What Happened to Common Sense?

By Greg Crain, WSTDA Vice President

I guess I’ve been in one of those cynical, pragmatic, “Andy Rooney” types of moods lately. I just don’t understand what has happened to common sense and self-preservation instincts. Is it being lost in genetics? Maybe it’s from excess caffeine. I don’t know any more.

A few weeks ago I drove past a construction site on my way home and could not believe my eyes. I saw a huge trench box being lifted with one synthetic sling from two pick points. The rigging practice was bad enough but standing directly under this massive thing were three well-dressed but obviously unaware men gazing upwards as the object dangled 20 feet above their heads. Can we simply require users of our products to have a rigging license? All the rest of the construction folks had the common sense to stand back a clear distance. Seems like they knew something that the big guys did not.

In the last 20 years, I have seen our industry steadily mature and improve. Manufacturers, as a whole, are producing better and better products and making every effort to educate users in safe practices. We are making progress and WSTDA has been at the forefront, leading the way. But as you can see from my unfortunate example, we still have work ahead of us. We have some great standards out now thanks to the help of our members volunteering their time and sharing their expertise. I thank you all for getting us to where we are today. Please help the entire industry by promoting safe practices. Education can truly save lives in our business.

And in case you are wondering, I did stop and yell out the window: “Hey, are ya’ll planning on having dinner with your families tonight?” They must have snapped to their senses. They waved a thanks and I drove off. I felt better but I still think it may be too much caffeine.

Hope to see you all this fall in Washington.

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