What does the term “firefight” mean to you? I’ve thought a lot about it lately as the spring weather is upon us. Recently, we had a fire watch in Nebraska after some high winds and no moisture. But that’s not exactly the kind of firefighting I’m talking about. Rather, it’s when I step back and observe the work being performed.
For instance, consider ground piles. It is that season to start picking up the pile, and just when the work begins, Nebraska wind has no mercy. I observed this term – “firefighting” – being done the other day when the wind was taking the tarp on a round pile. Immediately, the entire crew went into action to try to keep the tarp from ripping any further. Anything and everything we could find to throw onto that white tarp, the better, such as tires and railroad ties. It was a scene that looked like firefighters running to put out a fire.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the same procedure is followed in the same situation. The only difference is that this time, a finger got crushed between the railroad tie and the cement wall. After an investigation of the incident, the root cause was the effort to fight the situation to save the tarp. That got me thinking: When firefighters run into a fire, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a plan or a leader to make sure each one makes it out of the fire safely.
Take Five
The term “take five,” is a pre-task risk assessment that reminds people to take five minutes to think about the task at hand and its hazards. When used correctly and efficiently, it can be a successful program. Unfortunately, take-fives were not used during either of these firefighting projects.
A colleague of mine recently introduced the team to an integrated safety management system. For every task completed:
1. Define the scope.
a. What do you want to do?
2. Analyze the hazard.
a. List every possible hazard you can think of as a team.
3. Develop controls for the hazards. The bottom of the pyramid is the easiest and also the least effective. At the top is elimination, the most challenging but also the most effective way to eliminate the hazard from the workplace.
a. Hierarchy of controls:
ii. Elimination
iii. Substitution
iv. Engineering Controls
v. Administrative Controls
vi. Personal Protective Equipment
4. Perform the work.
a. If ever there is a time you are outside of your scope, complete a stop-work authorization.
5. Feedback and improvement.
a. Arguably, this is the most challenging step because the work is over. Review with the team and talk the process over. What went right? What went wrong? What can we add to this work evolution next time to make it better?
Overall, firefighting can slow down when the hazards are high and the risk of injury to your crew can’t be controlled. Even firefighters take the time to perform their jobs safely.