Slips, Trips, and Falls

I Chose to Look the Other Way

I could have saved a life today, but I chose to look the other way.

It wasn't that I didn't care, I had time and I was there.

But I didn't want to seem the fool, or argue over a safety rule.

I knew he'd done the job before, if I called it wrong, he might get sore.

The chances didn't seem that bad, I've done the same, and he knows I had.

So I shook my head and walked on by, he knew the risks as well as I.

He took a chance, I closed my eye, and with that act I let him die.

I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way.

Now every time I see his wife, I'll know I should have saved his life.

That guilt is something I must bear, but isn't something you need to share.

If you see a risk that others take, that puts their health or life at stake, 

the question asked, or the thing to say, could have helped them live another day.

If you see a risk and walk away, then I hope you have the nerve to say, I could 

have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way.

Author - Don Merrell

I recently attended the PESA ( Public Employees Safety Association of Maryland) conference on various safety topics, the poem above was used to open their program.  Safety is on my mind a lot recently, as I am working on revising our Blood Borne Pathogen program and Portable Fire Extinguisher program to give them a fresh look for next year. 

 I spent yesterday collecting all the safety training records for employees at New Germany State Park, following their recent surprise inspection by MOSH.

At our Maintenance Supervisors meeting this past spring we encouraged folks to take advantage of  MOSH Consultation Services - they will come out and look at your facilities and let you know what you need to do to ensure you are in compliance with all OSHA safety requirements.  So, if you are the safety officer for your park, talk to your manager about working on this project.  Ranger Chris Gleason-Schmuck is the safety officer for Greenbrier and he has worked through this process with MOSH and has first- hand knowledge of what you should be prepared for when asking a consultant to come in and work with you.  He is happy to talk to you about the process, and he too recently attended this safety conference.

Safety Officers - your park can request an e-account with Chesapeake Insurance Fund - from there you have access to their Safety Flicks library ( Wambus is the provider), you can either check out DVDs like checking out a library book, or you can stream the video via the Internet.  These videos are available free of charge to us, as we are an account holder with Chesapeake Insurance Fund (otherwise known as IWIF).  These videos are all usually under 30 minutes and make an excellent add-on to a staff meeting or a tailgate safety talk.  Take advantage of this free service, and document your mini safety training programs ( you never know when you will be asked for your safety training records).  To purchase these videos, the cost usually ranges from $600-$900 dollars each - so this is a great resource and a huge savings.  Let me know if you want more information on requesting an e-account and I will put you in touch with our SERMA representative, Liz Albertini.

For the top injuries in the work place in Maryland, Slips, Trips, and Falls are the #2 group of injuries .  So I thought I would include a few tips on preventing slips, trips and falls in the work place.  Click on this Safety Tip and you will see some ways to make your work place a little safer!

What??? You really want to know what the #1 group of injuries are in the workplace - stay tuned for my next Safety Blog, or perhaps you can make a guess in the comments below.

Stay Safe and Watch Out for each other, after all you could save a Life today!