Hello
Gentle Reader
Safety
is important. How cannot it not be? Everyday employees, workers, and the
proletariat are reminded of the importance of safety. Many employers have
adopted slogans and adages to remind employees of the importance of safety;
such as: “tomorrow is the reward for working safely today,” or “safety is no
accident,” or “work safely, somebody loves you at home,”—and so on and so
forth. Perhaps a more precise safety slogan would be: “Safety: We’re Watching
You.”
I
am all for safety and other precautionary measures. However, I despise any
inclination of self-importance or vanity. Nothing is more contemptuous then
someone who walks into a meeting or onto a job site with the haughty air of
they know what’s best. I’m sorry dear, but: do take your feet off the desk;
perhaps you’d like to chew your gum with your lips closed—or better yet: spit
it out, as it may be a choking hazard.
Now,
safety has its place and its uses. The function of a safety officer is crucial
to a productive workplace and team. When employees view their employer taking a
concern or an interest in their safety, it builds morale. It means that an
employee is recognized as a human being, not just a number, not just a cog, not
just a drone in the grander colony of production. Of course there are ulterior
motives for employers to take considerable consideration into workplace safety,
such as: operating and in compliance with statues, increased productivity
equals increased profits, and of course the less equipment damaged, also means
less financial resources are spent on repairing the equipment. I have worked in
numerous places where safety is a serious concern and given thorough
consideration. One such place was when I worked as a contractor in a fertilizer
plant during a shut down. This industrial plant site took safety
seriously—almost fanatically so; but its goals, its perspective and its
reasoning where always clear and concise. Before any contractor entered the
plant site they went through orientation. This orientation was presented by a
very kind but dreadfully boring safety officer. He took his position seriously
and went over every safety point, policy, procedure and protocol during the
orientation. The most informational aspect of this time was when he went over
the four different ‘zones,’ that engulfed the plant: green zone, yellow zone,
red zone, and blue zone. Each zone had its own safety requirements:
Green
Zone – Office Spaces – does not require any hard hat, safety glasses, steel
toed boots, or reflective vest, or any other undisclosed PPE.
Yellow
Zone – Warehouse/ & Trailer Town – does not require hard hat, safety
glasses or reflective vest, but does require steel toed boots, and be aware of
any hazards which may prompt further personal protective equipment.
Red
Zone – Industrial Sites – requires steel toed boots, hard hats, safety glasses,
reflective gear, and other personal protective equipment depending on where the
individual is on site.
Blue
Zone – Water areas – requires steel toed boots, hard hats, safety glasses,
reflective gear, and life jackets, as well as other personal protective
equipment.
I
admired this informative map which outlined the geography of the plant and
divided it into colour coded zones. Everything was clearly defined. Of course
the orientation went over numerous other procedures and policies, such as the
speed limit in the plant zone, what do in the event an ammonia leak took place,
where wash stations are, et cetera. This was safety done professionally. This
was safety with thought. There were only a few times punitive action was
mentioned as a consequence for not adhering to the procedural process of the
worksite—and that action was being walked off site (or in other words:
termination/dismissal). But this course of action was not repeatedly mentioned
as a mantra or as a continual overshadowing threat, it was mentioned on a few
occasions, and carried the weight of fact not menace.
Now
years later I can see the idea and term safety is not always taken as seriously
as this contractual job site had. When I worked in retail, safety was
mentioned, discussed, and promoted—complete with its own procedural and policy
handbook. The reality: it was never implemented. It was just lip service. It
was kind reassurance and employee relations at its most superficial level. In
reality employees are/were expected to make space for product, or make space to
store the product; as well as move quickly. In other words cut and shelf
product in a fast paced manner—not necessarily safely or efficiently, just
quickly. When it came to customer safety, however, there was a difference—when
machinery was being operated there was an entire smoke and mirror effect of
public relations, to show how the company/store takes notes of its employee’s
safety and more importantly its customers. This lukewarm safety disregarding
anarchy, was both a danger and a joy; it meant getting the work done quickly
(once an employee found their bearings) but it also meant a certain disregard
for one’s own personal preservation. This superficial promotion and realistic
disregard of safety is paramount and can be found anywhere one looks. The
attitude is not limited to retail or customer service positions; it can be
found in a plethora of jobs and careers. Now in my current places of
employment, I must confess I have never been left with such a bitter distaste
towards all things safety and more specifically: safety officers themselves.
