NSSGA Podcast

Justin Ganschow, Business Development Manager for Caterpillar Safety Services, is back on the podcast again today. In case you missed his first appearance, Justin has been in the industry for almost 20 years and has a formidable wealth of stories and presentations to offer. Today, he shares a story that is all about accountability and catching the things that people are doing right rather than focusing on compliance or the things maybe they're doing wrong.

Episode Highlights:

• Justin got his start in the safety profession working in Environmental Compliance with Caterpillar

• As part of his duties, he was required to complete monthly behavioral observation forms about the welders in the facility

• He didn't like the process and neither did the employees

• At the time, his facility was embarking on a safety culture transformation process which involved the formation of cross functional employee teams

• This behavioral observation process was the aspect identified by the employees in these teams as the first thing they wanted to change

• As a result, they worked together in the team to create the Positive Interaction Process which would instead begin by highlighting the positive actions of all employees

• By starting with what people were doing, they could have a more coaching focused conversation afterwards if something needed improvement

• This process started to change everything because when they started by talking about what's right, it puts people in a positive frame of mind, and there's a cascade of hormones that are released (dopamine) that puts people in a state where they can receive feedback

• This resulted in staff becoming more resilient, more creative, and more cooperative

• Now when Justin does his audits and inspections every month it has started to get really hard to find anything wrong - staff have for the most part stopped doing the negative behaviors

• Consequently, his facility has gone from the fourth worst performing manufacturing plant in all of Caterpillar to number one with zero recordable injuries for almost three full years

• The lesson we can take from this is: don't underestimate the power of positive recognition

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this episode, Justin describes a shift in the company's safety mindset to catching the things people are doing right. Would this mindset appeal to you? Why or why not?

• Reflect on Justin's statement that "Most of the time, we're doing things right."

• Does anyone have a story about receiving feedback that started with what you were doing right?

Quotes:

"I didn't grow up in the safety profession. I didn't go to school to become a safety professional. But now there's nothing else I would rather be doing. There's nothing I can imagine myself doing, actually."

"I checked a bunch of boxes, I go back to my office, I put the forms on my boss's desk, and that was the last time I ever heard about it until the next month when I hadn't completed it yet."

"I didn't like this process, it felt very confrontational."

"The old behavioral observation process had good intentions, but it was viewed very negatively by the employees, and they said, 'That's the first thing we want to change.'"

"The way it worked was when somebody saw somebody doing something else out on the shop floor, they would always start with something they were doing correctly, because there's always an opportunity to notice something that is right. Most of the time we're doing things right."

"It became harder and harder to find anything wrong, and it was just the start of our cultural transformation."

"When we turn the lens and really look for the positives, we get so much bang for our buck in looking for the good that is being done with our people."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

In this episode of Safety Shorts, Libby is joined by Scott Levine, a product manager at Materially, who has five years of project management experience for a large general contractor under his belt. Today, Scott shares the story of an unfortunate incident which highlights the importance of having the right tools for everyone to be safe and successful on the job.

Episode Highlights:

• Scott's story about an incident on a construction site involving a trucker who entered through the exit gate and was hit by a loader

• Truckers are often overlooked in the construction industry, and their jobs are not made easier or safer in the same way that other skilled laborers' jobs are

• Technology solutions, like those available in other industries, can be used in construction to make truckers' jobs easier and safer

• At Materially, the team is building a software platform that increases connectivity and efficiency in the bulk materials supply chain. The app allows buyers to set an exact pin for the drop-off point and provide delivery instructions, which the trucker can see in their app to ensure they deliver correctly

• Scott argues that if other skilled laborers are given support and access to tools to do their job correctly, then truckers should be supported in the same way

.

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this episode, Scott describes a truck driver entering a site through an exit only gate (an example of a fairly common issue of truckers not having enough information about the site). How can we make sure truckers, contractors and other site visitors have all the information they need?

• How does this story encourage us to think about problem solving?

• Does anyone have a story about noticing a common problem and innovating a solution?

Quotes:

"What almost always gets overlooked is the hundreds of truckers making deliveries to the site each week. And because we overlook these truckers, we often don't think about how to make their jobs easier or better or safer in the same way we do for an iron worker or an electrician."

"This is completely unfair to the truckers and to everyone else on site."

"If the plumbing subcontractor, for example, was laying out pipe incorrectly, we would stop and make sure they have the right support. We'd give them access to a planning app like Pro Core or Field Wire. We'd offer training on how to read plans correctly and so on. Truckers should be supported in the same way."

