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Neal Bolton
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By
Neal Bolton
We all know
that safety is important, very important. That's the
concept. But to get to the practical application, we
must also know where to focus our safety efforts. That's
the rub. For most municipal and private waste companies,
their safety program breaks down right here, before
they even get to the implementation stage.
Obviously, to guard against
a risk, it must first be identified. Imagine going to
the jungle and having your guide tell you, "Watch
out," and then not say what to watch out for.
You can't guard against everything at the same
time, so what would you do? Probably sit in camp and
do nothing.
As an industry, we know
there are risks. We even know what many of them are.
But because of a lack of statistical data, we are often
not able to prioritize and rank those risks. As a result,
many of us sit in camp and do nothing.
Kinda silly, huh?
While working on last issue's
article on the Slow Down to Get Around program,
I took the opportunity to ask a variety of workers about
accidents that have occurred and those that almost did.
In my unscientific poll, I found that while not everyone
had been involved in an accident, all had experienced
one or more "near misses," and all had an
accident story to tell. The risks are very real. They're
also very common. As an industry we need to find out
what those risks are.
Sure, there are some large
companies or municipalities that are tracking accidents
and injuries. However, as an industry, we often don't
have a good idea of what to watch out for. Try answering
these questions and you'll see what I mean.
- How
many garbage truck drivers are struck by other vehicles
each year?
- What
activity poses the greatest threat to a landfill worker?
- What
is the most common cause of injury for people who
work at transfer stations?
- What
percent of solid-waste workers wear hardhats, and
do they help prevent injuries?
- Statistically,
what are the top five risks at your facility?
Don't know? Neither
does anyone else. I suppose we could all guess, but
because we're talking about people's lives,
guessing isn't good enough.
There are literally hundreds
of ways that a solid-waste worker can be injured, so
when it comes to safety training, where do we start?
What types of injuries are the most common? Which ones
are usually the most serious?
This is your chance to
find out. If you are at the place where your safety
program needs this kind of direction, step up to the
plate and help us answer those questions.
In this issue, we're
not only highlighting the need for statistical data
on safety issues in the solid-waste industry, we're
asking you to help by filling out a brief online survey.
It should take just a few minutes of your time, but
the results of the survey will help us begin to identify
and rank the risks that solid-waste workers face every
day.
The survey
is hosted by MSW Management magazine. You can
participate in the survey by going to: mw_0411_survey.html.
Please
note: To minimize the cost for data input, only online
surveys will be accepted. Results will be made available
as they are compiled.
MSW
- November/December 2004
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