Tool Box Talks: Safe Work Habits

“Safe Work Habits”

A nineteenth century author wrote, “Habit is the deepest law of human nature.”

Most of us would probably agree with that. Humans are quite often influenced by habit.

Habit and job safety are closely related. If you form safe work habits, it’s a big plus for safety.

A research publication recently listed eight of the most common human elements involved in job safety. All are

associated with habits, to some degree.

Recognition of hazards was one of the elements mentioned. By constantly being on the lookout for hazards, you

enhance your own safety. In watching for hazards you must consider not just the obvious ones, but also hazards

which might suddenly appear through some action of another employee or chain of unusual circumstances.

Indifference was another of the human elements listed. An individual might know the correct procedures for doing

his or her particular job, and just ignore them. Or there might be persons who don’t know safety procedures and just

leave it at that, rather than finding out what they are.

Daring behavior is another obvious human element that can lead to a job accident. Working without guards and

taking shortcuts are examples of daredevil tactics. Horseplay is in the same category.

Setting a poor example also can lead to trouble. The actions of all of us have an influence on the safety-mindedness

of other workers, particularly newcomers. If a veteran employee is involved in an unsafe act of the job, a new

worker might observe it and be swayed to adopt the same practice.

Another weak link in the chain of safety is someone who is impulsive or always in a hurry. Haste is a trait that often

leads to accidents.

We are using our time foolishly if we don’t take time to be safe. Temper falls into the same category, as it usually

flares up on the job in the form of impatience.

Training, or lack of it, is also a safety factor. The supervisor is responsible for training an employee to do a job

safely. However, as employees, we have to be responsible enough to ask questions if we don’t understand

instructions, or are in doubt about procedures. Also, it’s very basic to safety that hazardous situations be called to

the attention of the supervisor.

One of the eight human elements listed by the author was work habits; of course that is really the point of our talk.

We do our jobs from day to day, and in the process, good work habits are formed. But so are unsafe habits, unless

we make an effort to break them. Some habits good or bad, are formed early in the job, while others develop

naturally as time goes on. A person might incorporate unsafe habits into the job and continue them for a long time

before a mishap occurs. Other people might not be so fortunate. They could learn quickly how an unsafe act can

catch up with them unexpectedly. Gambling with the law of averages is a bad bet.

First and foremost, the purpose of all safety efforts is to prevent accidents and injuries to human beings. As human

beings, we all have the inclination to choose the easy method of doing something, or the fastest way to do it,

without regard to safety. By doing things the correct way, we gradually form safe work habits that carry through

into our daily work, and this is one of the best safety devices available.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Jim Ryun

Thanks, TO