Checklist (circa 1960s)

Checking. Make sure you know how equipment is going to do. Asking information from the other. Take out firsthand. preparing, being ready when the thing gets rough. When an oversight can mean death, the guy calling the shots is pretty careful. He doesn't want to leave anything to chance. From experience, he puts together a set of rules that can keep him out of trouble. He has and uses a checklist. [music] When a man faces danger, you can bet he has some kind of checklist to make sure everything goes right. Whether the list is printed or in his head, he can't leave anything to chance. If he gamles and loses the bet, he's had it. Of course, most of us don't have what would be called hazardous jobs. But we can take some tips from the guys that do. For instance, the stakes may not be quite as high for a truck driver as they are for the captain of an airliner. But the next time you see an old pro filling his rig at a fuel stop, notice that he looks around it, checking things out. The smart driver, like the pilot, has a checklist. He leaves nothing to chance. Working around heavy equipment can be as dangerous or as safe as you make it. Lots of things can happen. Most of the time, it's not a matter of life or death, but the smart workman keeps a checklist of possible dangers. Just like a sky diver, he wants to cut the risk. Take this guy for instance. He's been a mechanic for 16 years without a major accident. In the back of his head is a checklist [music] of things that might go wrong. For example, he always keeps his work area free of unnecessary tools and parts that might cause an accident. And he wouldn't dream of working under a truck without tagging the ignition. So, he should know it's the simple things that can cause disaster. And yet, bench when you're using him. For this guy, failure to follow a simple rule ended in a concussion. All over the shop, there may be a chance for a fall. A glance in the direction you're going will give you a clue to the hazards ahead. It's smart to add the word slow down to your checklist when you're around slick floors. Anytime you move from one room to another, it's a good idea to think ahead about what the floor will be like on the other side of the door. In the cleaning room, there's usually oil and water everywhere. When you have a ton of iron dangling from a chain, it's hard to start it moving and hard to stop it, especially on slick floors. The checklist in the back of your mind has to ask two things. Can you support the weight? And can you keep your balance? The degreaser tank in the cleaning room is another important item on your checklist. The chemicals in a degreaser tank can dissolve sludge and grease from parts. They also can dissolve skin or eye tissue. When putting parts into this tank, everybody's checklist ought to have a special warning about flat surfaces. They make a big splash. One slip just might cost you your sight. Look around your work area sometimes. You'll probably notice that every job has some detail that causes more than average risk to your eyes. Take a welder's job. His eyes are protected by a mask. They're shielded both from the bright light of the ark and from bits of hot metal. But when he takes his mask off, his eyes can be in real danger. A tiny sliver of metal can have a pretty devastating effect. How many near misses do you think you can afford before safety glasses become part of your standard equipment? Of course, nobody can make you wear safety glasses. This man though always wears them, particularly when he's using something as dangerous as flux. He always wears them. That is except this one time. It's hot. The glasses are a bother. [music] Right then, an important item on the checklist goes out the window. [music] One of the first items on your checklist should be safety glasses worn all the time. The damage done to your eyes in a split second can last a lifetime. [music] It just goes to prove that you can't afford to drop your guard for a minute. And this rule applies to everybody, [music] to new men and old-timers, too. Take this situation for example. Here's a man who really should know better. But after all, what's wrong with a little horsing around at coffee time? [music] A big item on everyone's checklist should be common sense. Common sense that tells you that a busy shop is no place for horseplay. In this particular situation, safety shoes were another item that got left off the checklist. No matter what your job is, if you're back in the shop, it's smart to wear safety shoes. And what about the fellow who stacked the crankshafts in the middle of the room? Foresight would have told him that somebody might knock them over. He should have lined them up along a wall. Once in a while, a little slip will happen. Something that doesn't seem like much at [music] the time, but it can cause trouble later. Let's say you have to take off the accessory drive pulley and you decide to save just a few seconds by using the open-end wrench you happen to have handy. Now you know you're using the wrong wrench and that it might slip. But where you make your big mistake is not going to a first aid station right away. Infection can be bad news. A good checklist should remind you to have even the smallest cuts cleaned and bandaged. Lifting is something you do dozens of times a day, but this simple activity can be one of the most vicious troublemakers on your whole checklist. This fellow doesn't know it, but he could be headed for a hernia. He could get help, but he isn't going to. He figures he can lift the head by himself. He does all right until he misses the first shot. It takes just a little extra strain to tear something loose. The best way to pick up something from the floor is to crouch. Don't bend over. Keep your back straight and your legs together. Also, it's a good idea to keep your eye peel for anything that would make you lose your balance. Many a mechanic is nursing a sprain because he slipped on a little grease while he was carrying something heavy. There's something about a chassis dyno that makes you get out your checklist right [music] away and start ticking off the things that could happen. You make sure that the tie down chains are really secure. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what would happen if the truck got loose. So, you give the chocks an extra lookie. When all the test cables are hooked up, you're ready to go. Or are you? What about the tire? A little pebble caught in the tread can come out like shrapnel when the wheels are turning at highway speed. What about closing the door? Dinos are fascinating pieces of equipment. An outsider who doesn't know how dangerous they are might want to come in and watch. This operator learned the hard way that outsiders can't always recognize a dangerous situation. You have to take some safety precautions for them. Leaving the door to the for someone to walk in and it would have a few minutes to check for pebbles lodged between the tire or in the tread. Accidents are always possible. Anywhere you go, there's a chance disaster can strike. But working with heavy equipment is not automatically dangerous. Every precaution is taken to make working areas as safe as possible. Guards are placed on machines. Walkways are marked. Extinguishers are near possible fire hazards. Dangerous equipment is plainly marked. Winches and lifts are handy for moving heavy loads. But there's really no such thing as an automatically safe job. Safety is a personal thing. Disaster is right beside the guy who ignores his personal checklist. Ask the man whose job makes him responsible for hundreds of other people's lives every day. The smart race driver gets help from lots of people. But there always seems to be somebody who thinks he doesn't need any help. Would a diver hit the water before personally checking his gear? Not on a bet. For the fella packing his parachute, there's no question about it. If the chute doesn't open, he's dead. The consequences of a poor checklist may not be quite that clearcut for you. But just like the skydiving, you make your own list, and it's up to you to use it. Any questions?