The water and wastewater treatment industry has many hazards and dangers that employees face on a regular basis. Unfortunately, workers can add to the danger through improper actions and decisions.
Surveys suggest that up to 96% of incidents are caused by unsafe acts. Unsafe acts involve actions that violate established safety procedures, protocols or best practices. Human error, in other words. These unsafe acts should never happen. The worker who makes poor decisions will eventually end up with an injury or worse.
The human factor can sometimes come into play through intentional acts like purposely removing safety switches, refusing to wear PPE, driving too fast for conditions, ignoring safety procedures or taking unnecessary chances. Sometimes, a worker may not be aware of the safety procedures due to lack of training.
In a recent survey, 75% of workers polled felt that risky shortcuts were a “normal” part of work and felt they could not discuss these shortcuts with others including managers and supervisors. This is a scary thought that the perceived pressure to get the job done was greater than the ability to do the job safely.
There are several causes of workplace incidents but the following seven are the main causes related to human error or unsafe acts.
- Taking shortcuts – In the attempt to save time and money, many employees have gotten in the bad habit of taking shortcuts. Taking shortcuts like disabling safety switches or not wearing your PPE has led to many worker injuries and significant property damage. A workplace that accepts shortcuts creates a sloppy environment. It is not worth the risk.
- Being overconfident – The mindset that “It can’t happen to me” sets workers up for the inevitable workplace incident. Workers with experience are often the victims of their own overconfidence because they have gotten away with it so many times in the past.
- Failing to preplan the work – Just arriving at the site and getting to work may sound like a plan, but it is not. When you fail to take the time to recognize any hazards or the potential of hazards of the job site you are putting yourself at risk. Take the time to ask the “What if?” questions that can prevent incidents and ensure you work safely each day.
- Incomplete instructions – A worker who doesn’t fully understand the task at hand may be reluctant to ask questions for many reasons, but this can be dangerous. As the old saying goes, the only dumb question is the one that doesn’t get asked.
- Poor housekeeping – By not making sure your work area is kept clean and orderly workers set themselves up for the slip, trip and fall hazards that can lead to devastating injuries. Poor housekeeping is more than just not cleaning up spills or rolling up unused cords, it can be overly stacked shelves that can lead to objects falling and striking a worker, fire hazards, hindered emergency exits and fire extinguishers as well as insufficient storage.
- Mental distractions – Our cell phones are very useful in many ways, yet they contribute to the No. 1 cause of distractions. And it’s not just while driving. Other mental distractions can be family issues or financial stresses that are overtaking your mental awareness on the job. Even daydreaming or thinking about lunch can be enough of a mental distraction to cause you to lose focus at the worst time and cause an incident at work.
- Ignoring safety procedures – Procedures are in place to always keep workers safe. To ignore them puts yourself and other workers at risk. Part of your employment is to adhere to safety procedures, so if you are ignoring them you are in violation of your company standards. You are also more than likely to be in violation of OSHA standards as well. This can put you at risk of civil action should you cause an incident. It can also lead to your termination. But far more serious is the fact that a casual attitude towards safety can lead to a casualty.
The workplace shouldn’t be a place where safety is an option. When we make the effort to adhere to safety procedures we eliminate most if not all workplace incidents. Who doesn’t want to go home as healthy as they came to work each day?