Situational Awareness & Being Observant

Some days it is like a broken record with the crew. “Watch out for …,” “Keep in mind …” and, of course, the much more emphatic “Hey, hey, hey, you can’t …” Those supervisors who work in the field on a daily basis and are responsible for the training of less experienced workers know this feeling well. So, how do we train our workers, keep them safe and still be productive? It comes down to one simple phrase: situational awareness.

What is situational awareness? We constantly use the analogy of blinders on a racehorse to describe it. All those horses care about is what is directly in front of them as they run down that track. In our line of work, that way of thinking is dangerous. It is easy to talk about the scope of a job and identify hazards, but once work starts, the situation changes and a worker’s field of vision may shrink. Sometimes there is so much going on in your working environment, or you become so absorbed in your own thoughts, that you fail to spot those things that could pose a serious threat to your health and safety.

Three Subcategories
The concept of situational awareness can be broken into three subcategories: hazard recognition, scope change and complacency. I have found that workers are much more positively impacted when you touch upon each topic individually prior to the job. (Ex. JSA Meeting)

Hazard recognition is something all of us do subconsciously (i.e., without realizing it), but that is not enough. It’s not until we put a greater focus on recognizing hazards from the start, and an added focus on the little things that many do not perceive as hazards, that we will really start to positively affect worker safety.

Scope change and complacency go together, so let’s take a look at them in that context. Scope change occurs when something comes up after the start of the job, and then everyone on the job needs to recognize the new situation and make the necessary adjustments. Complacency, or being comfortable with what is occurring right in front of you without giving it too much thought, will never let you fully identify scope change. If an issue arises after the start of the job, we must stop what we are doing and begin the process of situational awareness over again. Otherwise, we will continue to think the issue that came up is no big deal – and that is when we likely will have accidents.

Complacency needs to be addressed and guarded against on an institutional level, and I don’t mean just by your company or safety man. It needs to be addressed by you, by me, by everyone – every single day. Complacency toward the job is an underlying factor in almost every single accident. We all must find a way to fight complacency, not only for ourselves but also for those we work with. Our line of work has institutional complacency built into it by the way we talk to one another about the job we are about to perform. One of the biggest ways to counteract this is to try to avoid using what I refer to as “trap phrases.” These kinds of phrases – such as “real quick,” “let’s just,” “knock this out” and “it’s only” – lead to problems. They instill thoughts of “easy” and “not hazardous” with regard to the job that is about to occur, and thus lead to complacency. We have to choose our words carefully and ensure we never forget the task at hand, the hazards that exist and our training to work safely around them.

Act ‘SLIM’
One way we can keep our heads clear and stay safe during both routine tasks and high-stress times is to act “SLIM.”

SLIM is an acronym that stands for stop, look, identify and manage. These four categories – if covered before the job starts and if discussed during the hazard analysis portion of the job – will go a long way toward keeping you and your co-workers safe during the job. Following is a brief breakdown of each of the four categories.

• Stop: Engage your mind before your hands. Visualize the task and be sure you understand what needs to be done before you start working.
• Look: Carefully observe your work location to find any hazards.
• Identify: Point out the effects that the hazards could potentially have on you and your co-workers. Ask yourself if you can complete your task safely.
• Manage: What are the options you have to mitigate any hazards prior to the start of work, and can the crew still continue the job as planned?
  
  If all four of these items are discussed, and there is consensus among the group, only then is it time to go to work.
  
  Summary
  It’s easy not to have your head in the game in this line of work. Outside influences – such as your home life, your boss, weekend plans and deadlines – are distractions that can easily steal our focus. We must continue to train ourselves to stay situationally aware every single day. We need to make sure we never have our blinders on to the hazards around us. Staying situationally aware and refusing to become complacent will help you and your crew get the job done right and go home safely every time.

March Near Misses

Third party contractor onsite installing 4" process pipe-up in existing overhead  pipe rack. Work area was congestive, having multiple welding rigs, cranes with suspended loads, active man lifts, welder hooches on scaffolding, and other personnel. As I approached the area I noticed  two workers in a man lift traveling alongside the pipe rack.  One of them, of course  operating, the other in front of him, reaching out over the side of the man basket, laying out fire  blanket over the cable tray below.  While doing so, he was blocking the operator from having clear sight in the direction of travel. From where I was standing, it did not appear as though either one of them realized how close they were approaching one of the support beams.  I did not  see a spotter in place. Work was stopped, and I motioned for them to bring the lift down.  When asked where their spotter was, the guy laying out the blanket pointed at himself.  I asked if they had their JSA with them, it was in the supervisors truck, of which was pulling up by that time. We discussed the importance of having a spotter and how critical it was for that spotter to have a single task and stay on task.  

Let them know that they would need a flag.  He told me that the way he understood it was, as long as he had a high viz vest on, a flag was not required. Which lead me to asked where his high viz vest was. He was wearing a blue vest over an FR shirt very close to the same color.  JSA was reviewed , and revised . I helped them to list the task in order of the work being performed, potential hazards, and the steps they would take to prevent them. Asked that they keep the JSA in the work area. Had them designate a spotter , before  starting back to work.

Observed individual working in terminal box.  I asked him if he had his LOTO in place and that it was verified that no voltage existed?  He stated he didn't have a lock on the equipment.  Stopped work.  We both went down to the source and seen that the cable was still on the ground and had not been terminated.  However this was in the control of another company that could have it installed in their equipment anytime and energized.  The companies had communicated but no JSA existed and we do not work on anything unless it's assured that it could not be energized, LOTO will be utilized to prevent incidents.

I instructed them to LOTO and verify without exception.  On this particular operation they were to have me involved and a JSA would be just for this and no other tasks, and we will communicate with the other company and involve them in the JSA.  Because the equipment that could cause this to be energized will be LOTO, no exceptions.

During a conversation about an upcoming hydrotest, the contractor performing the hydrotest said it would only be 500 psi and that  the other contractors could continue to work while on test.  I voiced the concern that industry standards dictated that no work could be performed within 50' of a pressurized line during hydro-test.  The contractor performing hydro-test said that he would verify.  After a short time and discussion with Marathon Safety the contractor came back and retracted his previous statement.  No one is to be within 50' of a pressurized line during hydrotest.  As the pressure increases so does the approach distance.  Needless to say, because of the size of our work area in reference to the pressurized line, work had to be suspended until hydrotest completion.

Inspection stopped contractor temporarily to have a new bar welded across the teeth of the bucket and then was allowed to continued excavation activities on the project.

Contractor was welding a drag section for a tie-in. The belt used to lift pipe was worn through both outer layers of the sheathing, exposing the inner cords. Stopped the crew and safely set the pipe back on skids. Gathered crew for another tailgate meeting and stressed the importance of checking all rigging prior to making lifts. Belt was removed from service and replaced with a good one. Another JSA was completed.

We are pleased to announce that we have partnered up with Boot Barn to offer all Applied Consultants inspectors a 15% discount on all purchases “work related” from the Boot Barn, Nation Wide. Be sure to tell them you work for Applied Consultants and use the key word: “Safety First” to receive the discount. 

March Winners

Platinum - Kristy Kirkpatrick
Gold - David Coffin
Silver - Curtis Parr
Bronze - Billy Plummer
Bronze - Mike House
Bronze - Joey Brazil

If you have been selected as a newsletter Q&A winner, please click this link and select your prize(s) from your winning category.