So there I was taking a moment to look away from the computer to do a bit of out-of-window ‘stare think’ (as you do), only to see a roadworker applying a new layer of paint to the double yellow lines outside the office. But, the more I watched, the more concerned I became. There he was – on a busy road, at the corner of a busy (and almost blind) T-junction, pushing his paint kart along the edge of the road.
He was doing a good job in terms of the lines being straight and even and his speed of progress suggested it wasn’t going to take him very long. It was the ‘how’ that worried me.
Yes, he had on the hard hat and the high-viz tabard, but that was it. No cones or other form of barrier to separate himself from the traffic, or pedestrians from him. There were no warning signs to drivers of a person working in the road, no flashing warning lights — no nothing. He didn’t look behind him once as he ploughed his painted furrows, nor did he stop at the T-junction and check the traffic before stepping out into the road. Yet, presumably, he had been trained by someone? And in not just what he needed to do, but surely the how to do it – safely – not just for his benefit, but for those walking or driving besides him.
Once outside the safety briefing, had he just chosen to do things his way? Perhaps thinking his process quicker? And no doubt feeling the pressure of the miles’ worth of double yellow productivity required of him that day? Had he chosen to take the risks himself, disregarding the caution he must surely have been briefed on?
It made me wonder…
An organisation can be as committed on paper to improving health and safety as they like, but unless they truly engage people to understand for themselves why it matters and how it can make a difference, people will still take unnecessary risks.