Supervisor vs. Drunk Driver

Have you ever had that awful feeling in your stomach when something terrible just happened and you knew it could have been prevented if you had only made a better decision? Maybe you felt it the last time you left the toilet seat up. Maybe you really felt it soon thereafter when you heard the blood-curdling scream of your wife as she splashed into the toilet bowl. Maybe it was much worse than that.

Maybe it was when you had one too many drinks and chose to drive. Without a doubt that feeling would have surfaced when you saw those flashing lights behind your car and you wished to God that you had made a better choice. What if your decision to drive cost a Mother her Son or Daughter? For the guy who left the toilet seat up that feeling goes away pretty quick, but for the one who killed an innocent motorist, that feeling will never go away. Those haunting words: “If only…”

You don’t have to be a drunk driver to feel the guilt after you’ve cost an innocent person their life. You can be a hard working supervisor, safety officer, owner, or manager. Work place deaths are more common than you think and deaths from falls are one of the most common causes. You can be sure that feeling will come after you’ve sent an untrained, unprepared worker to perform a task at a height that will cause them great bodily harm or death when they fall. You can be sure that feeling will come, as it would for the drunk driver, whenever you gamble with death.

A few years back at a well-known Las Vegas venue a very young rigger was working part time while home from college. Being young and inexperienced he was designated as the ground guy. Unfortunately a couple of experienced riggers didn’t make it to work that day. The supervisor told the kid to put on a harness and get up there to help the understaffed high workers out. As I’m sure you can guess, that day ended in tragedy after the young man fell 30’ to his death wearing a harness with the lanyard attached to his belt. I’m sure the supervisor that sent him up there knew deep down that he was not ready for the assignment, but he gambled just like a drunk driver and sent him on his way. I have never spoken to that supervisor, but you can be sure that memory will never be erased. The guilt within his gut may not be present daily, but I’m sure that terrible feeling emerges whenever he recalls the incident.

Ask yourself this, am I passionately dedicated to the absolute safety of my people or do I just want to be OSHA compliant? If you are passionately dedicated to the safety of your people, your chances of experiencing that terrible feeling is much less than the guy who wants only to do the bear minimum to meet OSHA compliance. Don’t put a price tag on your people’s lives.

Versatile Systems, Inc. helps companies and their supervisors eliminate the possibility of that feeling by guaranteeing the absolute best in fall protection. We look for clients that care more about their staff’s safety than the cheapest possible bid. When working with a fall protection company be sure they are passionate about safety. Be sure they provide the best possible solution for the best possible price. Be sure in their assurance. Please visit us at www.versatilefallprotection.com.