STOP. THINK. PREVENT. BLOG.
Thank you for donating to Shatterproof on my behalf. I am so grateful for your support which brings us closer to achieving our fundraising goals as well as advancing Shatterproof’s mission.
3 Days to Go! We are now The BBE-StopThinkPrevent-Oceanside Six! Our original team has joined up with Oceanside Recovery of Niantic (and Milford) to make it six excited rappelers ready to make a statement on July 26. Gary, Maks, Keith, Michele, Jackie and I have accepted the challenge to rappel down the 22 stories of the Hartford Hilton in Hartford, CT on Wednesday July 26 to increase funding and awareness for Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization committed to protecting our loved ones from addiction to prescription and illicit drugs and alcohol and ending the stigma and suffering of those affected by this disease. Gary and I work for Bartlett Brainard Eacott, a Bloomfield based contractor. Maks works for Aware Recovery Care. Keith is VP of Arc Safety, and Michele and Jackie come to us from Oceanside Recovery in Niantic. I am founder of stopthinkprevent.com. Each of us has a personal story (or many), and each of us has a professional relationship with addiction. Each of us also has ties to the construction industry, whose employees suffer from addiction at nearly twice the national average. Our most recent team members, from Oceanside, are in the thick of the opiate fight in New London County, providing medical and behavioral assistance, counseling, and group therapy. Together we can change the conversation about addiction. Your support will enable Shatterproof to develop and support effective, evidence-based prevention, treatment, rescue and recovery programs and significantly cut the number of those addicted, the number of our loved ones who die each year, and the exorbitant costs to our society. We need this national movement more than ever, and with your commitment, Shatterproof will have an enormous impact Your contribution will make an immediate difference for Shatterproof’s efforts to unite a nation stronger than addiction. Thank you again for your generous support. Please pass on this link to friends, co-workers, your boss... anyone else you know who may want to help with this important initiative. Together, we are stronger than addiction. We Are Shatterproof! Thank you - see you on the ground...safely! Marko Kaar, Team Captain P.S. If you would like more information about the Shatterproof, how proceeds are used, or the other ways you can get involved, please visit www.shatterproof.org. Click here to visit my personal page. If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://support.shatterproof.org/site/TR?px=1144872&pg=personal&fr_id=1742&et=iN2cGyu0UkRTl33daeAfJQ&s_tafId=6414 Click here to view the team page for BBE - StopThinkPrevent If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address: http://support.shatterproof.org/site/TR?team_id=5241&pg=team&fr_id=1742&et=Wufq26VSP2CdTdTivGGi6Q&s_tafId=6414 The Construction Industry has twice the rate of alcohol and drug misuse as the United States as a whole. This affects safety, quality, production, insurance costs, and morale in our industry. This is measurable.
Immeasurable is "presenteeism" as workers who show up dutifully every day for work are distracted by the pain, the hurt, the anger associated with caring for their loved ones they simply can't seem to help. In the background, every day, families lose homes to medical bills. Divorce is common. Siblings are depressed, or act out. Next week, on Wednesday the 26th of July, I will rappel 22 stories off of the Hartford Hilton to help prevent addiction. Stories - over the past month after signing up for the Shatterproof Hartford Rappel Challenge, I have spoken to Dads who have cried as they spoke of the struggles of their sons. Uncles who have spoken of their nieces. Near death experiences. Multiple rehabs. Family devastation. Fast approaching 22 heartfelt, emotional stories of personal heartache and struggle – and some successes. Rappelling the Hilton has become a metaphor for overcoming challenges, and embracing action. Addiction is not simply something that happens to "them". It affects all of us, in some way, shape or form. It is in our homes, our schools, our churches, and our workplaces. Babies are affected. This story from the New York Times is heart-rending: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/health/opioid-addiction-babies.html Babies! Addiction is not a choice. It is a disease. It can be put into remission with support, medical care, and counseling. I truly believe our "Higher Power" plays a tremendous role in recovery as well, when His message is heard and embraced. Treatment is changing and improving as more research is being done. Folks like Shatterproof and Aware Recovery Care are pressing at a regional and national level - pressing Congress, pressing Insurance Companies, pressing Caregivers, and State legislatures. Gary Mendell, Founder of Shatterproof, is an outspoken advocate on the Substance-Use-Disorder-Treatment-Task-Force. They are teaming up with