Here’s the deal. There is a concept I want to coin, and maybe there is a better way to say it, but here it is: never find yourself in the middle. It came out of a recent jobsite visit, and out of the wisdom of one of the general contractors there, who is also a manufacturer and a trade on that same job. Safety glasses are the easiest way to explain it, but the idea applies to almost any standard you set on a project.
Short answer: Jobsite safety standards are easiest to manage at the two ends. Either engineer the hazard out so the rule is not needed, or require it 100 percent of the time with zero tolerance. The middle, where a rule applies only in certain circumstances, is the hardest to manage and the most disrespectful to human nature, because the human brain cannot reliably remember, notice, and decide in the moment.
What Does It Mean to Never Find Yourself in the Middle?
Take safety glasses as an example. It is really easy on a jobsite to say they are not required. You do not have any monitoring of that. If it is not a rule, it is not a thing, and each trade monitors its own stuff.
The other end is 100 percent safety glasses. They have to be worn all the time, and it is zero tolerance. The middle is a rule like you only wear glasses when needed. That middle is where I see projects get into trouble.
I have done all three. I have done nothing, I have done mediocre, and I have done all the way. And I can tell you that the only thing easier than not having a requirement at all is having it 100 percent implemented, perfectly. Very, very strict.
Three Ways to Handle a Safety Rule
Here is how the three options compare:
| Approach | What it looks like | How hard it is to manage |
|---|---|---|
| Not required | No rule and no monitoring. Each trade monitors its own stuff. | Pretty easy |
| In the middle | The rule applies only in certain circumstances, such as wearing glasses only when needed. | Quite difficult, and disrespectful to human nature |
| 100 percent | Required all the time, with zero tolerance and clear consequences. | Pretty easy, because deviations stick out |
Start by Engineering the Hazard Out
When you talk about safety, you can engineer the hazard out so that it is not a hazard in the first place. Or you can use second-, third-, and fourth-tier protection measures, where people actually have to wear personal protective equipment because the root cause of the hazard has not been engineered out.
A good example is the saw with a sensor in it. You have probably seen the demonstrations where they put a hot dog up to the blade instead of a real finger. When the blade touches flesh instead of wood, it senses it and immediately stops the saw, so you could not even cut your finger. You could actually make an argument that some of the other guards or gloves would not be required, because you have engineered the hazard out in the first place.
In Japan, many construction companies do not wear safety glasses, because for the most part they have engineered out the root cause. That is the first end of the spectrum. If something is not required because the hazard is gone, it is pretty easy to manage.
What Does a 100 Percent Safety Rule Look Like?
If something does need to be managed, like safety glasses, the second easiest way to handle it is to say 100 percent. It has to be done all the time, and it is zero tolerance. If you do not abide by the rule, you are escorted off the site.
You can set the consequence up one of two ways:
- You are escorted off the site once, and you are done.
- You are escorted off the site, you can come back through orientation, and only the second violation removes you from the project permanently.
When you are expecting perfection, there is very little inertia or gravity working against you. Deviations stick out like a sore thumb, and because the consequences, from a respect standpoint, are so extreme, it does not happen very often. So it is very easy to manage.
Why Is the Middle Disrespectful to Human Nature?
If you are somewhere in between, like you only wear glasses when needed, I do have a very strong opinion on this. Obviously, you can choose to believe me or have your own opinion. But I believe that the middle is not in line with the concept of respect for human nature.
If you understand human nature, you understand the brain’s tendency to lose discipline and decision-making ability in certain conditions:
- After a certain period of the day.
- After a certain amount of fatigue.
- In certain sleep cycles.
- When you are low on calories or energy, meaning you have not eaten in a while.
The brain has a very difficult time managing so many things and also deciding, right in the moment, what to do and what not to do. That is why I think it is very disrespectful to have a rule on site that says wear gloves only in these circumstances. First of all, it is hard for a human being to remember a rule like that without help. And even if they did remember it, they may not even be aware of the moment it applies to.
This is a big part of why I care so much about respect for people, nature, and resources. A standard has to be designed around how people actually work, not around how we wish they worked.
The Gorilla Nobody Sees
A recent chapter in the book Elevating the Construction Mind, which is not out yet, talks about radiologists. These are trained radiologists, looking through scans for abnormalities, and many of them did not see a black gorilla placed inside one of the scans. They were literally looking through these images and did not see a big black splotch of a gorilla.
That comes from the famous video where you count how many times the people in the white shirts pass the basketball. You are counting, and you think, they passed it 15 times. Then at the end of the video, it asks whether anybody saw the gorilla. A large share of people say no, because they were not paying attention to it.
So the human mind, even if it knew the standard, and even if it was paying attention, would not actually notice the thing you are talking about if it was not looking for it. That, plus many other conditions of the human brain, affects a person’s ability to notice and do what they are supposed to do from a compliance standpoint. So it is really disrespectful to humanity to say that a rule applies only in certain circumstances. It is just not how the human brain works.
Perfect Is Easy and the Middle Is Hard
My argument is, has been, and always will be to be stubborn and fixed-minded about this. Perfect is pretty easy. Not a requirement is pretty easy. But the middle, mediocre, is quite difficult to manage and quite disrespectful. I believe that so much, and I have seen it over and over on jobsites. It just does not work.
The same goes for any standard you set. A standard that holds every time is easy to see and easy to keep. A standard that holds only sometimes turns every moment into a judgment call, and that is exactly where people get hurt. That is also why a clean, safe, and organized jobsite comes down to standards that do not bend.
So I want to say it three times. Never find yourself in the middle. Never find yourself in the middle. Never find yourself in the middle.
So here is the challenge. Walk your project and find the rules that sit in the middle, the ones that apply only in certain circumstances. For each one, decide whether you can engineer the hazard out so the rule is not needed, or hold it at 100 percent with clear consequences.
Bottom line: Not a requirement is easy and perfect is easy, so never find yourself in the middle.
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On we go.
FAQ
What does “never find yourself in the middle” mean for jobsite safety standards?
It means a standard should either not be required, because the hazard has been engineered out, or be required 100 percent of the time. The middle, where a rule applies only sometimes, is the hardest to manage.
Why is a “wear it only when needed” rule disrespectful?
Because it ignores human nature. Fatigue, sleep, hunger, and the limits of attention make it very hard for anyone to remember and decide in the moment when a rule applies.
What is the best way to handle a safety hazard?
Engineer the hazard out first, so it is not a hazard in the first place. Personal protective equipment is a lower-tier measure for hazards whose root cause has not been engineered out.
What does a 100 percent safety glasses rule look like?
Glasses are worn all the time, with zero tolerance. Anyone who breaks the rule is escorted off the site, and either that ends it or a second violation removes them from the project permanently.
Has Jason tried all three approaches?
Yes. I have done nothing, mediocre, and all the way, and the only thing easier than having no requirement is having one implemented 100 percent.
People Also Read:
Behaviors Have Consequences: Is It Kinder to Hold High Standards?
Clean, Safe, and Organized: The Foundation of a High-Performing Job Site
Respect for People in Lean Construction: What It Actually Looks Like
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