Category: News

Instant Gratification and Workplace Safety (Safety Talk)

There are many aspects of our work that lead to instant gratification by the end of a workday or even within a few hours of our shift beginning. Examples can include organizing a work area or building something. It can be argued that safety is an aspect of the job where there is little or no instant gratification at the end of a work shift because you cannot technically “see” your efforts at the end of the day like the physical work that gets done and remains for all to see. At most workplaces, everyone fully expects to go home healthy at the end of the day so when everyone does day after day, it can be taken for granted.

Instant Gratification at Work

When most people think about instant gratification at work, it usually means getting a task done or completing a project. In the construction trades, employees literally see their creations grow hour by hour until it is a finished product.

Safety, on the other hand, can be more of an abstract concept that can be seen. For example, you can see a worker following safe work practices, but it is not the same as putting the final touches on a construction project. A person can see someone else working safely and see everyone go home safe, but unlike the physical work that you do, you cannot “see” safety as an end product. Safety is not a foundation, a building, or the complete wiring of a skyscraper, but it should be appreciated like the physical work that gets completed.

Summary

We can only often appreciate our efforts towards safety after completing a hazardous task with no issue or going a long period with no injuries, like at the end of the year. Safety, unlike many work tasks, does not give way to instant gratification at the end of every shift, except maybe for the safety supervisors or higher management, whose main goal is no injuries and productive days. Because of this, it is important to know that the steps you are taking are helping to avoid injuries and incidents from occurring.

You may not always be able to see an incident being prevented because of a safeguard that has already been put into place, but if everyone goes home safe at the end of the day, then the team is successful. Take time to recognize and appreciate the effort you and your coworkers put forth to work safely to be able to go home to your families.

Instant Gratification and Safety

Slips, Trips, and Falls Safety Talk

Slips, trips, and falls are one of the leading causes of injuries and fatalities in the workplace. According to OSHA, slip, trip, and fall incidents cause 15% of all accidental deaths and are second only to motor vehicle incidents as a cause of fatalities on the job. These types of incidents can result in life-changing injuries to the employees who suffer them.

Common Slip, Trip, and Fall Incidents

• Falls from elevation are often deadly or result in serious injury and may include falls from ladders, falls off of mobile equipment, falls from roofs or other elevated structures, etc.
• Slip incidents on slippery surfaces such as snow and ice are common in colder geographical areas in the U.S. Wet floor conditions or spilled liquids are also common causes of slip incidents at work.
• Trips can be caused by a multitude of reasons, including poor housekeeping, changes in elevation, poor lighting conditions, improper footwear, etc.

Mitigation Actions to Prevent Slip, Trip, and Fall Incidents

• Always use fall prevention or protection for work over 4ft in general industry work and 6ft in the construction industry. Protect workers by using proper guarding of any holes or open windows and use guardrails to prevent falls. Where guardrails are not feasible, use adequate fall protection.  An example of adequate fall protection is a full-body harness and a self-retracting lanyard attached to an approved anchor point with 100% tie-off.
• Proper housekeeping is very important in preventing slip, trip, and falls incidents. Objects on the ground create a hazard for anyone walking or working in the area. Maintain clearly defined paths for walking in the work area. Maintain organized laydown yards for tools and equipment out of the way of employee foot traffic.
• Address any wet, slippery, or icy walking surfaces in your work area. Post signs of any hazardous surfaces until the situation is taken care of completely.
• When climbing up or down a portable or fixed ladder, ensure that you use proper techniques, such as using three points of contact and keeping your belt buckle within the sides of the ladder. Do not lean to reach objects- this can throw off your balance, and you could fall.

Discussion points:

-Are there trip hazards due to improperly placed objects in your work area?

-Has anyone or a close family member of yours experienced a severe fall? How has it affected you/ them?

-What are other ways we can protect ourselves from slips, trips, and falls here at our site?

Slips, Trips, and Falls

SORT Your Way to a Safer Work Environment Safety Talk

There is an endless amount of acronyms when talking about safety. The acronym S.O.R.T. is a tool that can help remind us to take steps to address hazards and create a safe work environment. S.O.R.T stands for Stop, Observe, Recognize, and Take Ownership.

