This sounds ugly!

Just goes to show that you can't legislate "common sense". Of late we have seen those special interest groups attempting to "level the playing field" so "everyone" can play. Well, guess what--Not everyone can play on the same field! Training and common sense is the answer and if those aren't utilized then Graley has the right idea in his signature.

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Lead,follow, or get the hell out of the way!
 
Great ideas Don, I'm working on some of your suggestions now. I'll have all the statistics and $$ figures in hand before I approach them. Remember... their plan at this time is only a proposal. So I'm going to try to "nip it in the bud" before it goes any farther! It should be hard to argue with facts, figures, and liability issues.
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Gary, I'm tempted to break that bottle on something besides a bench!
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What about Chainsaws? Can you take them? Makita has a battery operated chainsaw designed for pruning thats got a 4" bar. that would cut open a cardboard box. I think a nice Stihl 066 with a 3.5 foot bar would make more of a statement though.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
I have gotten some negative reactions from co-workers, supervisors and "suits". Never had the people that I was called to help complain about my choice in cutting implements. One supervisor was talking to another medic and made the statement that "All I would ever need in a knife is a SAK.....blah...blah....blah" This guy has never had the need, evidently, to cut something while the other hand was occupied. The good news is, he went to part time and is a flight medic.

I recently had an encounter with a medic from another division that is being FTO'd in our division. I had my AFCK out to cut something, his eyes got all big and he made the comment about "what do you do with THAT?cut people or stick pigs?" My response was to grin and say "No, but the thing is great for reducing the pizza into manageable chunks." He didn't bat an eyelash when I showed him the Spydie Rescue from the other pocket. Thank goodness our current supe is a road dog at heart and understands where I am coming from. Think the plain edge AFCK I got him for X-Mas has any bearing on that?

Later, Jeff B

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Knife Medic "Weilder of Fingerdicer,Healer of Minor Owies,Instigator of Laughter"
 
Excaliber,

Don has some outstanding ideas. I would suggest looking at the cost of each of the injuries, both lost time value, medical expenses and paperwork for supervisors, vs the cost of a single pair of kevlar/spectra work gloves and a good utility knife. The cost differential should be stated as gross dollar value and percent difference, $200 for the injury vs $20 for the gloves and knife is 1000% cost therefore 10 workers could have been protected for the cost of the injury. This doesn't even consider the "cost" of the recordable on their OSHA 200 log.

If they ban knives then they have to substitute other tools to cut and strip things. They guy that cut his hand stripping wire with a pocket knife wasn't doing his job properly since wire strippers are cheap and readily available. Nor was the guy using his knife as a pry bar. Are there proper tools for performing those task? If so then I'd log the injuries, interview the workers to find out why they didn't use the proper tools that the company provided and have them participate in "lessons learned" sessions with the other workers in which they explain how they got hurt and how it impacted them. If not, I'd make sure that the company understood the financial impact of not providing the proper tools for these simple tasks and point out that all of it could have been prevented with a few hundred dollars in proper equipment.

Each workmans comp case like this costs a company hundrends of dollars of insurance, lost time and paper work. The losses from the 200 log can be much greater since the government and other large buyers look at the 200 log and workmans comp ratio to help them decide whether or not to purchase from a company.

The bottom line is, it costs a company less in the long run to supply the proper tools and training for it's workers than paying for workmans comp claims. If they ban personal knives then they need to supply proper tools to perform the job. On the other hand the workers are the only ones that can work safely and have to use the tools provided to do the job safely or insist on proper tools to do their jobs safely.

Take care,

Mike
 
Mike, I whole-heartedly agree with you. The workers were not using the right tool for the job. That was the point I was trying to make in my original post, but I guess I didn't quite make it clear. Yes... the company does supply them with wire strippers.... as for the "pry bar" knife... well, that was just stupidity on the part of the employee! The kevlar gloves are a good idea, and much less costly than the medical bills and insurance premiums.
I just think the company is going overboard with their "Proposed Ban" of all knives. ( including utility knives ) After all, you have to have SOMETHING to cut things with.
I'll get my ducks in a row, and see what happens this Friday when I go back to work.

Thanks for the ideas and imput everyone!
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