You
ask
WHAT IS SAFETY
Safety is a culture within an organization. It is how we
go about doing our job, and living our life. It is the benchmark
by which we gage the appropriateness of our actions. It
is the way we want to be treated. It is respect for our
selves, our family and our fellow man. It is doing the right
thing because that is the way you always do it. It is knowing
how and why. It is assessment, recognition, acknowledgment,
planning and executing as a matter of course. It is knowing
what is going to happen before you do the thing you are
preparing to do; and the reaction of that action. It is
forethought without thought. It is your most important job.
After you as an individual figure this out your life and
the lives of those around you will be more productive.
If the company you work for knows what safety is, stay
there; if they do not, either make them understand or quit.
If your company doesn’t pay you for safety training
they are outside the law. If your company thinks that safety
is a twenty minute meeting; they are wrong. And if you think
that one of those companies gives ½ a damn about
you, you are wrong.
How do you make money in the pumping business? One sure
way is to have an accident free company. A typical pump
company’s major accounts payable items are labor,
debt,
(equipment payments) and right up there are insurance premiums.
Your insurance company is the only item on an accounts payable
ledger that would like to have your payment for next year
be smaller, or the same as this year. To accomplish that
trick you must be safer. That means you are less of a risk
to them, and a better source of profit without an escalation
of premium. And there are other ways safety saves. It saves
on lost time; a very expensive proposition for your workers
compensation carrier. It saves on HR time and expense. When,
for example, you sprain your wrist. The direct cost (medical
expense) is about $1500.00. The hidden cost (indirect) is
at least four times that amount; and if your pump sits because
of that, the cost goes up even more.
So the bottom line is: if you can not charge more for your
service and still want to make (in pocket) more money; be
safer.
Yes, SAFETY PAYS
Written By Bob Sanderson
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