This is a very good question. There are usually two causes of accidents... ignorance of how to do the task right, or knowing the safe way and ignoring it.
Raising awareness through education can help the first, but unfortunately the second is alot harder. You can train and issue safety gear all day long, but ultimately the indiviual has to choose to use that training and PPE. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but... well, you know.
With all the deaths and near misses, you would think nobody would be stupid enough to do things like not wear safety glasses, or stick body parts into a chipper infeed, but it still happens.
Maybe instead of just educating people that certain things CAN happen, we should illustrate more that they DO happen, quite often. More graphic (maybe even downright gory) pictures of people after they have been chipped, or with eyeballs seeping fluids would really drive the point home. I'd rather upset their stomachs and hurt their sensitivities than have them get killed. Took three guys to a "live-line" demonstration a couple years ago. They STILL won't screw around near power lines.
In my lifetime I have seen (as in personally witnessed) no less than THREE work-related fatalities. All of them preventable. THREE lives needlessly cut short, THREE families of kids without dads, THREE families losing a member.
So when I say I don't dick around with people who do dumb things, you can believe I mean it. And you can understand why I get so heated in the Inj/Fat forum.
Employers need to educate more, and follow that with discipline. If they don't get the message in 2 warnings, they're not going to get it ever, until they get themselves killed or hurt.
How many guys here have a written safety policy? If no, why not? If yes, do you enforce it?
The seriousness of safety needs to be driven home... and HARD. Almost every accident in the Inj/Fat forum was preventable. Let's review:
"Man falls out of Bucket to Death 6-12-2003" - Preventable? Yes. Should have been tied in, and properly.
"Man Down - Tallahassee -07/30/03- electrocution " - Preventable? Probably. Was inexperiened or untrained with working near energized conductors, or didn't take proper precautions. Maybe didn't have the right equipment. Look up "line clearance arborist".
"man thru chipper " - Preventable? Absolutely. Never, EVER put your body into a running machine! Use a push stick, or shut it down and remove the blockage whan all parts are stopped.
"spar fell " - Preventable? Yep. Minimum safe distances need to be maintained from operations, particularly felling - at least 1-1/2 times the height of the spar.
"He lived " - Preventable? Yessir! Proper fall protection is always required when working aloft. It's required for a reason!
"Children, trees, & felling-- A dangerous combination Child struck-by, Jan 2003 " - Preventable? Yes. Maintaining your "work zone" is paramount!
"accident-westen Mass " - Preventable? Probably! When crotching in, try to tie around the tree, not the branch. Pick a branch capable of sustaining your weight, and double tie!
I could go on for hours, but you get the idea.
