SAFETY
ago, as Iwitnessed their
introduction. She, and I by
default, nowknow that he
is anAmericanwho teaches
English in thePhilippines, is
married, and liveswithhis
wifeon the topof amountain
near their school.He loves
his job. The ladyhas visited
Hawaii and is flyingback
home, is very cordial, but is
muchmore interested in the
gameofCandyCrush she
keeps attempting toplay as
he chats. Thepersononmy
right is asleep, and all others
inmyview are ticking awayon
thekeys of their phone, as of
course am I.
Why is it thisway?Whydoes
it appear that noone cares?
There is definitely a level of
inherent risk involved inwhat
we aredoing. The airlines
have taken the time and
money toprint uphundreds of
thousands of full color safety
cards, and require this safety
briefingbefore every flight.
Is thereblame tobe laid in
this situation? Is it the airlines
duty to ensurepeople are
listening, understanding and
participating, or is it enough to
simplypresent? Is it the fault
of the attendantwho continues
topresent to an empty crowd,
19
NOVEMBER 2014
ACT
instructions,” she said.
I look around to see the
response.
Noone.Not a singleperson
on this small flight pulled
out the instructions to follow
alongor even review them
on their own. Shewas very
clear as to their location, their
description, and the fact that
theywere important. Still, she
received zeroparticipation.
Will shenotice that noone
is following alongwithher in
this pre-shift JSAof sorts?Will
she stopor at least pause the
presentationupon realizing
that not a singleperson is
heedingher instructions?
No, shedoesnot.And
now the rehearseddiscourse
continues.
Thenext instruction
arrives as shepoints out the
emergency exits and asksus to
locate thenearest one letting
us know they could either
be in front of or behindus.
I pausemy typing toglance
around and seewhodoes so.
Not a soul.
Without apause she
unemotionally continues the
one-sideddiscussionmaking
sure to include thepart about
water landings even though
out short flight path takes us
nowherenearwater, and then
moves on tooxygenmasks
and thepart about infants and
small children even though
there isnooneunder the age
of 30on theplane.
I observe further.
The gentlemen in front
ofme is talking to the lady
next tohim,who I know
was a stranger fiveminutes
We always say in
the safety world
that repetition of
safety principles is
the only way to get
them to stick.
or does theblame liewith all
of us as passengers, (including
thehypocrite typingonhis
phonewriting this article?)
We always say in the safety
world that repetitionof safety
principles is “theonlyway
toget them to stick.”Daily
safetymeetings,multiple JSA’s
before every shift, andother
such examples show this to
be the trend.Does this airline
example indicateotherwise? It
appears that peoplehaveboth
heard andpresented the same
principle somany times that
it has becomemeaningless. It
has becomemore important
todiscusshilltophomes in the
Philippines, playgames onour
phone, catchupon sleep, or
type an article for amagazine
than to activelyparticipate in
our own safety.
What arewedoing to
overcome this same trend in
ourworkplaces?
■
Is your safety
message being
ignored?
A
s Iwrite this I
am sittingon an
airplanepreparing
for takeoff.Asmorepeople
board, I begin tonotice
similarities betweenwhat I am
seeing in this smallworld and
themuch larger “realworld”of
ourworkplaces.
Just aswehave towant a job
and thendo some legwork
toget it,wehave to search
for our flight, book the
ticket, pay the required fee,
anddowhatever it takes to
beon theplane at the right
time.Airplanes, like good
employers, don’tmuch listen
to excuseswhenwedon’t show
upwherewe are supposed to
be;wehave todoour part or
wewill get left behind.
What about the safety/risk
part of flying?Does it also
relate toourworkplaces?
Let’s seewhatwe find. Iwill
conduct a real time social
experiment andwritewhat I
see.
It appears that thepassengers
are all finally situated andnow
the flight attendant is standing
up to address theplane.
“Please remove the safety
instruction sheet from the
seat pocket in front of you
and follow along aswe
review some important safety
‘‘
It appears that people have both
heard and presented the same principle
somany times that it has become
meaningless.
THEAUTHOR
Daniel Erwin
is a crane,
rigging and
transportation
safety consultant
and author.
