Safety and the Unexpected by safety speaker John Drebinger

December 07, 2011

Safety Speaker John Drebinger’s Weekly Newsletter

In this week’s newsletter:

– Safety and the Unexpected

– An update on my future speaking schedule – save money and have me at your site

while I am in your area

– Website update information

Safety and the Unexpected

Having been a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America for over 49 years, I am very familiar with the slogan, “Be Prepared”. This last week, I was in Southern California working on our website. While I was there they had a record-setting windstorm. I know some of you live in areas where hurricane winds are more prevalent, but for Southern California these were some serious winds. As I write this almost one week after the storm, there are still people without power.

I can’t help but wonder how many of them were prepared. Did they have enough provisions to get through a prolonged period without power? I wonder how many people thought of the danger of using carbon monoxide if they chose to use camping stoves and lanterns indoors to provide light and cooking. Probably a good percentage of people were prepared because of the potential for earthquakes, yet I wonder if they thought of the safety issues brought on by a natural disaster or simply a storm.

I wonder how many people knew of the danger of downed power lines. I was amazed how many trees had fallen on Pasadena city streets. On my way home, I passed the remnants of a large tree that must have covered at least one lane of the freeway. What a surprise someone would have had if they were texting and suddenly came upon a tree in their lane.

What’s the point of all this? First, it is a good time to remind people of the advantage they have working for your company. Because they work for an organization that is committed to safety, they have a safety awareness that other people do not have. That safety focus protects them and their families even when the unexpected happens. I don’t think we discuss this enough. As a safety speaker, I make it a point when I give my talk to point out how lucky they are to be working with people who care about their safety.

Second, use this as a time to remind people of the importance of being prepared. Having safe emergency lighting, be it a flashlight or something fancy, could prevent a fall when getting help, which would make the situation even more difficult. You can think of what issues your people need to be prepared for and include it in your next safety briefing.

Have a Safe Christmas and Holiday Season.

Yours in Service,

John Drebinger