When workers feel bulletproof...  September 1, 2004 / Print /
Reprints / / Text Size+ This safety thing really makes me
scratch my head. You would think that our workers would perform
their jobs safely, one-hundred percent of the time. Our workers
are knowledgeable. They learn their job better now than any time
in history. And this job knowledge includes safety rules and
safe work practices.  But often a worker cuts a corner and puts
himself at risk. Why?  There seems to be a space between what a
worker knows is safe â€” and what he actually does in the field.
Maybe if I can figure out what is in this space and give it a
name, I can stop scratching my head while I still have some hair
left.  Default habits  Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, a prominent heart
surgeon, wrote a book, â€œSimple Changes, Powerful Choices,â€
in which he talks about his frustrations dealing with bypass
heart patients. Many patients came to his office feeling awful.
In exchange for years of poor diet, stress and lack of exercise,
these individu