According to the National Park Service , which maintains the Kaymoor site,
The mine site of Kaymoor One was once one of the most successful and highest producing mines in New River Gorge. Over its history, Kaymoor mined millions of tons of coal and was home to hundreds of people. It is currently one of the most intact mine complexes remaining in the New River Gorge. .Kaymoor also had a reputation as one of the better mines to work at. … Kaymoor never had a mine explosion accident. Other towns in the gorge such as Red Ash suffered from explosions that caused disasters. Kaymoor’s main dangers were rock falls, fires, and electrocution. Kaymoor management set rules to prevent miners from excessively drinking. The rules went so far as to order superintendents to not establish any saloons on Kaymoor property!
“Leaders who understand how to persuade know that they must provide motivation,” says Potter. “The cheap way to motivate is through threats, but great leaders use inspiration and encouragement.” Potter’s experience as a safety professional has shown him that people are truly safe by first obtaining knowledge, then taught skills, guided through coaching, and then persuaded with motivation, inspiration, and encouragement. “Knowledge is a key factor to creating a foundation for understanding what it means to be safe,” says Potter. “Being safe means that we have taken steps to reduce the risk of an event taking place that can lead to injury.”
These comments remind me that we can’t just admonish someone to be safe, we need to take action to create safety.
Why do people take risks? They are tired. They are in a hurry. They don’t believe that the steps of the process make a difference.
Perhaps the sign could also say, “We value you. You are not just a ‘cog’ to us. You are a human with a history and a context and a family. We want you to continue being our employee.”
This sign reminded me of how important my family is to me. I imagined, what would it be like if the sign read, “your family wants you to homeschool.” Would that be a way I could keep myself going even when I want to quit? Maybe that could be a good reminder for me!
