Creating good safety habits starts with choosing to think about safety in the correct mindset.
In recent years there has been a concentrated effort in our country to reduce accidents and save lives, and they have largely been successful. However, every accident, injury, and fatality is avoidable, as is the pain and suffering such accidents cause to families, companies, and communities. While safety efforts are reducing accidents and fatalities, even one is one too many. For some, the word safety has been used so often that many think of it as a “Preaching Word”, or a word that forces you to alter your ways or change bad habits. Unfortunately, that mindset makes it harder for some to follow safety protocols. At Tucker Paving, safety is our first concern on any jobsite is safety, so disregarding safety is not an option. See the ways of thinking about safety that we share with our employees and that has contributed to our excellent safety rating over the last 30+ years we have been in the paving industry.
Ways to Look at Safety
These are the different ways we instruct our employees to frame their thinking about safety:
Safety as an American. The word safety refers to your freedom from danger, injury and damage, and to your personal security. It’s what America was founded on. It’s what everyone wants but doesn’t always get. It requires a lot of effort to have and to keep.
Safety is a Part of Life. When you hear the word safety, think of it as a word that applies to the way you do everything in life. If you have bad safety habits, you’re just not doing things as well as you should!
For example: If you are driving safely, you’re simply operating your vehicle as intended and obeying the laws, no more, no less. If you’re working with a power tool that requires eye protection, don’t fight it. Safety glasses are simply a necessary accessory to the proper use of that tool. If you’re at home, take the time to use a ladder instead of standing on a chair that was made to sit on.
Safety Pays Off. Today is the best time to think about your bad safety habits and then correct them. Improving your bad safety habits will require concentration and effort, but the results will help make you a more responsible and desirable employee, improved driver, and a good example to those around you—and your bonus for this effort is—a greatly reduced chance of becoming an accident statistic this year.
On the Tucker Paving team, safety is always the most important priority! In our over 30 years in the asphalt and concrete paving industry, we’ve never been sorry to have focused on safety! Let us assist with your next project by calling us at (863) 299-2262, or filling out our contact form online.