SafetyAwakenings.com has visitors from 157 countries.  We are pleased to announce that we just added a “Translator” button to our website.  With this new feature our visitors will be able to immediately translate our entire website into any one of 65 different languages!  Now -

• India visitors are able to view SafetyAwakenings.com in Hindi
• Eastern Canada visitors can read our articles in French
• Safety professionals from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe can view our pages in Afrikaans
• Chinese will feel right at home when they see our pages in either “traditional” or “simplified” Chinese
• Germans, Italians, Japanese, Russians, Spanish, Korean and Indonesian guests can see our entire site in their native language

The new Translator button is located on the lower right side of this web-page.  First, click on the drop down arrow next to “Select Language”.  Next, click on your preferred language.  Now, just wait a second or two for the translation to take affect.

This translation ability only works on SafetyAwakenings.com.  It does not carry over to the websites that we link to.  But don’t worry, you can quickly and easily translate these other web-pages by using this Google Translate page.  Just paste the web-page’s address (URL) into the empty box on the left.  Select the language you want that page translated “to”.  Then click on the blue ”Translate” button.

The mission of Safety Awakenings has always been to help all of our visitors prevent work related injuries and illnesses, regardless of which country they live in.   At long last, our non-English speaking visitors will be able to read our pages in their own native language.  We invite you to tell your friends about our new “multi-lingual” capability.

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Below are 28 common sense safety rules that I share with all of my new hires.   Each rule was created in the aftermath of an on the job accident.  New workers, especially those right out of school, have little common sense (aka work smarts)  and need someone to tell them the below safety truisms before they get hurt.

