You gotta think.

Unfortunately you can’t leave this up to the individual workers common sense because we aren’t born knowing how to keep ourselves safe. As we grow we learn personal safety through trial and error. In a workplace we have to be taught how to identify potential danger and keep ourselves, and our workmates safe.

Our workplace culture frequently has to be changed so that the team naturally stop and take time to consider how to do a particular job safely. This takes a lot of repitition and time. The tools we use to do this are inductions, warning signs and safety messages and daily safety dialogues.

As a member of a team who chooses to make ‘keeping people safe’ a non negotiable part of making a profit I make no apologies for using these tools.

http://www.osh.govt.nz/publications/series/hb-24-oxygendepletion.html

These people were in my industry and wouold have lived had they been properly trained by their employer and known how to put safety first.

Alf

I have been with the military for over 24yrs now. They preach, praise and implement the “Safety First” motto. It’s funny because everytime I hear it from them all I ask myself is “How safe do they think combat is?”

Anyways I caught on to the blandness of the “Safety First” motto many many years ago. I knew it was bogus but wasn’t sure how to handle safety after that. Until one day, not long after, it hit me. I think this applies a little bit better to everyone including soldiers in combat. It is “Mission first, Safety always.”

Thanks

thanks for THAT epiphany, too!

Your “Safety 3rd” is reality, and speaks the truth, plain and simple. It should be incorporated into all safety training and practices abroad. I have been in the construction for twenty four years, and safety is our responsibilty, as “individuals”. Anyway, “great job”; keep it coming!