Thursday, August 23, 2007








Job sites are usually fluid and often a dangerous mix of trades people working in unison to construct (or demolish) structures. On many an occasion, operations run into trouble and people get hurt - lack of training, complacency, inattention due to medical conditions, substance abuse (recent studies indicate that 1 in 12 construction trade and restaurant workers have a substance or alcohol abuse issue) or working in proximity to other, shall we say...less astute or trained persons who create a hazardous situation.

Federal Law requires that Emergency Action Plans be in effect on job sites so that in the event of an emergency, workers will know who to call or what to do.....
So, in your personal portfolio...do you carry any emergency information or instructions that would allow others to call for you?

Let's go beyond that....safety specialists on site...big project, time crunches, multiple subcontractors everywhere - supposedly all aware of your site safety procedures, policy and location of emergency info - right?......okay, maybe not .....
Visual devices and color are important on a jobsite....trained workers can understand the different meanings on OSHA and ANSI type signs, but during the emergency situation a phenomenon called "tunnel vision" overwhelms you and your focus becomes very limited and your responses can seem to take longer than they do (the term "forever" is sometimes used).

If you have to denote locations for Emergency Equipment or Info and you have the bare minimum of time to train newbies coming on site - how about employing the ICE image ?
ICE cards in helmets, ICE PHR records inside a sealed pouch in the helmet or in a wallet, ICE
signs denoting safety rescue equipment, first aid or emergency communications devices and EAP plans...the reality is that while some of these trainings actually do take place, they sometimes are not repeated, done in haste or various communication (language) barriers exist.

When tunnel vision hits....ICE may be fresh in their minds.
So, ICE fits well within the KISS (Keep it Simple ...)principle.

Can't miss the colors...they are not red/green so your colorblind crewmembers (25%)can't confuse that one. Just a refresher....something to think about.



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