• New employees have far more serious on the job injuries than do experienced employees. This new employee safety training program is designed to get you over the dangerous new employee period when most accidents happen.  Listen carefully to all of our training and be sure to ask questions if you need further clarification.
• You are entitled to comprehensive safety training before you use any tool, machine, or equipment.  If you are assigned to a new job (or told to use a new machine or tool) and you have not been given thorough and complete safety instruction, speak up;  you are entitled to receive thorough safety training on that new operation no matter what your background or level of experience might be.
• Watch out for others, especially newer employees and older employees.  Newer employees may not be familiar with workplace hazards.  Older employees often don’t see and hear very well, and can be easily distracted.
• If you observe an employee who is impaired at work by alcohol or drugs, tell the safety coordinator or HR manager before someone is hurt or killed.
• Inspect tools and equipment before using them.  Before using any tool or machine, stop and inspect the device to make sure it is safe to operate.   Pay special attention to guards and other safety devices.
• Keep your work area clean.  Objects on the floor can create a slip or trip hazard.  Don’t walk past a slipping or tripping hazard, even if it is not in your area.  Pick it up or report it.   Also, pick up after yourself throughout the day.   Accumulations of trash can cause fires.
• Don’t be afraid to ask.   If it’s heavy, ask for help.  If you are not sure how to do something, ask for guidance.   There is not such thing as a dumb question.
• Don’t rush, it’s better late than never.    Many accidents occur in the rush to get something done fast.   Take your time, follow all work and safety rules, and get the job done safely.  Walk don’t run.  No job is so “hot” that you should disregard safety practices.
• Watch where you are walking.  We know of accidents that occurred when employees did not watch where they were walking and walked into: raised fork truck forks, sharp corners of sheet metal,  the ends of metal pallet bands that were recently cut, and into the path of a backing fork truck.
• If you are not on top of your game, do not do anything hazardous.   Didn’t get enough sleep?  Distracted by a troubling event in your life?  Feeling a little light headed from prescription medications? If you are not mentally and/or physically sharp and at your peak,  tell your supervisor and ask to be taken off of any potentially hazardous job.  No one should work when their alertness or  ability is impaired by illness, fatigue, or physical or psychological factors.
• Read the operating manual before using any new power tool or machine.  These days, there’s an operating manual for just about everything.   If you don’t have a hard copy, you can probably find one on-line.  Much of the operating manual will be devoted to how to safely operate the machine.  Read and follow the recommended safety procedures you find in the operating manual.
• Safety loves consistency.   Formal safety procedures are usually in place for those routine production jobs that most of us perform day in and day out.   But, when something unusual or unexpected happens, these rules are sometimes not enough to protect you.  Anytime there is an: equipment breakdown, change in procedures, or surprise please take a moment to reflect on what new hazards exist and how to address them.
• Plan safety into every single job.   Before beginning any job, have the right tools on hand and the needed PPE.  If there is a job SOP or a safety JSA (or JHA) review and understand them before starting work.
• No cell phones at work.As with driving a car, using a cell phone (or texting) while working can be a dangerous distraction.    I’ve observed employees driving a fork lift while using a cell phone.   I’ve seen employees tape cell phones to the console of their production machine so they could more easily text while running their large machine.   Cell phones are addictive; if you allow employees to have them at work, they will use them if they think no one is watching.
• Say YES to long pants, and NO to long hair.  I’ve seen a number of accidents where employees working in a manufacturing or service job cut their legs while wearing short pants.  Many of these injuries would never have happened had the employee been wearing long pants.  Also, long hair should be forbidden around machinery.  Long haired employees claim that wearing it in a pony tail eliminates the hazard – I disagree, a pony tail makes it worse.   A pony tail is in effect a “hair rope”.   If loose hair gets caught in a machine, there’s at least the chance the employee might be able to pull free.   But, if a “pony tail rope” gets caught, it’s much stronger than a few individual hairs and  it is less likely the employee would be able to break free.
• No rings at work – period!  If employees wear rings at work, the rings can catch and rip off a finger.  They also expose the employee to a greater risk of electrocution.
• Cleanliness is next to …   Wash your hands before eating.   Don’t eat in the work areas.  If you spill chemicals on your clothing, immediately change the clothing and wash the affected part of the body.
• If you suspect something might be dangerous either don’t do it, or discuss it with your supervisor or the safety person.  Also, if you have a safety suggestion we want to hear about it.  Good suggestions are always given serious consideration.
• You don’t have to “tough it out”.  If you are experiencing discomfort or pain from doing a job or using a tool, report it to your supervisor or the safety manager.   They will take action to modify the task to make it more comfortable.  I’ve know employees who suffered in silence with pain for a long time, only to end up with a serious injury that required surgery to correct.
• Vary your job tasks throughout the day.  If possible, do different tasks every few minutes so don’t become stiff and sore from doing the exact same motion over and over again.  Take frequent stretch breaks while doing  repetitive jobs.  Vary your posture, sit for a while and then stand.
• Wear safety glasses “at all times”.  Some companies issue employees safety glasses and instruct workers to “wear them when needed”.  This policy has resulted in many eye injuries.  If you don’t wear your safety glasses at all times,  you may forget to put them on “when they are needed”, or you may decide to not go get them because the task being performed will only take a moment.
• Don’t use an air hose for cleaning your body or clothing.  It could blow particles into your eyes, rupture an ear drum. or cause an intestinal embolism.
• Radios, stereos, and boom boxes should not be used in the workplace.  These devices make communications more difficult, significantly add to plant noise levels, and may even contribute to hearing losses.
• Never walk up to an employee who is in the process of operating a machine or power tool.  You may startle them; and that could lead to an accident.  Wait until there’s a lull in the action before walking up to the employee.
• Practical jokes have no place on the work floor.   It’s not funny or acceptable to play jokes on people at work.  What you think may be a humorous practical joke could end up hurting someone bad, getting you fired, or landing you in jail if they are hurt in the process.   Save your distracting humor and playful games for off the job.
• Stay on the “safe side” of things.   On some machines (or operations) there is a “safe side” and there is an “unsafe side”.  It is better to be on the safe side if possible.
  • Fork trucks travel forwards and backwards .  It is usually safer to be to the side of a fork truck rather than in front of or in back of one.
  • The side of a grinding wheel is usually safer than in front of one.
  • Standing on the side of a table saw when ripping is usually safer than standing in line with the blade.
  • When lifting a large I-beam (girder) or heavy plate with a bridge crane, it is usually safer to be at the end of the beam/girder/plate than beside it.  If the crane/hook/chain/sling should fail, the object will usually fall to the ground and then onto its’ side.  The end is often the safest place to be if the load falls.

• If you drop something, get out of the way – don’t try to catch it.  If something falls at work, chances are pretty good that it could be heavy, sharp, hot, or caustic.  Many back injuries and cuts have occurred from employees trying to catch falling objects.   Get in the habit of stepping away from falling objects as fast as you can.  Learn to resist the urge to try to catch something you drop.  Your employer will not punish you for letting it drop.

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Below is our “Safety App of the Week”.  These weekly features are published every Monday.  New apps are tested on Apple iPads and rated from ♥ to ♥♥♥♥♥ (♥♥♥♥♥ is the best).  Prior app of the week articles are archived here.

“A Review Of 30 Sound Measurement Apps”

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How good are those “inexpensive” sound measurement apps?  Are any of them as accurate as a properly calibrated $2,000 type 2 sound level meter?

In this study, we reviewed 30 different  low cost sound measurement apps.  They ranged in cost from free to $3.99.  We wanted to see which of these apps were the best, and determine if any could be used to effectively measure workplace noise levels.

