No Spring Chicken.

Pacific Ocean beyond the trees.

For those in my generation, how many times have you believed that you can still do the things you did in your early 20's?  I long for the days when I used to run 20+ miles, go hiking, backpacking, go sky diving, bungee jumping, cliff diving, spelunking, white water rafting, and so many outdoor adventures.  

I broke so many bones and have so many scars from my adventures.  I know when and where each one happened.  


Today, I was doing the Safety Officer thing on my job sites, reminding workers about PPE, working safely, and other things.  I was observing 3 sites today.  Yes, I know.  I know the standard.  One Site Safety Officer per job site.  I've brought it up and still nothing.  But anyway, back to my story.  Majority of the guys within the different crews are young.  Most are in their 20's.  So today, after watching different crews all morning.  I started looking back to the good ole' times.  

The days when I was a young electrician apprentice, paratrooper, and athlete.  Those days when I had so much fun doing so many different things and learning so many different crafts.  My mind was telling me that I could still do the things that the guys in my crews are doing.  I wanted to get my hands dirty.  I could hear those words, "You're still young.  Age is only a number.  You're just as agile and strong as those young bucks".  

So all afternoon, I was starting to feel good about myself.  I was assuring myself through self-affirmations, as I watched the guys doing their jobs throughout the job site.  "Yeah!  I'm young.  I can still do that!"   

When the flat bed truck started to back up on the roadway.  I was in the way.  Instead of walking to the other side of the road to get out of the way like I am supposed to.  I let my mind get the better of me.  I decided to leap across a 16" deep trench by 2' wide.  We had just finished laying a 12" pipe in and back-filled it.  It used to be 4'9" deep.  

I got myself ready.  The flatbed was coming towards me.  I could hear my mind saying...you can do it!  So I did.  I leapt from the curb of the road to the soft ground on the other side of that shallow trench.  What I thought would be a great landing in front of the guys turned into a catastrophe.  My left knee buckled.  I could hear my knee yell...What are you doing?!  Oh, Naw...I'm not letting you do this!  I'm gonna buckle.  Not gonna let all that weight bust me again and get swelled up.  Not Me!  

I lost my balance falling forward.  Everything went into slow motion.  I saw the green grass slowly coming towards me. I distinctly remember yelling in my head, "Jesus, Protect Me"!  I don't know how I did it.  But in mid air, my body turned so my left shoulder will take the brunt of the impact.  Stretching out my right arm to protect my face from banging into anything I didn't see.  

That was the softest landing I ever had...as big as I am.  I didn't strain anything.  My left knee is fine.  There was no impact print on the soft soil.  Just my left boot print.  

I still replay that incident in my head.  Next Monday's Safety Topic, I already know.  


Keep Smiling...  

Site Safety

Dark and getting darker.  

It's been over a month, since I started working as a Site Safety & Health Officer. I really enjoy doing what I'm doing now. Lots of reports to fill out though.  But it's good.  Keeps my mind working too.  I'm on Phase 4 of a Water Distribution System Project.  There are other phases with this project that are ongoing simultaneously.  My first week on the job, I got burnt really bad by the sun.  I went from a light complexion to dark...and getting darker.  But the burning as stopped, especially now that I am using sun block with SPF 50.  

The job we're doing is installing new water lines through certain areas of the base.  It's hard to believe that it took my crew one month to move from where they were when I first started to the intersection behind the control tower.  All the utilities that we encountered that were not marked on the map.  I thank God that we didn't break a single one.  We have a really good excavator operator named, Eddie.  

We jumped from that road behind the control tower to Crum Avenue, last Thursday.  The whole crew seems happy with the change of scenery.  I can see the Pacific Ocean as I look down Crum Ave.  We are making quick progress working along the shoulder of the road.  

My job though is not in production.  It's Safety.  I do help out once in awhile with a production issue, especially since I am the only representative on site from the Prime Contractor.  But I try to let the Sub-Prime's Superintendent do most of the work.  I just work with him and his subcontractor.  What we call a 2nd tier Subcon.  

My day normally starts out by reporting to our company's field office on the base prior to 0630.  Yeah, that's early.  I do some reports, especially now that we are now hard wired with internet instead of wifi.  Also, now that I can scan my reports.  We're trying to change that.  I'm out of the office by 0645 and heading to my job site.  

Sitting in my car, waiting for the rain to stop. 

At the job site, I walk the fence line first.  Check for any discrepancies from the afternoon before or the Friday before, after a weekend.  Since we're doing excavation and trenching operations.  I inspect the trench along the top side looking for any tell tale signs that will lead to a collapse.  When the guys start coming in just before 0700.  I keep an eye on each one as they cross my gate, checking their PPE from head to toe.  A simple reminder usually has them putting on their gloves, eye protection, and sometimes a helmet.  

The 2nd tier sub con is really good about their safety culture.  I really enjoy working with them.  You can really see the difference between a company that has no safety program and a company that has one and enforces their safety program.  

I'm still doing safety training courses with the company for our subcontractors.  Those are fun too.  The preparation is a lot harder when scheduling needed safety courses.  It's not easy doing research when your exhausted from work.  

One of many rain storms that passed through my job site.  

On Columbus Day, I conducted a corporate safety training which involved the following safety topics: MUTCD Flagging, Excavation and Trenching, Accident Investigation, and the Focused Four, for all our Site Safeties, QC's, Program Manager's, Superintendents, and Office staff.  

This past Friday, I conducted MUTCD Flagger Certification Course for our subcontractors.  Now majority of our flaggers are certified.  I even changed the Flagger PPE and raised the standard for our subcontractors to follow.   I'll conduct another class for those subcontractors who didn't make the training last Friday.  It was a good thing they didn't show up.  We could only fit 8 workers in our trailer training room.  

Unfortunately, being a SSHO has it's downside.  Writing up unsafe workers, recommending suspension or termination, working through lunch because a work crew is still working, working in the rain, and sometimes working late.  All the same, I still enjoy my work and the people I work with.