and your management are taking. I would encourage anyone to go and look through the OSHA (federal or state plans) and determine where you are excluded. Business is business and the bottom line of conducting business is generating a profit. Safety first is an ideal that can be implemented but it has to be done by all employees not just the “safety guy”. We all have to be accountable for our own safety but we also have to look out for each other since we are human and we do err. I have heard many of the statements here from employees before and simply put yes there are regulation we have to follow (at minimum) but it is my job to fully interpret and make sure employees understand why they are in place. When the rubber meets the road, I hope that I have provided enough education and guidance that all of our employees understand and take time to address safety first in all tasks to ensure I do not have to make phone calls to family members that their loved ones have been seriously injured or worse. In closing I would like for everyone to stop and think about the production first mentality that have resulted in the loss of numerous workers such as in the Upper Big Branch Mine incident (not an accident). Adhering to the bare minimum safety regulations is not only dangerous but shows no caring for your employees. As a safety professional, I take the time to get to know and care for all of our employees on site. Yes I am here to also protect the company but my fellow employee’s safety and well-being come first! Mike I do enjoy your show and I do cringe many times when I see the numerous violations in the activities you and your crew do. I do however chock this up to lack of knowledge of applicable safety regulations by the company in which you work with. Good luck, best wishes, and most of all please be safe!
Mike I really do hope you are kidding. I do not suggest working in bubble wrap but you do have to work safe. part of working safe is following the rules. Remember the rules were written in blood. It probably matters little to you but you definantly lost a viewer.
Harry, I’d like the join the others pointing out your buffoonery.
While all I have is anecdotal evidence I can tell you that PPE has contributed to or nearly caused me to have more accidents than they have ever thought of preventing.
I have lost count of the times I’ve got a lanyard caught on something and caused me to lose my balance or fall. On one occasion I was nearly tossed off a pipe rack because my lanyard got snagged and caused me to lose my footing. Another time I slipped down several rungs on a scaffold ladder for the same reason.
Safety glasses fogging up contributing to reduced visibility is another prime example of PPE REDUCING safety.
But, as has been pointed out, OSHA sets minimum standards and companies comply so they can claim safety. What they’re really doing is reducing their liabilities when an accident does happen. “We gave him all his PPE so if he’s injured, not our fault.”
Had a co-worker share a story from his coal mining days: the mine boss had an all hands meeting one day following a lost time accident. His message, “If we could kill a man a day and still make money, I’d do it. But accidents and deaths cost too much money so don’t take risks.” Stunning that a manager actually had the stones to admit the truth.
Oh Harry.
All things being equal, if two models of car with the same spec sold for the same price, and one had been “engineered for safety” (and was presumably more expensive to build because of the eight airbags/etc…) but the American consumer showed NO PREFERENCE, do you think they would continue building the more expensive to build (but safer) car because it is the “right thing to do”?
Heck no.
I have yet to see a manufacturing culture that really practiced what it preached. Most companies provide the bare minimum safety gear to comply with OSHA standards. Does Google provide EVERY WORKER the special lenses available to consumers who work on computers for the majority of the day, with a usage requirement? No – it is simply too expensive for a discretionary expense. If they did, rest assured they would sit in 50% of employees drawers, unused.
In the same respect, just providing gloves and eye protection to workers can be an incredible expense for a product manufacturing company. Size issues (gloves come in S,M,L,XL – and are GENERAL sizes based on averages… a recipe for a poor fit,) allergies to latex, allergies to powder, the lack of stretch and give for vinyl and nitrile gloves, etc – the employer “should” have 24 types of glove available (S,M,L,XL in latex, vinyl, and nitrile with both powder-free and powdered options for each) – but usually I see S, M, L powdered latex, and if an employee has special needs, with a DOCTORS note, special alternatives are provided to that employee solely (and since purchase volume is small, the price is near retail).