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Evaluation Methods

The type 2 sound level meter that we used to compare the app’s results to was a 3M/Quest Model 2200 SLM .  We would like to acknowledge and thank Sentry Insurance in Stevens Point Wisconsin for kindly loaning us this modern sound level meter.

The 3M/Quest sound level meter was calibrated both before and after testing.  The sounds we measured were generated by on-line tone generators.  The unit of measurement in all cases were decibels (A scale if provided).  The following is a description of  our four tests -

• Test 1 (T1) was a steady state low frequency tone (1,000 hertz) 
• Test 2 (T2) was a steady state higher frequency tone (8,000 hertz) 
• Test 3 (T3) was a 30-second sound recording that had significant extremes of noise frequency and volume that was used to measure the average noise level over time
• Test 4 (T4)  was a loud prerecorded explosion that used to test peak noise capabilities

All of the apps we tested had readouts showing: current noise level, average noise level, peak noise, and peak hold.  Even though some of the apps allowed for the use of external microphones, all app testing was done using our iPad 4′s built in microphone.  None of the apps had a proper built-in calibrator so we used the factory default calibration settings in all cases.

Please note that we are not a testing laboratory, and our findings should not be considered infallible.  We encourage others to carry on from where we left off.  Similar studies using other types of Apple devices (and Android devices too) would be interesting.   Also, we love to see evaluations of  the “higher priced” sound measurement apps; with and without external microphones, and with and without calibration.

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Conclusions

The following apps were found to be inadequate: Decibel Pro II, dB, Sound Meter, Noise Alarm, iSPL, Audio Tool, Noise Meter, Decibel Ultra, dB Meter Pro, Decibel 10th, Decibel Meter, Sound Level Meter and Noise Sniffer.  They lacked key features and were inaccurate. We thought it would be a waste of time to publish their test results.

Our highest rated app is the SPLnFFT app for $3.99.  During the four tests we conducted, this was the only app to absolutely nail the results each and every time.  It passed all four tests with flying colors.  In fact, this app’s results were so close to the results obtained using the $2,000 noise meter that the tiny differences between the two are probably due to sampling error.  We do have one major concern about this app –  it will only measure noise up to a maximum of 94 decibels!

The SoundMeter+ app for $1.99 is our second highest rated app (passed three tests).  It’s not as accurate on the higher frequencies as the SPLnFFT app is, but it will record sound levels up to at least 116dB (maybe higher, but 116dB was as high as we cared to test).  Also, this app offers the most features.

The SPL Meter app came in at third place (passed two tests).  We found it difficult to reset, lacking some features, and it also had trouble with the higher frequencies.

While the remaining apps shown below all had the key features we like to see in a sound measurement app, none of these apps came close on even a single test to the results attained with the 3M/Quest Model 2200 sound level meter.  We would have no use for any of these apps.

Please keep in mind that our testing was done using an iPad-4.  Results may be different if either another iPad model or an iPhone were used.

May 11, 2013 - Today we received notice from the developer of SPLnFFT saying that they have made two major improvements in this app.

• They have improved it’s calibration capability.
• In prior testing, we had determined that this app could only measure up to 94 decibels.  Now this app can measure noise levels up to 130 decibels! 

Today we uploaded the app’s update and successfully tested it up to 114 decibels.  We’re sure it can record higher noise levels (as claimed) but at this time we only had the ability to test up to 114 decibels   We have now upgraded the overall rating of this app from ♥♥♥♥ to ♥♥♥♥♥! 

Using Apps For OSHA Workplace Noise Surveys

In the USA, OSHA standard 1910.95 (Occupational Noise Exposure) states that sound level meters that are used for OSHA compliance surveys should meet the ANSI S1.4-1971 (R1976) standard.

The more expensive sound measurement apps actually say in their descriptions that they do not meet this ANSI standard. While the cheaper apps are silent on this subject, we assume that none of them meet the standard either.  So, as of this writing, we know of no apps that meet ANSI S1.4-1971 (R1976).  Therefore, for OSHA compliance purposes, one should not use any of the current crop of sound measurement apps to measure workplace noise.

However, there are other reasons one might want to measure noise (e.g. engineering purposes, noise pollution, frequency analysis, noise comfort surveys, screening surveys, noise abatement, noise complaints etc.).  For such non-OSHA compliance applications, we would see nothing wrong with using one of our higher rated apps for measuring noise levels.

