It is a common misconception that the safety staff has the responsibility for removing any hazards or hazardous conditions in the workplace. There true challenge is to get these employees to help identify the hazards in their area so they can be reduced or eliminated. The most successful example helps prevent injury from falling debris at construction sites; hard hats.
An unusual characteristic of people is that when first introduced to a new environment, they assess the physical layout and anomalies practically jump out at them, though they are reluctant to identify them. Once a part of the company or organization, they walk past these same problems day after day, and they become invisible. This is the normal way people process and accommodate environments, but it complicates the effort to identify and remove hazards.
An inspector cannot be in every part of a large company or facility to identify problems, and the workers who are daily residents stop noticing conditions as problem areas. The result is the collective tolerance of dangerous conditions, with the cure being generic cautionary processes. Specific remedies unfortunately are predicated on the unfortunate occurrence of an actual mishap, drawing attention to the problem.
The notion that rules, regulations and personal protective gear requirements follow mishaps which resulted in damage, injury or death is known to professional safety personnel as the concept of blood priority. Until someone gets hurt or something is broken, actions aimed at preventing such an event carry little weight. Even for preventive mechanisms adopted because of such an event must be accompanied by continuous reminders to be accepted by workers.
Something inside people makes it difficult to accept the idea that an accident or injury on the job could easily happen to them. In many ways they blame individuals who are victims of such mishaps, believing they must have been doing something terribly wrong, or were not knowledgeable enough to avoid the problem. The conclusion is that had they applied some common sense to their behavior, they would not have been injured.
History has shown that that is not a safe bet, as very few people who suffer injury at work were doing something blatantly incorrect as a result of inexperience. The usual victim of an injury is an average worker, one with adequate experience and knowledge and not engaging in horseplay or other activity outside the norm. Accidents usually result from an individual losing focus on the job.
At one time or another, everyone gets distracted, whether it is something in their home life, a bad experience or even illness. Because of this the airline industry takes special precautions, since a single mistake can be catastrophic. They use multiple pilots to crew an aircraft, and every phase of flight is run by checklist.
When it comes to personal protective gear, workers are often resistant to the point of rejection. The exception to this provides hope to leadership and safety professionals, construction hard hats. This equipment went beyond a safety device to became a status symbol for construction professionals, and now is universally worn with a compliance rate near 100 percent, even by visitors, at construction sites.
An unusual characteristic of people is that when first introduced to a new environment, they assess the physical layout and anomalies practically jump out at them, though they are reluctant to identify them. Once a part of the company or organization, they walk past these same problems day after day, and they become invisible. This is the normal way people process and accommodate environments, but it complicates the effort to identify and remove hazards.
An inspector cannot be in every part of a large company or facility to identify problems, and the workers who are daily residents stop noticing conditions as problem areas. The result is the collective tolerance of dangerous conditions, with the cure being generic cautionary processes. Specific remedies unfortunately are predicated on the unfortunate occurrence of an actual mishap, drawing attention to the problem.
The notion that rules, regulations and personal protective gear requirements follow mishaps which resulted in damage, injury or death is known to professional safety personnel as the concept of blood priority. Until someone gets hurt or something is broken, actions aimed at preventing such an event carry little weight. Even for preventive mechanisms adopted because of such an event must be accompanied by continuous reminders to be accepted by workers.
Something inside people makes it difficult to accept the idea that an accident or injury on the job could easily happen to them. In many ways they blame individuals who are victims of such mishaps, believing they must have been doing something terribly wrong, or were not knowledgeable enough to avoid the problem. The conclusion is that had they applied some common sense to their behavior, they would not have been injured.
History has shown that that is not a safe bet, as very few people who suffer injury at work were doing something blatantly incorrect as a result of inexperience. The usual victim of an injury is an average worker, one with adequate experience and knowledge and not engaging in horseplay or other activity outside the norm. Accidents usually result from an individual losing focus on the job.
At one time or another, everyone gets distracted, whether it is something in their home life, a bad experience or even illness. Because of this the airline industry takes special precautions, since a single mistake can be catastrophic. They use multiple pilots to crew an aircraft, and every phase of flight is run by checklist.
When it comes to personal protective gear, workers are often resistant to the point of rejection. The exception to this provides hope to leadership and safety professionals, construction hard hats. This equipment went beyond a safety device to became a status symbol for construction professionals, and now is universally worn with a compliance rate near 100 percent, even by visitors, at construction sites.
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