A plea for safety: why do we need to be reminded to live our lives safely?

Concrete Producer, The, Nov, 2004 by Jimmy Ambrose

I was in a breakfast meeting with a customer a few weeks ago when one of the plant managers called. Bad news, he said. A driver had rolled a mixer truck while in our yard. (Doesn't this guy ever have a normal, quiet day, you're probably wondering.)

When I drove to the plant, I learned one of our new drivers was backing up a hill, trying to pull away from the water rack, when he drove too close to the side slope. As he started to rotate the drum, the weight shifted, causing him to roll onto his side. Fortunately, the driver wasn't hurt. But we lost 10 yards of material, a cab for the truck, and whatever it costs to fix the dent in the mixer. Not to mention the production we needed that day.

Close to home

The driver said that while he worries about being safe at the jobsite, he didn't anticipate airy danger in his own plant. Along with a greater appreciation for downhill grades, he also wondered how hard it was going to be to get the finger indentations out of the steering wheel and the stains off the seat. I guess he spilled his hot coffee. Ouch!

I thought of this a couple of days later when I passed a billboard with "Click it or Ticket" in big bright letters. This is a new national safety belt enforcement program state highway patrols are promoting across the country. Must we be reminded by a big threatening sign to drive safely, work safely, or mow the lawn safely? The next thing you know, we'll be back to having our own safety patrols.

I was describing my frustration to a friend recently, and he suggested there's an even greater problem for our drivers.

He urged me to write about cell phones and their link to accidents. It's scary to think the driver of an 80,000-pound, over-the-road truck loaded with hazardous materials is on his phone discussing his dinner plans with his wife or girlfriend while winding through busy city streets trying to find the jobsite.

Does he know what would happen if he lost control of that monster? Thankfully, there are the training films out there. Although they don't cover everything, they don't miss very much.

We're all involved in safety, from the CEO to the maintenance department. I'm personally fond of my fingers and toes and am not interested in having them end up in someone's patio or in a bridge deck.

Hardhats, steel-toed shoes, and safety glasses might be small in stature, but are big important things if you want to save life and limb. If you don't use them and have no need for them, you're in bad shape, as it only takes one mistake to change your whole life.

One minute you're standing on a jobsite with workers Overhead when someone on the third floor kicks a piece of lumber for the form system. Although it's small, it becomes of a missile.

Hard hat to the rescue

I learned my lesson a few years ago. One of the finest concrete superintendents I've ever worked with almost lost his life because of some falling metal. Thankfully, he had his hard hat on. I'm sure he, along with his wife and kids, thought about the merits of safety equipment afterwards.

If you've been in this business for any length of time, you probably know someone who got hurt or barely escaped injury. Most injuries are caused by lack of common sense.

So do me a favor. Put on your hard hat, steel-toed shoes, and other equipment. I want you back here reading my column every month. I need the loyal readers.

JIMMY AMBROSE

Hoover Concrete, LaVergne, Tenn.

jimambrose@aol.com.