Test Results (the more accurate results are highlighted)

• 3M/Quest 2200 type 2 SLM -             T1= 88.5     T2=94.3     T3=82.2    T4=87.6
• SPLnFFT (app) - ♥♥♥♥♥                 T1=88.9      T2=93.9     T3=82.4    T4=87.7   
• SoundMeter+ (app) - ♥♥♥            T1= 91.3     T2=102.3   T3=82.5    T4=90.7   
• SPL Meter (app) -  ♥♥                       T1= 88.3     T2=101.1    T3=n.a.    T4=87.7   
• dB Meter (app) -   T1=66.8   T2=150  T3=61   T4=150
• Audio DB Meter (app) -  T1= 68   T2=120  T3=61   T4=120
• How Loud is it (app) -  T1= 66.6   T2=120  T3=59   T4=120
• SPL Volume Meter (app) -    T1= 66.8   T2=120  T3=60.6   T4=71.3
• Sound Meter Pro (app) –    T1= 67.5   T2=150  T3=57.3   T4=150
• Graphic Meter (app) –   T1=67   T2=120  T3=57.1   T4=120
• dB Volume Meter (app) –    T1= 67.3   T2=120  T3=60.1   T4=70.3
• Professional DB Tester (app) –    T1= 67   T2=120  T3=60.2   T4=120.0
• Volume Meter (app) –    T1= 66.8   T2=150  T3=60.9   T4=150.0
• Decibel Meter (app) –   T1= 67.2   T2=150  T3=60.4   T4=150
• Advanced Decibel Meter (app) –    T1= 67.1   T2=120  T3=60.3   T4=120.0
• Pro Volume Meter (app) -    T1= 67.2   T2=120  T3=60.5   T4=120
• Decibel Graph (app) –    T1= 66.8   T2=120  T3=60.4   T4=120

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Below are some interesting  responses we received to this article-

“I have recently suggested Android “Sound Meter” to our account managers and service technicians purely as spot check.  We are in the middle of a protracted Noise monitoring and dosimetry campaign and this APP is just part of our noise awareness efforts.  I did a side by side comparison of the 3M SLM and I found the APP was off by 1-3 dB.  Close enough for an awareness campaign.  Years ago I pined for the ability to provide each work associate with a personal noise monitor now we have an APP that can do just that.  I have my Quest and 3M tools to conduct our practical IH dosimetry but it is great to have an awareness monitoring tool that folks can have with them anytime they enter a work area.”  Jerry Wolfe, CSP-

“Let’s suppose I was out on a job conducting air sampling and my client asked if I could check some noise levels. If I had a sound level meter ap on my phone that was “accurate”, I could use it as an initial screening device.”   Gary Ticker CIH/CSP-

“How about building a standard measurement microphone to attach to the Ipad/Iphone etc.  That way you would have greater possibility to calibrate. I guess that would be necessary to get standardized.”  Jonas Löfhede-

“Two of these tests were done with pure tones which would cause standing waves meaning that a small change in either the microphone placement or a change to its immediate surroundings (phone casing, hand, body of tester, etc.) could have a significant effect.”  Tim Kelsall    Tim, thanks for the interesting comment.  During my testing, the iPads’ mic was in the exact same position for each of the 30 app tests.  The SLM mic was about 1/8th of an inch above the iPad mic.  Dave Weber   “That’s good and probably means your results are fine.  For future tests it might be useful to use broad band or band limited white or pink noise to avoid this issue.  It’s really useful to many of us to get these apps tested, so we can all have an SLM handy when we need one, and know its limitations.”  Tim Kelsall-

” I have invested a ˝lot˝ of money to Audio Tools (dB meter, dB meter pro, RTA, FFT, SmartTOOLs 1,…), just out of curiosity. I have manage to ˝calibrate˝ my iphone5 microphones to show as accurate as possible spl. I have compared it to my Bruel & Kjaer 2270. The verdict is that those SW could not be used for more than as personal indicator (Audio tools offers also a separate mic with amplifier for less than 150 USD, which I did not tested yet). The build in mic data are very basic (I am not shore I even get those data right) . It is not possible to measure low (under 800Hz) and very high (over 10000 Hz) frequencies correctly. So in my opinion those app cannot compare even to type 2 measurement devices. In it is not to blame Apple or Samsung or whoever, because those phones and tablets are quite usable tools, but not suitable for professional safety and environmental work on field of noise measurements.” Jenko Jernej

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An equipment operator in the Canadian oil sands tells the story of being trapped in the cab of a burning haul truck. Determined not to die there, and despite the terrible realization that any escape attempt is going to involve burns, he kicks open the door, staggers across the deck of the truck and leaps twenty feet off the burning equipment. In the process he’s severely burned in the face, ears and hands, but is saved from further burns by his coveralls. We’ll leave him there and finish his story in a moment.

Did divine intervention save the day? Was his will to live the factor that saved him? Did the money and efforts invested by his employer pay off? Can we ever really determine how much of each made the difference?

Every day safety professionals and leaders work tirelessly to prevent just such events from occurring. But what if some of the basic assumptions we’ve been making were actually working against us without our even knowing? Have we been presuming too much?

