UP Signal GUy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OPRRMS Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > For example, the official safety slogan of UP's
> > Roseville Service Unit is
> >
> > I will not get hurt!
> > I will not hurt others!
> > I will not allow others to hurt themselves!
> >
> > All of which are impossible goals. But it's
> all
> > part of "risk management" and trying to channel
> as
> > much liability away from the company and
> placing
> > it upon the employee. Helps the company's case
> in
> > FELA injury lawsuits.
>
> Why are they impossible? If you believe its
> impossible, your probably will be one of the first
> to get hurt because you don't give enough credit
> to the idea of safety. Those that believe and
> live by the safety rules are the ones getting
> 1000, 2000, 10000 days accident free banners.

On 9/13/2011, I will begin my 41st year working for a railroad, first SP, then UP, all injury-free. I didn't need any silly accident free days banners, or shiny trinkets, or safety bar-b-ques, to do it. Too bad the company won't take all the money they spend on that kind of stuff and apply it to actual safety improvements.

The reason the goals in the safety slogan are impossible to achieve is because no one can accutarely predict the future. No one knows if or when they might be injured. Over the years, I've helped countless injured employees obtain the compensation they deserve through the FELA process, and not one of them ever told me that they had planned their injury.