Safety topics you can use to educate employees
Safety Topics for Your Safety Meeting
Welcome to SafetyMeeting.com where you can view safety topics presented by Carl Potter and other guest safety speakers for your safety meeting. Finding safety topics that are relative to your need is difficult. At SafetyMeeting.com we hope to provide you with safety topics that you will use to educate your employees, family and friends to prevent workplace injuires. Safety meeting topics are available on many websites, but few are produced by an experienced safety professional like Carl Potter, CSP.
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Just for Friday 6/3/2011
Errors from Sensory Complacency
If you made the right choice in controlling a hazard, was it luck or was it because you developed your ability to see the hazard? My research shows me that when you want to increase your chances of preventing workplace injuries, you must pay attention to avoid overlooking the hazards. Paying attention isn’t always as easy as it sounds; particularly if your sensory perception has been affected. When your sensory perception is not at its best, you may not see the obvious hazards and you may disregard even the most basic safety rule. When people attend my Hazard Recognition and Control Workshop they are surprised at "what they don't see" in a workplace situation.
As I work with companies to help them improve their chances of success in preventing injuries, I find that they often want a quick solution. I like to say there are no "silver bullets" in safety. Creating a safe work environment takes effort and you must be diligent in your efforts to make the correct decision based on the situation. Today the world is all about getting your attention; sometimes we call this ‘sensory overload’. Like anything else, we can get used to the overload, and this can lead to ‘sensory complacency’. Take a look at the following illustration. Can you find anything wrong with the five words in each triangle? (Adapted from Mentor, Vol. 13 Issue 5.) When we are in a hurry or distracted, we can become complacent to things that are seemingly simple and not take the time to analyze a situation.
Correct information can lead you to make a different decision. If you are not effective in seeing the hazard that may hurt you, your choice may not be clear. Being aware can help you make fewer errors in your decisions to control hazards. When I am hired to conduct a workshop for a specific location, I customize the presentation by taking pictures during a tour of the workplace. During the presentation, participants see the pictures I take and are amazed at the many hazards that exist that they walk by every day.
If our sensors are continually bombarded by input, they can become complacent after a short time. Safety posters that have hung too long on the wall and safety signs and barriers that are no longer in effect can cause us to overlook a hazard when it comes to making the right decision to remove or protect ourselves. We’ve got to keep our minds open to seeing what is in front of us.
This Friday, take time to look at what safety sensors might lead to errors. If you have any questions, contact me at: carl@potterandassociates.com For more information about hiring Carl Potter to conduct his Hazard Recognition and Control Workshop at your location, visit: www.hazardrecognitionworkshop.com today.
Carl Potter is a motivational safety speaker who works with organizations that want to prevent workplace injuries. Be sure to also visit www.safetybooks.com to shop for his books.
