Meet my friend ERIC. ERIC PD.

Assalamualaikum

Last night we returned home from a short holiday in the capital, a 100 km drive home.  In torrential rain.  I knew the tyres are in good condition as I've checked them before the trip.  Brakepads are still ok from recent servicing checks and the dashboard control lights indicate everything are ok.  Despite all that I drove at only 60km/h in the 100km/h zone.  With precious cargoes on board - 4 loved ones, I would do anything to ensure their safety.

Apart from my ever so faithful co-pilot Mrs G who kept me company with iPad playing songs from when we started going out 14 years ago, I was also guided by a friend, ERIC PD.  ERIC tells me how to control the hazards of the trip.

OK, ERIC PD is not a real person, but a lego-man and in the Health and Safety world is oft used term to spell out the hierarchy of controls to control risks of any activity.

How often have we seen or heard in the news or even on facebook after a major accident, that  people would ask the authorities to tighten the rules, which is actually way down the order to control risks.  Let me share with you what ERIC PD means:

E mean Eliminate. Get rid of the hazard, or replace with something less hazardous.  Eliminating the trip is a no-no, so I moved on to the next level.

R means Reduce: Reduce the nature of the hazard or the exposure to the hazard.  In our case, we drove from home to hotel - point A to point B, no detour.  I also made sure everyone wore their seat belts.  When we reached the hotel, we walk around the area rather than driving around.

I means Isolate.  Isolate the hazard from the people.  In industries, if a machine is too noisy, then we isolate them i.e. put it at a distance to the point that it is doesn't cause noise hazards to the workers.

C means Control.  Control who has access to the hazard.  Limit the exposure time as only necessary.  Ensure all the controls/procedures are in place.

P means Protection.  Always assume that what could go wrong would go wrong, and always wear personal protective equipment.  The standard fare where I work, the standard protection are fire retardant coveralls, safety boots, helmets, goggles and to some extent, gloves.

D means Discipline.  All controls are monitored, reviewed and enforced.  Any breach of the controls will be dealt with accordingly.

Alhamdulillah we reached home in 1 hr 40 mins, against the usual 1 hr 10 mins.  Half an hour late, but we arrived safely.  Thanks to my wife and also ERIC.  Alhamdulillah.

During the drive home we were overtaken by cars we reckon were doing c. 120-130km/h.  The highway was like a river yet the mindless drivers drive like they were boats!  At the highway near our destination, we saw two tow trucks with a police car in chase - today I heard there were 7 injuries in an accident related to that, with a person suffering broken leg.  Let's hope everyone recovers well.  And share their ordeal on what caused the accident and tell others how to prevent it from happening.

Let's see how you can apply ERIC PD to your day to day activity.  In the kitchen.  In your garden.  In the bedroom :D

Always think safety.

Take care & till then, Wassalam.
G

Missing...

Salaam

Alhamdulillah.  I am back.  I have been trying to be back for a while now.  Over tea this afternoon my dear wife made a profound comment: she missed reading my blog.  I did not realize that.  A few of my blogger friends have stopped blogging, and so I thought that is how the blog universe works.  Your blog dies silently.

You see, my wife love reading blogs, of shoppings, holidays, life, cookings... you name it.  She reads the blogs linked on the right hand column.  Every day.  She will share with me the very interesting ones and the one yesterday evening prompted me to dust off this blog.

The blog was of Pak Mat, at http://tatak-tatak.blogspot.com/ and his blog entry of death was very sad indeed.  Pak Mat is a retiree, in his mid 60's and had just returned from Haj pilgrimage.  One of his four roommates during Haj died whilst in the Holy land, and his narration of what they faced brought tears to my eyes.  Pak Mat's blog was so well written that it does not reflect a middle age person where English is not his or her mother tongue.

