Tell me about a time you witnessed a colleague doing something unsafe and how you responded?
"Just last week, our whole team was working hard to address a sudden project with a swiftly approaching deadline. We were all racing, frequently changing gears, and working hard side by side. I came upon a fellow team member who didn't know where our step ladder was. It was in the next room. Rather than looking for it, they stacked a chair on top of a table and were wobbling all over the place. I swiftly grabbed the ladder and brought it to them and suggested they use it rather than break their neck. I'd recorded a moment of them in the act on my phone and later showed it to them and gave them a friendly talking to. They were shocked by how dangerous it looked from their perspective and promised not to do it again. I warned them that if they did anything that unsafe again, I'd inform our superiors because I care about their safety. We shook hands, and that was that. Oh, and I told my supervisor anyway, asking them not to bring it up, but to keep an eye out. They thanked me for my transparency and promised not to address the situation with them any further, unless absolutely necessary."
Sensitive situations are likely to occur. Although there is nothing wrong with being singularly focused on going to bat for the team or responding to urgent priorities, putting your own safety at risk or the safety of others just to cut corners and save time, despite your intentions, rarely benefits the team.
Therefore, they want to ensure you'll act in accordance with the company's policy and reputation. Such matters should be handled swiftly in confidence and in accordance with safety and legal guidelines. Display how you balance integrity and discretion. Abide by all human resources best practices for such a situation. Ensure your conduct is professional.
Looking at their website, you can easily see how BHP integrates safety into their charter values: "Our highest priority is the safety of our workforce and the communities where we operate. BHP's Charter value of Sustainability articulates safety as a fundamental element in the way we conduct our business. The safety of our people and the communities where we operate must always come first. The four focus areas are: reinforce that safety comes before productivity, continuous focus on in-field verification of controls for risks with the potential to result in one or more fatalities, enhance our internal investigation process and widely share and apply lessons, enable additional quality field time to engage our workforce."
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Anonymous Answer
A few months ago our office blinds had somehow partially fallen off and were hanging by only one side. The blinds were probably 15ft directly above the front doors of the office. When I asked about the blinds staff told me there was a request to have a contractor come and fix them. I indicated that we would need to flag the area and have customers and employees use a separate entrance until it was fixed. I noted that, even though the risk of an incident was low, the severity of an incident, had it occurred would be severe. I set up some caution tape and placed a note on the door to direct traffic. We logged the safety incident as a positive observation on the corporate safety tracking system.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! It sounds like you realized the situation was unsafe so you took the initiative to protect others. You come across as proactive, considerate, and logical. Great job!
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