"Safety Third".....hits close to home.

[FRY1975]

I was debating weather or not to post this, but a buddy yesterday gave me the "green light of confidence" to do so. Thanks man.


Last month, a guy I worked with for close to a decade passed away. He moved on to another equipment dealer a few years ago, right down the road from my shop.

It was on a Friday morning shortly after start-time, that the accident took place. According to reports, he was working on a highlift/loadall(lowfiron mentioned Pettibone in his post, thats exactly what this piece of equipment was). Anyhow, he was in the process of changing out tires on the unit. He had a bottle jack supporting the majority of the weight with low capacity jackstands as back-up. The bottle jack slipped-out from the unit and the low capacity jackstands couldn't hold the weight of the unit. He was crushed and would later that day pass away from those injuries, leaving a wife and kids behind.





When myself and the rest of my co-workers heard about this.....it made us sick to our stomachs. To close to home man, to close to home. DON't flirt with disaster folks. Its NOT worth it, its really not. This post isn't intended to bum you all out. Safety is a serious matter that is overlooked way to often. And as Mike and others have said, it is really up to the individual to take personal responsibility. If something doesn't look or feel right.....TRUST your gut man.


The harsh reality of it all is this. "Fool safety once, shame on you. Fool safety twice.....just might be taking that long dirt nap."


Jeremy



R.I.P, KM. Thinking of you man.

[authement]

Sorry to hear about your co-worker. No matter what trade or industry, it saddens me to hear of such tragedies.

Authement

[lowfiron]

That's awful. Diesel is slick, not sure if that's how it slipped but you need a dry surface to put the bottle jack under or clean it up. A reminder to myself and anyone else.
Condolences.

[ModCharlie]

Hey Jer,

Really sorry to read about your friend and co-worker, appreciate you telling us about what happened, I’m sure it wasn’t easy.

There’s not one worker out there who hasn’t pushed the envelope when it comes to safety. I’d like to think a worker would read this and the next time they consider blowing off safety precautions they’ll remember this and think again.

Bad when we have to lose someone to learn a something.

Hang in their Jer!

[theskilledworker]

Like the other guys have said, my thoughts are with yoou and your buddies.

I used to take a lot of chances, but like with everyone else, I had to decide to work safe ALL the time. doubly important when working with apprentices. Imagine losing a co-worker because he used a questionable practice he saw you do. Never THAT busy, ever.

Dave

[FRY1975]

Yeah, gave Authement a phone call today. That helped out alot. He's got a few tales to tell too. Weird how a cable tv host can tie folks together.....thanks Mike.

lowfiron, dude, your part of the reason I posted that man. Your EXACTLY right about the diesel man, especially by the outer hubs. Thanks surfer dude.



ModChuck......thanks.

Lets keep on our toes, yeah?

Jeremy

[FRY1975]

Morning Dave,

Missed seeing your post last night. Looks like we posted at similiar times. You bring up an excellent point about setting an example with safety, for fellow co-workers. Especially the new recruits coming into our job fields.



Enjoy your Sunday, bud.

Jeremy

[theskilledworker]

Morning Dave,

Missed seeing your post last night. Looks like we posted at similiar times. You bring up an excellent point about setting an example with safety, for fellow co-workers. Especially the new recruits coming into our job fields.



Enjoy your Sunday, bud.

Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy, it's getting too serious to stick with: "Do as I say, not as I do". I've been more than lucky, trying very hard to change my ways to the new way of thinking.

The first electrician I worked with was very big on working live. Even changed all the plugs and switches in a ladies house from brown to ivory (1976) without turning any power off. That kind of practice could very easily have killed me when i started working with 600 volts 3phase (common industrial voltage in Canada, similar to 480 in the US). Definitely not a joke.
Take care, my friend.

Dave

[Matt]

Sorry to hear about you co-worker Jeremy.

I'm having a little problem with my newest apprentice. 21 yrs old, starting to think he knows it all. I've had to stop him a few times when he's been using a saw and not paying attention to what he's doing. Likes to talk a lot, eyes everywhere but where they should be. He's in for a for a big surprise tomorrow, I think he needs to be doing a lot more grunt work till he's ready to listen.

I can show him the right way, lead by example even, but the rest is up to him.

Matt

[theskilledworker]

Thanks for mentioning that, Matt. I've been at it for a while myself, last winter got an auger bit on a big electric drill caught in my shirt pocket, could have bought the farm. i was by myself, and it bothered me so much that I had to drive right to Walmart and replace the shirt, because looking at the torn pocket gave me the willies.

Do what you have to do to get this guy straightened around. Good luck.

Dave