Anyway, it is two days short of 5 months hiatus for me.  There are lots of potential blog entries missed, such as:

• my wife's birthday at the end of July
• all my three children completed their Ramadhan fast without missing a single day!
• our 4th Hari Raya Aidil Fitri in our crib
• our 11th wedding anniversary (I love you Sayang) and the subsequent celebratory trip to Melbourne
• Iman's 8th birthday (when my wife and I was on our last day in Melbourne
• exam blues for all my three children and Muhammad finished 6th in Year 5, Iman 1st in Year 2 and Aaeeshah 2nd in KG3.  
• Aaeeshah's Kindergarten graduation ceremony (and buying her gift even before we reach home!)
• I was honored to be with a man blinded through an industrial accident 21 years ago, and travelled around the world to talk about safety - how he had disappointed his family and friends
• My wife and I travelled to Bandung with a couple of bloggers
• Local holiday in December - 2 days leave left, what to do (and of course $$ :|)
• 2012!

It took me a good 1 hour to write this up whilst watching the 8 o'clock news.  I hope it'll be more frequent.

I needed this.  This is what I do for my day job, well sort of: communicate on Safety. 

Till next time, InsyaAllah.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I did.

Salaam, Gembo

It is safe... or is it?

Assalamu 'Alaikum

I got the following sets of photos in the email a week ago.

These are interesting photos actually, improvisation of tools or equipment, or shortcuts to do work.  After all, you get to finish the work quickly.  Had the workers gone through the hassles of getting proper scaffolding or longer ladders, it'll take more time or even cost them more and it'll mean lower profits, right?  Well, it depends, purely on luck I supposed.  One wrong move or slip, you're gone. Look at the pictures.  What do you think?

Balancing the ladder on the edge of the floor

Oh yes, the walk plug socket is meant to support the ladder

Who needs scaffolding when you have a plank

I don't know what this fella is doing, but I am pretty sure the air-cond brackets is meant to support the compressor, not an idiot 

Once he's done fixing the rear axle, he should think of fixing his brain.  He need to tune his perception of risks!

They will enjoy cold food & drinks once the fridge is installed. They can also freeze their brains!

Another one balancing his ladder, this time on a narrow edge

This photo gave me the creeps.  How many floors are there again?

Resting in peace...let's hope they will not Rest In Peace!

Whatever you do my friends, please do the right thing.  If an activity is not safe, or if you are unsure if it is safe, do the right thing and don't continue the activity.  Think of your loved ones.

Be safe.  Wassalam.

Gembo

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Assalamu 'Alaikum

Have you ever encountered real life Jekyll n Hyde?  I have... many times but today I've decided to put it down to paper... err blog. 

Today, after a long day at the office, I called up a local hotel to book a room for the weekend, to wind down with the kids after my short trip last week, and my long hours in the office this week.  That's when a Mr (or rather Ms) Hyde was at the other end of the line.

Ms Hyde spoke quickly, so quick that I couldn't catch what she was saying, not due to the fact that I have slight deafness from childhood indulgence in the walkman but rather to her unfortunate failure at trying a slang that was a marriage between American-Filipino-British tongue. Alas, I managed to get a room booked. That's all that matters for me!

Ok, 11 months ago, I got a call from the same hotel, from a Dr Jekyll. Possibly a mutated Dr Jekyll as she also speak in that unfortunate slang.  Dr Jekyll offered me to join the hotel membership club. 

The lure of discounted meals, free nights and lunches attracted me, so I signed up.

What disappoints me though, is the continuing attitude of such people, nice when they need you but unwelcoming when we call them up to book a room, especially when they realised we are going to use the free vouchers.  We've paid, didn't we?  not that we are begging.  Mind you, not all of them are bad, I've met good ones but they are getting more difficult to come across now.  Rare species them.

Anyway, at this point, 1.30 in the morning and having just finished amending a 20 page slide for an afternoon session tomorrow (or rather, later), I've run out of juice trying to think what to write more.  It annoyed me so bad I just have to let it out.  

Oh well, good night all. Or good morning. Sleep tight.

Wassalam,

Mr G