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December 20, 2004

COMMENTARY: After the fall | Thoughts on workplace safety following an encounter with an ice-encrusted porch

By Michael Bourque
Vice president for corporate marketing and communications, MEMIC, Portland

It was a few minutes after 6 a.m. as I lay on my stomach atop the heavily crusted snow on my front lawn. The dog's leash was still in my hand. A split second before I had been standing four steps higher on my front porch, readying myself for a walk with an enthusiastic Labrador retriever.

As I lay there, trying to make sure all my moving parts still moved (and those that didn't still didn't), I found myself wondering: WWJDD? (What would John Dodge do?)

A strange thought, you might think, but as a guy who works for a company whose very mission is workplace safety, co-workers like John Dodge ˆ— director of Maine safety operations for MEMIC ˆ— and his fellow safety trainers are never far from my mind. As I lay there, I thought, "This wouldn't have happened to John Dodge. And if it did, he would make sure it wouldn't happen again."

I was okay, it turned out, but as I brushed myself off, I determined that I should seek out John for a safety intervention. Maybe even an investigation of my fall.

When I arrived at work, I called John and told him of my fall. He asked if I was okay, and I allowed that I was. But I was a little embarrassed that I wasn't smart enough to know better. He laughed and told me that mine wasn't unlike a lot of accidents that become major injuries at workplaces across Maine everyday. What I had had this morning, he said, was a near-miss. And as with a near-miss at a workplace, we ought to investigate.

John: You should always investigate a near-miss because they are often indicators or warnings of an accident. Today you were lucky, not safe. A near-miss like this should be investigated as thoroughly as something that caused a very serious injury. You may be a little bit embarrassed about your fall, but the fact that you're willing to discuss it is important. Sometimes employees are reluctant to report a near-miss because they might be afraid that it makes them look silly or incompetent. Maybe they broke a company rule by doing what they were doing. It's important that employers develop a culture where these issues can be discussed and reviewed.

Mike: Is there a right way to investigate? I mean, I can tell you right now that it was icy. I slipped. I fell. End of story (and end of the dog walking for this morning).

John: There's more to it than that. In safety, we consider the hierarchy of controls. First, eliminate the hazard. Short of a climate change or moving your business to Florida, you probably aren't going to eliminate ice and snow.

Mike:Right. What's next?

John: Second, consider an engineering control. Does your front porch have a covering that would eliminate or minimize the ice on your steps? Perhaps this is worth considering. You may not think so, but what if you'd fallen backward and suffered a head injury this morning? Maybe a roof over the porch isn't such a bad idea.

Mike: Maybe, but I'm not building anything this winter. There must be some effective steps I could take short of that.

John: Next on the hierarchy of controls are administrative controls. These are rules or procedures that you put in place to deal with these hazards. Perhaps you would have a rule that says, "When it's icy, don't walk the dog." It can be as simple as that. Or perhaps you should have had a rule that before you attempt to go down the steps you shovel and sand them.

Mike: Yeah, I know. My wife said that. But my shovel wasn't on the front porch. It was near the back door.

John: That could be another administrative control. You probably go out the front door every morning to walk the dog, right? But whenever you finish shoveling, you finish at the back door and leave the shovel there. One of your rules should be to put the tool, in this case the shovel, at the front door for use on icy mornings like today.

Next you should consider protective equipment. To be honest, one of the first things I thought about when you told me about your fall was your footwear. Were you wearing the right footwear for the conditions?

Mike: Well, I was wearing some rubber boots but the treads have pretty much worn off. I did think, briefly, that my hiking boots might be better.

John: Maybe you would consider some studded treads that slip on to your boots. We recommend them to people who have to deal with these conditions on a regular basis.

Mike: And I guess the other thing I should do is use the special collar that keeps my lab from pulling me when I walk her. My son ˆ— he's three ˆ— told me that this morning.

John: Like any good manager, he's just looking out for your well-being and helping you to create systems that avoid injuries.

Mike: I just can't wait for him to be old enough to walk the dog.

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