Worker's Memorial Day - A Day of Rememberance

Today is Workers Memorial Day which is a day to remember those who have died in the workplace and of rededicating our commitment to safety. This day first became important to me in 2012 after the death of my coworker, Alan Cambell, due to a fall in an underground gold mine. I wasn't there when it happened but nonetheless, it impacted me. Alan was the type of guy who always had extra earplugs in his pockets and would give you a pair if he thought your were too dirty to put back in and might cause an ear infection. Alan was the type of guy who would carry extra food and give me some if I was starting to get cranky. Alan was just the type of person you wanted to work around because he cared and was an all around good guy. When Alan died, I was shocked. Alan had been clearing blast holes around a stope and had failed to wear his fall protection and the floor gave way beneath him sending 100 feet to his death. I struggled to understand how someone who had cared so much whether or not my ear plugs were going to give me an ear infection could do something so unsafe which ultimately cost him his life. The questions I had about his actions and what he was thinking bothered me so much I almost changed college majors. I thought that if I had such a little impact on people as a safety professional preaching about fall protection abd lockout tagout then why bother at all. I also couldn't stand the thought of people dying that I felt responsible for keeping safe. Until that point, fatalities I studied in school and heard about in training were just statistics. It wasn't personal. But Alan made safety personal for me. After awhile I decided that while Alan's death had been completely avoidable and senseless it didn't have to be in vain. In 2013 I created and chaired the Workers Memorial Day Commemoration at the University of Central Missouri. It was a ton of work and with the help of many amazing people it went off without a hitch and hopefully started a conversation about the importance safety plays in all of our lives no matter what our profession. Alan has continued to motivate and push me to be a better safety professional. I never talk about the imortance of fall protection without talking about Alan. When I get burnt out I just look at his picture and read his fatalgram and remember why I do what I do. Although this day doesn't get to come with relaxationa and BBQs it is still an important day. A day to remember that every two hours a worker in the US looses his life on the job. Today I will remember the life of Alan Campbell and the 44 miners who lost their lives in 2014. And above all, I will spend this year working to be a better safety professional than I was last year so I can inspire others to share the same passion for safety that I have.