Construction Project Silence Puts Safety at Risk
August 13th, 2007 by HalBad concrete and wrong epoxy are just two of the problems with the Big Dig. ENR ran two stories in the August 5, 2007 issue detailing guilty pleas on criminal charges along with failure to act responsibly with structural design issues. Certainly, the whole project is not bad. But living in Boston, we worry not knowing which parts are bad. While money is always a possible motive, in this case people clearly were not exercising their responsibilities as custodians of public safety. In short, few were speaking up and fewer still were listening.
The Two Great Wastes contribute in significant, yet incalculable ways, to the failings on all projects.
I know first-hand how easy it is to just drive on by safety issues. It's easy to think, "Somebody must be taking care." Last Friday I drove by a police construction detail where a new home was being connected to a sewer line in the center of a state road. There were two police officers along with two flag persons and a 1/2 dozen workers. One man was neck deep in a straight-cut narrow trench shoveling loose gravel. In the situation I describe OSHA requires a trench box anytime a trench is 5 feet or more deep. From my passing view, this worker was just about at that limit. Was a trench box required? I don't know. There was no trench box present. I didn't stop. I should have stopped. But had I stopped, what conversation would I had and with whom? To my knowledge, no one was injured. No incident occurred. But it is really beside the point. I feel terrible for not stopping.
Whether we're talking about bad concrete, bad epoxy, bad trenching practices, or just questionable practices, there are innumerable opportunities to exercise responsibility. How many people might have known about the bad concrete? How many people were in a position to question the use of fast-set epoxy? How many people on your project are in a position to notice something is amiss? And yet people don't just naturally speak up.
Greg Howell and I call the practice of not speaking (keeping quiet) one of the Two Great Wastes™ on projects. The other great waste is not listening. Together these wastes contribute in significant, yet incalculable ways, to the failings on projects. Not just construction projects…all projects.
Now that you know, will you stop at an open trench? Will you speak up on your project? Will you listen when others speak up? And, even more important, will you ask people what is on others' minds? Only the rare few speak up. Knowing that we must change our practices on projects. Lives really are at stake. I pledge to act more responsibly. Please join me.
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August 14th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Thanks for the reminder to speak up when we see something we know is risky or not right. Too often it’s easy to “drive on by” a situation rather than risk a possibly uncomfortable confrontation. Often the results can be surprisingly positive — if we can choose our words to communicate helpful concern rather than criticism.
September 5th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
In New South Wales (where the President of the US is currently! (6 Aug 7), for US readers), there is an obligation on everyone at a workplace to promote safety. When the new Act came out I recall training as to the obligation to report to the site controller any safety risks. (check Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 No 40 at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au).
Now, on a lighter note, I was reading a story to my pre-school son recently where an illustration showed an excavation in sand over a person’s head! The person in question was a pirate, but nevertheless I said to my son that the excavation should have been benched, or raked to the angle of repose of the material (I didn’t say that of course, but used terms that would make sense to him: part of early training for an engineering carreer??)