That’s got to stop right now! So spoke Ignacio, with great conviction, on an all-hands safety teleconference yesterday.  To the list, he added:  There’s not money for that.  That’s got to stop right now!

Thank you, Ignacio, for saying what needed to be said in a public forum.  While others may have been thinking along those lines, you actually spoke up with the courage of your convictions.

We can all find ways to rationalize “why not” to take action in various situations.  There are countless stories we tell ourselves about how “that’s not my whatever” to handle.  It may be because we don’t think we have the authority, time, resources or obligation to deal with it.  Or it could simply be that we walk right past the obvious without really seeing, because we are focused solely on the task at hand.  The saddest situation of all is when “why not” occurs due to lack of caring, since there is no cure for that.

There are countless random events and risks in the world around us that we cannot control, so it makes sense to take action on the things we actually can control.   The first step in doing that is changing our perspective, by actively looking out for one another.

Safety in the workplace isn’t a separate activity; it must be at the center of our daily activity and integral to everything we do.   Safety is both intensely personal and an essential ingredient in performing as a reliable team member.   It’s the essence of our obligation to one another and we should act as if our lives depend upon it – because they do.