"The most frustrating part of all this is that this problem is easily solvable. Just look at the technology solutions available for drivers in other industries."

"We're working to solve this problem in construction. Using the app, a buyer can set an exact pin for the drop-off point and provide delivery instructions like, 'Please enter through gate two.' Today, the trucker can see those details in their app to ensure they deliver correctly."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Today, Libby welcomes Dr. John Morrison to the podcast. In addition to being an ophthalmologist and glaucoma researcher at Oregon Health and Sciences University with over 40 years of experience, Dr. Morrison is also Libby's father! He joins her here today to discuss the importance of taking care of our eyes in general, and more specifically, to share important information regarding glaucoma.

Episode Highlights:

• Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the world, with approximately 80 million people affected globally.
• 33 million adults over the age of 40 in the United States have glaucoma and it is four times more prevalent in the African American population.
• The main cause of glaucoma is increased eye pressure which damages the optic nerve fibers, causing vision loss.
• Unlike most other causes of blindness, people often don't know they have glaucoma as it is painless, slow-moving, and affects peripheral vision before causing central vision loss.
• Treatments are available for glaucoma, including drops, surgery, and laser surgery.
• The story of a patient who had severe vision loss and did not realize it until it was too late.
• Regular eye exams are important to catch glaucoma early.
• Peripheral vision is affected before central vision, which is why people may not realize they have glaucoma.
• Dr. Morrison also shares how he has seen the field of glaucoma research and treatment change over the course of his career.

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this episode, Dr. Morrison shares information about glaucoma. Have you ever heard of this condition and how it can impact people before they even know they have the condition?

• How does this story encourage us to take steps to protect our health in the future?

• Does anyone have a story about a good catch in their own health experience?

Quotes:

"Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world."

"The main cause of glaucoma is increased eye pressure which damages the optic nerve fibers, causing vision loss."

"Unlike most other causes of blindness, people often don't know they have glaucoma as it is painless, slow-moving, and affects peripheral vision before causing central vision loss."

"It's estimated that half of all glaucoma patients don't know they have it."

"We have good treatments that are available. We have drops, surgery, and laser surgery that can all be used to lower the pressure."

"When it comes to our eye health and when it comes to glaucoma, even if you don't know and there's nothing going on, we still need to go and get that check up, and it's something that's really important and preventative."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Justin Ganschow, Business Development Manager for Caterpillar Safety Services joins Libby for today's episode. Justin has been in the industry for almost 20 years, and, as a result, has a wealth of stories and presentations to offer. In this episode, he shares a story about the human side of safety and about being an intentional safety leader.

Episode Highlights:

• Several years ago, Justin was working with a company that, after suffering a pretty traumatic injury involving six of their employees, embarked on a safety culture improvement journey with him
• Part of the journey was developing cross functional teams to build meaningful safety activities that govern how everybody worked in the field, shop, and office
• Many of the field workers were not excited about taking part in these
• RJ was one field worker who had grown up in the industry, and who began sharing his ideas about safety, gaining the attention and support of his colleagues and leaders alike.
• Eventually, RJ decided to go back to school and get a degree in safety because he was now in a culture that supported him and his peers, and really empowered them to make the changes needed to take ownership of safety
• RJ's best friend and longtime colleague, Josh, didn't really support RJ's decision to do this
• Years later, though, Justin was pleasantly surprised to see that Josh paid his own way to support RJ as he presented at an executive safety leadership summit in a different city - Josh now saw RJ as his ally and advocate within the company
• The lesson that Justin feels can be learned from this is that, while safety is often viewed as something that needs to be enforced by 'safety cops', it doesn't have to be that way. It can be a lot more effective when we have courageous safety leaders.
• RJ cared so deeply that he changed his life to have the backs of the men and women that worked around him - a lesson that we can all take to heart

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this episode Justin shares about RJ who was initially reluctant to participate in the meetings, but later became really involved in safety trainings. How can we reach those who are initially resistant to participate?
• How can this story encourage us to engage in cross-department safety discussions?
• Does anyone have a story about how their safety mindset has changed over their career?

Quotes:

"I've had the distinct privilege of working with a lot of companies and different industries over the years to improve safety, culture and leadership abilities."

"After suffering a pretty traumatic injury that injured six of their employees, this organization embarked on a safety culture improvement journey with us."

