Pop quiz, hot shot: What’s the most important thing to remember when it comes to truck service? Here’s Jake Schell, associate product manager at Mitchell 1, with the answer: “The most important thing that technicians need to know is that when it comes to the work that they’re performing, their lives and the lives of others depend upon that work being done accurately and completely so that nobody gets hurt and that they keep themselves and everybody else in the shop safe.”
Safety is a top talking point in every truck service location, but it’s easy to become complacent: you get comfortable in the environment you’re working in; you trust and respect the people you’re working with. You’re also busy, managing the shop floor or troubleshooting a diagnostic code and maybe you think: “I’ll just pick up this tool and get to work.”
And then you strain your back.
“Or your shoulder is hurt or your fingers are pinched, or you’ve injured somebody else,” Schell continued. “It’s critical to take the time you need to be safe to accomplish these things. Many years ago, I was told that in the shop: speed kills. It’s that rush that we get into in the shop when we get into trouble. We are trying to hurry to get a job done quickly, taking shortcuts, and then something sharp or hot bites us.”
That’s the last thing that any shop manager or technician wants. So let’s refresh our focus on shop safety by watching the conversation with Schell in the video above. Then, you can peruse his FE column archive below.
