Having a safe workplace requires everyone to communicate in such a way that the goal of working without personal injury or equipment damage is clear, and that nobody gets the idea that safety rules, procedures, and work practices can be ignored - even if it means getting the job done quicker. Consider the following anecdote, for instance.

The driver was in a hurry because he had stopped to talk to a friend in the construction yard about their weekend fishing trip. It seemed that everyone was against him. At every intersection another vehicle pulled in front of him and he seemed to be backing up instead of moving forward. As soon as he got the chance to pass all the cars, he would accelerate his truck and get caught up. Taking the next opportunity to pass, the operator found himself face to face with a car coming at him. When he tried to pull back into his lane, the trailer he was dragging fishtailed and swung into the ditch, dragging the truck along with it. When the dust had cleared the roadway, the backhoe he was hauling had been destroyed, the truck frame and bed were separated and he was left trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this event without losing his job.

Just that morning the driver in this story had been told to “Hurry up, but be safe!” No matter what he did, he felt like he was behind. In the project planning meetings everyone talked about cutting the budget, spending less time, and delivering higher quality. His boss was no different. Just last week the boss patted him on the back for getting the trenching done in less time than expected. To get that job done, he had to break a few speed limits, forgo the equipment inspection, and start the digging before the underground locator showed up on the project. He was hurrying alright, but he was not safe.

In the case of the ditched trailer and backhoe, nobody was injured, but a piece of equipment was destroyed and a lot of people spent valuable time investigating the event to make sure it never happened again. One can already see the meetings that took place: one with the operator blaming the boss for telling him to hurry, one with middle management explaining to the executives how they will ensure that this will not happen again, and yet another with executives convincing the board or directors and the bankers to release the funds to buy another backhoe. Everyone will be involved because the operator made the decision to hurry up.

Hurry can be described as a never-ending attempt to catch up. When everyone from the executives and everyone on down the line of an organization realize that trying to catch up causes errors, maybe we can begin to see different behavior. Here are a few tips that anyone, at any level, working for any size organization, can apply to preventing hurry.

Stay On Schedule
If you have ever run a project, you know that a schedule can be a great tool. A schedule provides a framework to keep you on necessary tasks to complete a quality job. Continually reevaluate progress of the work as it was planned, then you can prevent shortcuts that will lead to injuries, damage, or a poor quality job.

Recognize When You Are Behind
As simple as it sounds, recognizing and accepting that you are behind your time table and that you are going to be late can have a calming effect. During the course of the day, unplanned events can put us behind. Some people do cause themselves a lot of stress by stretching a conversation or staying too long for lunch. Do what you can to prevent delays.

Keep the Quality of Work High
It has been said that, “It is long remembered how a job looks at completion, but it is soon forgotten how long it took to complete.” When we focus on providing quality workmanship and take the time to perform it safely, our success will be ensured.

Remember: a job takes as long as it takes. If the job is done too quickly, the workforce maybe shortcutting a vital safety procedure or work practice that can lead to unrecoverable circumstances. Debrief projects to see what went right. The end result of any job should be lasting quality and that the safety goal of “’nobody gets hurt” was reached.

© 2009 Potter and Associates International, Inc. Carl Potter, CSP, CMC, and Deb Potter, PhD, CMC, work with organizations that want to create an environment where nobody gets hurt. As advocates of a zero-injury workplace, they are speakers, authors, and consultants to industry. As a general aviation pilot, Carl enjoys infusing aviation safety principles into his workplace programs. For information about bringing Carl and Deb to your company or your next conference, contact them at Potter and Associates International, Inc. 800.259.6209 or www.carlpotter.com.

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