MANAGEMENT
Bryan McClure, CPLP, CHST
The Herd Safety Phenomenon Experience and influence are just as important as safety and training
O
n a recent business trip to Vietnam to deliver rigging training for a client, I got to witness firsthand the motorcycle chaos on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. If you’ve never seen it, pull up a YouTube video—it is a white-knuckle experience. My commute every morning was 30 minutes of close calls between our car and the multitudes of motorbikes zooming around us, missing our bumper by mere inches. There weren’t any traffic signs and Bryan McClure is a second-generation ironworker, now safety professional. He has worn many hats in the 27 years he has spent in the construction industry. His experience in the field, as a craft instructor, and training manager, forms the basis for which he now provides OSHA and safety and health consulting services as a training partner for Trivent Safety Consulting, Westminster, Colo. He can be reached at bryanm@triventsc.com.
very few discernable traffic patterns. It was a literal free for all with motorbikes driving the wrong way down sidewalks to get around cars. Yet, I saw not one accident during the week I was there. When I talked to my driver, he told me that accidents were actually very rare. How could this be possible? As safety professionals, we always want best practices, operations, and outcomes to fit neatly within our box of safety rules. If worker does X than eventually Y will happen. When someone is injured or killed, it is easy to default to Monday morning quarterback mentality. Probably 90% of the time, when workers operate within the limits of the safety rules, they don’t get hurt. But this kind of thinking is flawed. We are human, we do not run on simple if/then statements. We have the ability to reason and assign a temporary risk rating to every given situation. And, humans make mistakes.
20 | THE STEEL ERECTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
Varying risk assessments The acceptable risk level is different for everyone. Want proof? I am a second-generation Ironworker. At 15 years old I went to work sites with my father and walked steel. Granted my father never let me get above the first floor, and he held onto the back of my britches while walking right behind me. In my whole career, there were very few beams that I wouldn’t walk across, no matter how high. I love heights, I loved the freedom of getting above all the noise and chaos, working alongside my connecting partner. But I am not fearless when it comes to heights. If you ever drive by the ole McClure Clan house around Christmas, you’ll never see lights on the upper parts of our roof. Why? Because I am scared to death to get on the edge of the steep pitch. Pretty funny huh? Big tough Ironworker is afraid he is going to roll off. If you ever meet me in person, this will make