2nd (post-edited) Article for Newsletter.
Safety – it’s no joke
By [Lu] Hill
Mill tours have started again, and apart from showing the public what we do here, they have served to remind me how much I have learned since I started working at the site. This is my third summer here, so I can still clearly remember my dismay as I learned how much personal protective equipment I was required to wear. But after two weeks, it was automatic and rarely bothered me. Tour takers are often surprised by the amount of safety gear I have them don. The escape respirator is always looked at sideways (“How often do you use these?”) and once they gear up, they often complain about being warm. Well, just wait . . . again, the heat is something we get accustomed to.
Some tourists have worked in industrial settings before, and show respect and understanding of large machines and the precautions we need to take. One particular construction worker, a tourist from the EU, was happy as a kid in Disneyland when he got to see a crane operator transfer a huge order from one machine to another. A worker on the floor noticed our interest, explained a point or two, and confirmed it was safe to stand where we were. The construction worker’s wife tried not to shake her head as he had me draw in the tour route on his site map souvenir afterwards. She had mock-solemnly told me that they were going to be experts in wood, having already taken a Weyerhauser tour and inspected the BC Forest Discovery Centre.
Some tourists are less impressed by the scale and power of the machines, and I have to be careful that they don’t dawdle and fall behind the group. As I lead tours down beside a conveyor line, I always ask that people be aware of the conveyor hazard, though adult groups are allowed to reach out and touch the moving goods. I also point out the trip wire running beside the conveyor, to pull if a worker gets caught. This gave one person an idea, and a minute later he gave a yell, as if pulled into the conveyor. It only took a second before I realized that he was just fooling around, but as you can imagine, I was not amused. Why can’t he see that safety isn’t a joke around here? Powerful machinery should command serious respect. I whipped around and glared at him. “That was NOT funny” I automatically growled into my mike and therefore every tourist’s ears. I considered launching into a riff on appropriate behaviour in an industrial setting (which would be beamed into every tour hardhat) but restrained myself to a very dire look. “It’s just a joke” he said lamely broadcasting through his mike (something he was instructed not to do, for safety reasons). “It is not a funny one” I repeated.
Tour safety is a serious concern of mine, because though tourists are told what is expected of them, they don’t always understand or notice all hazards. I do my best to point out and avoid hazards along the route, and I would like to thank the maintenance people, crane operators, and workers who confirm when it is safe for the tour to go through hazardous areas.
By [Lu] Hill
Mill tours have started again, and apart from showing the public what we do here, they have served to remind me how much I have learned since I started working at the site. This is my third summer here, so I can still clearly remember my dismay as I learned how much personal protective equipment I was required to wear. But after two weeks, it was automatic and rarely bothered me. Tour takers are often surprised by the amount of safety gear I have them don. The escape respirator is always looked at sideways (“How often do you use these?”) and once they gear up, they often complain about being warm. Well, just wait . . . again, the heat is something we get accustomed to.
Some tourists have worked in industrial settings before, and show respect and understanding of large machines and the precautions we need to take. One particular construction worker, a tourist from the EU, was happy as a kid in Disneyland when he got to see a crane operator transfer a huge order from one machine to another. A worker on the floor noticed our interest, explained a point or two, and confirmed it was safe to stand where we were. The construction worker’s wife tried not to shake her head as he had me draw in the tour route on his site map souvenir afterwards. She had mock-solemnly told me that they were going to be experts in wood, having already taken a Weyerhauser tour and inspected the BC Forest Discovery Centre.
Some tourists are less impressed by the scale and power of the machines, and I have to be careful that they don’t dawdle and fall behind the group. As I lead tours down beside a conveyor line, I always ask that people be aware of the conveyor hazard, though adult groups are allowed to reach out and touch the moving goods. I also point out the trip wire running beside the conveyor, to pull if a worker gets caught. This gave one person an idea, and a minute later he gave a yell, as if pulled into the conveyor. It only took a second before I realized that he was just fooling around, but as you can imagine, I was not amused. Why can’t he see that safety isn’t a joke around here? Powerful machinery should command serious respect. I whipped around and glared at him. “That was NOT funny” I automatically growled into my mike and therefore every tourist’s ears. I considered launching into a riff on appropriate behaviour in an industrial setting (which would be beamed into every tour hardhat) but restrained myself to a very dire look. “It’s just a joke” he said lamely broadcasting through his mike (something he was instructed not to do, for safety reasons). “It is not a funny one” I repeated.
Tour safety is a serious concern of mine, because though tourists are told what is expected of them, they don’t always understand or notice all hazards. I do my best to point out and avoid hazards along the route, and I would like to thank the maintenance people, crane operators, and workers who confirm when it is safe for the tour to go through hazardous areas.
posted by Lu Hill at 9:31 a.m.
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