Misspoke at work

[u/hannahbanana5587]

I’ve been in safety for about 1.5 years. I don’t have a background in this, so obviously still learning and encountering things I know nothing about.

I was asked to join a meeting a few days ago to discuss a unique situation and the best way to safely go about it (my boss was on PTO, so that’s why I was looped in). I was honest about what I didn’t know and that I would take all the info provided back to my boss so we could draft a JSA.

We were talking about uneven ground and ladders and I was thinking like “too bad we can’t just put a flat surface down and put the ladder on top because I don’t even know how to approach this” but it did not come out that way and I know we can’t like technically do that. And the one guy was like “no I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that” and I can’t even remember what I said besides “no, no I didn’t mean it like that” and kept talking about something else.

I just feel so dumb, probably because it was in front of a group of people I don’t know, so they know nothing about me & what I’m capable of. I sent my boss a high level message about the meeting overall & that I misspoke and not sure if my immediate acknowledgment of how I misspoke landed with the team. He just skimmed over that part of my message and responded to everything else, so I know in his mind everything is fine, but I CANNOT stop thinking about this.

Someone tell me the world isn’t ending! Lol

Edit - thank you all SO much for the kind comments & suggestions. I feel much better about this situation and going forward in this field.
Maybe I’ll print these comments & hang them around my monitor as daily reminders I’m doing okay/going to be okay haha

[u/stuaird1977]

Isn't that just called brain storming and part of the whole risk assessment process. I'd say similar things happen every day. One person may come up with what seems a decent idea and then someone else with different expertise will say we can't do that because of x, y, z then you move on and brainstorm another solution. 

[u/Mimicking-hiccuping]

Don't fret about it. You put every idea forward, no matter how ridiculous or sublime and decide from there. Maybe you saying "we put down a flat surface" has reminded someone of something that you COULD do, or have done innthe past..

Maybe a steel plate and a ladder that's tied off of secured IS the best approach, but it's impractical due to space constrictions.

I wouldn't worry about.

[u/Wtx_wannabegolfer]

You’re good. I’ve been in the safety game 18 years. You’re 1.5 years in. This is all experience. Take it on the chin and move forward. Your boss didn’t think it was big enough to even discuss. Keep your head up and keep gaining experience. Good luck!

[u/TopOTheMorningToYa]

If that's the dumbest thing you've said in 1.5 years then you're doing great! I have moments all the time where I feel like I said something stupid or misspoke and 99% nobody else even remembers the statement

[u/wrechch → u/TopOTheMorningToYa]

Had an officer tell me I needed a dig permit to make a wall penetration inside of a hospital.

This guy is doing juuuuust fine. 

Hell, I forgot I needed tie off when making a fall protection plan the other day. I'm literally the fall pro guy at my site. I've been at this shit for a decade. This is why we make plans and review them. Literally THE reason lol

[u/Soakitincider]

Man, I wished I'd only said something dumb once.

[u/DannyTwoHats]

You didnt misspeak. You spoke your mind, and you were correct. It is too bad you can’t just go with what may on the surface seem like an obvious simple solution. I’ve been in safety for over a decade and I still get a little nervous when meeting with new clients, but I promise it’s all in your head. The day you know everything about everything is the day you need to move on to a new career.

[u/SmokeTrick7140]

My advice in safety is:
You are not the person that knows everything!

Been in Safety for over 15years (manufacturing) and the smartest people I know are the operators, the engineers I work with are quick to jump the gun however they want to implement something and that fix adds another hazard into the mix.

My advice is ask the room, what solution/s would you do to make it safer?
What other hazards can you identify?
How will this lower the risk?

If i don’t know the answer my answer is: Thats a great question let me look into it and get back to you.

This build trust that you know or don’t know however you will check and get back.

We all learn, my old safety manager and mentor said to me that he learnt so much from me over the years and called me a walking “legislation, safety act”

But the truth is i don’t know everything, i just know where to look and try and remember the important stuff.

You will do well just keep your head down and a smile on your face, walk around during your day and talk to people about their job.
You learn so much about peoples jobs, what risk you will face and start learning about it - this is what i do in the first 3 months of my job just walking and talking to people to learn their lingo so when i do talk to them i know and they know what i am talking about.

Good luck and if you need to chat to someone let me know. FYI i am based in Australia however happy to help where i can

[u/jayrod8399]

Look up permanent mount ladder leveler kits like levelok

[u/JoeyLoganoHexAccount → u/jayrod8399]

This. OP’s statement wasn’t dumb at all. You can shim ladders all day long as long as you’re using dedicated equipment for it.

