"Nonchalance" is a greater hazard than a lack of
training or experience. Seventy percent of the workplace fatalities
I have handled were due to errors by well-trained employees. Some
were driven by the desire to take care of the job as swiftly as
possible. Others figured that they had successfully "done
it before." Others apparently just didn't
think.
Every workplace has a "safety culture," which either
encourages or discourages safe behavior. The problem is that we may
not know if our culture is good or bad. As a first step, we should
survey employees about their attitudes. We may not like what we
learn. One survey of thousands of skilled craft workers found that
90 percent felt that the company was at risk of a death or serious
injury because of: "un-discussable
incompetence" of a co-worker or attitudes
of "just get it done," "just this once,"
"this safety stuff is overboard," or "be a
team player." Are you surprised to learn that two out of
three of the
