Though the list is 17 centuries
old, experience indicates we in safety have a long way
to go to solve them. - by Gary W. Helmer
The Seven Deadly Sins (vanity,
avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth) are
more than 17 centuries old but were not codified until
the sixth century by Pope Gregory the Great. These
sins were identified around the same time the Bible
was being translated and are found throughout--from
Genesis to Revelation.
Their applicability today is contentious given the
state of society, but nonetheless they do exist. In
1993, a music television network did a special on
the Seven Deadly Sins that involved interviewing some
well-known entertainers. These pillars of civilization
mostly agreed these particular sins were really not
vices and that the list was "dumb." I find
such comments rather disheartening.
I started thinking of the things that are often repeated
in pre-accident and accident scenarios and came up
with my own list of sins. They are:
I. Procrastination
Why do now what you can do much later? All of us have
done it: put off doing something intentionally, often
with less-than-desirable consequences. We wait until
the last minute to do our taxes, pay bills, or even
clean out the garage, until it is in such a clutter
that we don't know where to start. But what about
delaying or waiting too long to fix or repair something
that creates or exacerbates a safety hazard? Especially
after it has been identified and properly reported
as a safety-related issue!
Near the main entrance of a local installation, the
traffic light had quit working. It was completely
out of service, and during peak periods the traffic
was particularly congested. The agency responsible
for its repair had been notified but had made no attempt
to restore the broken traffic signal. (I later learned
it had been out of commission for four days.)
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Complacency is a known problem and must be clearly
recognized as a causal factor in accidents. There
is no cure, but we must be ever diligent in our prevention
efforts. |
One dark morning during this period, I happened
to be exiting the post when I noticed a bus across the
street dropping off passengers. I was a little concerned
as the throng approached the street to cross, some in
the crosswalk and others in the street. They were having
a good time talking and laughing, paying little attention
to crossing the four-lane and seemingly oblivious to
the malfunctioning traffic signal. Just then, a car
crested the hill some 60 yards away, traveling much
too fast to stop. As he broached the crowd, the driver
swerved left, right, then left again, honking his horn
wildly and barely missing more than a few in the surprised
group. I was amazed no one had been hit--I just knew
I was witnessing a tragedy.
Having maneuvered through the pack, the driver kept
going, but those in the street got a big chuckle out
of it all. Were those laughs of joy I heard or the
giggles of nervous relief at having survived near-certain
disaster? I made an immediate call to the local authorities
and told them what had just happened. Within a short
time, a crew was there fixing the light. Why did such
a hazard take so long to get mitigated?
II. Ignorance
We have heard this adage "ignorance is bliss"
and probably have had a blissful moment or two ourselves.
As adults, we have some notion of what will hurt us
and what won't. Children, on the other hand, have a
rite of passage through learning these things on the
road to adulthood. However, we are part of that process
and must ensure they know the rules and the proper use
of equipment that is designed to protect them from harm.
I was at the scene of a minor traffic accident one
afternoon when I noticed several bicyclists approaching
the intersection. In the lead was a woman, followed
by two children, then another lady and two more children.
They had stopped at the junction to appraise the activities
surrounding the vehicle accident. The first woman
had no bicycle helmet but the children each had helmets
draped uselessly over the handlebars of their bikes.
I took the opportunity to do my safety thing and approached
the woman, asking her why they were not wearing bicycle
helmets. Without responding to me, she turned to the
children and blurted, "Why aren't you wearing
those helmets like mommy told you!" With that,
the children quickly donned their helmets, mom smiled,
and off the procession went.
I can only imagine what was going through the minds
of those youngsters, not the least of which was confusion.
One moment their mother actively condoned not wearing
the helmets, and the next she publicly chastised them
into conformance. The children may have gotten part
of the message, albeit a mixed signal, but the woman
missed it altogether as she blissfully pedaled away.
