Fifteen seconds. That’s the time it takes for Enzo Fabiano, supervisor for new business projects for the Northern region at Enbridge Gas, to complete a “circle check”—a walk around his entire vehicle to make sure there are no hazards or other concerns before driving off.
It’s a practice that’s engrained in Enbridge’s culture. Most days, Fabiano doesn’t find any hazards. But on a random Friday afternoon in June, his thoroughness paid off.
On his way home from work, Fabiano stopped to run an errand. He parked parallel on a residential street and quickly folded his mirrors down—a “trigger” to remind him of the circle check—then went on his way. “It took five minutes,” he said.
As he walked back to his truck, Fabiano looked at the tires and under the carriage from a distance. As he rounded the front bumper from the driver’s side to continue his check, he was shocked to find a young girl—no more than 4 years old—serenely sitting on the curb in front of his truck, picking dandelions.
If he hadn’t done the circle check, he wouldn’t have seen the girl when he drove forward. “It was on my mind the whole weekend—what if something had happened, and how that would have changed that family, that community, Enbridge, myself?” he said. “The ripple effect was endless.”
Fabiano shared the story with a co-worker after she noticed on Monday that he seemed distracted. He calls that mental health check the “second part of the story.” “For her to take that time speaks volumes,” he said.
Fabiano later shared his circle check experience on Enbridge’s internal Yammer social network to help inspire others and reinforce why safety protocols matter. Within minutes, responses flooded in from fellow employees: “If anyone needed convincing, short of a harmful incident, there’s not a more powerful example than this. Thanks.” And “it only takes one time to significantly impact someone’s life. Thanks for giving us a reminder of why we do these things.”
Fabiano adds that he did reach out to the property management group at the nearby housing community to remind parents to teach their children not to play around vehicles. The group sent a notice asking its residents to slow down, watch for children and be more aware.
As a 30-year employee at Enbridge, Fabiano estimates that he’s completed thousands of circle checks. “The one time you have that finding, it’s worth however many I’ve done.”