Recently a big safety campaign has started at work. I work at a trucking company so really I understand the need, it's a big deal when there aren't any accidents for a week or two. We even have a salvage store because so many trucks roll over. But this safety thing has gotten a bit carried away. Darth Vader came through the office and gave everyone suckers that said "Think safety" and told everyone "May the safety be with you" The next week Elvis came. Guys were given combs and girls got handkerchief...I don't remember what his safety message was. Oh but that wasn't all. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz came bearing foam bricks, "Follow the yellow brick road to safety" Last week this all was summed up during a lunch where the crash test dummies handed out bracelets like the Livestrong ones with safety messages. Oh and we got to watch a movie about a trucker that drove too many hours and hit a school bus killing a girl.
Seriously we get the point. Be safe. Don't push the drivers too much and use common sense. But really...I think they could have gotten the point across in um a cheaper way. Last year the company launched a champaign for everyone to find ways to lower costs and increase profits, 85/20...um don't spend so much on silly safety things. We also had a truck and car that were involved in an accident on display in the parking lot, seriously reminded me of a drunk driving prom display. I know they say no matter what position you have in the company you can help with safety...um I have nothing to do with drivers AT ALL, sometimes I say hi when I see them in the parking lot or in the cafeteria but that's it. Um I'll try to keep them safe because Elvis told me to.
3 comments:
"Um I'll try to keep them safe because Elvis told me to."
Lol. Maybe instead of saying "Hi" you should say "be safe!"
Any big company will tell its customers that Quality is Job One, its employees that Safety is Job One, and its shareholders that Profit is Job One...
Saftey is very important, a life or death issue really. I mean it's a big deal when we go awhile without an accident..especially a death. BUT I'm not sure if this big effort is targeted at the right people. My department has little to no contact/effect on actual drivers. Someone was talking to a driver in one of the drivers lounges and when they left he told the driver to be safe. The driver looked at him funny and was like you are the 4th person today to tell me to be safe. Of course the office guy was impresed by that and sent that on to the head of saftey who forwarded it to the rest of the company. My question is, are the drivers going to be safe because they are told 4 times a day to be safe or will all that work in the opposite way? And since this initiative started our accident rates have increased...
The new DOT hours...so far they are just causing my team a headache as we are trying to figure out how to closely follow them. Currently if a driver gets to a store at say midnight and can't deliver till 6am they can take a 6 hour break and sleep. Now they have to take 8 hours and 2 hours, which is a nice thought in theory but in practice...We don't think it's going to cut down on accidents because trucks will be less productive and therefore there will be more semis on the road with just a little more rest.
Enough of that ramble...
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