Bean Counters and Safety

A colleague and friend of mine had a similar occurrence working for one of the local power utilities. (It wasn't me, really. So I cannot go into the details of the safety faux pas.) But he included the liability insurance company in his initial report on the safety improvement suggestions. Similarly to your story a corporate bean counter seeing the $X expense vetoed the one time only improvements as being too costly. Once the insurance company heard that the safety improvements were vetoed, they offered the company two options. The insurance company would pay part of the expense for the safety improvement to be done or the liability insurance monthly fee would likely increase by $X. Also if the safety improvement wasn't done, the company would have to find another insurance company in the next contract cycle.

The veto was overridden. The safety improvements with the insurance company money aiding the upgrade was accomplished. Also within the year a lavish retirement party for the bean counter was held.

They should have given him a leaden parachute instead.

I would of given him a pair of cement overshoes

The owner of a company I worked for in India was always ready for cost savings - I think it was in his blood.

But the instant I told him, 'this is a safety thing' he would just tell me, 'OK - do it'. At that point cost was not so important any more - all of us respected him for that outlook.

Russ

It does not matter what industry we are operating in safety is just a BUZZ WORD to some degree. If it costs money find a way around it. If it involves discipline for some minor perceived inaction then lay the law down and document it for the records. Bring in the authorities and you are on a hit list. Even the so called authorities can be so stupid at times since they do not actually work in the environment. In every case where I worked with a good H&S officer and they sided with the worker in no time they were let go. Of course the reason was something totally unrelated. I worked in several Provinces in Canada and the ministry of Labour could be so stupid it was hard to even carry on a discussion with them. They seemed to be in another world and most of them were recent grads with no concept to the real facts. One young engineer with the Ministry did not even know the proper use of a belt grinder which was ok but not ok was the refusal to accept any documents that contradicted her preconceived notions. Glad to be retired but still very concerned for the work force.

With an attitude like yours I am glad you are retired as well!

Dear Guest: If stating facts based on 40 yrs. experience is bad attitude then I will keep that attitude and pass it on to anyone that wishes to complete their working career with all fingers,toes, and body in fairly good shape. In all the companies I worked for in that time we had 6 fatalities and many workers crippled . There was no need for any of these serious incidents. May your eyes be opened to new possibilities.

Why was the electrician working live?

Where was the Permit to Work system? Where was the electrician's lock-off padlock?

Why did the circuit protective device not operate and what would be the consequences of a repeat occurrence? A fire at the premises? A loss of turnover? A fatality? A prosecution from the Health & Safety Executive?

All you're got to read is the first post. Bad design!