In late April, I had lunch with Joe Garera, the safety director for Spartan Construction, before heading out to complete a joint safety audit of a road construction crew working on the Leestown Road project in Lexington. Earlier in the day, Joe received a phone call from someone inquiring about the whereabouts of one of the company’s flatbed dump trucks, which had been left overnight in a parking lot in Williamstown, in Northern Kentucky.
Soon, Joe confirmed that the dump truck had been stolen, but many questions remained, not the least of which was who – and why – would anybody want to steal an empty, 19-year-old, flatbed dump truck with company decals plastered all over the sides?
I quickly assumed the worst as I recalled the 15-year-old boy who stole a dump truck and went on a joy ride from Glasgow to Richmond this past October. If not some teenager, then was it someone from a chop-shop who wanted to sell the parts? Or had it been stolen for a major gold heist (OK, probably not)?
But the $64,000 question that day was could the company get the truck back – and how?
We tossed that question around and we both agreed that he should give social media a try. I had witnessed Facebook locate all sorts of things from used cars, subcontractors, concert tickets, etc., but could it help locate a stolen vehicle?
When Joe returned to Northern Kentucky and reported the truck stolen with the local police department, he then posted two pictures with a detailed description of the truck and his telephone number. He asked his Facebook friends to please help him find the missing truck.
Over the course of the next three days his posting grew a set of legs and was reposted 293 times, reaching an people far and wide. Less than 72 hours later, a call came in from a total stranger, telling Joe that he had seen his Facebook posting about the missing truck and that he was standing next to it at a rest-stop just off the Mountain Parkway in Slade, Kentucky, some 94 miles away. The truck was untouched and in good shape and nothing had been stolen out it.
As we all know, social media has revolutionized how people, businesses, government agencies communicate with one another and even entire strangers. Although it is most commonly tied to networking, marketing and socialization, it’s important that we don’t overlook the potential that it has in other aspects of life, including emergency management and safety and risk management. With the ability to reach a large audience in mere seconds, government agencies, corporations, cities, local municipalities businesses and nonprofits are turning to social media for emergency preparedness and communication.
It allows people to respond and cope with tragedy, as as was the case after the Boston Marathon bombing and Hurricane Sandy. When incidents such as these occur, it enables people and communities to come together to respond and help others in need.
In this case social media exceeded my expectations once again. Although it did not help solve the who or why, it showed us once again how a community can all come together virtually to help others in a time of need.
Be safe, my friends.
Keven Moore works in risk management services. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Kentucky, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and 25-plus years of experience in the safety and insurance profession. He lives in Lexington with his family and works out of both the Lexington and Northern Kentucky offices. Keven can be reached at kmoore@roeding.com.