"RJ… had seen safety programs come and go in the past, but he decided he would try it. And throughout the week, he kept leaning in and leaning in and speaking up, giving us his ideas about how to develop this new safety process for safety training."

"I saw him come alive and realize that his voice mattered. And his ideas were then adopted by his peers. They were cheered on by leadership."

"It was about a year later that I got a phone call from RJ. And he shared with me that he decided he was going to go back to school and get a degree in safety."

"That was amazing to me that someone who had spent their whole career in the trades, was going to, midlife, go back to school to support the people that they work with every day."

"So many times safety is viewed as something that needs to be enforced… it can be a lot more effective when we have courageous safety leaders."

"This is somebody he now saw as his ally, as his advocate, within the company."

"I hope that's a lesson that all of us can take to heart when we show up on the job site. Are you there for policies and procedures? Are you there for your people?"

"At the end of the day, safety is about people, it's about the 24/7. Are we living it? Are we really owning it?"

"Safety leadership is about doing, it's about being proactive, and it's about people. It's about caring."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Today, Libby is joined by Emily Haas, a research health scientist for NIOSH, which is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Emily earned her PhD in Health Communications from Purdue University, and she has become a fantastic partner with NSSGA and a great advocate for this industry. In this episode, she shares her story about communicating health concerns.

Episode Highlights:

• In 2004, Emily's cousin died in a motorcycle accident
• After realized that she didn't know how to appropriately or accurately communicate her safety concerns to even close family member, she wanted to learn how to communicate with other people who were engaging in risky behaviors
• This led to study Health Communications and eventually conduct research about several areas of risk communication and risk management
• She started with motorcycle safety specifically, but then, really started to focus on issues of Occupational Safety and Health specifically
• Emily has learned that, to communicate effectively, we really have to know and understand our workforce as a collective unit, but also individually, and that what may be a personal value to you may not be a personal value to your employee
• She believes that the job of leaders is to know and subsequently tailor the health and safety messages that they share
• The blurring of boundaries between work and personal life over the past couple years has resulted in leaders knowing a little bit more about their employees in terms of their unique struggles or motivators which can be helpful when trying to understand ways to encourage adoption of a new safety program or safety initiative
• Emily believes that now is the time to lead boldly with that balance of empathy based on who you're talking to, and to embrace changes that have happened the last couple of years
• Leaders must ask themselves, "What might my employees be receptive to and ready for in the workplace that I maybe didn't think was possible?"

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this episode, Emily shares about how she came to her career in communicating about safety. Does anyone want to share a story about safety communication in their own lives?
• How can we communicate about safety while using language that the audience can easily understand?
• Do you have a story about wanting to confront someone about a potentially unsafe practice, but not being sure how to do it?

Quotes:

"After my cousin's death, I really wondered what role I could have had in preventing that accident. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that even if I wanted to communicate with him about motorcycle safety or risky driving, I really didn't know what to say."

"I wanted to learn how to communicate with other people who were engaging in risky behaviors."

"Over the years, one of the things I've experienced is really the value of a different mantra, which is: I wanted to avoid telling people what to think, but rather what to think about."

"Now's the time to lead boldly with that balance of empathy based on who you're talking to, and embrace changes that have happened the last couple of years."

"What might your employees be receptive to and ready for in the workplace that you maybe didn't think was possible?"

"I think the message is really good, not just that we need to communicate about safety, but the 'how we do it', and even more importantly, 'how it's landing on someone'. That piece really is a critical part of the puzzle."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Jim Anderson, Safety Superintendent at Mitsubishi Cement, joins Libby on the podcast today. From doing Search and Rescue all the way to being a Chief at the volunteer fire department where he worked, Jim has always been involved in health and safety for his entire career. In this episode, he shares one of the many safety stories he has accumulated over the years that is really quite personal for him.

