Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/53564
62 • FEBRUARY 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Have you ever found yourself reading an incident report concerning an injury to a worker or damage to equipment and wondered "how in the world did that happen?" More than likely it happened be- cause someone didn't recognize a haz- ard. Hazards are the source of personal injuries and damage to vehicles, equip- ment and property. Hazards abound at home, work and play. The problem: We don't see them until they hurt us! It's no joke when someone says "I didn't see it coming!" Recognizing a hazard requires a trained brain that quickly analyzes the risk and the con- sequences posed by the situation. It's not unusual to find that a worker involved in an incident was trained to control hazards associated Five tips to improve your ability to see hazards BY CARL POTTER, CSP, CMC AND DEB POTTER, PHD, CMC with his or her work, but had not been specifically trained to see the hazards. This is all a part of the gap between knowing and doing: people know what to do when they recognize the hazard, they just don't see it. Hazard control is the key to pre- venting injuries and damage, yet to control the hazard, employees at all levels must be trained to recognize them. When you consider this, you'll start to see the problem in many places. (Carl shares the following event that occurred while he was on a trip.) "I was on a business trip to Dallas and happened to look out of my hotel National Metal Industries Winged Slat® Locking Slats Bottom Top Lock Hedge 2 Neil Court, Oceanside, NY 11572 • (516) 594-0364 • Fax (516) 594-0377 room window. I observed a group of workers cleaning the side of a building across the parking lot. It was obvious the workers were clueless to the dan- ger they had placed themselves in. "The challenge for these workers Aluminum Slats WWW.NMIFENCE.COM Over 100,000 lineal feet of privacy slats ready to ship! Privacy slats • Fence tools Fence hardware available was the distance between the parking lot and the building to be cleaned with a pressure washer. Add to this the need to raise and lower the worker operat- ing the pressure washing wand. We often talk about human ingenuity. Well, workers can be quite innovative and get the job done yet put them- selves in a precarious situation with- out even recognizing it. "These workers had parked a mo- bile scissor lift in the parking spaces parallel to the sidewalk and the build- ing. The building was approximately 12 feet from the scissor lift. Employ- ing a 2-by-12 wood board about 16 feet long, they lashed one end to the floor of the scissor lift. "This resembled a diving board, if you can imagine. Being astute innova- tors of equipment, they positioned three large workers as counter bal- ances to hang on the outside of the guardrail of the lift. Being safety minded, the employee with the wand in his hand was standing at the end of the "diving board" wearing fall pro- tection that was clipped onto the bas- ket of the lift 12 feet away. (And yes, I am sure the lanyard employed a de-ac- celerator). Got the picture? SKIDRIL The Fencers Solution © Nearly 20 years of solutions... Post Drivers The HP18 post-driver and P38 compact power- supply combo set the standard for power and efficiency. It canbepackedinona ATVand provides hard long on just a few drops of fuel. T-Post Driver and Breaker - Self contained Our G23 and G30E 2 and 4 Cycle engine driven models can drive T-post and bust up concrete or rocks virtually anywhere. Post pullers Available in Self contained or power versions our pullers will remove almost any type of post driven or set in concrete. Rock drill HP18 - P80 Driver and Pack or concrete and can also be used as a Breaker. Breakers and Jackhammers The HB16 breaker makes short work of rock and concrete and digs hard clay and soils. SKIDRIL PO Box 8041 Greensboro, NC 27419 Tel: 800-843-3745 www.skidril.com skidril@bellsouth.net G30 Driver Breaker P600 Post Puller P1600 Post Puller HD20 Rock Drill HB16 Breaker "Being a studious safety profes- sional, I quickly went downstairs and walked toward these hard working, creative gentlemen. As I approached, I said, 'I am not with OSHA, but as a certified safety professional it is my duty to stop your operation.' They all got wide-eyed. It was obvious that they heard 'OSHA' and misinter- preted. They stopped working abruptly, so I assume they knew their behavior was unsafe. When I asked who was in charge, one of the workers ran through a door and quickly pro- duced the supervisor who was very co- operative. The degree to which you perceive that you have control over the consequences of a situation is known as the "locus of control" or LOC. People generally have a strong internal or external safety LOC. One of the first things you can do to train yourself to see hazards is to consider your LOC. "The supervisor explained that it was his idea to use the innovated con- traption until the rental company de- livered the snorkel lift (expected to arrive on site in the next two hours). After a few minutes of discussion with the supervisor and the workers, they realized that the consequences of their behavior could have been serious. "We all shook hands and agreed that they would wait until the rental company showed up with the proper equipment and I promised to not write them a citation. (They still thought I was with OSHA). "It was just another day in the life of a safety professional." Without the ability to see hazards, people will put themselves in positions that can lead to personal or co-worker injury or damage equipment. Train yourself to see We humans often think that we are above reproach and know that we have been well-trained. Sometimes that can turn into pride and that will get us into trouble. So many times we face unknown or unseen hazards in the workplace. One of the first things you can do is to consider your overall perception of safety. Do you consider that you can have little influence over what happens – that external forces are the primary cause of injuries? Or do you have an internal focus that lets you know that you have a great deal of control over the contin ued on pa g e 64