Quite a Story, Right? – 03/15/2021

Safety E-QuickTips

U.S. Compliance Systems, Inc.

Monday March 15, 2021

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Quite a Story, Right?

A while ago one of our employees sent an email to everyone in our company regarding a story of a 14-year-old boy who was working with a roofing company.Here’s a quick summary of how it went.

A roofing company was working on top of a condo when a 14-year-old slipped and fell about 20 feet to a driveway below, suffering significant head trauma from the fall.While police and EMS were on site, they noticed the other employees on the job putting on their fall protection after the fact. And then when the same company was inspected by OSHA just 2 weeks later, they found employees still not using fall protection equipment.

Quite a story, right?

Just to recap . . . a young man working on a roof that he should have never been on, according to the law.A possible coverup and then continued disregard for employee workplace safety – all in just 2 weeks.Apparently, the company knew enough to have fall protection equipment on the job and the employees knew how to use it, yet no one was wearing it at the time of the accident or even 2 weeks later on another project.

But what if on the day of the accident all the employees at that jobsite wore their fall protection including the 14-year-old, and the 14-year-old slipped and fell off the roof?Well for starters, he may have had to be rescued as he hung suspended a few feet below the roof line and he may have experienced a few bumps and bruises and a little embarrassment.But he would have never experienced a significant head injury by falling to the ground 20 feet below.

Please remember, safety equipment can only protect you from hazards when used correctly and it is in good working order. It cannot protect you if it is still in the box, your truck, or just sitting around on the job.

Employee QuickTip

Often, we hear from employees that the reason they don’t like to wear safety gear is because it is uncomfortable. Although that may be the case at first, with most safety gear today it’s just a matter of adjusting to wearing it a few days before you don’t realize you are even wearing it anymore.

Don’t let something like being a little uncomfortable at first jeopardize your safety.If it continues to be uncomfortable, check with your supervisor to make sure you’re wearing it properly.

Employer/Management QuickTip

With the technology available in safety gear today, there is no reason that using it would slow down production.Requiring your employees to use safety equipment helps prevent accidents, protecting the company from liability issues and high insurance costs.

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Thanks for Reading and Please – Stay Healthy and Work Safe.