Diversity Quote "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions, Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Mark Twain

Weekly Safety Topic “Why Take a Chance?” Do you always work safely? Are you 100% committed to the safety of yourself, your coworkers, friends, and family? Are there times when your commitment to safety is not as strong as it should be? Have you been taking safety risks and getting away with it? Don’t expect your luck to hold if this is the case. No one ever plans an accident. An accident by definition, is an unplanned event. No one wakes up in the morning and drives to work thinking, “I will have an accident today so I’d better buckle up”. No one ever climbs to the very top of a ladder and knows for sure they won’t fall. That’s why it’s so important to have a personal commitment to safety; a commitment to do the right things to prevent a accident or minimize the damage done in case an accident does happen.

Weekly Safety Topic “Why Take a Chance?” What is gained by taking a safety risk? Think about a time when you’ve risked your personal safety. Have you ever bypassed lockout/tagout procedures? Have you ever driven a car after you had too much to drink? Have you failed to use fall protection equipment because it was just too much trouble? What did you gain in any of these situations? Now honestly ask yourself if those gains were worth it. Is a little bit of time or convenience really worth chancing electrocution, a car accident, or a bad fall? Don’t sacrifice your healthy future by taking a safety risk. Every time you’re tempted to take a chance with your safety ask yourself if it’s worth the risk. Your family and friends will thank you for making the right decision.

Weekly Safety Topic “Why Take a Chance?” Keeping a strong commitment to safety is not easy. What interferes with your commitment to safety? Is peer pressure a problem? DO your peers think it’s silly to take time for safety? You can set a safe example for your peers. Consider taking a stand for safety. By committing to safety 100% of the time, you can help revers the peer pressure that sometimes causes unsafe behavior. Keep up this exemplary behavior. Someday you may find that the old peer pressure has given way to something new—the respect of your peers earned setting a safe example.

Humor In Safety Three contractors were visiting a tourist attraction on the same day. One was from New York, another from Texas, and the third from Florida. At the end of the tour, the guard asked them what they did for a living. When they all replied that they were contractors, the guard said, “Hey, we need one of the rear fences redone. Why don’t you guys take a look at it and give me a bid?” So, to the back fence they all went to check it out. First to step up was the Florida contractor. He took out his tape measure and pencil, did some measuring and said, “Well I figure the job will run about $900. $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.” Next was the Texas contractor. He also took out his tape measure and pencil, did some quick figuring and said, “Looks like I can do this job for $700. $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me. Without so much as moving, the New York contractor said, “$2,700.” The guard, incredulous, looked at him and said, “You didn’t even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?” “Easy,” he said $1,000 for me, $1,000 for you and we hire the guy from Texas.”

Weekly Safety Topic “Why Take a Chance?” Our personal commitment to safety has a tendency to fluctuate at times. For example, you will find that safety focus is stronger after a close call or perhaps a few days after you hear of an accident. But this should just not be the case. A personal commitment to safety should be constant and continuous. If we have to step up safety as a corrective action to an accident then we have not been successful. Simply recognizing this pattern can help you avoid it. Think about your work habits—Have there been times when you’re more likely to take a safety risk?

Weekly Safety Topic “Why Take a Chance?” You can keep your commitment to safety strong by remembering the commitment is for you. If you allow things that happen to other people determine the strength of your commitment, it is likely to fluctuate a lot more than it should. It is important to learn from things that happen to others, but keep your commitment to safety strong all the time Stay focused on your personal safety and those things you do that affect it.

Personal Commitment Having a personal commitment to safety and keeping it strong are more important than any safety program, procedure or rule. In fact, programs, procedures, and rules depend on a strong personal commitment to safety in order to be implemented successfully. Ask yourself where you are with your own safety attitude and behavior. Are you 100% committed to safety? Better yet, Are you 100% committed to safety, 100% of the time? If you are, then great! If not, let’s look to see what we can do to improves this. Promise yourself to work on it and keep that promise. You will be glad you did in the end.

Attitudes……. As we close out our look at the centers that impact our decision making process we end with Attitudes. The attitude that you have will be clearly reflected in your performance. Good attitudes will translate into good performance and bad attitudes will end with bad performance. Good safety performance meaning no accidents or events. Where a bad attitude will eventually result in an accident when it is allowed to blend in and influence your decision making process. Although your attitude may only be a single element or piece of the decision making process, when you add beliefs, values, perceptions and attitude together—the impact on your decisions is far greater than you may realize. Each of these elements is going to be taken into consideration in the blink of an eye on most occasions. That is why it is important for you to always be thinking about them so you can better align yourself with elements that will result in a positive result on your safety behavior.

What Can You do to Prevent Accidents? Here are six ways you, personally, can do something about preventing accidents: 1.Make accident prevention a part of your daily routine. Plan safety in advance. Before beginning a job, be sure your tools are in good condition. Also, see that you have the required protective equipment. 2.Report unsafe actions or conditions to your Supervisor. If you see something that’s dangerous or someone working in an unsafe way, do something about it. If it’s an unsafe condition, correct it if you can. Otherwise, report it to someone who has the authority or ability to do so. If you see someone committing an unsafe act, warn that person in a friendly way. 3.Avoid Horseplay. Aren’t you always telling your kids to knock off fooling around before someone get’s hurt? Well, horseplay is dangerous for kids of any age. In the workplace you can easily be injured if you’re not strictly business all of the time. Often a person is killed or hurt when a “harmless” prank or a practical joke backfires. 4.Follow Instructions. You’d follow instructions if you were dismantling a time bomb—and very carefully at that. Well, take the same attitude on the job. When you are given instructions, it’s only after careful consideration of the safest and best way to do something. Sometimes doing something just a little different from what you were told can get you or someone else in a lot of trouble. 5.Make Suggestions. If you see a safer or a better way to do something, let your Supervisor know. They should check it out and if it’s practical, use it. But first we’ll make sure it’s safe. 6.Practice Good Housekeeping. Nobody likes a slob. It’s upsetting to see someone with a messy work area. And it goes even further than that. A sloppy work area is not only hard on the eyes, but a breeding ground for accidents. Trash and materials strewn around can result in trips, falls and fires. Keep your area clean and clear of trash and debris.