safety meeting starter (sms) june 2012 - matt forck€¦ · help you and your work ... - 10...

Safety Meeting Starters

(SMS) for June 2012

Happy June! Welcome to June…and welcome to summer! This month’s SMS focuses on blind

spots. In the safety world, a blind spot is a hazard that we miss or are blind to because we are

intensely focused on other hazards or tasks at hand. And, in the safety world, blind spots lead

to near miss events, injuries and even death!

This month’s Safety Meeting Starters contains tons of helpful and timely safety information to

help you and your work group identify and control those blind spots - - enjoy the material, and

please share it with a friend, co-worker, staff member or supervisor.

To inquire about Matt’s keynote presentations and seminars log onto www.safesrat.com

Don’t wait for effective safety information, stay up to speed on the latest safety information

through Twitter - - (https://twitter.com/Safestrat or @safestrat).

In the coming weeks! - - What Safety Leaders Do, The Insider’s Handbook for Safety Leadership

Tips, Tactics, Secrets and Ideas will be released soon. You will receive an email notice when the

book is available. One early commenter wrote; “We are all very busy, so if you want to take the

time to read one book that will have the greatest impact on improving your safety program

results, then you need to read What Safety Leaders Do.” Steve McKay, Willis Insurance Group

We love your feedback - - send comments to [email protected].

Thanks again and pass this along! Remember, no one gets hurt today! God Bless, Matt. From the Seats:

“I really appreciated Matt’s presentation. It made me realize I need to take safety home – and make more time for my family.” May 2012 I loved Matt’s presentation! His energy was great and he connected thoughts, stories and concepts into actions steps.” May 2012 “Great Job Matt - - a very effective speaker!” May 2012

Matt Forck, CSP, JLW | www.safestrat.com | 573.999.7981

SMS-Powerful Information for a RESULTS driven safety culture!

Matt Forck | www.safestrat.com | (573) 999-7981 Safety Strategies…for LIFE!

2

S.A.F.E. (See Accidents Forever Eliminated) ™ at Work - A Motivational Safety Column!

Be Aware of Blind Spots

What images come to mind when the words ‘family vacation’ are uttered? How about,

‘European family vacation?’ On Monday, August 4, 2008, that is exactly where an Israeli couple

was taking their family…all five children! Since it was Monday, nothing was going right. They

had trouble getting their children and 18 suitcases into the vehicles so grandma could shuttle

them to Ben-Gurion airport. After all, they had a deal with the airline company; if they weren’t

on-board at flight time, the plane would leave them behind.

As they arrived at Ben-Gurion airport, they quickly realized why it is the busiest airport in Israel,

and one of the busiest in the world. Being late, they didn’t have time to think about the crowds

of people and all of the confusion these crowds cause; instead they had to get their bags and

children to the terminal, fast. The plane to Paris would leave if they weren’t on it so they ran

fast, as fast as one can in a crowded international airport with 18 pieces of luggage, five

children and thousands of other travelers. As they relaxed in their seats and the plane taxied

down the runway, they were able to take a deep breath, they had made it, yet something

seemed to be missing.

Back at the airport, a very cute little girl pulled on the pant leg of a police officer. The officer

squatted in order to look the toddler in the eye. The girl said, “where are my parents, where are

my brothers?’ The officer quickly learned that the family had just boarded a flight to Paris, and

somehow left their child behind. The officer had about 120-seconds to get the girl to the

terminal before the plane would be gone. She grabbed the girl and ran but it was too late. They

both watched the jet fly into the clouds. The parents, after being in the air for 40-minutes were

finally notified that their daughter was safe with authorities at the airport. The parents had not

yet realized they were missing a child!

The fact about this fast paced, cell phone, 24 by 7 media coverage, deadline driven world is that

it creates blind spots. Think about it for a minute, what have we missed today, in the last hour,

because of the ‘noise’ that is constantly surrounding us. Later, the girl's grandmother, who

took the family to the airport, said, "We're in shock. They're very responsible and organized

top-notch people." If you don’t believe in the power of blind spots, just ask these parents.

What hazards are you blind to? Work safe.

©20121-SafeStrat, LLC-All Rights Reserved



3

Safety Tidbits—the most information packed pages in safety!

