By Dave Badger, Environment & Safety Manager, Cooper Equipment Rentals. Published by Equipment Journal.

A real safety plan involves awareness, action and accountability

He should have been wearing his blue vest to indicate he was new. That would have been a flag for everyone in the yard. He wasn’t, but it shouldn’t have stopped others from speaking up. A relatively new driver was picking up a telehandler forklift. He started backing it onto his truck … and it slipped off the side. What was a concussion for him was a learning opportunity for us.

People saw it happening,  yet nobody stepped in. Nobody spoke up or helped guide him. They assumed he knew what he was doing. But assuming everyone is recognizing and evaluating the same hazards equally is risky. It’s how accidents happen.  It wasn’t about training. It wasn’t about inexperience. It was about awareness — and action. More accurately, the lack of both.

And let’s be honest: That’s on all of us.

Until each person on the jobsite feels responsible not just for their own safety, but the safety of others, then none of us is safe.

We engage in potentially dangerous situations every day. Whether you’re on or off the jobsite, being aware of your surroundings isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a fundamental skill to mitigate risk and keep ourselves and others safe. And it’s a mindset.

READ the full article at Equipment Journal.