A couple of years ago, when I was a safety officer at a marine and civil project in Dubai UAE, a foreman and a worker had been nominated for Safety Team Leader of the Month and Safety Employee of the Month respectively.

A ceremony was organized to honor the two employees. On the day of the ceremony, the same two employees were part of the team setting up the award distribution area.

As we were getting out of the office to attend the ceremony, the front end loader drove passed us with the Safety Employee of the Month riding shotgun. Someone asked, “Isn’t that the nominated safety award receiver?”

When asked, the Safety Employee of the Month said that the foreman – the Safety Team Leader of the Month – had told him to ride the front end loader, along with the operator, to fetch the cold drinks. The foreman, in turn, said that as time was running out and there was no other vehicle nearby, he had no options.

Needless to say, this did put a damper on the ceremony as the people we were supposed to honor were caught at the eleventh hour. The project management did have the celebration to thank the workers for their efforts, but used the incident as an example to encourage the workers to work safely and to tell them on how the committed the company was about safety.

Jude,
Dubai, UAE

Editor’s Note: Got a training blooper or a safety story that just makes you shake your head? Send your stories to catherinej@bongarde.com and let us know if we can use your name

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