Eye protection has the same issue. The most economical eye protection is huge and fully sealed all the way around, so they can fit over glasses. This means if the employee exerts him or herself, they fog over, create sweat, and always reduce peripheral vision (this in itself reduces safety). Sure, there are more expensive varieties, but companies rarely go outside the box because – hey – they’re in compliance with OSHA.
If you really work in safety, you should be privy to the annual budget for safety equipment and compliance. It is the smallest number possible, because it does not contribute to the bottom line.
Companies evaluate the following: is the expense for paying a fine coupled with either a settlement or higher insurance rates if a horrible accident occurs MORE or LESS expensive than full compliance – or the cost associated with recalling a defective item – or the cost of bad publicity in some cases… but the old-school “if we can prevent one accident, any cost was worth it” is non-competitive, increases production and therefore retail costs of goods, and frankly not the modern perspective.
Mike is right. Shareholders make company expenditures their business – damn the part-time employees with no insurance that cannot see a doctor to get the necessary documentation to wear powder-free gloves – it’s easier just to skip the whole thing.
Risk-assessment is NOT the practice of determing whether a certain activity generates risk – almost everything we do has some level of risk – but it is the practice of determining if the cost of protecting and mitigating the risk is cost effective when compared to the alternatives (mentioned above).
I suggest, Harry, you find your company’s risk assessment rep(s) and compare salaries. At that point, you should have a better idea what the company considers the more valuable position.
Finally, someone tells it like it is.
Absolutely, safety is important. But getting the job done is more important. This is such a simple and obvious point, you need a college degree to disagree with it. Any safety precaution that would make it impossible or impractical to get the job done would be a non-starter.
Notice the safety professional, Harry, defending his job. My own work place has two dedicated safety people, and honestly there isn’t really anything for them to do. It’s a scam.
“Safety First” makes no sense whatsoever. If safety was really the most important consideration on the job, then you simply wouldn’t do the job in the first place. If safety was the most important consideration on the road, then you would simply stay home. Safety has to be second to whatever is the task on hand, otherwise, you would just be ultimately safe by avoiding that task.
Mike is right. Companies are more worried about the bottom dollar than they truly are about safety. I work for one where it is on: Banners, shirts, hats, posters, ect. Trust me, cutting OT and profit take a much higher priority to the share holders.
As a safety professional, I find your attitude ignorant and potentially dangerous. To assume that safety means no risk, is a complete lack of understanding on your part. Safety is the reasonable efforts to make the risk lower. Your examples are poor at best.
Prior to 1960s, seat belts were not in cars. Why, because of cost. Not because risk or safety or lack of knowledge. And I can promise you, that that car you are driving in, has been engineered to make it so you can survive a moderate crash. Why seat belts and safety engineered cars, because it’s reasonable. We have to make choices, risk vs benefits. Wearing safety glasses can reduce the loss of sight in workers. Is that reasonable? Yes. Then, what is the reason your fellow workers and you don’t wear them? It’s not cost. It’s not “get the job done attitude”. It’s not because you don’t know it’s safer. It does not slow the job down. Then why? “I have not been hurt yet, so why wear them now?” It does not take much smarts to think every single person who has lost an eye on the job could say the exact same thing before the accident.
Using your logic, if ‘get the job done’ is number one on everyone’s priorities, then we would not use any safety. Why wear steel toed boot? Why wear hard hats? Why have training? Why wash our hands after working in the sewer? Why wear a biocontainment suit when dealing with Ebola? Why get a flu shot? Why should our military be wearing body armor? Why should we worry about mine safety? You really are missing the point. When someone gets hurt, its not the lawyers that matter, its that employee and their family.
About the only thing is your rant that is true, is that everyone is responsible for their own safety. But, each supervisor is responsible for the safety of their workers. Each employer is responsible for the safety of their employees.