Quotes of the month:

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as

well." - - Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire

From the Twitter Feed - - why wait for the end of the month Safety Meeting Starters when you

can get near real time safety updates from my Twitter feed! Join today;

https://twitter.com/Safestrat or @safestrat.

Safety News from Recent Tweets

• Worker recovering after 19-foot fall at Madison construction site - http://bit.ly/NaKRad

via @njhills

• 1 dead, 4 hurt in Minnesota paper mill explosion, fire http://on.msnbc.com/NaKBYO via

@msnbc_us

• Cleanup at MFG completed, investigation continues after 43 employees go to hospital;

http://shar.es/qEqYr via @sharethis

• Company fined over aircraft engineer's death - Business - NZ Herald News

http://nzh.tw/10809560 via @nzherald

• UT student hit by bus...lucky that this blind spot didn't get him killed! See video here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxeg-ojw49A

• OSHA to NJ: Stop the construction falls: In the wake of four recent construction

incidents in Northern New Jer... http://bit.ly/L7MPWT

• Public Health Professionals: Share these videos on safe swimming and help raise

awareness. http://go.usa.gov/pyL

• To Investigate Culture, Ask the Right Questions

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/to_investigate_culture_ask_the.html

• Sign up for the OSHA heat app at this link...pretty cool, no pun intended!

http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/qt05152012.html

• Worker hospitalized after shock at bridge site

http://www.timesonline.com/news/police_fire_courts/worker-hospitalized-after-shock-

at-bridge-site/article_d08753f1-d2e2-573e-ae5d-

ee016db3244e.html#.T77yMa1dChI.twitter via @bctimes

• Worker Crushed to Death Under Huge Rolls of Paper;

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Worker-Trapped-Killed-by-Huge-Roll-of-

Paper-Inquirer-152026915.html via @nbcphiladelphia



4

• Construction worker falls 30 feet from roof;

http://www.nj.com/bayonne/index.ssf/2012/05/construction_worker_falls_30_f.html

• Construction worker killed, reportedly hit by dump truck, not hit by passing car as

originally reported. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/northampton-

county/index.ssf/2012/05/osha_investigating_pedesterian.html

• Camp collapse killed 'family man' | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME:

http://bit.ly/KULq3n

• 2 maritime workers died in workplace accidents yesterday (May 23)

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2012/05/forklift-driver-working-at-port-of-seattle-

killed-last-night/ via @seattletimes

• I thought this might be fun safety meeting material - - 10 Brainteasers to Test Your

Mental Sharpness http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/05/15/10-

brainteasers-to-test-your-mental-sharpness/

• How Employers Can Make Us Stop Multitasking

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/how_employers_can_make_us_stop.html?awid=5292

411985564703166-3271

• A tale of three states…and trenching hazards: In an indication that trenching hazards

remain a widespread prob... http://bit.ly/KeTL14

• Crews search for worker who fell with his lift into the Mississippi River during bridge

construction, http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/falls-67955-louis-mississippi.html

• Eye opening link to OSHA fatality stats;

http://www.osha.gov/dep/fatcat/fatcat_weekly_rpt_03312012.html

• OSHA investigation into construction worker's death on U.S. 41 to take several months

http://gbpg.net/IQwhCn

• Grillin’ and Chillin’ for National Barbecue Month

http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/05/02/grillin%E2%80%99-and-chillin%E2%80%99-for-

national-barbecue-month/

• Yeovil construction company prosecuted after worker hit by fork lift truck

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-sw-brookvalehomes.htm?eban=rss-

• Worker killed in Tag manufacturing plant accident in Chattanooga |

http://timesfreepress.com http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/09/worker-

killed-in-tag-plant-accident/

• 26 year old killed as he was struck by falling object, OSHA to investigate;

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/osha-investigates-worker-s-death/article_781fb6da-

9342-11e1-9942-001a4bcf887a.html

• Wowzer, lucky no one was injured in this incident;