1. Stop- It is necessary to take time not only at the beginning of the work shift to evaluate both the work area and equipment for hazards but also as conditions change. When we are rushed, we miss the small details that matter. Always take the time before a task begins to evaluate the work task you are about to do. Anytime conditions change, or things are not going as planned, stop work and evaluate what needs to be done to correct the situation.
2. Observe- Take time to evaluate the environment around you. How are the weather conditions, lighting, and temperature at the work area? Are the needed personnel and tools in the work area ready to go?  Has all equipment been thoroughly inspected prior to starting the work task? Has all necessary paperwork, such as SOPs, JSAs, or permits, been reviewed and completed?
3. Recognize- Once you have stopped and observed the work area, what hazards do you see? Your ability to recognize hazards comes down to utilizing training, safety meetings, company policies, lessons learned, safety shares, and past experiences. Much time is spent discussing and training everyone onsite to be able to recognize hazards in order to mitigate them and protect ourselves from injury.
4. Take Ownership- Ownership is the most important part of the process. Once you recognize hazards or potential issues while on the job, own them. See through that they get properly corrected in a timely manner. It is easy to just walk past an issue and think that it is not your problem. In reality, any hazard on the job is your problem. If someone else is hurt or there is property damage due to the hazard you recognized and walked past, it will have some sort of effect on you. Incidents affect a jobsite as a whole, and depending on the severity, can have far-reaching consequences for an entire company. There is also guilt you could feel due to an injury occurring to a coworker from a hazard you could have addressed. Taking ownership means more than just communicating the hazard to the other people in the work area. Stop work if necessary and get the right people involved to address the hazard correctly.

Summary

While these four steps are very basic, it is easy to skip some of them and just go through the motions due to complacency or time restrictions when at work. We often complete many of the same work tasks in the same way every day. This makes it easy to fall into a trap of having blinders on to hazards that could lead to an injury. Use the S.O.R.T. tool to remind yourself to take the time to really evaluate your work area for hazards and to take ownership of them.

S.O.R.T Tool

Shortcuts are a Choice Safety Talk

The decision to take a shortcut can be influenced by many different factors. That being said, at the end of the day, shortcuts are a choice made by an individual. It is important to realize this fact and take steps to avoid taking shortcuts, especially when it comes to safety on the job.

Common Safety Shortcuts

Taking shortcuts when it comes to safety can manifest in many different ways. Some common types of safety shortcuts that occur in many workplaces:

• Not implementing all necessary safeguards. Almost every work task has several safeguards that are to be implemented prior to work beginning. Each safeguard that is implemented is one more way to protect yourself and others from injury.
• Not wearing the necessary PPE. PPE is the last line of defense for workers. You never know when you may need it.
• Rushing during tasks or not taking the necessary time to do certain tasks. Many things can be missed when rushing during a work task. This can lead to incidents occurring.

Ways to Avoid Taking Shortcuts

• Hold yourself to a higher standard. Do not take the easy way out. Take the time and energy to perform tasks correctly. Make it a habit to follow safety policies and procedures.
• Help set the expectation that shortcuts are unacceptable when it comes to safety. If coworkers see you taking shortcuts, they are more likely to do so themselves.
• Realize that shortcuts affect more than just you. They can result in negative impacts on production, property damage, as well as injuries.
• If facing a perceived time pressure, evaluate whether it is a self-imposed time pressure. Many times individuals put pressure on themselves to perform a task faster when there is no real outside pressure to get a work task completed.
• Preplan work tasks well ahead of time so the necessary tools, training, personnel, safety equipment, time, etc., are available. Having all the necessary items for work tasks can help to avoid the urge to take shortcuts.

Summary

To boil it down, taking shortcuts is just an individual choice. Sure there are many factors that affect whether an individual will make the choice to do so, but it is ultimately a choice that is made. It can be difficult never to take a shortcut when it comes to safety, but there are many actions that can be utilized to eliminate the urge to do so.

Discussion point: What are other factors that may lead to a worker taking a shortcut?

Shortcuts are a Choice