Why not take a chance?

By The RIDGEPRO.

We gamble on luck every day, but some risks are more costly than others.

There’s a one in 290 million chance we’ll win the lottery but yet we buy a ticket. Our favorite horse is 20:1 but he has a new jockey so we put down our money. The local volunteer fire department is selling raffle tickets; of course we’ll sign up. It’s called taking a chance on getting rich and unless you do it compulsively or use money that should be spent on necessities, it’s innocent behavior. Somebody’s gotta win, right?

However, other risks in life are not quite so harmless. Each of us takes risks every day just by getting out of bed. Learning to separate acceptable from truly dangerous risks is part of being an adult. In roofing and construction, we take risks as soon as we walk onto the jobsite. In such an inherently risky situation, there is no margin for error, particularly when heights are involved.

Scary statistics

Preventable falls and fatalities in the construction trades are still way too common. Each job related injury or death is a tragedy not only for the worker and family, but also for the entire business as well as each team member. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects the disturbing facts and reports them. In 2022:

• There were 412 deaths across the construction industry.
• Falls from roofs were the main cause of death in male and female workers under the age of 44. (Ladders and staging/scaffolding falls were next highest.)
• Immigrant workers had a higher overall risk of fatal falls.

Changing the outcomes

There’s no doubt about it. As an industry we can do better. In fact, we must. It all begins with attitude. Company leaders need to institute and maintain a culture of safety across all projects at all levels of the organization. A safety culture necessitates being clear that risky practices on the job will not be tolerated. This means no shortcuts even when the job is running behind or unexpected problems develop. When workers understand that the commitment to safety goes all the way to the top tier of the company, they are more likely to comply.

After commitment comes training. Understanding of the rules of safety must be comprehensive and consistent throughout the company. Having a policy requiring fall protection on work done higher than six feet is mandatory, but not completely effective without other practices such as ladder safety. There’s an old saying: What you train is what you’ll do. Make sure teams practice together and talk about safety often in morning meetings as well as in dedicated training sessions. Also consider holding sessions or distributing handouts in Spanish or whichever non-English languages are present in your worker cohort.

It goes without saying that all the safety training in the world is useless if safety equipment and materials are not available on each truck and at each jobsite. Regular maintenance and replacement is essential to ensure that these critical items function properly when needed most. Having a consistent source for safety equipment and materials is essential. Be ready with a backup for your local distributor in case of supply chain issues. There are good sources for safety products such as ropes, harnesses, roof anchors, and ladder safety tools on the internet including www.TheRIDGEPRO.com. With workplace safety under control, the risks you choose to take can all be games of chance. Good luck on the lottery.