This snippet of dialogue has appeared in countless movies and television shows:
Andy: “Why did you never tell me this before?”
Jenna: “You never asked.”
Everybody knows Machine 31 is missing a guard and sometimes throws metal particles across the aisle. Everybody but you, that is. It’s your first time here. And you are standing right in the spray path while performing part of the job your company sent you out here to do.
Or nobody told you about Mike the lift truck driver. He’s almost run over just about everyone, but so far these incidents have been “near misses.” Nobody has felt the need to report the issue because everyone knows to be on the lookout for Mike and “that’s kept us safe.”
Your company or department may have an excellent safety culture, and you may follow all of the safe work practices without fail. But don’t assume this is a universal situation. Never assume if there’s a danger that the people who know about it will tell you without being asked.
When you arrive at the site, ask your contact specific questions, such as:
- Are there any general safety issues it would be good to tell me about?
- How about electrical, mechanical, or chemical safety concerns in the location where I will be working and the path between there and wherever else I need to be?
- What about foot traffic? Are there places with slightly elevated danger levels such as a pedestrian crossing of a lift-truck route?
- Are there operations I need to be aware of, maybe something unusual today?
- Do you have any safety tips or concerns you can share with me?
If your contact hands you off to someone else, repeat the questions. These two efforts should reveal any sneaky safety traps you didn’t know about. As a bonus, the very fact you have asked several questions about safety will elicit an increased level of safety consciousness in those you asked. And that is never a bad thing.