Even the most devout believer in God would agree that presuming to be god-like is offensive. It implies the height of arrogance or folly. There’s the old joke about the person rudely pushing through the cafeteria line in heaven, “Oh that’s God, some days he thinks he’s a doctor.” Or think of those despotic leaders who drive their countries to ruin under such delusions.

The “God Delusion” of the Safety Profession refers not to a raging egotism, but rather to those assumptions that are taken for granted within the profession – assumptions that may actually mitigate against their own success. For example, thirty years ago the “conventional wisdom” for back pain was to rest in bed for two weeks, an assumption long since abandoned in favor of appropriate activity, following investigation to rule out significant disease.

It’s time to scrutinize other conventional wisdom that has dogged the profession for too many years, in particular that tired old chestnut “All accidents are preventable”. Has anyone uttered this with even a moment’s consideration of its potential negative impact?

To come to grips with that assertion, we need to examine how language creates and influences reality and the implications of uttering some of our favorite, yet clumsy, safety slogans.

Studies of language have shown that the richness or paucity of concepts within a language shape reality for its native speakers. Italian, for example, contains many more references to emotional states than does German. When a concept is not contained within the language it is simply not part of the reality of its’ speakers. So our stereotypes of the fiery, passionate Italian temperament or the cool, logical German temperament reflect what concepts those languages make available to their speakers.

The brain is literal. Attention goes where it’s directed. Since the unconscious does not process negation, we know that directives, safety or otherwise, cannot be delivered as negative statements. Try “not” to think about an elephant, or the color blue. Despite the directive to “not” think about them, the only way the brain can process that is to think about an elephant or the color blue. As the magician knows all too well, attention goes where it is directed both verbally and non- verbally. Telling a child “Don’t spill your milk” only brings spilt milk to mind and, not surprisingly, you know what happens next. Instead we have to say “Grip the glass firmly.” or “Hang onto the cup.” Imagine saying something silly like, “Don’t forget your safety equipment.” Well, you get the picture.

The real “juice” in communication is in the non-verbals, in the face, the gestures and other body movements. But let’s focus on the verbal aspects of how we direct attention inappropriately in safety situations through the invocation of a phenomenon known as “presuppositions”.

A presupposition is a phrase with an embedded assumption. When someone approaches and I say “Can I help you?” it presupposes that I am the helper, that she is helpless, and that I am in charge of the helping process. As soon as she utters a single syllable in response, at the unconscious level she’s “bought into” this relationship of dependency. I’ve just created a dependent worker, or client or child. It’s much better to simply say, “What’s up?” – no presupposition of dependency implied.

So off-putting is the “Can I help you?” comment to retail customers, to have to depend on the store clerk, that retail has changed that presupposition to one you’ve heard so many times you’re sick of it – “Are you finding everything you need today?” Now “you’re” finding it, not just some things but “everything” and not just stuff you want but things you “need” – clever, albeit overused.

Occupational safety is unfortunately loaded with such well meaning but clumsy use of language – these negative presuppositions. For example “Safety is Job 1.” Of course it’s not. But when you use an ordinal reference like “1″, then other concerns such as production, service, quality, or environment, must necessarily be further down the numerical order, number 2, 17, 35 or 64. Then when you ask someone to focus on production, you know the response you’re going to get – “Well obviously you don’t believe in safety.” Now conflict has been opened up and the credibility of the leader to apply future influence begins to erode. Consider saying, “Around here safety, production, service, quality and environment are all important and we have to balance them appropriately.”

Or take that other stinker “Is it safe?” It’s a one-way ticket to conflict in the workplace. Because it contains the verb “is” from “to be”, there are only two

choices, either you “are” or you “aren’t”. So linguistically there can only be two answers, “yes” or “no”. Yet there is no safety decision in the world that’s yes or no. Every safety decision at work or at home is a business decision that balances Cost, Risk and Benefit. Direct attention appropriately by asking “Have you done a risk assessment?” or, “Is the risk acceptable?” or, “What does a cost- benefit analysis say about the effectiveness of the various proposed solutions?”

When you ask “Is it safe?” you engage risk perception and opinion, but not risk assessment.

Let’s say a worker, in previous jobs and at home, has been up and down ladders thousands of times. Seldom did they get someone to hold the base. They knew enough to position the base in relation to the height, how to do a leg lock on the ladder, how to maintain three point contact and how to maintain a center of balance. In all those real world exposures they learned that they can do this safely without someone holding the base. Then they go to work for an employer whose rule is to have the base held. One day they walk half way across the plant to do a brief job but forget to bring someone to hold the base. Eager to get the job done, up they scamper, do the job and descend just as a supervisor rounds the corner and asks, ” Is that safe?” Now the supervisor opened up a Pandora’s box of opinion, which can never be wrong. The worker considers all their life experience (because attention goes where it’s directed) and they say, “Yes, it is.” The response? “That’ll be three days off without pay.” And you can kiss future cooperation goodbye when punishment is associated with what was thought to be acting safely.

