An accident is defined as an unfortunate event often the result of carelessness or ignorance. An unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance usually resulting in an unfavorable outcome.
There are some key words in these definitions: Unplanned; Unforeseen; Unfortunate; Unfavorable and most importantly POTENTIAL!
I met a person the other day who had fallen from a height of 25 feet. He was fortunate to have escaped this accident with only a badly broken leg. A few weeks ago a worker fell just a couple of feet off a ladder and he passed away. Both of these situations have been discussed to the limit and on several occasions I heard people refer to luck, good and bad! Well, the last time I looked, luck was not an effective accident prevention or loss control technique. F
or an unplanned or unforeseen event to take place, there has to be potential!. Complacency and taking things for granted are causes of a tremendous number of injuries each year. Recognizing hazards and doing something about them is everyone's responsibility!
So as you begin work, ask yourself:
- Do I have the right tools/equipment for the job?
- Have I inspected my tools/equipment to make sure they are in good repair or am I trying to get by?
- Is the work laid out to provide safe completion of the job?
- Are the materials I am using safe, and do I need additional personal protective equipment such as: safety glasses, gloves, hard hat, respirator, etc.?
- Is there a safer way to accomplish the task? • Are all necessary equipment guards in place?
- Are written procedures such as lockout/tagout being followed?
HAZARD AWARENESS THE LITTLE THINGS COUNT
Most of us have probably heard the old saying, "It's the little things that count." There are many small things that influence our lives, and ignoring them can sometimes have serious consequences -- particularly when it comes to safety. We have all been trained to watch out for the big hazards that could harm us, but the little ones can sometimes cause serious injuries too.
One company became very concerned when its accident frequency showed a large increase over a three-month period. Management began an in-depth check of systems, equipment, and material that are considered to be high-hazard: heavy machinery, ventilation, toxic substances, machine guarding, etc.
To everyone's surprise, none of these things were the cause of their accidents. Chemicals were properly labeled and stored; machines were in good repair and properly guarded; the exhaust fans, sprinkler systems, respirators, etc., were all in good working order. Instead, accidents stemmed from a variety of "little things" that had been ignored until an injury occurred. For example, they found that serious falls had been caused by:
- A puddle of oil on the floor from a leaking forklift. No one had poured absorbent on the spill because it was "too small to worry about." It wasn't too small, however, to make a passing employee slip and fall when he didn't notice it. (Furthermore, the leaking forklift needs to be repaired so this accident won't happen again.)
- A box of supplies that had been left on the floor in front of a shelf, instead of properly stored. It had been walked around dozens of times before someone finally tripped over it.
- A ladder that was placed in front of an outward-opening door "just for a minute" to change a light bulb. It was knocked over by another worker coming through the door, and both he and the worker on the ladder were injured.
All these "accidents waiting to happen" had been ignored because they didn't really seem that dangerous to the workers involved. Employees all knew about, and carefully avoided, the major hazards found when repairing energized electrical equipment or bypassing machine guards.
We often intend to report a defective tool, extension cord, or stepladder to the maintenance department but don't take the time, or forget about. It is important to follow through on our good intentions, since these are just the sort of "little things" that can result in a serious injury to ourselves or to other workers.
Minor injuries left untreated are also "little things" that can cause big trouble if ignored. "Just a scratch" can become infected; a speck of dust in the eye can scratch the cornea and cause severe eye damage if not attended to. So, be sure to report even seemingly minor injuries and get appropriate first aid treatment.
Little things do count and if we take a few minutes to pay attention to all the potential hazards around us we can prevent serious injuries from happening to ourselves and other employees.
BE AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR WORK AND MAKE YOUR CHOICES CAREFULLY!!
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