A Rational Approach: Principles and Rules for the Crew

How can we overcome errors that seem accidental? It’s the same old story: "It never happened before, and here we go again..." How can we learn to remember others' — sometimes tragic — mistakes and avoid making our own?

There are various tools for this. One of them is to define key rules specifically for your own work area. These rules should target recurring issues that hinder work and cause you to waste unproductive time.

For example, suppose the local lighting at your workstation keeps burning out. What could be a key rule? To start work in the morning without rushing around looking for bulbs, mechanics, or electricians, you can test them at the end of the shift the day before. To avoid forgetting, you could create a work completion checklist with two or three evening check items and a mark on the checklist. You might say, "Another piece of paper!..." But this isn't a document sent "from above"; it's one you created based on your own experience about what is necessary and important to you — things that absolutely must work in the morning, and you must ensure that. You could rely on memory, of course, but doing this day in and day out can lead to confusion with dates. Therefore, checking and verifying at the end of the shift is more reliable: "Checked, it works." Writing it down means you definitely checked it. Thus, your first key rule is born. The same applies to the second rule and any other "problems" that prevent you from working peacefully.

These small steps will lead to big changes. First, they help you realize what needs to change to avoid risks and stop wasting time. Second, your workstation or workshop will gradually but surely transform: clutter and piles will disappear, faulty equipment will be moved to one place and eventually decommissioned, and everything necessary for work will always be in its place...

Now, about sustaining the results. When you take an uncertain approach like "I'll do it when I have time," it usually means "never." If you schedule 30 minutes or an hour a month or a week to focus on safety and strictly follow your own schedule month after month, you will be able to solve these accumulated problems effectively without distraction. If possible — and it’s better if it is — get a whiteboard, corkboard, or magnetic board and set a specific day and hour for safety in your schedule. It is crucial that the entire crew gets involved, and for that, you need to be "persistent and stubborn."

What is useful to put on the board: the key safety rules developed by you and other workers — what you want to organize and how to implement it. For example, the principle "no smoking here." Is that a rule? Yes. To make it work, you need to organize smoking breaks and designate a smoking area, and for those who break the general rule, establish a symbolic measure or "fine." However, these rules and conditions must be discussed and accepted by the entire team. Similarly, when working — for instance, if you need to lift window units to the upper floors of a building under construction — the key rule is: lift only after checking and ensuring the frames/glass are securely fastened to the hoist. What is the risk? Failure of the slings, the vacuum suction mechanism, or the hoist itself. What does failure lead to? Falling or dangling window units. How can the risk be avoided? Here is a set of mandatory actions:

• Cordon off the work area
• Keep unauthorized persons out
• Check the vacuum suction mechanism for proper operation before starting work
• AND!!! Do not stand under the load path
• Receiving the load at the top using special taglines and a fall protection system
• Before starting work, it is important to ensure that everything is in good working order and properly organized. Yes, this takes time, but it helps avoid risks. Now, let's choose a wording for the Key Rules (KR). You can call them "key," "golden," "cardinal," or "life-saving" rules — whatever you prefer:

"Secure the window unit and yourself during the lift" or, for example: "Safety during lifting and lowering operations." How else could the rule be phrased? "Plan the lowering and lifting of materials, check safety, and monitor during the work."

• And within these rules are your convictions:

– I always check the vacuum suction cup and the integrity of the window unit;

– I always put on and secure fall protection PPE for unloading window units at height;

– I never pull a window unit by hand; I always use taglines;

– I will not start work until the drop zone below is cordoned off and cleared of people.

Here is another example: the rule "Move loads safely":

What is important during movement? We use experience from investigating various incidents and analyze errors:

• incorrect use of the mechanism (using the dragging method when the mechanism is only designed for vertical lifting);
• incorrectly selected load weight based on the mechanism's capacity (e.g., the weight was several times the capacity, or the load dimensions significantly exceeded the platform size).
• incorrectly selected slings for the load (either weight mismatch, torn, or using fiber instead of steel);
• people were present in the work zone.

Now, together with your team, formulate clear basic postulates for this rule — what the rule actually consists of:

• ________________________; this line regarding the match between load and mechanism
• ________________________; this line regarding the integrity of mechanisms and slings;
• ________________________; this line regarding keeping people out of the work zone and monitoring the work.

So, we have arrived at the formation of golden, key, life-saving rules within the crew. Each crew writes its own wordings that are clear and familiar to everyone.

And of course, the following statements should be part of the work:

"We remember that our families are waiting for us at home, and we work safely"

"May every workday be a joy"