A presentation from Billy Robbins is infused with humor but the message is undeniably serious: Workplace accidents cause tremendous human suffering.
Robbins, a motivational speaker from Broken Arrow, Okla., has two prosthetic metal hooks for hands as a result of a workplace accident that took place in 1980.
More than 25 years later, Robbins has a wife and five children and a successful practice as a motivational speaker and safety consultant.
But, although he uses humor to make the point, Robbins clearly demonstrates that the survivors of disfiguring accidents face tremendous challenges every day of their lives after their accidents—as do members of their families.
Robbins presented part of his “Hooked on Safety” message to attendees of the ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc.) Annual Convention. As part of that presentation, ISRI staff member Barney Boynton was duct-taped to a chair to show how losing the use of one’s arms and legs takes overwhelmingly takes away from a person’s ability to take care of themselves in almost every conceivable aspect in life—at least in the ways that the individual is accustomed to.
Again using humor, Robbins pointed out how even two decades after his accident, he remains the center of attention when he enters a room, much to the discomfort of adults and much to the wide-eyed wonder of children.
“You come into my world [and] everything changes,” Robbins told the assembled attendees.
He urged them to do everything possible to take advantage of ISRI’s safety programs and to consider the impact they can have by preventing just one fatal or life-altering accident.
“You’ve got to be committed to it every day. Safety’s not about charts and graphs. Its’ about people, their spouses [and] their children,” he stated.
Before Robbins took the stage, ISRI President Robin Wiener urged attendees to sign the ISRI Safety Pledge.
The ISRI Annual Convention was held in the first week of April at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.