Morning Guys
A few thoughts of my own
There are more than one type of Safety Advisor, there are those that have completed an instructional course with little or no practical experience, Those that have been in the game so long they have a mass of knowledge and experience and those that have moved on from the spanner to the safety department.
The first may not have any experience in what you do but then he may not have any preconceived ideas either. He will be telling you what the book says you should be doing, is this a bad thing?
The second may have many pre conceptions and had more official and on-site training, they may have more experience and seen more than most will ever want to see. He will be telling you what he knows from his time served. Is that a bad thing?
The third, he may well have been a scaff who has made his bones, has done what you do may well have taken all the short cuts that you take. They know how hard it is to get it where it should be, they know what they always thought would work and what they thought would not just because they have done it themselves. Is this a bad thing?
A forth exists but they exist in every trade the Advisor who may have all of the above, qualifications, experience knowledge and they may still be an ass. Yes this is a bad thing?
There are however; at least a couple of things all of the above have in common with the man on the tools, it stems from the flawed military perspective of “I was given an order”
1) you have a set of rules to follow irrespective of your personal training or beliefs.
2) you have a professional ethic that you will follow these rules irrespective of your personal beliefs.
3) You have the comfort of knowing that should you follow these rules whatever happens next is not your fault.
The problem with this is that “I was only following orders” is a failed military argument as the orders you are required to follow need to be “Lawful Orders” This does not however entitle you to tell the Safety Advisor to do one and carry on regardless you have a requirement to put safety first. If your SA’s are misquoting the code and you draw their attention to this they need to satisfy both you and they that he is correct before you proceed further. (you do know it is your responsibility to know the content of the code right?)
I have brushed against many Safety Advisors in my time and for the most part have managed to get along with them but if I was honest about it I would say that when I have been tugged and have gotten the right ass hole about being tugged, deep down I know I was in the wrong.
We all have jobs to do and theirs is to make sure we all go home safe to our families; deaths in construction were at 225 in 1983 and at 52 in 2011. Whilst they annoy the s**it out of me on a regular basis I thank them.
regards
Alan