Which returns us to the worker peering down from atop the ladder. Instead of asking that rhetorical question that ultimately undercuts your authority, say, “That violates our standard and it’s not forgivable. There’s a consequence.” Stay away from invoking opinions about “safety-ness”. It’s an opinion trap. We manage performance, not opinion or attitudes.

Keep in mind that “we get the people we deserve” as leaders and as parents because we are constantly shaping the reality of how people experience us and the organization through the ways that we communicate both verbally and non- verbally.

Well that brings us to the grand daddy of all presuppositions: All accidents are preventable.

If that ‘s indeed true, it presupposes that we must be in control of every internal factor – state of mind, attention direction, motivation or attitude – within every individual performer. It also assumes we must be in control of every external factor – weather, environment, equipment, traffic design – in all circumstances. In other words, here it comes, we must be God, or at the very least god-like. And although most of the workplace environment is indeed available to our control, the internal workings of the human element are not, for one important reason – we do not have permission in the workplace to fool around in people’s heads. We do when they willingly come to counseling or coaching, but not otherwise.

In the perfect, god-like hindsight of investigations we actually begin to believe our delusion. If perfect hindsight allowed us perfect foresight to control all variables then maybe that would be true. But it’s not.

With environmental and equipment design factors, that hindsight has served us well and continues to do so. Yet in the area of human performance it simply has not worked. And even in terms of process controls, although hindsight has been successful to a point, many in the workplace now suggest that we may have gone too far, overproducing procedures, guards and personal protective equipment to the point where people actually struggle to get the work done. A recent parliamentary address in the United Kingdom specifically expressed concern regarding health and safety standards.

The real problem with “all accidents are preventable” is blame. If the statement is true and an accident occurs, most people tend to assume “Then I must be to blame.” And people who feel blamed are no longer in a resourceful state to contribute, to be open and honest in investigations, or to freely offer cooperation going forward.

So let’s return to our burned operator in the oil sands. When repeatedly questioned in the investigation, what else could you have to done to prevent this, he admits that at that point he felt like he should have just stayed in the cab and accepted his fate. That’s surely not the goal of our well-intentioned investigations.

Consider also that workers know all too well that instead of all accidents being preventable, “s#*t happens”. Despite our best attempts to control everything, we simply don’t have that god-like power. Things will fail, errors will be made. In fact an absence of errors generally indicates an absence of learning and growth. Whenever a leader asserts “all accidents are preventable” their credibility suffers because the statement flies in the face of the workers’ experience of reality. When credibility suffers, the power to positively influence diminishes.

Clearly the sector that offers the best of safety records, and has avoided the “blame” response, is aviation. Pilots and flight crews freely admit errors, creating a culture that encourages the learning needed to prevent them in the future.

Consider culture as a set of behaviors that a specific group has come to think of as normal. Despite claims that “we’re not looking for blame” (Don’t think about an elephant), most organizations haven’t come close to what aviation has achieved. To change culture is not some mysterious secret, we simply start by changing our standards for acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, specifically regarding blame and consequence.

The best application of our professional “god-ness” is to apply the principle of forgiveness. Let’s make those few “deadly sins”, the ones that regulators won’t tolerate violations of, severely punishable as we do with theft in the workplace. But make everything else forgivable. S#*t happens. Errors occur. Without errors there is no learning. Forgiveness brings honesty, learning, and progress towards injury reduction.

Organization leaders and Safety Professionals need the courage to challenge conventional wisdom and to use language professionally. Stop saying all accidents are preventable. Commit instead to lowering risk to acceptable levels, reducing frequency and severity of incidents, accepting error as part of the human condition, and finding the grace of forgiveness.

© Gary Phillips

Gary Phillips, the author of this article, lives in Thunder Bay Ontario. Gary is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRS), a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP), MA, and a Master Licensed Trainer in the field of NeuroLinguistic Programming. For the last 30 years Gary has serviced consulting clients across Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.  In 2008 he published “The Art of Safety“.  His email address is – nwtd@tbaytel.net

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Safety Performance Solutions (SPS) is an internationally recognized consulting firm specializing in the application of behavior- and people-based safety principles to industry, commonly known as “behavior based safety”.

On their website, they have the Internet’s most comprehensive source of  behavior based safety articles.   Each article was written by  Scott Geller Ph.D. who has taught and conducted research as a faculty member of Virginia Tech’s Department of Psychology.

If you have any interest in behavior based safety, these SPS articles are certainly a must read!