III. Complacency
World events have forever changed the way we live
and act in our daily lives. Many of the things we
took for granted have been inexorably modified, and
we are forced to adapt our once-comfortable routines
to accommodate the changes. Travelers notice an increased
presence of security personnel in airports, train
stations, parking lots, and other public venues. Our
streets are patrolled more often and by greater numbers
of police and security personnel. There is an increase
in neighborhood watch groups, and our lives are suddenly
less private.
We are on edge and very concerned. We worry at every
turn that some evil might lurk in a hidden corner
where we least expect it. We plan our activities with
greater detail and vary our daily regimen a bit to
be a little less predictable. We want to be prepared.
But who is the enemy? Whom should we watch out for?
There are many fanatical factions in the world that
could justifiably be labeled an enemy. However, of
all the multifaceted dangers that do present themselves,
complacency may well be our biggest adversary.
Complacency is a self-satisfied state of mind oblivious
to any danger present. We regularly experience complacency
in our personal lives and at our jobs. The key is
being cognizant of its existence and the measures
we can take to offset any negative consequences. The
places we feel the most familiar with can be the most
perilous because the menace is not so obvious to us.
When we feel confident the environment is stable,
we often forget things are subject to change and become
precarious in an instant. We must learn to react and
interact with our surroundings to ensure we are alert
to the possibilities of catastrophe.
Complacency is an attitude that determines how we
respond to given situations. How many times have we
heard the statement, "We have always done it
that way." Of course, it must be right if it
has stood the test of time and repetitiveness. Not
necessarily true! The very fact it is repeated often
can draw us into the complacency trap--we learn to
expect proven results until one day, the outcome changes
for the worse. |
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Deliberately breaking rules, laws, and regulations
is a transgression, and knowingly assisting in the
commission of such a wrongful act is complicity.
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Complacency is a known problem and must be clearly recognized
as a causal factor in accidents. There is no cure for
complacency, but we must be ever diligent in our prevention
efforts. J.C. Ryle so aptly wrote, "
Do
not suppose that it needs some great scarlet sin to
bring you to the pit of destruction. You have only to
sit still and do nothing, and you will find yourself
there at last."
IV. Cluelessness
Have you ever been around someone who was completely
or hopelessly bewildered, unaware, ignorant, or foolish?
I once worked with someone so afflicted in an office
setting at a university. When asked to complete a
task, he would do it willingly, no questions asked.
There was one small problem, however: No matter what
the project was, it always had to be corrected, or
in most cases, done over from scratch.
It was the completion of the act and not the product
that he took satisfaction in. To him, getting it done
meant it was done--it did not have to be completed
with any degree of quality. Even when told of this
peculiar practice, he never did comprehend the fact
that he created more work for the rest of us. "If
you want it done right, do it yourself," certainly
rang true in this case.
In studies completed on the clueless, it has been
shown they very often believe they are expert or at
a level of skill/knowledge far greater than people
who maintain some semblance of cluefulness. The problems
created by this phenomenon differ from those caused
by ignorance. The ignorant can be trained, and once
they are armed with the know-how they usually do not
repeat the same errors. The clueless, however, cannot
be taught and actually will repel any attempt at correction,
believing instead that their misguided concepts are
most right.
V. Acquiescence
"If you are not part of the solution, you are
part of the problem." Simply going along with
something and taking no part in correcting a bad situation
is acquiescence.
There exists a predicament involving a few personnel
who inhabit civil service positions at U.S. Army flight
simulator training facilities worldwide. Most of the
positions they occupy are classified as "flight
training instructor" or "flight training
specialist," and several entail duties that are
restricted by regulation to qualified instructor pilots
or instrument flight examiners. Paradoxically, many
of these personnel are not qualified flight instructors
or instrument flight examiners. Others are not qualified
in the aircraft related to the flight simulator they
"perform" duties in, and some are not even
rated aviators. Few, if any, have been administered
the evaluations required by regulation to obtain or
maintain status as an instructor pilot or instrument
flight examiner. In actuality, they are "pseudo-instructors"
reaping the advantages of a position but providing
no real benefit to the aircrew training programs they
are paid to support.