Episode Highlights:

• One July day, Jim was made aware that Luther, a shipping clerk at their plant whom he has known for decades was displaying some unusual symptoms
• Luther had been to the hospital a couple times for the same symptoms, but they were not considered an emergency so the ER team did not dig any deeper
• This time, Luther had been told by EMS that he was not having a heart attack or cardiac event, and to go see a doctor after he got after work but his coworker who knows him well was uncomfortable with this advice and contacted Jim about it
• When Jim got to the plant and talked to the clerk, and he was uncomfortable with that plan as well
• When questioning him, Jim discovered that the clerk had been gardening all day in the July sun and heat the day before
• To Jim, his symptoms were characteristic of electrolyte imbalance, particularly cramping and pain in his legs
• But he also had some lower left lung pain which didn't make sense to Jim, so he talked Luther into going to the hospital
• Jim drove him there as ambulances were hours away for a variety of reasons
• The hospital they went to took the time to explore even further than the emergency rooms had been able to previously, and found that Luther was suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) - clots in the leg that can migrate to other areas (lungs, brain, etc).becoming truly life threatening
• While Luther has survived, Jim learned of another person experiencing similar symptoms on the same day who sadly didn't go to a hospital and ended up dying
• Thanks to the fact that there were people who knew Luther well enough to see that he just wasn't acting himself, and that Luther listened to Jim to go to the hospital to get checked out, he is alive today, and has since given Jim permission to share his story

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this story, we hear the story of Luther, an employee who is experiencing medical symptoms but wasn't sure if it was serious enough to go to the doctor. What does this tell us about listening to ourselves and taking medical threats seriously?
• How can this story encourage us to check in with one another and stay well at work and at home?
• Do you have a story to share about taking a medical threat seriously?

Quotes:

"I didn't feel comfortable with just letting him go to the doctor after work and chances are he wouldn't have gone and in later conversation with him, he confirmed that."

"He said he'd actually been to the hospital twice before for the same symptoms and they weren't able to figure it out."

"He wasn't in really bad shape, but he was in bad enough shape."

"There's a 95% chance that this is nothing but there's a 5% chance that this is something."

"I knew this individual, that he needed somebody to dig a little deeper because the hospitals that he had gone to, they, their primary concern is,'Okay, is the guy going to die immediately?" Emergency Rooms are to treat emergencies but they didn't quite dig deep enough."

"And there's a condition called DVT, or deep vein thrombosis, and it's clots in your leg, and those clots had migrated. And they cause what would be called a pulmonary embolism or a clogged artery in the lungs. And that is truly a life threatening issue."

"Because of the personal relationship that the gentleman had at the plant with Luther, knew him well enough to call me at home going, 'Hey, I'm not comfortable with EMS getting turned around. Can you dig into this a little deeper?'"

"By the grace of God, he listened to me going, 'Okay, there is a 5% chance that this could be bad.' But that 5% wound up being the suspicions that we had."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Joining Libby today is Jay Canada, VP of Safety and HR at Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel In this episode, Jay shares details about his company's Good Catch program, including its journey all the way from its origins up to the current day, and the remarkably positive impact it continues to have.

Episode Highlights:

• While the Good Catch program officially started in 2009, it really has its roots in a 2007 presentation by Ron Lehmann regarding culture, skill sets, and mindsets
• This presentation got Jay and others at Pine Bluff thinking about their culture, and they decided to become more proactive about safety
• After consulting with Cajun Industries about their Good Catch program, Pine Bluff decided to start their own
• Over the years the program has gone through an evolution regarding why they do what they do, and how to do that better
• Any idea which notes how things can be safer where their employees are working everyday is deemed a 'Good Catch'
• They have been doing this for over 10 years and are committed to continuing it
• In 2021 alone, they harvested 946 good catches, many of which dealt with potential serious injuries or fatalities
• By focusing on the prevention and the proactive side in the Good Catch program, they have very positively affected incidents and events
• They now get together every six months, and instead of having a safety meeting, they have a culture meeting where they talk about good catches more and celebrate those, recognizing people and giving them awards and recognition for the good catches that they've submitted
• They still talk about incidents as well, of course, but they have fewer to talk about now
• Like any safety journey, the Good Catch journey never ends
• Jay definitely encourages others to take consider implementing some kind of Good Catch program or process
• Their Good Catch program is forward thinking, it's looking before something happens; even more than that, it is a mindset, a part of their culture, and it is empowering to employees to find those things that might be unsafe for their worksite

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• At Pine Bluff Facility, they look at their safety culture and shift the focus to proactivity. What are your thoughts on this?
• How can we work to build this type of mindset among ourselves?
• Does anyone have a good catch that they'd like to share with the group?

Quotes:

"How do we think about safety? And how do we think about our culture? And how do we move into people's mindsets? And how do we look at the decisions that our team members make when they are at work?"

"But how do we get upstream? How do we become more proactive and get into the equation of the decisions they're making when that incident happens? And so we decided to think about Good Catch."

