Toolbox Talk Tuesday

Toolbox Talk Tuesday: “Personal Accident Prevention Plan”

Safe people always:

1. Understand the risks of their jobs

2. Perform jobs the way they are supposed to be done, without taking shortcuts

3. Never become complacent about safety

4. Get involved in efforts to improve safety

5. Know what to do in an emergency

 

A personal accident-prevention plan must consist of the following habits:

• Following safety rules and procedures

• Using assigned personal protective equipment (PPE)

• Asking questions when you aren’t sure about the safe thing to do

• Reporting all workplace hazards, no matter how small they seem

• Paying attention to safety training and using what you learn

• Knowing two emergency evacuation routes from your work area

• Participating in fire drills and emergency-preparedness activities

• Keeping your work area neat and clean

• Observing No Smoking signs and smoking only in designated areas

• Reading labels and materials safety data sheets (MSDSs) before handling or storing any hazardous

chemical

• Repairing or servicing equipment only if you’ve been trained and authorized to do so

• Inspecting PPE, tools, and equipment before each use

• Walking (not running) in the workplace

• Obeying all warning signs and keeping out of areas you are not authorized to enter

• Using safe lifting and carrying techniques

• Cleaning up spills that someone could slip on

• Keeping tools and supplies out of walkways where someone might trip over them

• Focusing all your attention on your work and avoiding distractions

• Making sure not to distract co-workers while they are working

• Being careful around machines and equipment with moving parts

• Treating electricity and electrical equipment with caution

 

Good habits work for us even when we’re not at our best. Unlike conscious actions, they don’t depend on how we feel or how busy we are and habits are always more reliable than memory.

The mechanic who has made a habit of checking his or her tools for burrs, cracked handles, and so forth will make sure that they are in good shape before using them.

This mechanic will not only do better work, but will also work more safely.

 

Every time you repeat an act, you reinforce and strengthen the habit. The important thing to remember is to make no exceptions. Exceptions weaken the habit.

That’s why safety rules need to be followed at all times; they need to be followed without any exceptions.

Unbroken safety rules become firmly fixed and habitual. With constant repetition, they become a part of you.

 

Let your good habits work for you. Make safety a force of habit.

 

“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” ~ W. Clement Stone