2010 January 03 | Safety Culture Excellence®

110 – 2010 Personal Safety Focus: Do You Have One?

January 3rd, 2010 · No Comments

Greetings everyone from my home in The Woodlands, Texas. This year I begin to not only promise to provide weekly audio files to help you improve safety; I will be publishing monthly videos as well. We will keep these videos under 10 minutes in length so they can be used in quick meetings. This month I ask the question, do you have a personal safety focus for 2010? Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions, but what will we focus on in 2010 to help us stay safe?

I would like to encourage you to consider watching what you are standing on, climbing on and walking on this year. In many countries the number one cause of accidental death in the homes, are slips, trips and falls. There are two life precautions that can help prevent this from occurring to you: Eyes on path/work and Footing. Below are some examples.

1. Eyes on path/work (keep eyes in direction of travel and task)

a. When walking keep eyes on path of travel. (i.e. looking behind while backing up)

b. When operating mobile equipment always scan ahead for pedestrians & obstructions.

c. Maintain focus on surroundings, body position, and equipment when performing a task

2. Footing (stay on designated walkways/3-point contact on stairs)

a. When walking up/down stairs use handrails and take one step at a time.

b. When climbing up/down ladders use 3-point contact and keep body facing toward ladder

c. Maintain 3-point contact when (getting on/off a equipment)

What are some other examples you can think of? Consider sharing these with a group of people and ask them to identify examples of how these precautions could help them remain safe.