"It's gone through an evolution, it's gone through many changes."

"Tell us what your ideas are, and tell us how this thing can be safer where you're working every day."

"It'll evolve and change, but it's something we believe we're going to do for a very long time."

"We have not had a lost time at a quarry since April 20, of 2016, and we have greatly reduced our 'recordables' or 'reportables'."

"It's really a mindset."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Embracing and Internalizing Training with Steve Trussel

On today's episode, Libby is joined by Steve Trussell, Executive Director of the Arizona Rock Products Association & The Arizona Mining Association. Early on in his 25+ year career in both hard rock and aggregates, Steve learned that "we do not rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training". Today, he shares a valuable story regarding the importance of training in ice climbing which has universal applications.

Episode Highlights:

• Steve was fortunate enough to have an ice climbing instructor named Mark Miller who has decades of experience in military public safety, search and rescue, and as a climbing guide
• Mark really focused on safety and systems and taught Steve how to climb with two axes, one ax, and without any tools at all
• While Steve didn't quite understand why that was important at the time, and didn't know why he would need it, he followed along, and did everything he could to get better at climbing
• Mark continually emphasized that ice climbing can be exhilarating but it also has its inherent dangers - the high altitude, the cold, the possibility of pain
• About a year ago, Steve was climbing an 800 foot frozen waterfall called Stairway to Heaven, in Eureka Canyon outside of Silverton, Colorado
• At a daunting stretch of ice near the top of the climb, Steve dropped his ax and started freaking out until he remembered that Mark had prepared him for this
• This realization calmed him down and he was able to complete the climg to the amazement of his guides
• There were three things that Steve took away from that day:
• First: always pay attention to the training, even if it's something you think is mundane, or you'll never need.
• Second: when you're in a situation, just stay calm.
• Third: allow what you've learned, or have been trained to do to take over

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• It's important to be prepared for situations where everything goes according to plan, and for situations where the plan falls apart. How are we as a company doing this?
• In this story, Steve stayed calm and remembered his training. How can we keep ourselves calm and level-headed if we're in a tough situation?
• Does anyone have a story about a time where their training kicked in?

Quotes:

"He taught me how to climb with two axes, one ax, and without any tools at all, because at any given time, any number of things could happen. And I didn't quite understand why that was important at the time, and didn't know why I would need it. But, you know, I followed along."

"You're climbing on a frozen column of ice, you're using crampons that are attached to your boots and these tools and you're relying on them and your systems to be safe."

"It's an adrenaline rush, and you just feel so alive, you know. Your legs are burning, your forearms are burning, you're climbing up there, you're just you're really pushing yourself and testing your limits."

"I'm making it to the top, I'm on the last pitch, and I'm thinking I'm actually going to do this. And just at that moment, I dropped my ax, and so I'm freaking out because I'm thinking I can't finish this climb without an ax."

"I ended up thinking about 'What would Mark do in this situation?' And all of a sudden, I realized, 'Wait a minute, he's prepared me for this. He's trained me to do this.' And so I calmed myself down."

"Whenever I ask ex-military, public safety, or industry professionals, when they were in a tough situation, how they dealt with it, I was never surprised to hear the response: 'It's because my training kicked in.'"

"It can be terrifying, but your losing your head might mean losing your life."

"Training is so important - it's the cornerstone of what we do."

"When it comes to even small things or big, you know, potentially life threatening situations, having good training, making that the muscle memory, you know, can really make or break a situation."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Libby is very excited to welcome Dr. Eric Lutz, Director of the Mining Safety Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona to the podcast today. Formerly the Mining Research Director at Spokane, Dr. Lutz has gained a vast amount of expertise, knowledge and experience in his more than 20 years in the mining industry. In today's episode, he shares a story highlighting the importance of heat safety.