organizations like CIGNA, because they all recognize the importance of Prevention, and Intervention. There are so many more, families, friends, and small recovery care practices like Oceanside Recovery in Niantic, CT. Professionals and lay people. Working together to push back against this increasingly deadly scourge that affects homes AND workplaces. Every FOUR minutes a mom loses a child to addiction. How many moms work for you, or with you? We all have our charities of choice, or need. Many of you know that our daughter has Crohn’s Disease, and our oldest son has Type 1 Diabetes. We support these causes wholeheartedly, in a search for a cure, and proper care. As a consequence, we also support Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, the staff of which has helped care for our kids for nearly 18 years. Many of you have contributed to our fundraising efforts – and THANK YOU. We continue to receive fliers and emails for so many causes that we simply can’t support, given time and expense. We pick and choose, based on applicability – and ability to make change happen. Any cause that can say, and show, that one hundred percent (100%) of every dollar raised increases funding for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of an affliction demands our attention…and one that can show concrete results, gets our attention as well. Some of you have probably reached “charity overload”, which I can fully understand – but I urge you to consider this effort – it can affect SO many, in so many ways. With this particular cause, I have personal and professional reasons for being involved, not the least of which are the stories and the statistics referenced above. Many of you have similar experiences, or know someone who does. The news bristles with stories of this expanding problem, and ever-increasing fatality rates. Next week, my teammates and I will step off of a 22 story building. I will have the support of family, friends, co-workers, all of you, and many complete strangers. I will also have ropes. But it will still be a leap of Faith. I encourage you to join us. Let your voice be heard. Together, we are Shatterproof. If you haven’t joined us yet, please do…with as many e-mails and social media postings I have made over the past month, even $5 a person could raise THOUSANDS. Grass roots count in this important initiative! Please pass on as you see fit! Thank you. To Donate, please click here: www.bit.ly/mkshatterproof Sometimes the message doesn't get through the way you want it to...
Today I blogged two examples of the use of the Stop Think Prevent message...one from Gordy Koch in Wisconsin, the other from Cal Beyer in Seattle...here's what they said (somehow got lost when I hit "publish" last time): From Gordy: Hi Marko As promised, attached is a copy of a client's newsletter for which I write a regular column. I regret that they did not directly credit you as I requested for using Stop.Think.Prevent. in the article. It was a very nice add to my column, even though the focus this month was not on fall prevention. Thanks again for all you do and for allowing me to use your promotion. To which I responded: Gordy, thank you. This is exactly how I intend the thought process and the message to get out. There are so many of us trying our hardest to come up with meaningful and effective ways to motivate safe behaviors. Each of us has a unique way of expressing ourselves, and very specific environments that we work in. Changing the approach, or the terminology, helps us be heard and understood. But at the end of the day, the message can be boiled down to three simple steps. Stop. Take a moment. Don't move past that "question mark"... Think. Use your knowledge. Common sense. Training. Consider the downside on the other side of that "question mark"... Prevent. Apply the aforementioned time and knowledge to a plan. Remove the "question mark"... Repeat. It can be that simple. And with hundreds (thousands?) of us applying the same simple mantra, we may just save a life... Awesome. Thanks for your help, and for your passion. Stay in touch my friend! Wisconsin... And Cal said: Marko, Please see the cover of the Fall Protection PPE Inspection Record my team and I developed. We used YOUR iconic sticker from Stop. Think. Prevent. Thank you for the inspiration! Seattle... It's as easy as that - if you think the message works, use it. It doesn't cost a penny. But if you want to help us spread the word far and wide, you are welcome to become a patron! It does take us time, website fees, hosting, marketing dollars...indeed, every penny counts. Be a part of the changing paradigm. Spread the word. Simplify the process. And send us examples of how YOU have implemented Stop. Think. Prevent! www.patreon.com/stopthinkprevent One is Too Many. Stop. Think. Thanks! Thank you so much to so many of you for donating so far…the response has been tremendous. In speaking with many of you who haven’t donated yet, I know you have an interest - all you have to do is click on one of the links below to make your donation. It’s not too late…but time is getting short!
