| I take off my hat for Carl |
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The consequences of such accident are enormous. An obvious first action is to take care of the workman by means of medical and moral support for himself, his family, his co-workers and all employees who require support. Subsequently the cause ... or causes of the accident have to be found and remedial actions have to be taken; insurance companies, labour inspection, security services etc. are visiting the accident site and talk to all people that were present at the fatal moment. However, what struck me the most during our conversation was that Carl did not ask for the technical cause as such – “that one we would certainly find”, he said – yet particularly the openness and courage of Carl, who dared to point to the limits of the human being – in all divisions of the company and far outside its perimeters – as the primary cause of the accident. “How you use and handle a chain is at least as important as the technical quality of the chain as such”, declares Carl. And he’s damn right. A chain can perfectly comply to all technical specifications, yet when you use it under load angles for which it has not been designed, when you use a hammer to ‘knock’ the chain in the correct position, when you try to shift it with abrupt shocks or when you lift more weight than is allowed with that type of chain, in all those cases – and this are just some examples – you’re acting in a dangerous and irresponsive way. It’s not surprising that on a daily base many chains are failing, exactly by this type of actions. It’s not the chain who’s to blame, yet those who use the chain in a wrong way, in some cases even an intentionally abusive way. Do these situations sound familiar to you? In that case it’s probably not only the time – here and now – to check the quality of your chains, yet also to evaluate your operational procedures and their execution, to supervise them and, if necessary, to modify the procedures and to take the necessary remedial actions. Again this is the reasoning of Carl, and Carl is damn right again. The thoughts of Carl are not only on the internal procedures and their supervision, yet also on procedures of external organisations to which internal procedures sometimes have to comply. If certain habits show an inherent and proven safety risk, wouldn’t it be logical that those habits change? Not if it would have to be decided by some organisations and people. Those organisations and people act as if social and economical power are more important than people’s safety and health. When for the sake of economical profit a blind eye is turned on clear or eminent chain overload, when with the argument of efficiency a chain is abused and when you consider ‘going home in time’ more important than the safety and health of colleagues and employers, again you’re acting in a dangerous and irresponsive way. Sounds familiar again? Than it’s really time to act towards those responsible or … maybe on yourself? And to be clear … the latter five sentences are not Carl’s, yet those of yours truly, the author of this blog. “Safety and health above all” should be a sacred rule, always and everywhere. People and organisations who think otherwise are kindly invited to put forward their alternative priorities, yet only when reasonable arguments are provided. Maybe you can convince Carl and myself of your truth or … Maybe we can convince you of our truth? I wish you all a tremendously safe and healthy environment, at work, at home and everywhere you go. And please … take off your hat when you meet Carl !
Dr. ir. Frans Vos |
Sipping from a delightful cup of coffee, I listen to the story of Carl, quality manager at a logistics company. He fulfils this duty already for many years and without notable accidents, yet suddenly fate has struck. During the lifting operation of a container a chain has broken and heavily wounded a workman. The delightfulness of my cup of coffee suddenly becomes a minor detail.