All
my encounters with safety officers—in other words: trained and designated
professionals—as of late have lead me to believe that the profession exists
solely on the grounds of bloated egoism. Where does that egoism come from? Perhaps
from the ability or the perceived authority in which to tell others how to do
their jobs, or better yet report others for doing their jobs unsafely. They
carry the air of that obnoxious older sibling, who always knows best, and can
always advise—or rather direct—another in doing something for their own
betterment.
Working
in the lowest levels of public service, specifically in recreation and arts,
one does not engage with the bureaucratic machine often in its entirety. One,
however, does get the sensation that they are but a loose cog in it fulfilling
a generic role, which can be replaced or contracted out without a moment’s
notice. After all, recreation and arts are luxuries not necessities. Being a
low level peon who is forgotten, ignored, and overlooked does have its benefits
and profits. Perhaps the most beneficial advantage is: one rarely interacts
with the grander glacial machine, which causes both citizens and other
employees nothing but frustration and bane.
The
ability to avoid, or be overlooked, does not always happen. Even shadows, my
Dear Gentle Reader, are noticed now and then. When the bureaucratic machine is
riddled with analysis of policies and procedural process, it must assign and
task its enforcement agencies, to look in and correct the work of its employees,
while others are more engaged in more pressing matters. Enter the safety
officer, the KGB or Securitate of the workplace. These agents are always
drifting about, ensuring employees are in compliance with policies and
procedures, and always exercising safe work place practices. Where dissidence
is observed curative action is taken, generally through the use of e-mails,
meetings, discussions, conversations, lectures, and if necessary other
reprimanded actions. It has already been pointed out that the requirement to
work safely is important to any industry or workplace (not to mention employers
are legislated to do so); but the sheer myopia of the perspective these safety
officers choose to enforce, enact, and endorse is bewildering in its audacious
and asinine implementation. On a recent workplace inspection and review, these
safety officers walked through the doors with their usual self-important air,
and with their usual keen eyes begun their close inspection of the worksite as
follows:
(i)
One
member of the safety brigades, eyes were permanently affixed to his phone,
texting, messaging, and presumably playing on social media.
(ii)
Another
member was busy looking and drifting around making—what appeared at the time to
be serious notes.
(iii)
The
final member busies themselves by inspecting first aid equipment.
The
results of the safety inspection were incomprehensible and bewildering. Again
the myopic perspective of the time often leaves ones teeth on edge. The member
of the safety inspection team who played on their phone, had no comment,
criticism, or recommendation to make on the stage of the worksite or building.
The member who drifted and observed aimlessly had a few remarks to make, the
first being: the AED box needed to be dusted as well as the first aid kit, they
also mentioned user group storage spaces within the building could prove to be
tripping hazards. The final member who went through the first aid equipment
stated the band aids had expired by stating: “the stickiness is gone.” This entire
spectacle took an entire hour, and the end results were . . . underwhelming and
even disappointing—or in other words: infuriating.
This
being said, Dear Gentle Reader, if you want a decent paying career built on the
grounds of egoism with the air of a self-important bureaucrat, then perhaps a
career in occupational health and safety is one to look into. Your work is
there to justify itself, as you continually review procedures and policies,
make your case to senior members of management, review workplace safety and its
compliance—and enforce when necessary—but more often than not justify your
position and you work by creating work for yourself.
It’s
a cruel and unsafe world Gentle Reader, made even more unsafe and cruel due to
the guardians and propagators of safety being more self-important then
interested in the actual safety of employee’s and people, beyond superficial
observations, or worst: completely disregarding any notion of safe workplace
practice in favour of production; or even more sad yet, not even observe unsafe
habits or hazards, simply because you are too busy playing politics or playing
on your phone. What a world.
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M.
Mary
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