Is it possible to create a hazard free workplace?
One of the things that continues to amaze me is how many people, safety and ergonomic professionals included, believe that it is impossible to have a workplace that is free of hazards and therefore free of injuries. I’ve heard many times from supervisors and even safety directors that it is impossible to remove all of the hazards from the workplace so they don’t even try. They believe that achieving zero lost days or zero recordable injuries isn’t realistic. Obviously situations, equipment and people change over time which makes it hard to identify and control hazards. It requires commitment and discipline to constantly recognize, assess and control every hazard. Even if one is dedicated to safety, over time it is easy to get complacent. Another challenge is simply overlooking hazards because you see them every day and they become “invisible” to you. How many of you have driven the same route time and time again when you notice that there is new business or one has gone out of business. You then find out that this happened months ago. Same thing can happen in the workplace. Say a hose is left on the floor in the same spot day after day and no one even thinks about it as being a hazard. Then one day someone nearly trips and then everyone wonders how they could have been so blind to an “obvious” hazard.
One manufacturing company in Minnesota has proven that it is possible to create a safe and injury free workplace. E.J. Ajax and Sons has had zero lost work days for over 17 years and zero OSHA-recordable injuries in the past 5 years. It isn’t by luck or chance this has happened. The company is devoted to employee safety and wellness which has rubbed off on their employees. Safety isn’t just “talk”, it is engrained in the culture. Their employees are actively involved in safety and are empowered to identify safety hazards and provide solutions which are routinely implemented. Not only have the solutions make the workplace safe, they have also benefited the company’s bottom line by improving efficiency and productivity.
The workplace doesn’t have to be a dangerous environment. A hazardous environment is made dangerous by not following safe work procedures and by not bothering to identify hazards and implement solutions that minimize or eliminate the hazards. We just need to understand what it takes to create a hazard free workplace. Once that happens we are able to achieve the target of zero hazards and zero injuries. So, is it possible to achieve a hazard free workplace-Absolutely! I not only believe a hazard workplace is possible, I know it is possible.