Thomas Edison once said, “Discontent is the first necessity of progress.” As I ponder this thought I look back and see that most of our world’s progress occurred because some folks, somewhere, had a burr under their saddle. My career was certainly wedged out from a raging discontent with employer’s apparent disregard for the safety of workers. What we faced in the late 1940’s when I first got involved in safety might be described as an arrogant indifference. Fatalities and serious injuries to workers were just a part of the price demanded for getting things done.Over the years as I have traveled around this country and around the world this one question has entered my mind as I looked at a magnificent sky scraper or a wondrous bridge. “Just how many lives were lost in the construction of this edifice?” Try that question on The Pyramids and the answer might stagger your imagination.
I would like to put a burr under your saddle today. Don’t you believe you might find a way to do a better job of safety in your particular industry? Now don’t back away from that thought because of the old excuse, “It would not be cost effective.” Think of that recent mining disaster? What about that oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico? Don’t you think we could all do a better job of prevention? Calculate the dollar cost of either of those events and the impact they might have on their industries and you will find that it is true…Safety Pays. Let that burr under your saddle challenge you this very day to rededicate yourself to doing a better job. If not you, then who?
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