One weekend last Autumn my brother visited me. He’s a civil engineer who has worked in the construction industry for over 40 years: he’s one of Kier’s longest serving employees, in fact. So many changes since he joined the company in 1984!
One of the key changes he’s experienced is in working practices on building sites – and perhaps more importantly, the changing attitudes to health and well-being that are tied up so intrinsically with day to day working practices. Over the last 4 decades the industry has tried to move to much safer working that looks wider than immediate safety on sites to how well-being, confidence and mental health affects people too.
My brother asked me about my business and our customers. He asked me if I knew of Jason Anker, who he described as an inspiring person who through telling his personal story was doing really effective work with the industry to help reduce the risk of accidents. “I think he’s from round here in the East Midlands” he said.
So I looked Jason up. “From round here?!” Turns out Jason was born in Newark and still lives locally – just like Loopwheels! So I reached out and Jason came in to try Loopwheels. He kindly said he’d be happy for us to share his story. I’m sure it will resonate with many.
Jason was paralysed due to (in his words) an avoidable incident on a construction site in 1993 when he fell off a ladder. He was 24 years old. As he says himself: “I was 24, inexperienced and low in confidence”.
Many years on, Jason now works to help avoid others repeating his experience. In live talks and videos, he tells the story of his life before the incident, the day of the incident, and the time spent in hospital and rehab after his initial release from hospital. His struggle with life over the 26 years after his accident is an honest account of the devastation the incident had on Jason, his family and friends, and the company he worked for.
For 26 years, Jason was unable to talk openly about his experience of this work-related major incident. He now tells a story that is raw, and the emotion in which he delivers his talks is strong. His story has a powerful impact and grabs the attention of those listening. He’s willing to talk openly about his experience, and the physical and psychological effects of this major incident.
Jason’s story is in part about coping (and not coping) with a spinal cord injury. But it’s also about how he came to understand that his own health and wellbeing in the months prior to his accident had a direct influence on the safety decision that he made that day. And the fact he didn’t feel able to speak up to say “let’s not do this like this”.
What’s the mindset you bring to work? An individual’s wellbeing and state of mind affects the decisions you make in the workplace. What’s your and your employer’s or your client’s attitude to the work? What pressures are you all under? With such a ripple effect onto his family, friends and colleagues, Jason knows only too well that health and well-being are an absolutely key part of working safely.
You can find Jason telling his story on YouTube, on the HSE Network website and you may be lucky enough to hear him deliver his inspirational story in real life too. Check out his website Proud 2 Be Safe at p2bs.org for your organisation or team.
I think having watched these I am getting a grasp of what the phrase “behavioural safety” means now. You don’t have to work in construction or engineering to learn from this.
Aside from all that, Jason is a really really nice bloke, he supports Nottingham Forest, and his Loopwheels are making movement a lot more comfortable for him.
That’s a good news story indeed. (aside perhaps from the Forest bit). Thank you Jason.