On a personal note: as a result of this fundraising effort, I received a call from a friend – who has a friend, who has a son…Without getting into details, let’s just say that we spent 40 minutes on the phone last night talking about options, ideas, resources and personal experiences. This dad and I, who don’t know each other at all but for mutual friends, connected. I don’t know if our efforts will be successful – but that long talk is exactly what this is all about – encouraging communication. Identifying resources. Sharing experiences. Taking action. I hope you will join us. I hope that you will research www.shatterproof.org and understand the efforts (and success) they have had to date, and the support they need to continue their mission. Together we can help break addiction’s ugly grasp. Thank you. Marko http://support.shatterproof.org/goto/MarkoKaar17 Excavation & Trenching Safety Week 2017 Summary
http://bit.ly/trenchexcresources Thank you all for your views, comments, and shares. Together we generated 9126 views, 103 likes, 12 comments, and 43 shares. Hopefully, somewhere, we helped save at least one life, or gave someone pause... I put together a compendium of links and resources shared last week, you can find the document at the included link. Please pass along, share, and use however you see fit. Don't stop pressing the issue until the fatalities stop! Craig Metz, Business Manager and Kyle Zimmer, Health and Safety and Member Assistance Program Director for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 teamed with stopthinkprevent.com Founder Marko Kaar to announce rollout of the stopthinkprevent program to IUOE Local 478 members at their meeting May 12, 2017 in Hamden, CT. Speaking to the IUOE Executive Board and over 150 gathered members of the Local, Metz and Zimmer reiterated the Operating Engineers’ leadership role in jobsite safety, and offered their support of the stopthinkprevent initiative started by Kaar in June of 2016. “Our two groups will work together to help create an ongoing, consistent safety-related message and campaign”, Metz explained. “This program can be implemented by any contractor on any jobsite, and, in any workplace.” “It’s really about taking what we know, the training and professionalism that we have, and ensuring that every workplace encourages their management, their workers, and their clients to Stop. Think. Prevent - Injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.” Kaar said. “Our goal for our union members is to create a clear, consistent message, and a personal commitment to safety: “One is Too Many””, Zimmer added. Local 478 of the IUOE is the premier supplier of heavy equipment operators, mechanics and support personnel in the State of Connecticut. Stopthinkprevent.com was founded in June of 2016 by Marko Kaar, Director of Safety Operations for Bartlett Brainard Eacott, a Bloomfield, CT based general contractor and construction management firm. Starting with a simple thought – “One is Too Many”, the stopthinkprevent initiative is designed to offer employees and employers a simple, effective method to share the safety message – Stop. Think. Prevent. The website offers insights, guidance, and motivational tools, along with a highly visible “falling person” logo as stepping stones to success in sharing any organization‘s safety message, with a component that encourages personal commitment. Join with Local 478 and stopthinkprevent.com. Spread the word. Save lives. One is Too Many. I received notice last night of the potential for failure of Guardian SRLs – there is an allegation that a fatality last week may have been associated with an SRL failure. I don’t have all the facts yet (including an actual model number), but even an allegation as such is important (and easy) enough to act on.
PLEASE Inspect ALL SRL’s you may have onsite. Any make, any model, any brand. Be sure that they function properly and are not damaged…if there is ANY question in your mind, take it out of service. Here is some inspection guidance you may wish to use: https://youtu.be/f5AXLSR4fAw http://www.guardianfall.com/fall-protection-resources/product-inspection-forms http://bit.ly/2rkfH8x Two recent Stop Use Notices posted here...but they don't seem to apply to this particular piece of equipment: http://bit.ly/2qBaxny This actually should apply to ALL Fall Pro gear… Given the nature of investigations, lawsuits, etc., we may not ever know for sure that an SRL failure actually contributed to this fatality…but better safe than sorry. Initial Notice: https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212934406425624&id=1554637161&set=a.1445983840312.58525.1554637161&source=57&__tn__=E (thanks Dan Greenier) Story: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2017/05/25/subcontractor-falls-death-ecorse-u-s-steel/346513001/ Stop. Think. Prevent. I was shocked to learn recently that suicide is a leading cause of work-related fatalities, especially in construction - among those who build our highways, airfields, commercial buildings and skyscrapers, 53 out of 100,000 die by suicide – a rate that practically quadruples the national average of 13.6/100,000....and it's a topic that is seldom discussed. So I reached out to my friend Cal Beyer for some guidance, and we created a page at:
www.stopthinkprevent.com/suicide.html stopthinkprevent also just joined the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention This is too important a subject, with too much impact on so many families, not to address head on. Please read, pass it on, and make suggestions for additions if you are aware of other resources! |