Thanks for the walk down memory lane - I spent a summer in the 70's riding in a Cat D9 off the high walls in an open pit coal mining operation with my uncle. Scared the holy sh*t out of me the first few times. My dad dropped me of in the morning and I rode with my uncle in that Cat until lunch - all summer long. I am sure that would be highly "frowned" upon today. It's a wonder I wasn't killed or something:)
LOTO, Lock Out, Tag Out. I have been in some fairly, well, downright dangerous areas of some Boeing aircraft types. Lock out tags, flagged pins, lock out clips, I've used them all. Boeing is VERY conscious of worker safety. Still, there are accidents, some deadly. This is not inherently safe work. Safety is an effortful event, not a natural event.
Little voice in my head: "Hey, don't reach in there!" Me: "Aah, shaddup! I know what I'm doing. And besides, the interlock will keep things from moving." I left a visible trail of blood drops on my way to the plant's nurse. She was unimpressed...
Anybody remember the safety poster with the pic of a wedding ring spot-welded to a wrench? My now-ex complained I didn't wear my wedding ring during the work week. I explained that a missing ring is better than a missing finger. I don't think she believed me. Oh, well.
Big machines; big hurts. It took a long time for an ankle to heal after slipping off the tracks of a large excavator. That, and an operator hit me with a backhoe bucket, when he hit the swing while trying to adjust his seating position.
The prick, ass-chewing foreman at the end of this video? I had a foreman just like that once. His name was Dick Hufford. He once told me he didn't like being a prick. He said that's just what the owner of the company wanted him to be to get more out of the employees.
He wasn't fooling anybody. He was an asshole because he liked being an asshole. He had his first heart attack at 43 and died at 66. I don't know of anyone that went to his funeral.
Interesting note: I worked in the woods for over 40 years (logging). I retired without injury and still had all my fingers and toes. In my years of logging, the foremen I knew tended to be the people that received the injuries, most often caused by unforced errors.
Had a boss who grew up in Idaho, had an ME degree,then had a tour with the Army in 'nam. After he got rehabbed stateside he took a job w/Cat at one of their rustbelt factories. Early on he was out on the floor trying to solve a mechanical problem and he picked up a wrench to adjust a machine. The union lackey ran to the union steward and raised holy hell. The boss gave him a gentle chewing out-since it was his first time violating Union Rules. He told me he got the hell out of there without even having another job offer. Moved out of state and found a pretty decent employer that was more to his liking.
OVER 50 years in construction, HIGHWAY for 24 or better. PIPELINE for 24 or better. I have seen a lot of CRAP because of STUPIDITY & DRUGS! SMOKING DOPE on the job, was the worst. STUPIDITY WAS NEXT! I for one am BEAT TO PIECES, JUST from the work.
Guessing he's dead now.
ReplyDeleteWhat with no mask.
Pretty boring safety film, no scantly clad dancers, no rap music and no beer.
ReplyDeleteairs on tcm often
ReplyDeleteThanks for the walk down memory lane - I spent a summer in the 70's riding in a Cat D9 off the high walls in an open pit coal mining operation with my uncle. Scared the holy sh*t out of me the first few times. My dad dropped me of in the morning and I rode with my uncle in that Cat until lunch - all summer long. I am sure that would be highly "frowned" upon today. It's a wonder I wasn't killed or something:)
ReplyDeleteWho remembers the made-for-TV movie Killdozer?! :)
ReplyDeleteGot the book and the video.
DeleteGood film. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteNo end to the ways you can mess yourself up with machinery
ReplyDeleteLove today's banner art !!
ReplyDeleteLOTO, Lock Out, Tag Out. I have been in some fairly, well, downright dangerous areas of some Boeing aircraft types. Lock out tags, flagged pins, lock out clips, I've used them all. Boeing is VERY conscious of worker safety. Still, there are accidents, some deadly. This is not inherently safe work. Safety is an effortful event, not a natural event.
ReplyDeleteWe teach LOTO, and Human Factors, as yearly recurrent and the tendency for complacency remains.
DeleteYou need to see the "RiffTrax" version of this
ReplyDeleteSaw this during New Miner MSHA training a few years ago. All the guys LOVED it! Kinda like a "Rocky Horror" movie for the safety training industry.
ReplyDeleteLove the title!
ReplyDeleteLittle voice in my head: "Hey, don't reach in there!" Me: "Aah, shaddup! I know what I'm doing. And besides, the interlock will keep things from moving." I left a visible trail of blood drops on my way to the plant's nurse. She was unimpressed...
Anybody remember the safety poster with the pic of a wedding ring spot-welded to a wrench?
My now-ex complained I didn't wear my wedding ring during the work week.
I explained that a missing ring is better than a missing finger. I don't think she believed me. Oh, well.
Big machines; big hurts. It took a long time for an ankle to heal after slipping off the tracks of a large excavator. That, and an operator hit me with a backhoe bucket, when he hit the swing while trying to adjust his seating position.
ReplyDeleteThe prick, ass-chewing foreman at the end of this video? I had a foreman just like that once. His name was Dick Hufford.
ReplyDeleteHe once told me he didn't like being a prick. He said that's just what the owner of the company wanted him to be to get more out of the employees.
He wasn't fooling anybody. He was an asshole because he liked being an asshole. He had his first heart attack at 43 and died at 66. I don't know of anyone that went to his funeral.
Interesting note: I worked in the woods for over 40 years (logging). I retired without injury and still had all my fingers and toes. In my years of logging, the foremen I knew tended to be the people that received the injuries, most often caused by unforced errors.
Had a boss who grew up in Idaho, had an ME degree,then had a tour with the Army in 'nam. After he got rehabbed stateside he took a job w/Cat at one of their rustbelt factories. Early on he was out on the floor trying to solve a mechanical problem and he picked up a wrench to adjust a machine. The union lackey ran to the union steward and raised holy hell. The boss gave him a gentle chewing out-since it was his first time violating Union Rules. He told me he got the hell out of there without even having another job offer. Moved out of state and found a pretty decent employer that was more to his liking.
ReplyDeleteI show this video to all my new employees, it's the greatest heavy equipment safety video ever produced.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching that one back in the early 80s!! Very well done and I paid attention and no accidents.
ReplyDeleteOVER 50 years in construction, HIGHWAY for 24 or better. PIPELINE for 24 or better. I have seen a lot of CRAP because of STUPIDITY & DRUGS! SMOKING DOPE on the job, was the worst. STUPIDITY WAS NEXT! I for one am BEAT TO PIECES, JUST from the work.
ReplyDelete