Alive and Well at the End of the Day, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 13MANAGING SAFETY SUGGESTIONS

I’m always on the lookout for ideas. Most of us don’t invent ideas. We take the best ideas from someone else.

—Sam Walton

Whether it’s a breakthrough idea or what seems like just another complaint, every safety suggestion is a Moment of High Influence. Anyone making a suggestion is engaged, thinking about a problem or a solution, and in a high state of readiness to be influenced.

True, but simply because the suggestion has something to do with safety doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea, or that a busy leader should feel obligated to immediately drop everything else and devote their undivided attention to managing the suggestion.

Case in point.

6:30 a.m., Friday Morning, In the Office

Friday is usually the day of the week when everything goes haywire, and this Friday was proving to be no exception. The supervisor’s day started well ahead of the start of the shift: in the office, preparing for the 7 a.m. toolbox safety meeting. The task was constantly interrupted by the phone: overnight, the line had to be shut down, and getting production re‐started was to be the day’s top priority.

The supervisor promised to meet the engineer and the planner out on the job to sign the permits allowing the repairs to be started—as soon as the safety meeting was finished. No production problem was going to interfere with getting the crew properly aligned.

However, the supervisor was determined to see to it the safety meeting would be short and sweet. ...