Safety Award: What would you like to see?

[Cynette]

I've felt for years that the Safety award gets muddled by the judges having the title "Safety Advisor." If we are going to call the position "Safety Advisor" then they need to be an advisor. That implies the need to strive to have positive interactions with students, to give advice, make suggestions, promote safety by having team members learn to evaluate the risks and identify appropriate solutions. I would love to see the position approached in this way, rather than the Safety Inspector - the rule keeper, who often makes black and white judgements without knowing the justification for those choices.

I'm all for a few solid safety rules - I'm fine with wearing Safety Glasses while in the pits. And closed toed shoes. No open flames, limit the powertools as needed, that sort of thing. And I think it is good for the advisors to have an inspection checklist to highlight hazards. Safety Advisors should have great conversations with the team's Safety Captain on what the team does during the build season, all year round and at competitions to promote safety. The Safety Captain should be able to come away from the conversations with a list of things that the team does well and some suggestions on improvements for the next year.

Mr. Ivey, I like your list! If my team was evaluated that way, we would do well, and the safety culture we try to develop would be reinforced.

But I do have one pet peeve...

Asking for the fire extinguisher. I would love it if an advisor asked the Safety Captain if the team knew where the nearest one was located. My Safety Captain practically begged us to buy one after our regionals last year since he was asked so many times for it. Maintaining a fire extinuisher and ensuring that those who have access to it know how to use it is a lot more complicated than just buying one and sticking it in your gear!