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Below are links to our favorite free safety resources for employees who work in warehousing, loading docks and distribution.  These best safety practices include: tool box talks, bulletins, fact sheets, safety rules, posters, checklists, model programs, PowerPoints and videos.

Please feel free to tell your friends who work in warehouses and drive fork trucks about these totally free safety and health references.

• Common warehouse injuries
• Top 9 warehouse safety violations
• OSHA’s forklift page
• OSHA pocket guide to warehousing
• OSHA worker safety series – warehousing
• How to get a forklift operator OSHA certified
• Material handling & storage
• Public warehousing & storage accident statistics
• Standup forklift under-ride hazards
• Warehousing & storage
• Loading docks & warehouses
• Warehouse safety
• Forklift trucks, an overview of OSHA 1910.178
• Order picking
• Forklift safety tips
• Loading & unloading
• Distribution center safety checklist
• Ammonia refridgeration
• What are powered industrial trucks?
• Guidelines for safety inspection of a freight dock
• Sample daily checklists for powered industrial trucks
• Loading dock safety
• 4 Receiving & warehousing safety checklists
• Pallet racking safety
• Idle pallet storage checklist
• Safety in the storage & handling of steel & other metal stock
• Guidelines for working around trucks loading & unloading
• Powered industrial trucks
• Safe operating practices for LP – gas powered lift trucks
• Powered industrial trucks – battery charging
• Preventing fork truck accidents in the workplace
• Forklift ups & downs
• Protecting young workers: prohibition against young workers operating forklifts
• Safety in working with lift trucks
• Forklifts
• Forklift hazard control checklist
• Forklift – self inspection checklist
• Forklift inspections
• Does the new OSHA rule for powered industrial trucks affect you?
• Warehouse safety hazards & solutions guide
• Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety
• Storage and warehousing
• Forklift safety checklist
• Pallet racking maintenance
• Forklifts – getting on and off safely
• Forklift stability
• Using lift trucks safely
• Guideline for industrial steel storage racks
• 25 Forklift safety talks
• 12 Fork-truck safety posters
• 7 Warehousing safety posters
• Storage rack safety guideline (fee)
• AEM safety manual and safety videos (fee)

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Why is it that wild animals rarely have accidents?  When was the last time you saw a deer, bird, or a squirrel limping around on an injured leg?  Animals don’t have accidents because they are ever vigilant and constantly on alert for danger.

Wouldn’t it be great if our employees were ever mindful of their immediate surroundings and always watching for danger – like animals are!  I believe we could all take a tip from the animals when it comes to safety – strive to be constantly vigilant at work.

A few years ago I read a New York Times Best Seller book called “The Power Of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.  This book is about discovering the joy of a life by living in the moment (the now).  It’s theme is about being intensely alert to ones’ current surroundings and environment.  Being a safety person, I recognized that this book’s philosophy has a direct application to the field of occupational safety!

I’ve investigated many serious industrial accidents.  In most cases, the accidents were caused by a number of factors that came together at a critical moment in time.  Often, a key factor was that the injured employee was not paying full attention to the task at hand (i.e. carelessness).

I’ll bet that many of you know at least one person who’s shot themselves with a pneumatic nail gun because they were not paying full attention to the job.

Why even the simple act of walking can be hazardous if one is not paying attention.  I’ve reviewed the following walking accidents that would have never happened if the pedestrian had simply watched where they were going:

• walking into the path of a fork truck
• tripping on a hose or cord
• stepping on a wooden board with nails sticking out of it
• stepping into a tiny puddle of oil and slipping
• stumbling over a crack in floor
• walking under a suspended load
• stepping off a loading dock
• bumping into a sharp piece of metal that was protruding into the walkway
• walking face first into the raised forks of a parked fork truck

The following are a few of the things that can distract an employee, resulting in their inattention to their job or environment:

• boredom leading to working on auto-pilot and daydreaming
• talking or texting
• fatigue
• lack of sleep
• thinking about personal problems or activities outside of work
• alcohol
• tobacco products
• prescription and illegal drugs
• mental or physical illness

What can we do as safety professionals and risk managers to insure that our employees live in “the now” and keep their focus on the task at hand?  The answer to this question is complex.  It involves the application of the disciplines of psychology, behavioral science and human relations to the organization’s culture and to the employee’s behavior.

In order to achieve an optimal workplace safety and health program, we must address not only workplace hazards (e.g. OSHA compliance); but also the organization’s culture, and the employee’s attitudes and behavior.  From the very beginning, SafetyAwakenings.com has published articles on all three of these areas, and we will continue to do so in the future .

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Below are links to our favorite free workplace safety and health resources for small businesses.  These best safety practices include: tool box talks, bulletins, fact sheets, safety rules, posters, checklists, model programs, PowerPoints and videos.

