1) Mental Distractions and Inattention – Have you ever replayed in your mind unpleasant scenes at home while operating equipment on the job? Perhaps something big happens to you last weekend and you’re anticipating its wonders while literally climbing on a ladder. Maybe one or two times you’re mixing chemicals and you decide to have a little chat with a co-worker. No harm in that right? Think again. Mental distractions often lead to inattention. You could miss noticing that pedestrian racing close to your forklift just because you’re too engrossed over that argument you had with your wife or husband for example. Whether you’re worrying, daydreaming, or chatting, mental distractions can be likened to hazards or defects in machines that you need to secure with “guards”. Will yourself to tag these mental distractions with a NO ENTRY sign, close the “door” and focus on the work at hand. If that’s all too hard to do, then you may consider taking a break and getting some fresh air to blow those distracting thoughts away or finishing that nice chat with a co-worker. If the work is urgent, then you could tell yourself to forget about personal matters first and deal with them later by coming up to a co-worker (possibly your supervisor) and sharing with them your difficulty in getting rid of that thing (or person) that tortures you to the very core of your being.
2) Poor Housekeeping – Apparently if godliness is next to cleanliness, safety is next to the latter as well. Just imagine how distracted you’d be if your workstation is cluttered with all your personal stuff, unsorted files, bolts, screws, wires, food wrappers and other junk. Visual clutter can easily translate itself to mental clutter. It would be easy to miss that obstruction in the conveyor operations when dust and all these crumpled papers mess up with your focus. So befriend that broom and sweep all those visual distractions before they do something nasty. Throwing the junk out and sorting your files are big steps to trashing all the horrible hazards that could befall you. Remember, too, that poor housekeeping says a lot about your attitude towards safety, quality, and production.
3) Machinery – Machines can be distracting and destructive, too. Don’t be fooled. Think twice before permanently choosing a place for your workstation. Make sure it is at a safe distance from machines, heavy equipment, electrical circuits, busy foot traffic, and obstructions or slip/trip hazards.
4) Hearing – Sure, listening to music is fine. It keeps you entertained, boosts your mood. But even Elvis Costello’s melodramatic voice or Beyonce’s hippest lyrics can cause you alarm. Listening to music through headsets may be not allowed at your workplace and therefore it may not be expected to be an issue but it is a distraction that we must be mindful of. Now wearing earmuffs or earplugs is a completely different story. When noise levels in our workplace are too tough for our eardrums to handle (accurate measures must be done to determine this), then we must take actions to address this. If installing appropriate engineering controls is not feasible, then we are required to wear good pair of earmuffs or headphones.
5) Long/Unkept Hair – Imagine a tabloid running this headline, “Man Gets Paralyzed Because Of His Long Hair”. Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? But we won’t think so after realizing that too many accidents have actually happened in the past just because somebody was fixing their hair while operating equipment, carrying a load, driving a vehicle, etc. This becomes an even bigger hazard when a worker fixes their hair while carrying on a task. So if this distraction applies to you, do yourself a favor and tie your hair back or keep it under a net and/or hat.
While some factors in the workplace can play a role in causing distractions, the fact remains that more occupational hazards spring from unsafe acts than from unsafe conditions. In truth, much of the safety of employees lies in their hands. So think straight, follow safe procedures and we don’t have to worry about hurting ourselves before each work day ends!
“Two types of voices command your attention today. Negative ones fill your mind with doubt, bitterness, and fear. Positive ones purvey hope and strength. Which one will you choose to heed” Max Lucado