James works for a small commercial roofing contractor that specializes in flat roofs. The company he works for is successful and seems to get fairly large contracts for being such a small contractor.
A large part of the company’s success is likely attributable to the company owner. He has been in the roofing industry his entire adult life, and has performed just about any type of roofing job imaginable. To this day, he is very active in his business and visits each jobsite nearly every day. He treats all of his employees well. But he is demanding. He insists that employees show-up on time everyday and that they put in a full-day’s work. But even more than that, he demands that employees work safely, and that each jobsite be neat and orderly.
One day last July, James was working on a large roofing job. Because it was new construction, there were several other contractors on the jobsite as well. It didn’t take long for James and his coworkers to notice that the other contractors were fairly lax about wearing their PPE and were apparently not too concerned about maintaining a clean jobsite either. In fact, that became all too apparent to James.
Late in the day, James climbed off of the roof and went to the company truck to get an extension cord. He hoisted the extension cord up to the roof and was walking to the ladder to climb back onto the roof when he tripped and fell over a board left on the ground by one of the other contractors. He tried to break his fall. But when he hit the ground his arm was outstretched and he injured his shoulder. His injury caused him to miss several days of work.
DISCUSSION NOTES:
How is the housekeeping on the jobsite on which we are working now? What can you do to improve it?
A hazard is a hazard even if your company is not the one causing the hazard. How do you address trip hazards when they are created by other contractors?
Unsafe work practices are contagious. When another contractor or group of workers fail to wear PPE, the workers around them are likely to do the same. However the opposite is true as well. Safe work practices are contagious. I’d like you to commit to being a leader and not a follower when it comes to safety. Wear the PPE that is warranted for the work you are doing, even if those around you are not. Similarly, keep your jobsite orderly even if others are not.
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