Humans instinctively seek to avoid pain and death.  And yet, we may behave in a manner that is a threat to our wellbeing.  There are a couple of reasons why this occurs.  The first is lack of knowledge. What you do not know, can hurt you!  The second reason we may act in a risky manner is attitude. Now might be a good time to do a quick self-analysis.   What is your attitude...

Setting a good example is not a “put-on”. It’s simply working safety into your daily routine at home and on the job.  When we all work safely, everyone’s job is safe and their future more secure.  New employees certainly benefit by seeing operations conducted the safe way. As you all know from experience, people new on the job take a while to adjust and to discover...

Compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group: Honest — Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust. Competent — Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings. Forward-looking — Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout...

AN INCIDENT !! Can be defined as “any observable human activity sufficiently complete in itself to permit references and predictions to be made about the persons performing the act.” (Whew!) Therefore, it is safe to say that incidents or accidents do not usually just happen; they happen for a reason and are usually due to unsafe acts or conditions. The following is a list of ‘incidents’...

Rule number one is to follow the rules. Rule number two is to see rule one. We sometimes baulk at the clarity of the rules. We would rather follow the rules when it suits us and we quickly settle for mediocrity.  We ‘kind of’ follow the rules or we say to each other “Well – technically – this is breaking the rule”.  But because it is just a ‘technical’ breach, it’s deemed acceptable to break...

It’s hard for us to imagine a more devastating loss than the loss of our sight.  Yet we often take eyesight and eye-safety for granted.  About three-fifths of all eye injuries happen to workers who aren’t wearing any eye protection.  When Lisa went to get Leonard in the workshop, she didn’t take the warning sign seriously and walked into the area without any protection.  As Leonard...

What is housekeeping? It’s a word that makes us think of keeping house or cleaning up at home.  Actually, housekeeping is even more important in running a factory, making a product, or performing services of any kind.  Messes and clutter are dangerous, especially in the workplace.  You might say to yourself that we have maintenance and custodial people to clean up after us, but...

Every person is the architect of their own fortune, good or bad, depends on the individual’s acceptance of personal responsibility.  At a young age, we are taught to assume responsibilities. (“Look before you cross the street . . . playing with matches is dangerous . . . be home before dark . . .”)  Even today, as adults, we still learn and decide whether to accept certain obligations....

Conscience -. The faculty of recognizing the difference between right and wrong with regard to one’s conduct coupled with the sense that one should act accordingly.This is the first definition listed for the word conscience in Webster’s dictionary.  Each of the other definitions are essentially the same, such as “Conformity to one’s own sense of proper conduct”, and “inner thought.”  If you...

Housekeeping: It may seem simple, but a messy / dirty work area makes for an unsafe work environment.  Pallet banding lying on the ground spilled oil and obstructed walkways all result in thousands of injuries each year. Lockout / Tag out on equipment needing repair: Thousands of injuries are caused each year by the failure to lockout or tag out equipment and machinery needing repair.  Often...

This bulletin looks at equipment controls and the lack of consistency among the controls on different machines.  Operators who use different machines may need to deal with different control layouts for each machine.  Design differences between safety-critical features can present significant safety concerns. What happened?An experienced tractor operator was constructing a road using a downhill...

Electrical hazards can be found in all industries.  Avoiding electrical shocks both at home and at work requires awareness of the hazards and a respect for this “Silent Killer.”  The human body has a low resistance to electricity, making it a good conductor, like most metals.  Unlike metals however, the human body does not respond well when electricity passes through it....