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/may/05/hot-air-balloon-crashes-catches-

fire/

• A tragic case of attention blindness! What blind spots will get you or someone else hurt

today?http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/missouri/baby-dies-after-

mom-accidentally-leaves-him-in-car/article_6d54f144-48db-50bd-90a6-

5cb6ff983266.html



5

• Pump Service Penalized Following Death of 19-year-old Worker http://ht.ly/1jsqUl

• AFL-CIO Report: 13 Workers Killed on the Job Each Day in 2010 http://ht.ly/1jsqUj

• Home is where the hazards are: Even though all of us undertake do-it-yourself (DIY)

projects around the house, i... http://bit.ly/K79pwO

The Safety Notebook:

Sign up for the OSHA heat app at this link...pretty cool, no pun intended!

http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/qt05152012.html

Safety Duct Tape - - 72 minutes of safety material to recharge your batteries for only 99

cents! http://www.amazon.com/Safety-Duct-

Tape/dp/B005Q2XQM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1319715328&sr=1-1

Keep Going for Safety - - http://www.utilityproducts.com/articles/print/volume-

16/issue-2/safe-at-work/keep-going-for-safety.html

OSHA Quick Cards - - If you have not used OSHA quick cards before, then you will love

this website. It’s a terrific reference for quick hit job briefings, safety awareness and

safety meetings; http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/quickcards.html



6

In just a few short weeks! What Safety

Leaders Do will be available!

“This might be safety’s next must read.”

What Safety Leaders Do, The Insider’s Handbook for

Safety Leadership Tips, Tactics, Secrets and Ideas

will be released June 15. You will receive an email

notice when the book is available.

Early Comments:

"I felt that Matt was speaking directly to me

through this book. It not only identified many of the

issues facing my company's safety challenges but

also many that apply to me personally. We

oftentimes over-complicate safety. Matt provides a

very simple recipe for success. He not only

identifies key weaknesses that most of us face but

he provides ideas and solutions that could be

implemented tomorrow." Bill Dampf, Manager,

Safety and Training Utility Sector

“I edit the writings of 100s of safety authors and

Matt Forck is unique in his approach to safety

leadership and saving lives. Matt makes safety reading easy with his humor, down to earth

realism, and "from the frontlines" solutions. Matt has a sharp mind, big heart, and is "mission

driven" to give safety professionals ideas and tools to build strong safety cultures, nurture

strong effective safety leadership, and keep employees actively engaged in safety processes.”

Dave Johnson, Chief Editor (since 1980), Industrial Safety & Hygiene News (ISHN)

“This new book is another great thought provoking resource from Matt Forck for safety leaders

at all levels . . . procedures, training and the technical aspects of safety are critical for sure, but

nothing moves the needle on results more than getting leaders energized and engaged at all

levels in a meaningful way. This book is full of winning ideas on how to do that effectively.” Ken

Bowman, VP – Safety & Risk Control – Global Risk Management, ARAMARK Corporation



7

ISMA-Involved Safety Meeting Activity Activity: Thinking Different Estimated Time: 30 Minutes Materials Needed: Picture/Slide of underwater bridge, markers and paper for

each group. Reference materials: See ISMA below: The ISMA: Divide the larger group into small groups, give each a large piece of paper and markers then pose the following question. Think about a bridge. It must span a mile wide shipping channel. (Note; some ships that traverse the water are over 75’ tall). Draw your bridge design on the large paper offering a couple of different views, one aerial and one topical. Allow 8 to 15 minutes for the group design and then allow each group to discuss their design. Chances are, most of these will look like a typical bridge. Then show the underwater bridge picture. (Note; type ‘underwater bridge’ or ‘underwater bridge in Sweden’ in your internet search engine to find a picture). The Take-a-ways: “Don’t think you are, just because they have been. Don’t think you have to, just because they did.” Each day we are faced with challenges, opportunities and problems. Normally, we ‘react,’ plugging in the same ‘old’ solution that has always seemed to get the job done. This reaction sometimes leads to a decent solution and other times the ‘same old’ doesn’t work so well. If we can create (which simply means looking at each situation and think of a better way instead of reacting to the old ways) we are freed of the old habits, free to make new and better improvements. Let go of pre-conceived notions of what a ‘bridge’ should look like and make your own. In your way, with your design!

