2018 RETA Breeze Jan-Feb.indd

service The Shade Tree Mechanic, Volume VII

“I’m committed to being compliant”. I dang near quit right then and there. I sure knew I wasn’t letting the bossman talk no more. You all ever wonder what words mean? “I’m committed to being compliant” means “fine my as* because I ain’t doin nothin unless you make me”. I understand that we want to assure inspectors that we are trying to comply with the codes. But we do things because they are the right thing to do, not to be compliant. Compliance is a byproduct of doing the right things. I train the kids in the maintenance department because that’s the right thing to do. I make sure we issue certificates, because we need to prove compliance. We’re committed to trainin. We assure our trainin is complaint. Bobby Joe goes out and looks at the areas the boys are gonna be weldin in. She does it to assure they are safe and that the welding job they’re fixin to do, has to be done out there instead of in the shop. She uses the checklist on our permit because it is the easiest way we have found to make sure we check for all of

the potential hazards. She makes sure the welder is trained to use that particular welder. She assigns one of the boys to watch for fires while they are weldin. She goes back later and closes out the permit. We use a permit because it is the easiest way to make sure we have our ducks are in a row. We are committed to doing hot work safely. We are compliant because we do it right. I know it seems like I’m a whoopin a dead donkey, but this drives me nuts. I attend meetings with them safety boys and they harp on compliance, compliance. Compliance, heck how about we concentrate on how to be safe and compliance will be a given. “We need to order compliant hard hats”. Heck no, we need to order hard hats that will protect my skull. If they protect my noggin good enough, then they should be compliant. Now, I have some issues with them boys who write the compliance rules too. Right should be compliant! Period. End of sentence, last beer in the cooler. Last coon dog out!

Why do I need an alarm inside the ammonia room ta tell me I have a 25 PPM leak. Heck, if the boy can’t smell it, he shouldn’t be in there. Alarms outside the door to keep from goin in. Hey I’m with you there. Safety shower in the engine room great idea, safety shower outside where I can get to it, sounds like a good idea too. A safety shower in the back of the building where the silo valve groups are, where we pile 20’ of snow in the winter, that becomes a little harder. I insist my team use the buddy system. Two people always in radio contact. Anyone at a remote valve group carries two eyewash bottles. Let’s face it, if I installed an eyewash out there, maintenance would be difficult, testing would be difficult, etc. etc. The only thing worse than not having it there is to have it there and it doesn’t work when needed. Let’s find a way to do it right! And then make the rules so right = compliant. This should be a worldwide thing. Do what’s right and that should be enough to assure you’re compliant. At least that’s how it seems under the shade tree.

22 RETA.com