Take Five for Goal Zero
Results: Take Five Challenge #1
The Challenge...
Tell us your Take Five moment
Share your story about a time when you took five and realized it was a good thing you did. Submissions will be accepted until Dec. 16. Five drawing winners will receive a Fermilab fleece sweatshirt. The drawing will take place at the labwide potluck party on Dec. 16.
Winners (by random drawing)
Name: Steve Conlon
Story:
Every shutdown when I worked in Booster group Barry Barnes and I would clean the booster anode supplies among other things as part of standard mantance. The proper procedure was to open the doors, grab the ground stick before entering and discharge the buss to all the 35kv capacitors to clean the ceramics on them and everything in the cabinet. I noticed one of the capicators had ceramic flakes on the floor next to the last one in the far corner that I was suppose to clean. I decided to take five:
- Always take your time in a hazardus area - I did (downtime isn't worth it if it's you that's down . . . the machine can wait)
- ***Never be afraid to ask the boss questions*** - I did (your not being stupid your being safe) - I did
- In some situations going above and beyond the call of the standard "safety porceedure" doesn't hurt - I did
Barry informed me it was a good thing I questioned the situation. When he hit the capicator with the ground stick it had a full charge on it. (one mistake was, we should have worn ear plugs during the discharge:-)
The good news is I took five and stayed alive!
(that was an old procedure we do things much different now!)
Name: Liz Becker
Story:
I noticed a co-worker carrying a bag of trash from her office to the large receptacle on our floor. I noticed that there were many aluminum cans and plastic bottles mixed in with the garbage. I pointed out all of the recyclable objects she was going to be throwing away (in a nice way!) My co-worker came back and said because of me she separated out the recyclables. It made my day...
Name: Wm. Kelley
Story:
There were 3 of us working in Booster replacing a complicated device in a very tight area. We were kind of stumped for a moment when our crew leader said,” Lets do what the director says and Take Five and think about it." He then started to walk away toward the stairs and told us to follow. (He reminded us that we were in a very high radioactive area!) We proceeded to Take Five upstairs. Needless to say, we got the old one out and the new one in with no bumps, bruises or dents! (Another successful mission at the Lab!)
Name: Dirk Hurd
Story:
My take five moment happened today. This morning climbing in the cable tray above my second floor office, a sizeable snake was discovered. After taking the time to identify the intruder and determine that it was non-venomous it was time for removal. I located a pair of leather work gloves, a small ladder, a spotter and a deep garbage can. I carefully grabbed his tail, shook his head free, placed it in the garbage can and flipped the rest of its body into the can. Since I am not usually required to perform this task, it was important that we took a few minutes to assess the hazard that we were confronted with and determine a safe course of action. Procurement of the proper tools was accomplished before diving into the task at hand to avoid unnecessary complications and delays in removal. A few moments of planning and preparing was crucial for a successful and safe resolution to the problem.
Name: Mike Dinnon
Story:
In working with 208V connectors for equipment, I did not feel comfortable with a metal casing on the plug. To ease my mind, I decided to where my electrical safety gloves when I plug these into the wall socket. One time as I plugged inthe cord and turned, It blew up in my hand. If I had not been wearing my gloves I would have had severe damage to my hand. I now encourage everyone to where protection when plugging in a device with this style plug.
A sampling of other entries
Name: Tom Gibbs
Story:
I use the Take Five principles every time I enter a construction site to perform an audit. These sites change continuously, and work activities are often different at the end of my audit. Taking five seconds to survey the site throughout the audit and using appropriate precautions are the elements of the Take Five program I use the most at work. It is just as important to use these principles at home. I used Take Five to continually assess the hazards of tearing down and rebuilding my home theater. This three month long project involved heavy lifting in awkward positions, lead handling, and electrical hazards. During the many stages of the project, I took five minutes to plan the next step and eliminate or control any hazards.
Name: Glenn Waver
Story:
When ever I work on my car I always take five and make sure that the car is on a level surface and the jack stands and wheel blocks are in place before getting under my car.
Name: Tom Kobilarcik
Story:
I was asked to move a coat rack. Taking five, I realized the rack was rather flimsy (and loaded with coats!). I asked for help, we developed a plan to lift and relocate the rack (clearing the space ahead of time). The task was carried out without incident.
Name: Brian Svazas
Story:
At the final stoplight on a return home on a slippery day. I sized up the situation as I entered the left turn bay and moved into the intersection. The light was green an oncoming traffic was steady as it approached. I thought that with the slippery conditions I was taking no chances on crossing in front of oncoming traffic. The light turned red and as planned I did not move until I could verify all cars were stopped. The car in the oncoming curb lane decided to forgo the light and never even slowed as it moved through the intersection I then completed by turn. Due to conditions I never even got so much as a honk as I cleared the intersection.