Do as I say but not as I do

In the attached story you will see that merely warning an employee of a hazard or and unsafe practice is not enough. If we are in the world of safety we need be people of actions. Isn’t this a great saying KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!! Do we all know we should not stand on the top of a 6’ step ladder? Yes we do. I have said that 100’s of times in my ladder safety class and I know it better than anyone, but I have done it. So it is not knowledge alone that gives us power or keeps us safe. It is what you do with what you know that gives you power and keeps us safe.
As we implement safety policies there needs to be a bite behind the bark. If you see people who are not following your policies or the OSHA standards there should be some form of discipline and action. We have a huge responsibility for keeping our employees safe. We want them to get home each night to the family and people who love and care about them. If we at CH Bull can help you with and of your safety issues please feel free to contact me.
Andy Bull
Co-CEO of CH Bull Co.
Direct phone 650-837-8406
Cell 415-716-5583
E-mail abull@chbullco.com

A Central Coast vineyard worker had been warned repeatedly by his employer to drive safely when operating a tractor, and he lost his life on April 29, 2011, when he was thrown from the tractor after a collision.
So why did California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) hit the employer with two serious, accident-related citations after its investigation into the case? Because merely warning the employee about unsafe acts wasn’t enough, DOSH said.
The worker, 27, was ejected from the tractor when it collided with a grader as it reached the end of a vineyard row while he was irrigating new re-plants. He had been working seasonally for the firm for about two years and had been back on the job for about 10 days when the incident occurred. He was not wearing a seat belt when the tractor hit the grader.
“The investigation concluded that the employee was trained in tractor safety, yet had been warned on several occasions prior to the accident to adhere to safe driving practices, including the day of the accident,” DOSH says in its investigative summary. The employer “did not adequately implement a progressive system of discipline,” the division alleges. And there was no evidence that seat belt use was enforced, it adds.
DOSH cited the employer for a serious, accident-related violation of General Industry Safety Orders (GISO) §3664(b), which requires employees who operate agricultural or industrial tractors to be instructed in a number of procedures, including securely fastening the seat belt on a tractor with ROPS and to “watch where you are going, especially at row ends, on roads, and around trees.”
It also cited the employer for a similar violation of §3653(a), which requires that seat belt assemblies be provided and used on all equipment where rollover protection is installed. Both alleged violations come with $18,000 proposed penalties.
The employer has appealed both citations.

Posted 1/16/12