Dixon Valve Newsletter:February:Search:Safety - Manual

34
BOSS
ᔢ FA L L
/
W I N T E R
2013
KEEPING IT SAFE
/
BY PHIL KIMBLE
> We’ve all heard the saying “Time is
money.” Th is expression is especially
profound for a contract with a specifi c
fi nish date and penalties to pay if the
project isn’t completed on time. With
the completion date looming, we have
one eye on the project and one eye on
the clock. One wrong move is a recipe
for disaster.
Th e rainiest summer in years had
put the concrete slab pouring for the
new industrial park way behind
schedule. But things were looking up.
Th e 10-day forecast was clear skies and
low humidity—perfect pouring days.
Th e project manager gathered the
workers to explain the situation, telling
them that, until further notice, everyone
would be working double shift s with
no days off . Also, nothing should be
done other than pouring concrete.
When one worker asked about sched-
uled maintenance for the equipment,
the reply was, “Run it till it drops,
we’ll deal with it later.”
Th e project manager and his
assistant were in their offi ce reviewing
their progress, when, aft er 13 straight
days of
pouring slabs, they
calculated the project as less than two
days away from being back on track.
Aft er checking the fi ve-day forecast and
seeing no predicted change in the
weather, they began “high fi ving” each
other. If the weather would hold out,
not only would they be on schedule,
they’d be ahead of schedule. Th e
celebration was cut short, however,
when one of the crew supervisors
barged through the door yelling, “Boss,
we got a problem! Dial 911 now!”
Don’t ‘Run It Till It Drops’
Ignoring scheduled maintenance can have deadly consequences