Split on whether to tell my boss about a safety shortcut everyone takes

I work at a small warehouse in Phoenix and about 6 months ago I noticed almost everyone uses a pallet jack to move heavy boxes instead of walking them to the proper staging area. The rule says you gotta manually unload each box onto a cart but that takes 15 minutes extra per load. One day a guy named Dave slipped and the pallet jack tipped sideways, crushed his foot pretty bad. He was out for 3 weeks. I reported it to my supervisor and she said thanks but nothing changed. Now I'm stuck wondering if I should go above her head or just let it go like before. Has anyone else dealt with a situation where the safe way is slow and nobody wants to follow it?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan_anderson901mo ago

Used to think it was just one of those things you had to live with but watching Dave go down changed my mind. Sometimes the shortcut is just someone waiting to get hurt.

benc531mo agoMost Upvoted

Watched a guy at my old job try to save 30 seconds by walking between two pallet racks instead of going around. Hit a loose strap on the floor and ended up with a concussion and seven stitches. @jordan_anderson90 you're dead on, it's never worth it for a shortcut that saves you nothing in the grand scheme.

thomas.tyler1mo ago

A buddy of mine at a different warehouse saw the same thing happen. He went to safety after a guy broke his wrist and they just put up a sign that everyone ignores now.