Having camera systems in your vehicles and facilities will allow others to learn from a good or bad example immediately, while keeping the ability to be proactive in ensuring safety records stay intact.
By John Paglia, III
Growing up, I can remember having family movie nights where we would run down memory lane and pop in cassettes into our VCR and watch older highlights of historical events. We would watch videos for hours upon hours laughing at the progression of the family as time would go on. Fast forward 20 years and almost everyone walking around can record an event, save it, share it, instantaneously from their cell phone. Everyone walking around has this ability in their pockets. My question to you is: do your trucks and facility have this same technology upgrade? If the answer is no, they need to be.
Better Production and Accountability
Cameras at your facility will not only lead to better production and accountability, but it will also give you the ability to oversee and recognize issues before something bad occurs. No manager or owner can be in more than one place at a time, so having cameras accessible on a smart phone app can let you effectively multitask when you have no other option. Having cameras is far better than having no contact or communication at all. I was speaking to someone recently who had an accident occur that was unexplainable. No one witnessed the workplace injury. Safety policies and constant training were recorded and in place. Due to the employee being injured and requiring a hospital stay, OSHA was contacted and arrived at the facility by 8 a.m. the next morning. Thankfully, the eye in the sky witnessed the entire event. The employee was seen breaking five safety and training policies in a matter of 90 seconds that led up to the accident.
What the cameras cannot do is erase the accident. We all believe every accident is avoidable and we should do everything in our power to prevent reoccurrence. I challenged the individual I spoke with to use the film to better train and share with fellow employees and others about why policies and procedures are in place and what can happen if you do not follow them. Human nature is to have the belief that we are all invincible and “that will never happen to me” type of attitude. He shared that when OSHA arrived that very next day, they received zero citations or even recommendations from the visit. The accident was cited by the inspector as employee misconduct. One of the main reasons for the decision was that the facility had cameras being the watchful witness 24/7 365. Good, bad or indifferent, the cameras told an unbiased story of the entire event.
Being Proactive
Any hauler out there with fleet sizes of five to 50 per site should seriously consider an onboard camera system to add to their fleet. I have sampled and viewed demonstrations recently and am very close to choosing a system we will install in all of our trucks and cars effective in the first quarter of 2019. What I am most excited about will be the coachability of near misses, incidents or even accidents to prevent reoccurrence. Having to rely on witnesses or stringing together pieces of the puzzle to try and determine what happened after an event will be no longer be a challenge. We will be able to trigger events that require immediate coaching.
Watching a video will allow others to learn from the example, good or bad, immediately. We will then have the ability to be proactive in ensuring our safety records stay intact. At the time of this report, we are at 2,832 days without a lost time accident, which includes a C&D Landfill, 45 collection trucks and a recycling center. During that span, we have had no cameras in any of our collection trucks. I look forward to being able to see the things we are doing right in the field while also addressing near misses that may be flirting with us day in and day out. I am not oblivious to the fact that I am sure we have employees breaking what they determine as minor policies. Something as simple as a driver not wearing gloves or a hard hat will now be able to be witnessed and addressed before that action becomes a lost time accident. Implementing your vehicles and facilities is a costly endeavor. In my opinion that is the only con of a camera system. Anything that can contribute to a better safety program should be encouraged and obtained at all costs.
John Paglia, III is a 4th generation garbage man. Before he climbed the ranks to become Florida Express Environmental’s General Manager, he had a successful career in college and professional athletics. John has been around the garbage industry since his car seat days. Currently, John is focused on growing his company and offering the highest level of customer service and prolonging the world we live in today. John wakes up every day knowing the impact professional haulers have on their community is far greater than most realize. He can be reached at (352) 629-4349, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.floridaexpress.us.