Want 101 ISMAs? Check out ISMA (Involved Safety Meeting Activities—

101Ways to Get Your People In Involved! at Matt’s website;

http://www.thesafetysoul.org/Matt%20Forck%20Safety%20Speaker%20Review%

20Books.htm



8

SPOT-M –(Safety Picture of the Month)

Bolts in Breaker Box

Picture source, unknown.

We’d Never do this, right! Well, it’s not about bolts

in the breaker box but the mindset that says it’s

okay - - no shortcuts today!

Choose in favor of your safety!



9

Tools for Pros!

Finding the Gorillas! How Leaders deal with Attention

Blindness…

By Matt Forck, CSP and JLW

I would imagine that May 4, 2012 started as a typical Friday for Jane. For a young teacher at

Cedar Creek Elementary School in Kansas City, flipping the calendar over to May signaled that

the school year was nearing the end. And, Jane along with her 13 month old baby would soon

be able to enjoy the summer together. With only a few weeks left in the school year, things

were getting busy and hectic. It was a beautiful day in early May and temperatures would be

hotter than normal, reaching the low 80s. As usual, Jane dropped off her baby at day care then

went to school. After another exhausting and chaotic day teaching elementary aged children,

Jane returned to her car. It was 4:30. Her life changed forever.

In her back seat, lifeless in the car seat where Jane had safely strapped the love of her life some

nine hours earlier, was her baby. She reacted, yanking her child from the car. She accessed vital

signs, nothing. Frantic, she called for help and begin to administer CPR. Nothing. Emergency

services arrived and took over but it was too late. Jane’s baby was dead.

A few months ago I was enjoying dinner with a client when they asked me a question, “Matt,

what is the biggest safety issue facing works today.” I casually cut my steak and stabbed the

piece with my fork. Before putting it in my mouth, I said, “Failing to find the gorillas.” Then I

took the bite. They both looked at me like I was crazy!

There is a concept called attention blindness and it is best described through a video that you

may have seen. Before you watch the video, viewers are asked to count the number of times

that a certain team passed the basketball - - generally it is framed as a competition between

participants with the winners being the ones who are able to accurately count the number of

passes. Once the video cues, there are two teams, a team in white jerseys and one in black

jerseys, passing basketballs. Viewers count so intensely that over 90% miss the fact a gorilla

walks onto the screen, pounds his chest then walks off!

So, how is a young mother, a teacher in fact, suddenly blinded so that she leaves the most

important thing in her life, her baby, in the back seat to die? She does this in the same way our

workers miss hazards that cause near misses, injury and unfortunately even death - - we focus

so intensely on one thing and miss the gorilla pounding his chest in the middle of the

screen…attention blindness.



10

Attention blindness is literally a life and death phenomenon. And, how leaders recognize and

communicate attention blindness might just be the most important issue a leader can address.

So here are four principles to teach that raise awareness around attention blindness and four

ways to help prevent it from happening.

In order to raise awareness around attention blindness, consider the following:

Attention Blindness is real. First, understand that attention blindness is a real and important

concept. People can focus so intensely on one task (counting balls) that they miss other key

events (a gorilla). To reinforce this fact, start by showing the video to your workers. That way

they can ‘experience’ attention blindness first hand. (You can easily find it on YouTube by

searching key word, ‘attention blindness’). Make sure you set up the video with a contest

asking people to compete by counting the ‘exact’ number of passes by a certain team.

Attention Blindness Blinds Completely. Next, our supervisors and works alike need to

understand that not only can we focus so intensely on one thing that we miss other events; we

are completely blind to these other events. Being completely blind means that we don’t see

what is right in front of our face, and in a hazardous job, missing this hazard can mean injury or

death.

Attention Blindness Blinds all things, including our most treasured. We are blind to the most

important things in our life. I don’t know the young teacher at Cedar Creek Elementary School.

My summary of her day was just my reconstruction of the day based on my experience as a

dad, rushing kids to school with a dozen other things on my mind. Being married to an

elementary school teacher for nearly two decades and having analyzed a number of serious

injuries and events, including fatalities. But in truth, it doesn’t matter. The facts around her day

don’t matter. What does matter is the fact that she was completely blinded by attention

blindness. And, it took the life of her child.

