Yesterday I walked through a doorway and almost got speared by a skid loader. The operator was spreading stone and had the bucket at his eye level, so he couldn’t see me. You would have laughed if you saw me leap back through that door I had just sauntered through a second before.

The funny thing is that I was thinking about safety as I was walking around the jobsite. I had just crawled up a ladder that wasn’t properly tied off and I wasn’t satisfied with the level of fall protection on the mezzanines. Of course it wasn’t the skid loader operator’s fault that I was daydreaming on the job. It was just a real time reminder that construction sites, no matter how comfortable we get on them, remain dangerous places.

When I got back to the office, a friend, Bob Swords, sent me some photos (I don’t know who took them so I can’t properly credit them) that made me laugh. This is from the “At least we’re not as bad as that” school of thinking.

SaranWrap Goggles

Unique Fall Protection System

Foam Hardhats

Just needs a bit more of a lift...

Bracing a ladder

So as you hurry around on your jobsite today, thinking of too many things at once, stop, take a breath. Remember that you don’t want this to be somebody’s last day alive because you were too busy to think. Don’t compromise on safety.