You’re good at what you do, you have done it for years. You have more experience than most. The branch depends on you to get the job done, and trusts that if asked, the job will be completed to the best of your ability.

This time there is a small issue. It’s nothing big and it seems that going through the steps of a lock out tag out will slow the job down. We hear it in our safety meetings. We repeat it ourselves as we work: “don’t take a short cut.” And then we do it anyway. It’s risky to work on equipment without locking it out and placing a tag to keep others from turning it on. “I have done this so many times”, you think to yourself “I know what I am doing.”

Sometimes, people take the path of least resistance. We might know several ways to do a job, but we choose a way that’s quicker or easier. If we get done the job done sooner, we feel like we receive a reward: more personal time.

Rushing a job is an unconscious, emotional decision. When we stop and think, we know what we should do. We are trained to do our job the best, most efficient, and safest way possible. We have seen the videos and heard the stories of others who did not do their jobs safely.

Lock out and tag out. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family.