Note: This post has been modified slightly from another blog to which I contribute.
Is rewarding for production also rewarding workers for cutting corners?
A few years ago, I worked as a Safety Advisor on a project constructing a 330kv transmission line. When I first arrived on the project it was in full swing, yet in a very bad way – they were tracking several months behind and financially in a muck as well. Their safety records were also frightening. I spent nearly half a year on the project and in that time we had 5 different project managers – one of which had a heart attack. He was in his early 40s! The project was extremely stressful.
During site inspections, most supervisors were very engaging and encouraged us safety professionals to attend their site and help them. The supervisor from Queensland – the Stringing Supervisor, however, would often disappear whenever we approached. We had so much work to do and so many different sites to cover, I subconsciously learned to drift to the other crews where I felt I could be more effective. During the last few months of the project, I moved to another project as most of the foundations and towers were completed.
Since then, the Safety Manager had organised specialised training specifically for earthing of towers. For the subsequent 14 weeks, the Stringing Supervisor ran a toolbox on correct earthing techniques. While the project itself was behind, the stringing crew were very successful and conducted their high-risk activities, including helicopter assisted stringing, with limited incidents. They also completed faster than expected. The Stringing Supervisor was patted on the back, given a promotion to Construction Manager, and sent to Queensland for the next project.
Helicopter Assisted Tower Erection
One week later, the Stringing Supervisor – now Construction Manager, was killed while placing spacers on a new line being constructed, and another worker seriously injured spending 3 days in hospital. I remember the day vividly. I had just tried on and selected my wedding dress when I received the devastating call. He was young and had been married just 6 months prior.
During the investigation, it was found that proper earthing was not implemented as had been trained and toolboxed by the supervisor in the 14 weeks prior. Proper earthing would have included earthing each tower on both sides of where the work was being conducted, as well as earthing of the EWP. Neither tower was earthed. Once in the EWP, they found they had only one pair of hot gloves – rather than retrieving another pair from the ute where there were another 8 pairs, they split the pair they had and continued their work. They also did not have a hot stick. And the risk assessment they were supposed to complete that morning was not completed. There were a string of additional failings on top of these ones.
So how was the previous stringing job so successful that it landed the supervisor a promotion? Were the corners cut then too? Why was he resistant to the safety team inspecting and supporting his site? In hindsight, the red flags were there. If there ever was an example of “I have done it this way for years, why do I need to change now” or the classic Swiss Cheese model where the failings all line up, this is the one.
My passion for safety and being highly diligent in my safety conversations, inspections, and reports is often driven by this experience. I often wonder would things be different if I had focused on the stringing crew, rather than leaving when I did not receive a warm welcome. I now question myself when I start on an easier path. Then when it seems hard then I know that’s exactly where I need to be.
Note: This post has been modified slightly from another blog to which I contribute.