Solving all problems should start with learning!

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Forward: At the beginning of July, two professors from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences braved the scorching heat of summer to travel from Beijing to Shanxi in order to conduct a survey at our institution regarding the revision of the \"Safety Regulations for Seismic Exploration Explosives.\" They discussed with the people in charge of production, engineering and technical staff, as well as those from the safety management department, what problems exist in the practical application of these regulations, and whether there are any good solutions and measures. We, including the leaders of our organization, are extremely delighted by their arrival. The results of the ten-year-long efforts to address these procedural deficiencies have finally drawn the attention of ** and of research institutions, making a significant contribution to safe production in the same industry across the country. We can set aside for now the various opinions and scientific approaches put forward during the research meeting. By giving a brief review and analysis of the background behind this revision of the regulations, as well as the reasons why the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences came to our institution, it is not difficult to arrive at the conclusion that solving all problems should start with learning! The author’s organization is in the field of geological exploration, mainly engaged in seismic exploration and surveying industries. In terms of seismic exploration, since 1992, the unit has had to complete over 10,000 seismic shooting points per year; since 2003, more than 100,000 shots have been conducted each year. When it comes to safe production, people often say that one should not fear the possibility of an accident, but still be prepared for it. Yet we dare to talk about such a possibility at all, because if an accident does occur, our company will experience more than 10 incidents of that kind. Faced with such heavy production demands, that is, before 2006, since the \"Safety Regulations for Explosives Use in Seismic Exploration\" were issued in 1992, **there had been no revisions or improvements to the safety technologies related to seismic exploration. Coupled with the unit’s inadequate risk analysis and response strategies regarding seismic exploration, explosions and flying debris often occurred at the work sites, posing significant risks to the workers on site, as well as to the equipment and local residents; occasional injuries among people also happened. To address this issue, we took detours based on experience and guesswork; we even composed an exploration safety song that goes, \"When going up the mountain, hide; when coming down, run.\" However, without the help of science and without a thorough understanding of the safety principles behind seismic exploration explosions, we will not be able to achieve safe production. Thereafter, through training and thorough study of the technical parameters related to blasting safety, we urged employees to pay attention to factors such as whether the wellhead deformed after an explosion and whether there were flying rocks in the area around the wellhead. We determined the safe drilling depth for seismic exploration, and addressing the shortcomings in existing regulations, we proposed and tested seven safety measures, including \"safe drilling depth + forward initiation of explosions + proper filling of holes + maintaining an appropriate distance from slopes\", thereby achieving a risk level of zero accidents per one million million. In 2014, after we published this research in the Chinese Journal of Safety Science and Technology, its scientific validity, practicality, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility were quickly recognized positively by the industry. To date, it has been read hundreds of times, with the download count exceeding 50 times. When the China Institute of Geology was tasked with revising the \"Safety Regulations for Seismic Exploration Explosives,\" Professor Xu Mingcai approached us through this project to discuss together the revisions to the regulations. Learning is the foundation for us to acquire knowledge and improve our abilities; it is also the basis for carrying out technological innovation. Imagine, without the help of science, without training, and without the safety technical parameters for controlled blasting, it would be impossible for us to achieve this revision. However, whenever it comes to learning and studying, especially when there is a call for people to learn safety production knowledge and safety operating procedures, people’s interest just doesn’t seem to be aroused This is related to both personal interests and the pursuit of immediate benefits for practical reasons, as well as luck-based thinking. In the previous phase, on June 18th, with the aim of strengthening safety training and improving everyone’s knowledge and skills related to safe production, the author created a WeChat public platform named “Let Safety and Environmental Protection Lead the Way”. Subsequently, based on the weather warning issued in May this year, I created an APP containing information on how to prevent flood disasters and shared it in the unit’s WeChat group. The goal is to enable everyone to spread knowledge about safe production through the WeChat platform. However, the click-through rate was low at first; by July 12th, before the heavy rain and storms hit Shanxi, the total number of people who clicked to read it did not exceed 500. From July 12th to 15th, when heavy rainfall struck Shanxi for three consecutive days and some areas were hit by flash flood disasters, the click rate of apps providing information on preventing such disasters surged significantly, exceeding 10,000 clicks. Moreover, looking at the distribution of those who clicked on these apps, it became clear that interest extended from Shanxi to more than 20 provinces across the country. What does this indicate? It shows that people do not yet have a forward-looking perspective on learning*, which is related to the pursuit of immediate, utilitarian benefits as well as a sense of luck. Regarding disaster prevention, before a disaster strikes, people often think that such awareness campaigns have nothing to do with them. If, as a safety manager in an organization, you are constantly troubled by issues such as lack of attention from some managers, failure by departments to implement necessary measures, and workers’ reluctance to learn, would you adopt a problem-oriented approach, study books and case studies related to safe production management, thoroughly analyze both the internal factors and the objective conditions within your organization, and carry out activities to promote safety awareness? In fact, solving all problems begins with learning*. If you are not willing to learn* and do not excel at drawing lessons from others’ experiences in practice, your work will remain stuck in the same place; the problems will continue to exist, and the lessons learned from accidents will stay the same, without being transformed into motivation for ensuring safe production. Hong Huang pointed out incisively: Only by learning can we acquire knowledge, and only after digesting that knowledge can we gain energy; otherwise it remains just ‘fat’ in terms of intelligence. Only by processing what you read and learn on your own can we analyze and solve our own problems. July 30, 2016