Thursday, April 6, 2023

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.

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