What Does Health and Safety Mean to Me?
There has been a lot about health and safety in the news over the last year or so. Arguments range from us being ‘over the top’ to ‘not doing enough’ to protect our people while they are work. What do you think? And what part can you play in this?
The sad reality is that here in Godzone, we are responsible for more deaths at work than either Australia or the United Kingdom, both of which have considerably higher numbers of workers than we do. There are contributory elements, such as the number of high-risk industries (like Forestry, for example) that we engage in. The real question is, are we prepared to accept this?
The answer to that question has to be ‘NO!’ While recent law changes have forced supervisory people within a business to accept more responsibility for the prevention of injury and harm, ultimately we are all responsible. Simply thinking about safety is the first step in ensuring that we can all go home to our families and loved ones in the same shape we showed up in. Have we all taken all the steps we can to ensure it’s safe to complete the work before we do it? Are we letting other people take short cuts or do work we know to be unsafe?
Sometimes it is as simple as stopping to think ‘Is this safe?’ Or perhaps, ‘Is my workmate operating in a safe manner?’ Preventing people from making mistakes that could lead to injury or harm is a step we can all take.
Here are a couple of things to consider before you do something new:
• Is it safe to do this work?
• Is the work within my scope of capability?
• Have I been trained to complete the work?
• Do I have the necessary/correct equipment to complete the work?
• What protective measures can I take while I conduct the work?
• What could be the outcome if I choose to take this action?
People often feel that their employment could be adversely affected by refusing to do some types of work that fall into this category. Good, responsible employers will not only support you if it is genuine, but likely are very keen to hear from you so that improvements can be made. At times this hasn’t been done because they don’t know about it. NO ONE CAN FIX A SECRET, AND NO ONE PLANS AN ACCIDENT!
So, what is the answer? It’s pretty simple really–get involved. Take a pro-active approach to your safety, and the safety of your workmates. You never know, one day they may just do it for you, and ensure that you go home to your partner and your kids. You’ll be better for it, and you can feel confident in the knowledge that you are contributing to the culture of safety we all need in our work.