Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/110301
58 ��� MARCH 2013 ��� WORLD FENCE NEWS It���s never too late to be safe BY CARL AND DEB POTTER The New Year is often a time when people reset their goals, start fresh, begin a new chapter, or take any number of other actions to start over. We call it ���resetting the counters.��� Many organizations make the New Year a time to set forth companywide safety goals. Some companies set a goal of ���X��� incidents, signifying a reduction in OSHA reportable injuries over the previous year. Others set goals of ���zero injuries��� or ���zero incidents.��� These goals are great to motivate people to work safe, yet sometimes the goals seem too lofty for employees. A Personal Goal for Safety Another way to approach safety goals is to ask employees to set their own personal targets. Within their workgroup, employees can share their personal targets for zero-injury days, for conducting pre-job briefings or inspections, attending safety meetings, or any other targets that apply to your company. Consider this ��� most employees are going to target zero injuries for every work day. And regardless of the number of employees in the organization, the approach will work. A team of employees can share their individual goals and develop a team aggregate goal. This will help them be accountable to one another and to look out for each other. The key is to keep the goals personal and to have the employees set them themselves. Your organization may have a specific area of focus to reduce injuries; for instance, you may be striving to reduce hand injuries or slips, trips, and falls. If so, engage individual employees and work groups by asking them to develop personal goals for these areas of emphasis. You may be surprised by the results. Promoting Success As you consider the goal that you, other individuals, and work teams set, determine what it will take to be successful. If your goal is to perform a pre-job briefing for each job, what will you need to accomplish that goal? Maybe you need to take steps to ensure that a pre-job checklist or form is readily accessible and easy to use. Perhaps you or others need some training on how to conduct the briefings. If your goal is to make each job injury-free, you may need to work to understand the common hazards associated with each task and how to control them. Take time when you set continued on page 60 FMI predicts 8% growth in construction starts in 2013 continued from page 56 Department of Agriculture eliminates funding for the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) and Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations programs. New projects in this sector, like water system projects, will more likely come from cleanup for the mining and energy sector to comply with regulations. For more information, visit www.fminet.com.