February 24, 2009

Far too many accidents occur because the person involved was not paying attention or not seeing what was going on around them. A simple mistake can mean an injury or worse…your life and/or the life of a co-worker. How often have we driven home and not remembered how we arrived there. Our mind was somewhere else or maybe we had been talking on the ever popular cell phone. We find ourselves on Autopilot a lot as technological conveniences take over the need for us to think and pay attention for ourselves.

When you talk to people who have hurt themselves at home or at work, can they explain why it happened or have they admitted, “I wasn’t paying attention” or “I didn’t even see it” which in most cases, is the reality. Often we explain what happened but rarely the why. When you see a potential hazard at home, what is the first thing that you do, attend to it now or next time? If you opted for next time, what if the next time isn’t by you but by one of your loved ones? An accident happens so quickly and shouldn’t be taken for granted. 

The same is true at work. When our minds are going a mile a minute with other things such as family, social life or other such distraction (intentional or not) it keeps your focus from your work. How likely are you to pay attention to the task at hand? If you are not paying attention you or the people in your area could be hurt. And what if someone is in need of your help and you don’t see it because you are “off” someplace else.

As a supervisor it is your responsibility to oversee the employees in your area for good housekeeping, to following safe work instructions and ensure best practices are being followed safely as workers perform their duties. The accountability system by the Ministry of Labour now allows inspectors to ticket workers if they see an unsafe or a contravention to the OHSA taking place. Workers must be accountable for their actions just as much as supervisors and management. Yet we take for granted that Supervisors should know better. Properly trained supervisors will take every precaution necessary for the safety of a worker if they themselves “practice what they preach” but do they?

It is a group effort that includes management, supervisors and employees to ensure everyone is conducting them selves in a safe manner. It is even more critical that our long-term employees are working in the same manner so that new employees learn good habits that will last a lifetime.

The question now…is where do you fall into this? Take an inventory of how you work and make the conscious effort to make changes to “be in the moment” to make a difference before the difference…is your life or someone else’s.         

Copyright 2009
Sheri Lynn Webber