【Weekly Topic】- “Gambling” at Work”

Let me give you the simplest example! It happened to the company! Before feeding material into the reactor, it is required to perform 3 replacements, with the pressure maintained at 0.05 MPa; since employees work for long periods of time, they don’t feel that there is any danger involved. Later, it was replaced 2 times or 1 time; the pressure was just set arbitrarily without any consideration! As a result, once the vent was opened in preparation for feeding material, an explosion occurred. Also, because several reactions are connected to your exhaust pipeline, consecutive flash explosions occur. That’s scary! The reason for this can be incomplete displacement; there is a hydrogenation reaction, combustible gases are present, the catalyst is active, and an ignition source is available. Open the space; air enters. The three elements are in place! One needs to take work seriously; after all, it’s a chemical company! You never know when your luck will run out!

Well, that makes sense. Personally, there are many people who act in this way, because everyone has a tendency toward laziness. I remember when I first started working, some experienced workers discussed with their apprentices the idea of waiting until they learned how to take shortcuts or find ways to save effort; that’s when they truly learn it from the bottom of their hearts； In fact, isn’t the so-called speculation or seeking convenience here nothing but potential violations of regulations?

The most common mindset encountered in safety work is the mentality of taking chances. I keep thinking that it was fine all those times before, so it will be fine this time too. My attitude is that the first 99 times might be fine, but that doesn’t mean the 100th time will also be fine; an accident occurring once is something no one can afford to handle. Complacency will lead to trouble sooner or later.

In fact, this kind of luck-based mindset is quite common at work; sometimes it’s because it’s too troublesome, and other times it’s simply due to a rush to meet deadlines! Anyway, you know you shouldn’t do it, but you still do it, or you’re forced to do it. I think only those of us at the grassroots level can understand the hardships involved.

Whether one has a gambling mentality when dealing with problems is related to an individual’s personality, as well as to the organization’s rules and regulations and their enforcement. Rational people generally rarely take risks” ； On the other hand, more emotional people tend to \"take risks\" when dealing with tricky problems. Of course, there aren’t things that can’t be gambled on. When reaching a crossroads and having to make a choice, one might have to take a gamble. But such a gamble is best left to the decision of the best team. Speaking of rules and regulations, some organizations’ rules and procedures prohibit employees and even managers from making decisions when they are not fully confident. Even if some people want to \"take a gamble,\" the organization does not allow it.

This kind of problem exists everywhere; humans are imperfect. *Inherent violations of rules are the most terrifying, yet also the hardest to detect.

That makes perfect sense; I have already reflected on it.

It’s probably a matter of taking chances; it can’t really be called gambler’s mentality. This mindset arises from habitual violations of rules that have developed over time as a result of working in such an environment, leading to the development of what might be considered shortcuts, while ignoring the safety risks involved!