Patrick Murphy

Background

About Patrick Murphy

Here is a story about Bob. Bob was a forklift operator at a large, fast paced warehouse. He had been doing this job for 5 years and knew it inside and out. He woke up every day, drank his coffee, made sure his dog had food in his bowl, kissed his wife, and left for work. He had a nice routine and was generally happy with his life. Lately though, Bob had been getting stressed out. Gas prices were rising, pay raises weren't coming, workloads were increasing, and his department had been chronically understaffed for 3 months. With bills high and too much work to do, he'd been picking up extra shifts every weekend. On top of that, he'd been reporting to management that the way pallets are being stacked for warehousing has been haphazard and inconsistent, making them unstable when he transports them. He'd also been reporting that there is a lack of space in the warehouse, and no designated walkway for pedestrians. Management told him they would work on it, but nothing changed. All of these factors made Bob anxious about coming in to work every day. He felt burnt out and stuck. One morning, Bob woke up after a night of little sleep, feeling anxious about potentially not making his mortgage payment for a second month in a row. He and his wife argued over money, how much time he spends at his job that won't listen to him, and how stressful their life has become. On this morning, Bob didn't take his coffee because the argument has made him late to work. He rushed to work and clocked in 10 minutes late. His supervisor told him he had 3 trucks to unload, and that his only other operator called out that day. So, Bob got on his forklift, upset with his boss, his coworkers, his compensation, his environment, his wife, and himself. He decided not to perform a pre-use inspection, and didn't buckle his seat belt. Bob worked as fast as possible for four hours. He unloaded the trucks in record time, restocked inventory, loaded finished goods into two trailers, and all the while, just wanting a good stopping point to take a break and drink coffee. He was transporting an unstable stack of material, in a crowded area of the warehouse when a pedestrian tried to jog in front of his lift. Bob swerved, hit the brakes, tipped the forklift, and was crushed under the cage. Bob died almost instantly. Bob never made it home to apologize to his wife. You are worth the trouble it takes for you to be safe. Get home in one peice.