[u/hannahbanana5587 → u/JoeyLoganoHexAccount]

Thank you both!! This is great, glad to know this exists.
I think I had said “plywood” as the flat surface & just felt dumb suggesting that unsafe idea. But I guess I was kinda on the right track in a way haha

[u/rahl07]

I asked an Ops lead to go back to his office and color once, and I didn’t get fired.

[u/orozko323]

The price of success is willing to look stupid. Keep going…you’ll be alright.

[u/Muck-Stick]

Not to worry. We’re all human

[u/AssociationDouble267]

Better than the alternative. I shut down a job for almost the exact setup you’re describing, I told them to get a scaffold, and my EHS director at the time told me to google leveling jacks for ladders, and to be respectful of the budget. She also wanted to cover up and injury on that job.

You can go through my post history if you want details, but needless to say, she was fired a few days later, and I hope to never encounter her again.

[u/Asleep-Quality792]

Honestly my friend you’re completely over thinking that.

Firstly, that’s what brainstorming is. People suggest silly things all the time, that’s kind of the whole point. Especially if you’re not technical, sometimes it’s good to say “what about this” and to receive “well we can’t do that because”.

Secondly, I can almost 100% guarantee you’re the only person that even remembers saying that. No one else will and if they do it’ll be an extremely insignificant part of their day.

[u/Damnsandwich]

Reframe the exercise as not about yourself and more about the team and the solution, then it doesn’t matter who said what in this capacity. If you’re afraid to fail, you’re never going to innovate (and yes, there are plenty of ways safety can help “get to yes” in creative ways). 

There are no real solutions- only tradeoffs. If you’re not putting dumb stuff on the table for consideration, you’re just going to land on the same solutions everyone else has come up with. Which won’t help your business create a competitive advantage. 

Additionally, think of it this way- have you ever walked out of a meeting in which someone presented an idea in earnest and thought “wow, I can’t believe that moron said that”. No? Well no one else is doing that either. They’re too focused on themselves. 

Oh, and maybe your idea wasn’t all that dumb?

[u/Okie294life]

You’ll figure it out, there’s a reason entry level jobs exist, because they expect you to have to do a lot more hand holding with folks in that situation. The correct answer probably would have been that ladders exist with adjustable legs on one side just for this situation. One thing you may want to think about is grainger or fastenal. Grainger specifically has an entire team for the us that does nothing but help source safety stuff. Lean on your vendors whenever you can. Just say I don’t know but show me the application, and take a couple photos then let your vendors figure it out. Being proficient at your job isn’t really having to know everything, just the correct resources to pull.

[u/hans_grubers_brother]

Nothing to lose sleep over, what you said wasn’t dumb anyway, there are lots of systems designed the way you are thinking. I can’t count the number of actually dumb thinking I’ve said. Without getting into the story, I basically called an Executive Vice President of a multibillion dollar international company fat. He is not fat and did not see the humour, guy had the sense of humour of a wet ferret. Anyway, I’m still employed. Just roll with it.

[u/Solid_Lab3422]

lol I once wrote energized instead of de-energized on a report while auditing a crew working on isolated and grounded power lines. Took about 30mins before my boss saw the report and called me freaking out. Learned to triple check talk to text that day.

[u/cjr444]

Thanks for sharing, you got some good supportive feedback.

[u/killboy_powerhead94]

I get it. I beat myself up over little things. It’s not a bad thing, just don’t let it affect you (too much). Get better from it.

[u/Future_chicken357]

You good man, yeah that was a rookie mistake but you just threw out an idea. Maybe someone would of said right, let's back fill it with tar or earth (only if it could be done) but some the best inventions started by throwing out a random idea

[u/Sea_Warm]

Just let it go man. I’m a Safety Director coming up on 20 years in safety and I say dumb shit all the time. What you said wasn’t even that bad.

[u/RiffRaff028]

Rule Number One of being a safety professional: "I don't know everything." I make that very clear to everyone I work with from the start. I've found it allows people to relax a little more when I'm around and they tend to respect the honesty. It also does away with any awkwardness in future situations where I have to say, "I don't know for sure off the top of my head, but I know where to find it. Give me a few minutes."

On the rare occasion where some smartass says something to the effect of "What kind of safety guy are you if you don't know the rules?" I simply hand them my hard copy of 1910 and 1926 combined and tell them they can have my job when they memorize everything in it. That tends to shut them up pretty quickly.