How does an organization stress the importance of attitude and common sense towards the safety and health management operation?
How do we increase attention and personal responsibility for safety and health management in the work environment? Safety and health goals should require and receive a lot of attention.
Companies should focus on the purchase of equipment and design processes that reduce risk and improve safety and health. Companies should embrace training and education on work procedures that promote a safe and healthy workplace.
However, all the OSHA regulations and training and equipment in the world cannot protect a worker who does not look out for their own safety.
The sad fact is that most accidents are the result of someone’s at-risk-behavior. They are the result of carelessness of management personnel or workers that do not consider safety as an important part of their job.
People can be the biggest hazards on the job. When someone gets careless, someone gets hurt. Could be the worker that was careless and/or a coworker that was exposed to someone else’s mistake.
Most careless accidents can be pinned down to one of these causes:
The First Step in Accident Prevention – The Root Cause of Accidents
Complacency
That is what happens when someone has done the job so often that he thinks he does not have time to think about it. But no job is so simple that it does not require following all the steps and paying attention.
When you go on automatic pilot, you crash.
Emotions
We all get angry or upset at things happening at home or with an incident with someone here on the job, or even that stranger who cut you off on the way to work. These are understandable emotions. They distract you and make you careless. And you just cannot afford these emotions when you are working with complex machinery, hazardous chemicals, electrical power, and other things that can cause serious accidents if they are not managed with full precision and attention.
You must learn to push these emotions back when you are at work. If you let them take over, you will only be likely to create new and more serious things to worry about.
Tiredness
Whether the cause is too little sleep, too long a shift, or a second job, tiredness is a serious risk on the job. When you are tired, your physical and mental reactions are slower. When you have trouble paying attention, remembering what to do, or doing it when and how you are supposed to.
Do not let too little sleep jeopardize your safety.
Lack of Knowledge
Training and education programs try to cover all the things you need to know and do to be safe, but sometimes it does not all get through. The fact is that most training programs are ineffective. Just a note: training without follow up is useless for an operation.
The bottom line here is simple.
- If you are not sure what to do, ask.
- If you are not sure how to do it, ask.
- If you are not sure how it works, ask.
Do not go ahead unless you know what you are doing, what the risks are, and how to protect yourself.
Know-it-all or Reckless Attitude
Some people think they know it all. Some people do not care what they know or what they do. We cannot afford people like that on the job. They not only put themselves at risk, but they put the rest of us at risk as well. Work is a serious business. It involves a lot of equipment and substances that can be dangerous if they are not treated with care, respect, and knowledge.
There is no place for people who treat this as a joke or think that safety is somebody else’s concern. It is everybody’s concern.
Accident Prevention on the Job – Instilling a Safe Attitude
Identifying Hazards
One of our most important safety and health responsibilities is simply to be aware of the need for safety. That means applying what you know to what happens on the job. It means thinking ahead about what hazards you could encounter, thinking ahead about what could go wrong in everything you do.
It means recognizing that safety is your job and your responsibility.
Protection Against Hazards
A safe attitude means recognizing and understanding the risk you face on the job and planning what you do to protect yourself and prevent accidents.
There are few basics to this approach:
- Treat safety as one of your most important job responsibilities.
- Think about what could go wrong so it will not go wrong.
- Use the knowledge, information, and protective equipment the company provides.
- Develop excellent work habits that follow the rules and incorporate safety.
Safety Procedures – The Basics of Accident Prevention
Let us look at some ways you can put these basic safety precepts into action on the job. Keep in mind that these are general procedures and approaches. It is up to you to turn them into specifics that apply to the job at hand. Plan each job before you start.
Think about the tools, materials, and protective equipment you will need and the procedures you will follow.
Look for Problems
Think about what could go wrong, what hazards you encounter and what the risks are. Then we will think about how to prevent problems and accidents before they happen.
Use Warning and Caution Labels
Read your SDS sheets. And try to get all the safety information and equipment available to you. That is what they are there for.
Keep Your Work Area Clear of Potential Hazards
Items that could be tripped over or bumped into. Materials that could catch fire. Chemicals that could spill. Housekeeping is important.
Check Tools and Equipment Before You Use Them to Make Sure They Are in Good Working Order
If there is anything wrong, do not use them. Tag them so no one else uses them and report the problem to your company’s safety department so it can be fixed. The wrong tool can create a greater hazard.
Know and Follow Company Safety and Health Rules
It may take longer to do the job, but that is better than doing it wrong or not getting it done at all because of a serious accident.
Do Not Take Shortcuts
Procedures exist for a reason, and that reason is often for your safety.
Do Not Fool Around
Horseplay or showing off do not belong in the work area. Save games for somewhere else.
Know What To Do in an Emergency
Be aware of your contingency plans for fires and spills. Be sure you know where alarms and emergency exits are and what to do if the worst happens. There is no time to look up your plan in a real emergency. If in doubt, ask.
When in Doubt – Ask
No one is expected to be perfect. We all must ask questions sometimes. Or at least we all should.
What this all adds up to is simple. Safety is a part of your job. Training and education help, equipment helps, but none of them are a substitute for good old common sense and your genuine belief that safety is important and that you are responsible for it.