My Story: Shawn King

Interesting, but I hope you didn't become a believer in safety harnesses only because it was your job. Maybe you got an insight that you did not address above. If so, could you elaborate? I, myself, got into the field in a somewhat similar manner. 1983, my employer on the Oregon Coast filed Chapter 11, then got a visit from federal OSHA. I walked with them as a member of the workforce, and my boss, the former QA Manager, walked as a member of management. We got fines and I got appointed as Safety Manager. Six months later, the shipyard bankrupted and I got employed in Idaho in QA again. Then, in 1986, I took a construction job in Cairo, Egypt, as CQC/Safety Officer for a US Army Corps of Engineers project. At the end of that job, I promised never to work safety again. Then came 1992 and Easter Sunday found me traveling to Botswana for another Corps of Engineers project, this time, my sole employment was as Safety Officer on another Corps of Engineers project. I should mention that the man who employed my here was the same guy who hired me for Cairo, and was the identical man who hired my at the Oregon shipyard...some of us never learn... Anyway, my first toolbox talk was a demonstration of "Stop Drop and Roll." In Setswana, it is "Ayma, Wah, Pitagalugha." My next big move was to shut down a major subcontractor until they fitted their dump trucks with seats, seat belts and fire extinguishers. Then, I taught all employees how to fight a fire. Fifteen months later, as I'm heading out to do another toolbox talk, a white contractor originally from Zimbabwe, told me, "You're wasting your time with those toolbox talks. I know you have to do them, but you're wasting your time. You'll never see a black help another black. He can see a man dying from a fire and he'll walk right on by. You'll never see a black help another black." Ironically, after that toolbox talk, a black foreman/translator hands me a note that states, "Last night, we had a fire at our camp (five miles from the job site). The man inside the hut was screaming, saying he was on fire. The mechanic and I got two fire extinguishers from the dump trucks. We opened the (hut) door. The man ran out and did ayma, wah, pitagalugha while we put out the fire. I think now I am qualified fire fighter." I took the man, known to me as K. K., to the white contractor (named John), showed him the note. He said, "I'll be damned." Since that date, I became married to the profession. Worked 15 years in Egypt and Libya in Safety, and now, another three years in North Dakota. You see, it wasn't just John who became a believer in teaching safety and providing the tools and environment for the work force. Safety has come a long way, but it has a bright future because it provides a future for so many others...