Have you gotten less safe or more safe over the years?

[equip guy]

I think I'm getting better in some areas, and not good enough in others. I always use stands, blocks, and alike, but should do way better job on eye protection in general. When I grind, cut, or use nasty chemicals I wear the glasses, but when I'm under the equipment, or blowing off a part to be inspected I don't seem to have them on. Also I need to do a better job protecting my hands from the cleaning chemicals. Need to wear nitrile gloves more. Now that I think about it, I need to do a better job on breathing protection too for welding and other stuff. So I'm not worse, but haven't changed my bad habbits fast enough. One of my new years resolutions.

 

[norite]

I am definitely getting to be an "old bull" nowadays when it comes to safety. I tend to spend more time thinking about the best way to do something before I do it, what the hazards and proper equipment needed are and if it doesn't feel right, I think about it some more until I am satisfied it is safe. Despite this I get as much or more work done than I ever did, experience I guess.

Seen some bad accidents over the years happen to others, had some close calls myself. If I can't seem to win the lottery these days it's probably because I used up most of my luck when I was young and foolish to avoid any serious injuries.

 

[Balavto]

Definitely I work on safe over the years. It was really hard, when my exavator slip in to the whole and almost kill me...

 

[Jumbo]

The closer I get to retirement, the more cautious I am. (Two years away.) I think more of the accidents I see currently are results of people being stretched thin. I see the boss telling somebody to do something stupid and they do it because they are afraid for their job.

 

[Bison]

I guess everybody has its share doing something stupid.
The lucky ones if they are smart enough learn from it or go down in another round.
The unlucky ones die or end up in the hospital,never to work again.
I musta been in the "Lucky and smart enough to learn" category
In 40 yrs of working mostly by myself i didn't get more than a couple cuts and bruises,so i must either be smart or lucky.tap tap.(knocking wood)

The closest call i ever had was when skidding a big log hooked to a chain on the drawbar of my tractor out of the bush.
The log snagged behind a stump and the chain broke at the sliphook,sending the hook trough my rear widow,clipped my left ear and departed trough the left cab door window to disappear forever in the bush.
I didn't think i was doing anything unsafe as i had done this many times before.
I blame it on Old Murphy paying a visit.

 

[HarrisEquipment]

I try harder to be safe these days and I do work safer than I ever have. But like equip guy said I still find myself not wearing air respirator when leaning over the welder all day or using cleaning chemicals like brake clean & solvent without gloves. I Usually find myself caught up in getting the job repaired quickly and not thinking about the long term health risks.

I'm only 35 and have had too many close calls in the shop. Heres a couple of my stories.
Recently I was pulling a stuborn bearing, it slipped and piece of the bearing chipped off and branded my forehead with nice little gash. For a 1/2" cut it sure did bleed. With a shop rag and couple wraps around my head with black tap I used a die grinder to relieve the that bearing race.
2 years ago I was jump starting a John Deere tractor. I turned the key standing just inside the cab, the engine started and I got down and was unhooking the cables. When the tractor started to rock backwards I grabbed the hand rail and seemed to jump instantly into the seat as the Rpms were racing upward. The tractor neutral safety was bypassed and tractor was moving in reverse. 8 feet behind the tractor was a pickup that I had on jack stands, I was pushing in the clutch and standing on the brakes Looking backwards, it came to a hault less than 4 inches from the truck. I let out a long sigh. I did not own any of this equipment and was glad nothing was damaged. Then as I re-ran the events thru my head that I got the shakes. A split second slower and that tractor would have ran me over, hit that pickup and pushed it out the back of the shop. I turned the lights off in the shop and went home for the day.
But whats funny I can recall several times jump starting something and reminding myself to sit in the seat and start the equipment.

I'm self employed and when I'm feeling run down I will purposely put off some jobs because I don't feel mentally all there to do the job correctly or safely.

 

[bobb]

some people laugh at me cause i use cutting goggles (the old two cup kine) when im doing alot of grinding. ive done enough grinding to know that safetey glasses are only the minimal osha requirement. i use ear plugs more often these days cause you lose your hearing a bit at a time and you never get it back. losing your sight separates you from the world. losing your hearing separates you from people. i have done things that i will not do again, like walking on open beams 20 feet up. stay out of the killl zone my friends. if it looks bad, rethink it. dont trust hydraulic cylinders that dont have holding valves and be careful of the ones that have them. you never know what kind of yoyos worked on that equipment last. dont go stickin your fingers in holes they dont belong in. been there done that. when you pull a wheel off something it may be a good idea to shove it under the vehicle as an extra life support. take first aid and cpr classes or at least check it out on like you tube or something. the life you save may be yours. safety is not something you just learn its more of a lifestyle and refresher courses are needed from time to time.