Park Backward…or Else: How to Incite Maliciously Compliant Safety

by Paul Deffenbaugh | 1 September 2021 12:00 am

Craig was a special kind of awful. He was tall, massively built and intimidating, but only in a physical sense. Intellectually, he was a rather small man. His authority was borne only from the fear of being walked out the gate should you cross him.

He and I didn’t cross paths much because I was part of the operational start-up team on the site of a chemical plant. His crew was in the commissioning of the final phase of the project and due to mobilize out within a year or so. I mostly just rolled my eyes whenever I happened upon him belittling someone or making some stupid, arbitrarily rule. Seldom did his reign of terror affect my team.

Until one day.

Craig’s administrative assistant was walking in the parking lot (looking at her phone), when a car reversed out of its spot. According to her, she totally, almost died! To be fair, I didn’t see it happen, but I imagine it was not the near-death experience it was made out to be.

Over the next several weeks parking lot safety became the thing. There were reports of similar occurrences, and a band of do-gooders rallied for change before someone was killt (not the garment). Then came the all too familiar solution when one of Craig’s henchmen suggested that people always back into parking spots, which is how it was done where he came from (which may as well have been Narnia as far as I’m concerned).

So, parking backward became policy lest ye be written up. It was one of those perfect examples of trying to eliminate a hazard by creating more. Because—to put it lightly—we sucked at backing in. What had been a relatively calm patch of dirt with rows marked by railroad ties became a thunder-dome of horns, 30-point turns and screeching brakes.

Craig did exactly what you’d expect he’d do.

He doubled down. And I don’t mean just a little. The backward parking remained, and a new requirement was added. Beginning one Monday at 5 p.m., only one row of cars was released at a time. It started at the front of the lot (at least that part was fair considering they got there first) and went row by row. After one day of it, union grievances began flooding in for all of the unpaid time people were forced to sit parked in their cars after they had clocked out.

That’s when I got tied up in the mess and I don’t regret it one bit because it was hilarious. At the time, I was making a series of safety videos for the operations team. With my manager’s permission, Craig sequestered my services to film the exodus. His intent was to use it to dismiss the union grievances, but it had exactly the opposite effect.

I perched on top of a tower overlooking the parking lot with enough time to capture the guards take their places. At quitting time, the herd rushed out in a flurry of middle fingers and foul language as Craig stood on a balcony just below me. I was too far up to be noticed, but even if anyone saw me, I don’t think they cared. They all wanted to murder Craig. No one was shy about voicing that desire either.

In the end money won.

Craig lost his grievances with the union. Apparently, my two-hour video of cars waiting to leave a parking lot was not proof of fair treatment. Go figure. The backing rule was never officially reversed, but it was never enforced again. Soon, no one remembered.

But safety took a huge nosedive in those final months of the construction phase. It was something the workforce had to do, not something they wanted to.

I’ve stated many times before that legal compliance and people safety are two distinctly different objectives. Craig was a perfect case study for that. Compliance is required. No one’s arguing that. But OSHA isn’t what keeps the average worker awake at night. Having a life is. Figure out what that life is about, invest some time in teaching them why safety will make it possible and help them understand when risk is unacceptable. That’s how real safety works.

As an added bonus, far fewer people will want to punch you in the face.

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Jason Maldonado has worked as a safety and health professional for 17 years in a variety of industries. He is the owner and lead contributor of RelentlessSafety.com[1], as well as an accomplished author and speaker. His first book, “A Practical Guide to the Safety Profession: The Relentless Pursuit,” is available now.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/park-backward-or-else-how-to-incite-maliciously-compliant-safety/

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