Tool Box Talk: Personal Safety, Develop Personal Safety Focus

What’s the most likely thing to get you injured at work or away from work? Have you ever thought about this? Are you familiar with all hazards and potential hazards around you?

These are important questions that enable us to develop personal safety focus, situational awareness and reduce what is called ‘Inattentional blindness.”

One of the top causes of serious injuries and accidental deaths in the workplace and away from work is slips, trips and falls.

These accidents occur primarily because of lack of focus on a specific activity.

The following tips will help us to develop personal safety focus and prevent accidents due to slips, trips and falls.

• Before you start a job or move in an area; look around and identify all slip and trip hazards.
• Remember trips hazards may not necessarily be directly in your path but may be protruding objects in corners, open drawers, hidden hazards (such as uneven surfaces) etc.
• Carefully observe and where possible check all surfaces that you will be climbing, standing or walking on.
• Develop an attitude of defensive living, that is, using two primary life precautions-keeping eyes in direction of path and ensure safe placement of feet on walking surfaces.
• Always use handrails when walking on staircases and observe steps for possible defects
• Check your shoes especially when walking from outdoors to indoors to ensure that no slip hazard is present.
• Regular walk rounds of the premises can identify issues such as:
• Inappropriately routed or protected trailing wires (that may be associated with short term building maintenance activities)
• Water or other fluids from leaking roofs or pipe work spillages
• General accumulation of material
• Lighting

Personal safety focus is an important step in protecting yourself and preventing accidents.

And a bonus quote from William Ward:

“It is wise to direct your anger towards problems – not people; to focus your energies on answers – not excuses.”

Thanks for the share, TO!