Can we afford to be ignorant?

I am a father of one and am happily married to a wonderful wife.  When it comes to my family, I will protect them with everything that I have, even if it means losing everything I own bar the shirt off my back.  To me money will never take precedence over my family or my life.

I believe that there are people who wouldn’t think the same way about their business.  In business the people make the money in order for the business to continue operating.  It is when money takes priority over the people within the organisation that is concerning.

I understand that most small business owners are trying to make money like the rest of us.  While working hard for the money, a lot of business owners and workers can become ignorant to the fact that they need to do their work safely.  Safety is such a broad term in itself.  Safety is built on the level of acceptable risk associated with any given task.  When you conduct a task, you assess the level of risk before the job starts and decide whether it is or isn’t worth doing that way.  Then you can decide if you need to eliminate, redesign, substitute etc.  This is how it should be!!! In the real world, there are so many of us that will cut corners to finish the job quicker even if it means forgetting or being ignorant about the level of risk associated with that task.

In today’s economy, businesses are driven by money and the desire for success.  And so they should be!  But, are they truly running a successful business if their workers are taking unnecessary risks?  Is your business successful today taking those risks and being ignorant to the fact that each day you’re in operation is one step closer to something going horribly wrong?

If everyone cared equally about themselves and those around them we wouldn’t be taking those risks.  Just because you may not like the guy working next to you is not a very good excuse to forget about their safety.  Yes, the fact that we need to take risks in life won’t change.  In the name of progress, buildings get taller and bridges get longer.  The safety of our workforce shouldn’t be compromised just because we want to build the next best thing in the quickest time.  Each scope of works should be thoroughly assessed individually to ensure that we and the workers are familiar with the risks.  It is only then that when we are able to decide whether we can afford it or not.