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Posted By: osu-forester What someone should know - 08/30/05 02:01 AM
I hope that this isn't in violation of the "no how-to DIYers questions" but I guess its worth a shot.

I work for a municipal park district and I am putting together a program for this winter’s maintenance training. Our work requires us to span a wide variety of fields although very large or difficult projects are usually contracted out. I am trying to put together a bunch of odds and ends that are considered important to know or at least have nearby. Some examples would be knots, wrenches that are the same in SAE and metric, extension cord length/gauge maximums, principles of geometry. I am on your forum hoping that you all will be able to assist me with some ideas from your area of expertise. The current knowledge of our staff ranges considerably from interns with very little experience to technicians with decades of experience so no tidbit of information is too small or too large. I'm also interested in knowing any mistakes that are commonly made. Like Otto Von Bismarck said "Fools you are... who say you like to learn from your mistakes... I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others, and avoid the cost of my own." Or in my case, because I've already made too many of my own. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Posted By: gfretwell Re: What someone should know - 08/30/05 03:38 AM
The first thing you could do is to go over the OSHA safety rules for the jobs you are doing and the general safety rules for using portable tools and cords.
Inspect your tools and establish a good lock out tag out procedure that gets used every time you work on anything electrical in nature.
Posted By: BuggabooBren Re: What someone should know - 08/30/05 05:29 AM
My nuggets of wisdom:

- don't ever hesitate to stop the work if it can't be done safely. Figure out what needs to be done to ensure the safety of yourselves and others before restarting the work. Time lost to correct problems and issues is a wise investment, especially compared to losses that are preventable.

- don't ever hesitate to call in a problem in another area of expertise if you detect an unsafe situation. Diplomacy can help in communicating the need for attention when it's not your area of expertise and your concern for safety shouldn't be limited to just the issues you know how to correct. (As an example, I called in, as a citizen, what I suspected was an electrical hazard that my daughter and a shelter-dog were walking around. Turned out to be a poor installation of an outdoor outlet and the wires were exposed and live right along the main street area.)

- Know your limitations. Prevent accidents and injuries by doing jobs safely. Get help when you can't do the job alone. Use the right tools. Delays may cost you time but rushing may cost you more in injuries or worse.
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