I Will Choose To Do The Safe Thing

Whenever you approach safety from this angle, you are exercising good safety attitudes. Here are few safety attitudes we should know and live by:

• An accident can happen to me at any time, when I take a chance, a shortcut, or fail to be aware.

• Accidents can always be prevented; I should always be watching for hazards, potential or real.

• I need to take personal responsibility for my actions and work area.

• I can always take the time to work safely. It should always be my first choice.

The majority of people that are injured have an attitude of "it will never happen to me" or "I am in a hurry and don't have time" or "It's not my responsibility". These attitudes result in injury and lost time to workers - people just like you and me. Here are some examples of choices made during the work day and their consequences:

• The PPE was hanging by the lab bench but the employee was in a hurry and didn't put it on - A part fell into the caustic chemical and splashed the employee on the face.

• The box was in the way and needed to be moved. It was heavy but the employee didn't think it would hurt this one time - The employee strained her lower back and was off work for 6 days.

• An employee was trying to finish the repair work on the machine and removed his safety glasses so he could see - A metal sliver flew up into his eye cutting the eye.

• The last support on the pipe was "just" out of reach so to finish the job the worker stood on the top rail of the lift - The worker fell 15 feet to the floor and died.

• An employee spilled water in the break area but didn't want to stop and clean it up as she would be late back to work - When the next person entered the area he slipped on the water and broke his wrist.

We, as employees, need to think about all the aspects of our jobs and our workplace. If you see someone acting in an unsafe manner, tell him/her about it. If you see an unsafe condition, report it.

Thing before you act - Safety is everybody's business!

Think how much we would all benefit if everyone shouldered that responsibility and chose to do the safe thing - at work, at home, on all the roads between, and in all the other activities of our busy lives.