Episode Highlights:

• One summer many years ago, a friend of Eric's was working as a field geologist supervising a drill operation in the intense Texas heat
• She got overheated and started feeling unwell and faint - a condition called syncope related to heat strain
• She was able to recover by cooling off in air conditioning and hydrating
• On her next rotation, she had another heat stress event, and it was a little more severe than the last one
• This continued on for years where each subsequent event of getting overheated happened a little sooner, and it was a little more severe when it did happen
• Now it's to the point where she has a very high level of heat susceptibility
• When she gets overheated now, she is basically sick for 24 hours - feeling miserable, vomiting, feeling very sick, completely fatigued and wiped out
• Everyone needs to understand that when you get heat stressed, it is a cascade of events that occurs physiologically with your body reacting to trying to manage that overheating; that each time you're subsequently exposed to excessive heat, it'll be more severe and you'll be more susceptible to it
• We have to proactively manage our heat stress and keep ourselves cool when we're working in these very extreme environments
• From subsequent exposures, your body goes through that cascade of events from heat cramps all the way through heat stroke, which is 90%, fatal and very severe
• Through that cascade, you can intervene at any moment to get your body cooled off
• Eric recommends that, if you're feeling hot, put your arm under cold water, run cold water over your left wrist, and, since there's a tremendous amount of blood flow through your left arm, you'll find that it cools you very rapidly

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• Work must continue even when it's hot outside. How can we check in with team members to ensure that everyone is safe in the summer?
• Part of keeping yourself safe is knowing your own body and response to heat. Does anyone have a story about getting acclimated to heat?
• Does anyone have a story about an experience with heat stress they'd like to share?

Quotes:

"She was working in the middle of nowhere outside of Midland, Texas in the middle of summer and supervising a drill operation there and she got overheated - started not feeling very well, she started feeling faint."

"Then the next rotation, she had another heat stress event, and it was a little more severe than the last one. She ended up feeling not only a little faint, but she had a headache that went with it that was quite extreme. And then that evening, after work back at the hotel, she was vomiting and felt extremely fatigued."

"Each time you're subsequently exposed to excessive heat, it'll be more severe, and you'll be more susceptible to it."

"As we work through our careers, we have to manage proactively our management of heat stress."

"I live in Arizona. So certainly living in southern Arizona in the middle of summer, it's not unusual at all to be working in an environment that's basically 120 degrees Fahrenheit all day long when if you have any kind of physical demand, that increases that risk of heat strain that can occur."

"Work on getting yourself cooled off and try to mitigate your heat risk."

"It's so important to remember that not only do we become more susceptible to heat illness, the more we're exposed to it, but also that you can really progress through the different levels of heat illness very quickly."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website

Safety Consultant, speaker, writer, and facilitator Ronn Lehmann returns to the podcast today, fully armed with his more than 35 years experience as a safety consultant focusing on the human elements of work. As many will remember, Ronn has worked all over the world helping organizations and individuals acquire the mindsets, skill sets, and tool sets necessary to achieve success. He is back today to share another one of his many safety stories and offer his sage advice to listeners.

Episode Highlights:

• Ronn's story today was shared with him by a foreman who did a safety huddle every morning but was worried that because he was the only one talking for the most part, those present weren't paying full attention to the safety message
• He wanted to shake these huddles up to solve that issue and others such as making employees more aware of safety issues and having employees educate themselves and others on the reasons behind their safety rules
• To resolve these issues, he decided that, any time he came across a safety infraction, he would give the employee involved the information behind that particular safety rule, and had them present it to the rest of the team at the next safety huddle
• The results were that safety violations dropped almost immediately, the people who had to do the presentations learned so much about the safety rule and the reason behind it, the group listened more closely during huddles, and the staff started closely monitoring the foreman's own safety practices

Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• Sometimes safety talks can feel monotonous. How can we implement these kinds of ideas to keep our safety talk engaging?
• Safety is everyone's responsibility. How can we keep each other accountable for our team's safety?
• Does anyone have a story about a safety lesson that has really stuck with you?

Quotes:

"Since it was always him talking, people were sort of checking out."

"For instance, if he found one of his crew wasn't wearing their eye protection, he would say, 'Okay, at tomorrow's safety huddle, you're going to present on the topic of eye protection.' And he would give them a sheet of paper that had the information. And he'd say just 'I want you to look this over and then share this with our team and talk about why it's important to wear your safety protection.'"

"As we humans know, nobody wants to present, nobody wants to talk in front of the group. So in order to avoid that they all got really much better about their safety."

"A very interesting side effect was the whole team was super vigilant to try and catch the foreman, and they did one day. He didn't have his hard hat on, and they caught him and said, 'You have to present tomorrow on why we wear hard hats.' And he did. And so the whole team kind of really rallied around that."

"I just think it's a wonderful best practice, and I share it as much as I can because we're all trying to learn from each other."

"In my world, a great leader is... not going to ask someone to do something that you're not willing to do yourself."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website