If I could only train the building trades one safety subject, it would be Situational Awareness (S/A). I have implemented many situational awareness techniques throughout my own life. As a teenage worker commuting after second shift from South Boston out to the suburbs, I trained two days a week (pre-Krav Maga) in S/A and self-defense techniques. This new skill set enabled me to escape several high-risk situations relatively unscathed in order to “reach home safely” (objective). And shouldn’t that be our primary objective on the job?
As a professional, cross-country flatbed driver, hauling hazardous and oversized loads, I was trained by my partner/mentor to remain mentally active and continuously observant of environmental conditions and difficult traffic situations as they evolved and devolved every 60 seconds. His observation mantra was: Windshield, right mirror, windshield, gauges, windshield, left mirror, windshield (repeat). Even with over 5 million miles of experience, he said every day driving was still an awareness training day.