OSHA requirements are not some huge onus that costs an individual employer millions to implement. Yet, one good workers comp claim will cost thousands. Or a work related death, millions of $$$. So, your idea of cost or Get the Work done really is nonsense. What you are describing is not some great macho role or “I built American great”, it’s about being lazy. Not wearing your safety glasses. Not wear fall protection. Not doing lock out/tag out. Not following electric safety guidelines. Not wearing gloves. Not wearing your safety helmet. There is no excuse and the tired and lame reasoning you spew out will continue to have good workers hurt or killed. You are not the last to justify their lack of safety, no doubt.
You work in TV, I suppose that is your burden. You play Worker for a bit, then go home and move on to something else. The workers you have done your show with then go back to work. Hopefully, whole and healthy. So the following day, they can go home, whole and healthy.
GREAT response!
Thanks Mike. All of this is just dead-on. And, the further we push toward mandating safety this or that – the less people are forced to take responsibility for their own actions.
As I watch my 8 year old play, I often find myself thinking “there aren’t enough things to tell him not to do”. So, with him and with everyone else, we have to expect some bumps and bruises while he develops the good sense to make better choices.
Great article. While the top priority for businesses is really to make money, I would propose that for society in general the prority is fun and enjoyment of life. Most, if not all, activities in which we engage on a daily basis come with a certain degree of risk involved and are not necessary for our survival. It really is up to each individual to weight the benefit vs. the cost of what we choose to do and take calculated risks base on our preferences.
Thank you for this. I have had to fight more than one boss tooth and nail for what I (and OSHA) considered basic safety precautions. In business, business always comes first. Even an employer who likes you as a person cares more about lawsuits and their workers’ comp rates than your safety.
We always say: Safety Third.
The worst injury I ever received on the job was by virtue of tripping over my own steel-toed boots. Fell flat on my face. No manufacturer makes boots suitable for petite females with tiny feet, and so we all struggle with these oversized things, try to adjust our strides accordingly, but it’s not natural, and I fall on my face routinely. I don’t perform any job functions that actually require steel-toed boots, but they are a blanket requirement in most industrial facilities. So not only are they not protecting me from anything, they actually increase my risk of injury substantially.
Mike, are you a closet Burner? Have you ever attended the Burning Man Festival?
If you are looking for a Dirty Job to appear on, you should make a note to go work with the Department of Public Works crew at Black Rock City. They are the hardworking individuals who put together the infrastructure for the Burning Man Festival out at Black Rock Desert, NV. Before the hippies come out to party, the DPW spends 2 weeks pounding in fence posts, digging trenches, and a ton of carpentry, all in temperatures exceeding 105F. And, their motto is, “Safety Third!”
Amen, amen, amen. Safety is never the first priority and all these laws and rules and BS are intended to minimize statistically insignificant risk while ignoring major risk.
Not to mention, reasonable precaution takes into account the injury that is being guarded against. Its not great to lose an eye but it hurts the WC carrier more than the injured party (unless you happen to be a hockey player or pilot)
My only disagreement–driving to the airport is much more dangerous than flying.
Clicked to here from the Free Range Parenting blog, and was surprised. At the beginning of the letter, I was worried (sorry, have not seen the show, so didn’t know what to expect) that this would be a “workers take their own risks, and should be prepared to suck it up” sort of rant. While you correctly point out that workers are ultimately their own best authority and protection, what really thrilled me about your response was that you very clearly pointed out that your employer (everyone’s employer) simply does not make our safety their priority. Thank you for that bit of truth-telling.
my wife teaches riding and they take reasonable precautions [helmet, correct footwear and clothing]. she also tells parents that while the goal is no one falling off, it is going to happen, it’s the nature of the sport. so many times people come to sign up their kids and tell her that there is no way they will accept their child falling and possibly being injured and are told they can not be accepted for lessons. nothing in life is risk free and rather than being taught it is, they should be taught to live life ranking their risks and taking chances.
Brilliant!
Thank you for attempting to put some common sense back into the safety discussion. There are tradeoffs in life, and priorities are not as cut-and-dried as some people would like to pretend that they are. (these views are my own and not necessarily those of the company that I work for
)