I understand the word 'professional' to mean a person who knows his stuff. A professional works correctly and you can safely follow him as a model. Consider, for example, a fireman: when he makes a Midsummer bonfire, I can be sure that the risk of the fire spreading to the environment has already been taken into account in advance. A professional is a person you can trust.
A firefighter's usual job is to act in an extreme hurry. In a mission where mental pressure is created by perishable property or people in danger. Still, the fireman doesn't run. Every movement is purposeful, even gesturally effective. And he doesn't need to be specifically urged to act safely, according to the instructions. The fireman knows, he's a professional.
Rakennusyömaa also has professionals. At least they have the tools of a pro and the gear of a pro – helmets, goggles and all. And they speak jargon. A little distortion maybe comes from doing the work safely, unfortunately, you don't always have time to follow all the instructions, straightening sometimes comes to mind. But as a general rule, they know how to handle work in buildings as well.
But how does the fire professional in our example work outside of working hours? When a firefighter puts on civilians at the end of the shift, he is still a firefighter. He intervenes in unsafe activities and helps people even when he is free. We can easily take the free-shift firefighter as a model, and I can well imagine him saying that he works 'for the love of the sport'.
And now all you builders, search within yourselves. If a friend asks you to help with renovations or building a cabin, are your actions still professional? Everyone can, for example, check the level of their own professionalism from the following list:
- Are all the protective equipment required for construction work in use? At least a helmet, goggles and safety shoes. If necessary, reflective clothing as well as hearing protection, breathing protection, harness, etc.
- Is the schedule professional? Will it be busy?
- Are the tools professional tools or applied?
- Do the working methods withstand the light of day?
- And what about the working platform: do you use sturdy, appropriate racks or trestles or the cheapest ones that you found in the store? Or what happens to be found at the back of the yard?
- Is the work planned in advance and prepared for the most likely surprises?
- And what about the amateurs involved? If necessary, are they guided, holding hands, in correct and safe work methods? Is the protective equipment to be used at work also reserved for them in advance? Is everyone allowed to use all the tools, even though they might not know how?
When I ask the above questions in various situations, I often get significant smiles in response. They have made me think about the attitude of the smilers towards work and job security. Would I dare to let such a person teach my own child? Could I trust that he learns safe work practices, learns to respect other employees and, with these lessons, survives retirement as an intact and respected professional? Healthy and functional, of course.
Helping professionals can be reached by calling the emergency number in an emergency. Service providers are not compared, but the nearest car with a blue flashing light comes to the scene. Regardless of the municipality and the work team, the help is competent, even rude. And now, dear builders. Can I be sure that when I call a construction company in an emergency, I will automatically receive competent help? Will there be experts and professionals who are proud of their profession in a healthy way? Professionals, in whose care I can leave perhaps my most expensive worldly possessions, without worry.
If you have any doubts about it, the change starts in your mirror image. Make sure he's a Professional, with a capital A. And take such good care of him that, despite his heavy and dangerous profession, he manages to enjoy the years he spent in a rocking chair intact. Be selfish and act safe. Always and without compromise.
Juha Merjama
CEO, expert
Tapaturva Oy
Juha Merjama has been working in different areas of occupational safety for almost 20 years, the last 10 of them in Tapaturva. Juha wants to challenge himself and others to develop, because satisfaction with the current state is the worst occupational safety risk at the organizational level. However, the background of everything is work and people. In order for development and improvement to be possible, human motives and work and its dangers must be known, but above all understood. Juha and the other occupational safety officers want to be able to answer the questions 'what dangers' and 'why' in relation to people, working methods and the working environment.
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