National Work Zone Awareness Week

 April 17th - 21st is National Work Zone Awareness Week.

Remember that each person working in a work zone has a family, friends, and a life that's in your hands as a driver!

 

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April is NSC's Distracted Driving Awareness month. In 2021 there were 3,522 lives lost due to distracted driving, all of which were preventable. That's 3,522 families who lost a loved one.

Most think of cell phone use first when it comes to distracted driving, but all of these activities also count:

• Infotainment centers on vehicles (music, navigation, and temperature controls)
• Eating or drinking
• Assisting passengers, especially children

Hands-free cell phone use has also found to not be a solution: the cognitive distraction from participating in a conversation with someone not physically present is still found to contribute to vehicle accidents. 

Some of the best actions you can take to keep from distracted driving include:

• Setting all controls before beginning to drive. This includes seat adjustments, mirrors, music, and navigation settings.
• Setting your cell phone to 'driving' mode, or 'do not disturb.' Some cell phones will even let you set up an auto-reply function to texts. Setting this up with a polite auto reply, such as, "I'm currently driving and will reply to all messages once I've arrived at my destination," will give you peace of mind.
• Discussing with appropriately aged children that it's important to not distract you from driving. Plan for children's needs before starting out, by keeping accessible snacks and water available, and simple entertainment like books.

The next time you're tempted to take your eyes from the road, we hope you consider whether it's worth a life!

 

Safety Focus: Statewide Flooding Emergency

Governor Doug Burgum declared a statewide emergency for flooding earlier this week.

The National Weather Service has put together great resources on flooding here.

This includes information on what to do before, during, and after a flood.

There is also a map that shows current flooding conditions throughout the country.

Remember to:

• Follow any evacuation orders
• Don't drive through standing water!

It doesn't take much water to have a big impact.

• Only 6 inches of swift-moving water can knock you off your feet and sweep you away
• 12 inches of water can carry away most small cars
• 2 feet of water will lift most large vehicles
  

 

Safety Is For the Other Guy: Stop Work Authority

I just wrapped up a training on Stop Work Authority. This concept (called SWA for short) is about giving everyone who interacts with the work you're doing the authority to stop that work if there's a risk, or perceived risk, that hasn't been controlled. 

This is a great policy. First of all, it gives all employees the power to say no to a task they believe is unsafe. However, what it also does is make everyone accountable to ensuring that work is safe. Making work safe isn't a task just for the supervisors, or the management team, or the safety coordinator. It's so important that it's everyone's shared responsibility. No one gets to coast when it comes to safety. 

Check out this video:

Sometimes we forget what's most important in life, don't we? We get wrapped up in our daily responsibilities. Sometimes life feels so fast and nonstop that we rarely feel like we have the chance to look up from the rat race to think about the bigger reasons for why we do what we do. For many, life comes down to relationships, and to preserving the chance to keep on doing life with our loved ones. That can mean your family, or chosen family, or maybe it's the connections you've made at your job. One main way to keep doing life with the ones we love most is ensuring our safety. It's more important than getting things done faster, or anything else. 

Enter Stop Work Authority. We're all on the same boat, and we all want to get to the other shore without capsizing. It's everyone's job. Maybe that looks a little different based on people's roles. What the management team does to support safe work is different than what the field tech does. But the point is, safety is NEVER for the other guy. Safety involves intentional awareness from each person in your company, and even from those outside it, like contractors, or clients. 

Because one person not doing their safety role can mean you lose the chance to do life with the ones you love. It could mean your life, or it could mean a disabling injury -- even from a sneaky source, like carpal tunnel. But the bottom line is it affects what is most important. Let's all pull together for safety. Safety is never for the other guy, and, no matter your role, it's always up to you.