One among them has audaciously assumed the title
of "Supervisory Helicopter Flight Instructor
Pilot," yet he has never been qualified as a
flight instructor for the Army or the Federal Aviation
Administration and meets none of the requirements
as such. He enjoys full autonomy in "instructing"
Army aviators and supervising "training"
at two flight training facilities.
These misdeeds were exposed several years ago and
have repeatedly been brought to the attention of a
number of agencies since. Each time, an "investigation"
ensues and the individuals involved are exonerated.
The fact is that the problem has not gone away and
with the assent of their superiors, it continually
gets ignored and covered up. Accepting lower or no
standards of regulatory conformance erodes the proficiency
of the aircrews being trained and may have catastrophic
results if left unimpeded.
This is definitely acquiescence, but because several
of these individuals have embellished their qualifications,
the people supporting their employment may very well
have crossed the line into complicity.
VI. Complicity
Deliberately breaking rules, laws, and regulations
is a transgression, and knowingly assisting in the
commission of such a wrongful act is complicity.
Those familiar with the Department of Defense know
there is strict prohibition against smoking in buildings,
vehicles, and aircraft. Smoking is also explicitly
prohibited, with few exceptions, at or near (within
50 feet of) the entrance to any building owned, leased,
or rented by the federal government. The idea is to
prevent having non-smokers pass through the second-hand
smoke while going into or coming out of a building.
The prohibition also helps reduce the amount of second-hand
smoke that enters a building and potentially exposing
those inside to its ill effects.
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Once the rules are broken, the standards will change.
Where do we draw the line now?
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Recently, I noticed a group of people employed at
a local headquarters was abusing the Army's regulation
(AR 600-63) banning smoking in certain areas. They
were congregating directly at the main entrance of
this particular building to smoke, and we were all
steering around the hazard when entering or exiting
the place. I made it known this was a direct violation
of regulations and that something needed to be done
to correct it. In very short order, signs were placed
appropriately and the smokers had moved a distance
away to take their breaks. I was pleased that someone
had enough gumption to right the wrong and even had
the requisite signs placed to emphasize the rule.
You can imagine my chagrin a few weeks later, when
the signs had disappeared and the clouds of smoke
had reappeared. There they were, stationed at the
doorway, knowingly and willfully breaking the regulation.
As I thought about this blatant disregard for policy,
it dawned on me the smokers were not alone in their
violation and probably did not take the signs down--that
had to be approved by someone in authority. Not only
were the smokers breaking the rules, key officials
had become complicit to it.
This raises two very critical issues: It is a clear
signal to the employees and others that the rules
can be broken (albeit selectively); and that the boss
supports such a practice. Once the rules are broken,
the standards will change. Where do we draw the line
now?
VII. Stupidity
The comedian Bill Engvall has made a living out of reminding
us of the not-so-smart things we do or have done. He
quips, "
Stupid people should
have to wear signs. That way you won't ask them to do
anything." The problem is that we all might
have to wear these signs on occasion.
There is a tendency to confuse ignorance with stupidity,
but actually they have quite different meanings. Ignorance
is simply lacking knowledge or comprehension of the
thing specified, whereas stupidity is knowing better
but doing it anyway.
The clear and undisputed champion of stupid is driving
under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. This
offense injures or kills thousands of innocent people
each year and causes untold damage to lives and property.
It also wreaks havoc on the life of the perpetrator
through injury or death, fines or imprisonment, loss
of job or family, and living with the guilt of having
hurt or killed someone.
What to Do?
I realize the list could be much longer, but I wanted
to highlight what I felt were some real issues in
our focus on safety. How do we prevent the occurrence
of these failings? How do we teach the unteachable?
How do we get to those who won't listen?
It is imperative to insist on strict conformance
to standards, to castigate non-compliance, and to
continue an effort to educate wherever possible. We
can hope to make some progress, but we have a long
way to go.