Please feel free to tell your friends who work at small businesses about these totally free safety and health resources.

• 7 - Small business safety articles & downloads
• Health & safety made simple
• Small business risks
• Safety programs for small businesses
• Small business safety starter kit
• Improving health & safety in small businesses
• Small business safety checklist
• 20 Small business safety forms & publications
• Small business guide to environmental, safety & health regulations
• OSHA’s small business webpage
• OSHA’s small business handbook
• OSHA’s sample safety & health program for small business
• Why is OSHA compliance important to small business
• Building a small business operational safety plan
• OSHA most frequently cited standards for small businesses  (click on your industry)
• Small business safety  (click on your industry)
• Informal safety plan for small business
• Small business safety training guide
• Small business featured safety resources
• WorkSafeBC’s small business safety resources
• How to manage hazards for small business
• Small business workplace safety & health law
• Setting up a health & safety system in your small business
• Occupational safety & health in small & medium-sized enterprises
• Promoting health & safety in European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Managing health & safety in small business
• 12 Tips for a safer small business
• Small business safety
• 16 Small business publications
• HIOSH Handbook for small business
• Safety and small business
• Small business talking safety – video

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Dr. Dan Petersen, author, professor, consultant, and safety management guru once told me  “Companies with world class safety records… all have Top Managers who visibly demonstrate that safety is a high priority.”  In other words, the top person at a company drives that companies’ safety culture through their actions!    

Below are twenty-one activities that I’ve seen executives at  companies with excellent safety programs do to demonstrate their commitment to safety:

• Issue a company safety policy statement
• Participate in occasional plant safety inspections and discuss safety with employees during the tours
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) whenever in the plant
• Read, understand, and support all safety policies
• Occasionally attend safety meetings and safety training programs
• Visit the scene of serious accidents
• Interview the supervisor and department head after each serious accident
• Call the General Manager at remote locations after an accident
• Review accident investigation reports
• Send seriously injured employees a card and flowers.
• Visit injured employees at the hospital.
• Attend funerals for all work related fatalities.
• Make safety a regular agenda item at staff and department meetings
• Publicly recognize employees’ safety accomplishments and contributions
• Present safety awards to employees
• Receive copies of all third party safety inspection reports (e.g. OSHA, MSHA, insurance company, fire department)
• Have the safety manager report directly to them
• Review and approve all safety goals and objectives
• Regularly monitor the performance of the safety program and the accident record
• Place safety information on the companies’ website
• Review safety goals and accomplishments in the annual report

How many of these activities is your top executive doing?   If your executive would do more of them do you think your safety culture would improve?  

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Getting an injured worker back to work as soon as possible after an on-the-job injury is an important way to control the cost of a workers compensation claim.   Offering  light duty to an employee who is released to return to work with medical restrictions can reduce the impact of that claim on future insurance premiums by 70%!  

The first step in a light duty program needs to take place before the injury occurs – establish a relationship with a medical provider.  Your medical provider needs to know that your company will accommodate “any” light duty that might be assigned to an injured worker – including seated work, one-handed work, and lifting restrictions.  Now, when an injury accident occurs, your medical provider will be more inclined to assign light duty restrictions to the injured employee rather than lost time.

Bringing an injured employee back to light duty not only reduces workers compensation costs, but it also speeds up recovery, and improves worker moral.  Larger companies have long recognized these benefits and use light duty whenever they can.

Smaller companies often resist returning injured employees to light duty because they do not see the economic benefits of doing so, and they claim that light duty jobs are not available. 

Every company has light duty jobs.  When assigning an injured employee to a light duty job make sure that the job meets the doctors’ restrictions.  Below is a list of light duty tasks that injured workers are often assigned to:  

• Security guard 
• Paint aisle markings
• Inventory parts, supplies, and/or tools 
• Pick up trash in yard and lot
• Inspect fire extinguishers & eye washes
• Replenish first aid cabinets
• Perform assembly
• Complete a safety inspection
• Drive a fork truck
• Sort & deliver mail
• Work in tool room
• Make telephone calls / answer telephones
• Order supplies
• Shipping (labeling & wrapping)
• Train new employees
• Drive a vehicle, run errands
• Do light housekeeping and dusting
• Perform quality control inspections
• Answer telephones
• File paperwork
• Shred documents
• Complete safety training
• Update MSDS manuals
• Sweeping 
• Wash company vehicles
• Mow lawns with riding lawn mower
• Update safety bulletin board
• Clean tools
• Apply ice melter during winter months
• Inspect flooring for need for maintenance or cleaning
• Create or re-write evacuation maps
• Work normal job but slower
• Work normal job but with specific limitations-

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