Driven by Safety - Things Dreams are Made of

What are EHS Dreams Made of?  A Day that Begins and Ends Driven by Safety, Above All Else! 

June is National Safety Month.  What a great way to reinforce the importance of Safety by having a month on the calendar dedicated to the topic.  

But as we all know, Safety is not just a topic for June - We must be Driven by Safety every single day, hour, moment.  

Is it Realistic to Expect our Days to be Driven by Safety  - not Productivity, Budget, etc, but Safety?

To help illustrate how these days happen, how we make the dream a reality, here is the day in the life of me in the field with our Field Service team recently...  

PADDLE IN THE SAME DIRECTION

I recently had the opportunity to join  one of our Field Service crews out in the field to observe and participate in a technical Permit Required Confined Space project. Our regional Health and Safety Manager also accompanied me. Tradebe’s Field Service crew on site included  three technicians with varying years of experience and competency. 

The scope of work required the addition of a contractor into our team.  The contractor’s work was limited in scope to performance of an internal inspection of the subject Permit Required Confined Space.   Tradebe’s client was represented by a Site Manager, a Project Engineer, a Health and Safety Manager, and a Health and Safety Representative.

The day before the project began, Safety was already clearly the number 1 priority of, not only Tradebe, but also our client and our subcontractor on site.  Before arriving on the job site there was a day of preparation, training and planning.

The customer representatives, Tradebe’ Field Service entry team, and the contractor were clearly committed to ensuring that this project was setup and implemented without incident - period. 

Timeline, cost, or other common motivators were never once mentioned during this process. 

Everyone on the team paddling in the same direction!

PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

The morning of the project was started with a toolbox talk, a safety briefing, and execution of applicable work permits, entry permits, and supporting work practice and procedure documents.  The level of detail that went into this stage of the project was impressive.  Everyone involved took the time to thoroughly review and approve the applicable documents.   Updates, edits and modifications were made along the way and agreed to as a team.

Equipment was staged and inspected.  Work areas were setup, equipment was deployed, and plans were reviewed.   Team members even stopped on a number of occasions to ensure that all hazards had been recognized, mitigated and/or controlled. 

The project and inspection were implemented and completed without incident.  Work areas were broken down, equipment was inspected and returned for future use, and a thorough debrief was completed by all involved, as a team. 

Again, timeline, cost, and other common project expectations were never mentioned.  Safety was clearly the priority and intention of everyone involved in this Field Service project.  

Tradebe’s Field Service team, our client’s representatives, and the contractor were all 100% Driven by Safety Success!  This synergy was an EHS dream come true...  

• No one got hurt, 
• No one rushed,
• No one was worried about the project budget or cost, 
• No equipment was damaged,
• No accidents occurred and ...
• the client was happy!

This is not to imply that it's a simple task - it's a lot of work! and it requires everyone involved be committed to Safety to make it happen.   

At the End of the Day, to be Driven by Safety is Priceless – You Cannot Put a Cost or a Time Limit on Safety!