Avoiding Injury: An Insightful Story on Safety and Work-Life Balance

TAKE 5 FOR SAFETY E. Lessard April 24, 2018

A PNNL staff member recently shared a story about building a house on evenings and weekends while also working full-time for a Hanford contractor Jim Hilliard says he made several poor decisions that led to him shooting a three-inch nail into his hand with a nail gun As the weather turns warmer and days get longer, many BNL staff members take on projects around the house in their spare time Hilliard says he's sharing his story so others might think twice before making a decision that causes an injury at home or work PNNL STAFF MEMBER SHOOTS NAIL THROUGH HAND WHILE BUILDING HOUSE 2

In 1999, Jim Hilliard, now the Radiation Measurements and Irradiations Manager at PNNL, was working days at Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) After work, he would often travel to the land outside town where he was building his house and work until midnight on the project The bank that provided the construction loan set a deadline for completion six months after lending the money, so there was significant time pressure guiding the project DETAILS (X-RAY OF NAIL IN HILLIARD S HAND) 3

On a Saturday, Hilliard needed to finish building the eaves around the house and spent half a day on the task. He had a family reunion to attend later that day and was irritated to have to take that time away from the work that needed to be done. Hilliard noticed that the eaves were not consistent in height and he would have to start over. "I was frustrated at having spent a half-day on work that had to be torn down and rebuilt," says Hilliard After the family reunion, Hilliard returned to correct the eaves. It was dark, so he set up some spotlights to illuminate the area. By this time, it had begun to rain steadily Hilliard was using a ladder to reach the boards he was nailing in place. When he got to the final board, he shot a three-inch nail into his hand with the nail gun while using his non-dominant hand to operate the framing gun He drove himself to the emergency room since there was no one around to assist Hilliard with his injury and he had no way to call anyone HOW MANY PROBLEMS CAN YOU SEE WITH WORK PLANNING? 4

Hilliard says he made several poor decisions leading to his injury: He was in a hurry to complete the work due to the time pressure the bank was imposing He was keeping a demanding schedule, working 40 hours per week, then putting in several more hours per evening on the construction project He was frustrated while he was working because he had a commitment that was pulling him away from continuing his project He was even more frustrated after discovering the work he had done earlier in the day was not done correctly and had to be redone He was working in a remote area with no way to communicate with others should an emergency arise He was working in the dark during a rainstorm on a ladder over an open trench where power was laid He couldn't position the ladder correctly due to the trench, so he had to use his off-hand to operate the framing gun LESSONS LEARNED 5