It can happen to you! I spent a number of years as a safety professional on a utility safety staff.

I have reviewed injury and incident reports in front of hundreds of utility works only to have

those same workers shake their heads and say, “I’d never do that.” But, just as it can happen to

a teacher in Kansas City, it can happen to us. Knowing that attention blindness is real, it blinds

completely, it can take important things from us and that it can happen to us at any time is half

the battle in making sure it never happens.

After your workers understand and acknowledge attention blindness, consider these

prevention techniques.

See the entire picture before you start - - In many industries, work rules and at times even

OSHA, require that before you begin work you review the job, all work rules, PPE, energy

sources and potential hidden hazards and make a plan. It is in analyzing hazards, making a



11

work plan and communicating this plan to crew members or people on site that you should

smoke out any gorillas. Make sure that you and your workers are planning and consider, if you

have not done so already, to formalize a procedure around this planning process in order to

make it even more difficult to miss gorillas.

Have every worker watching something different - - I started with the utility as a meter reader,

then a lineman, and from there I was promoted to the utility’s safety staff. On that staff, the

most tragic incident that I had to review was a double electric contact that resulted in a fatality.

The crew that day was made up of six journey line workers. Between all men on the job, there

were decades of experience. The job was easy, to change out a three phase in line, or tangent,

pole and lay the phases out on hot arms. The only hazard on the job that had the potential to

end a life was the 12kV line. And, after less than a half hour into the job, the boom contacted

the line when two workers were in contact with the truck. One died.

Upon review, all six were working to move the new pole into a position in order to frame it.

When all of them concentrated on counting the same ball (moving and framing the pole) the

gorilla appeared. When possible, assign each crew member the task of seeing or watching

something a little different. Make sure you have identified all of the gorillas that can lead to

immediate injury or death and make sure they are watched. Each job…each time.

Use System Two - - Quickly respond to this question, “A bat and ball cost $1.10 and the bat

costs a dollar more than the ball. What does the bat cost?” What more than 80% of college

students answer is that the bat costs a buck. If you do the math, the bat is a nickel and the ball

is $1.05!

In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman says this quick response comes from

what he terms system one. System one is our effortless response due to habit. If you are like

me, and 8 out of ten college students, you used system one to quickly decide that the ball was a

dollar. System two, on the other hand, is the thinking system, the problem solver, or the effort

system. System one misses gorillas while system two finds them. Each day our workers go out

and work in system one mode…find ways to push them to think, so they can think, and in the

process get all hazards identified.

Find Practical Solutions - - Gorilla (hazard) awareness is the right start, but the next step is to

employ practical solutions to find gorillas on each job. Here are some solutions to try. First,

think of employing a safety stop. A safety stop is when you stop about every 60 minutes to

quickly review the job, re-identify the gorillas, make sure they are accounted for, and then

continue work. A safety stop is no more than a 90 second exercise, but it can save lives. Next,

have crew members and supervisors perform job audits looking for gorillas and giving

immediate feedback to crews. The final suggestion is for safety huddles. Each morning, take less

than five minutes to huddle with your work group or crew and discuss likely gorillas. In most

industries, changes due to weather, the job at hand, manufacturing schedules, vacation and



12

sick leave of personal, season of the year, etc. At the end of the day, huddle again to quickly

share any near miss or hidden hazard.

The day after the tradegy at the school, the school released the following statement, “Sharing

this heartbreaking news and leading our school family toward a healthy acceptance of this

tragic event are tasks that lay ahead of us.” The hazards associated with today’s world, both at

home and at work, are many and the consequences for not properly finding and eliminating

and controlling those hazards are unforgiving. Find the gorillas today…and be safer for it!

Mat Forck, CSP and JLW, is a leading voice in worker safety. Matt leads SafeStrat, LLC, a safety

keynote and consulting services organization dedicated to building people. Matt works with

clients in all business sectors and with trade organizations in over ten countries. Learn more

about Matt, learn about his safety and motivational books and sign up for FREE safety resources

at www.thesafestrat.com.

safety meeting starter (sms) june 2012 - matt forck€¦ · help you and your work ... - 10...

Documents