【Thoughts】I am a safety officer

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Isn’t there a popular saying these days that it’s a great fortune to live our lives safely until old age? It means avoiding flights that disappear suddenly in mid-air, trains that lose control abruptly, and cities engulfed in flames due to explosions in the early hours of the morning. If, by mistake, you encounter this apocalypse that comes in the dead of night, I’m sorry – we really don’t know what we can do. Sometimes I wonder, when a disaster strikes, what can I do for myself, for others, and for society? Fortunately, no disasters have befallen me from childhood to now. 　　I’m just an ordinary safety officer; I deal with workers every day. My job is similar to that of a homeroom teacher in school, who would peek through the back door to watch the students – I immediately go over to them whenever I spot a problem and tell them, \"You’re breaking the rules!\" It’s dangerous to do this! I thought they would like me a lot, and might even be grateful to me, but gradually I realized that some of the employees didn’t like me at all. Not only did they not like me, but they also treated me coldly and tried to outwit me. As the saying goes, a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers – so how could I back down? If you try to outwit me, I’ll keep an eye on you; if you break the rules, I’ll issue a fine. If you try to be tough with me, I’ll go to the supervisor. The outcome is predictable – I win. It’s not a very honorable way to win, but when I first brought a fine ticket to have the worker sign it, his expression and tone made my artificially tough heart shatter. I hesitated; to be more precise, I became soft-hearted. I silently turned around and hid the fine ticket. During that time, I felt very down. I didn’t understand why those in charge of safety would use workers’ hard-earned money to make them remember the rules they had violated. I strongly objected to this rule, as I didn’t agree with it at all! It was also from that time that I resolved to be a kind person; I chose to give reminders and warnings, to discuss things with them patiently, in order to show them the mistakes they were making. I couldn’t bring myself to walk up to them with a fine notice in hand – I couldn’t bear to see them use their tired hands to sign a document related to their salary. I was very proud during that time; I thought I had found a great way to manage on-site safety. 　　But one day, an accident happened right in front of me, and it was a colleague with whom I worked day and night who got injured! A mechanic entered an automatically closing molding machine that was still powered on to carry out repair work, and his hand was fractured by a suddenly activated air cannon. I clearly told him that it’s necessary to turn off the power before working inside the machine – it’s absolutely essential to do that. He also promised me he would do it, but he still got injured! Facing my blood-stained hands, I felt overwhelming guilt. I couldn’t bear to let them sign the fines with their oily hands; could I really bear to watch them sign their paychecks with those injured hands? What seemed like a trivial matter eventually made me realize at the cost of blood that \"paying attention to safety is not a sign of weakness; one must be meticulous and pay close attention to every detail.\" Fortunately, his hand can be healed, but what if one day someone has to pay with their life – who will bear that responsibility? With what kind of mindset will the employees of this company continue to work! 　　 Since August 2014, Yangtai Zhongtian has experienced 10 accidents in total, including 6 work-related injuries and 4 equipment-related incidents. Of the six work-related injuries, only one was an accident resulting from a sudden burst of hot water pipes that scalded a female worker handling the formwork; it was an unexpected incident. The remaining five accidents were all foreseeable. When the five victims recounted what happened, they all said that they were aware of the dangers associated with those actions during work or had been warned by others, yet the tragedies still occurred. This shows that our employees do possess the skills needed for safe operations as well as the ability to anticipate accidents. The reason why injuries still occur is that most employees, when working, prioritize completing the task first, rather than considering whether such actions are safe. And what I have to do is ensure they complete the task safely! 　　 There is no magic solution for ensuring safety; it requires earnest discussions. It depends on being thorough and strict. I would rather endure their cold looks and anger when I correct violations, I would rather they sign the fines with their oily hands as a reminder of their mistakes, I would rather they curse me a thousand times behind my back – I would never want to hear an injured employee say, “It hurts!” 　　 If I were a firefighter, I don’t know if I would have the courage to rush into the flames that broke out in Tianjin. If I were a bus driver, I don’t know whether I could, in the face of sudden disaster, prioritize the safety of all the passengers in the bus, just like the most heroic bus driver in Hangzhou did at the last moment of his life. There are not that many \"ifs\", because I haven’t experienced such situations; I don’t know whether I would have the courage to step in when it’s necessary. I’m just an ordinary safety officer. Now, the workshop needs me, and the employees need me too – it’s my responsibility to ensure the safety of every employee!