Safety Culture WORLD “I am Responsible for – Your Personal Safety Culture”

By Dr. Mike Williamsen

Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” host (and Caterpillar spokesman) Mike Rowe roused much controversy in the safety community with his blog entry and subsequent stage monologue asserting that even where posters advertise “Safety First!” many work environments seem to exercise “Safety Third.” Safety professionals everywhere gasped when Rowe dared to share, “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.”

Indeed, this seemingly fearless entertainer has encountered many significant safety issues during his career. One of my favorite anecdotes from Rowe’s trove of harrowing tales is about crab catching in the wild Alaskan seas that often run with swells of 50 feet or more. In this sketch, the boat captain is questioned about his paying no attention to OSHA safety rules while his crew is working amid extreme, life threatening dangers for hours on end.

The captain’s initial response to OSHA rules is not printable in this blog. The second part of his response is, and goes something like, “My job is to make you rich! Your job is to stay alive long enough to collect it. Get back to work!”

Ouch! What a shocking message. However, once you get beyond shock and awe, dig deeper. No matter where you work – on the job – at the home – during travel, who is responsible for your personal safety? If the answer is anything but “I am responsible for my own safety,” it is an accident waiting to happen. This is true no matter where you are on the planet, no matter what you do to earn a living, no matter what you do in the off hours.

Read the complete blog – HERE