Safety
The invisible specification. Nothing else works without it.
NON-OPTIONAL
Every other article on this wiki assumes the builder is still here to read it. That is not guaranteed. This article is about making it more likely.
Every other article on this wiki assumes the builder is still here to read it. That is not guaranteed. This article is about making it more likely.
Overview
Safety is the discipline that keeps builders alive, whole, and able to build the next thing. On a job site, safety is not a rule imposed from outside; it is a set of habits that separate experienced builders from injured ones, sometimes in a single afternoon.
Principles
- Eye protection. Every time. The thing that will put something in your eye will be something you didn't think could.
- Hearing protection on power tools. You don't get that back.
- Hard hat where required. Objects do fall. Gravity is consistent.
- Ladders properly set. Feet stable. Angle correct. No last rung.
- Tied off at height. No exceptions. The rope is cheap.
- Saw guard down. If you remove it, you have already made a choice about whether your hand stays attached.
- Lockout/tagout on power. See: Electrical.
- Know where the first-aid kit is. And what's in it.
- If you are tired, stop. Most injuries happen in the last hour.
Software Parallel
In software, "safety" maps to: backups, staging environments, dry-runs, feature flags, review before merge, rollback plans, and — most underrated — finishing for the day before you're too tired to make good decisions. You do not get a hospital visit for breaking prod, but you get something similar.
"Slow is smooth. Smooth is safe. Safe is, in the long run, fast." — Burbridge, citing someone