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Principles
of Safety:
Focus on Real Risks; Don’t Trivialize
There are a number of new houses being built near where I live, and
it amazes me when I see the perilous positions the builders place
themselves.
Invariably, there’s a guy swinging a hammer with one hand while
holding on to a joist with the other, balanced on the top rung of a
ladder. Or his coworker is navigating a hydraulic hose while hauling
a nail gun up the side of a roof peak 20 feet up without a safety
harness.
It’s no wonder the number of fatalities from falls is up in recent
years. We do a lot about fall protection in this magazine, including
two articles in this issue, but it’s clear more needs to be done.
Perhaps, I’ll bring a couple issues of the magazine by the
worksites. I’m sure the contractor would rather see me than an OSHA
inspector.
Or they can take the advice of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC)
of the United Kingdom, which is urging people to focus on workplace
risks that can cause real harm and suffering.
Looking to dispel myths about workplace safety being more of a
hindrance than a value, Britain’s version of OSHA is launching a set
of key principles and practical actions it believes sensible risk
management should, and should not, be about.
Bill Callaghan, chair of the HSC, says he’s “sick and tired of
hearing that ‘health and safety’ is stopping people from doing
worthwhile and enjoyable things, when at the same time others are
suffering real harm and even death as a result of mismanagement at
work… If you’re using health and safety to stop everyday activities
— get a life and let others get on with theirs.”
The HSC says sensible risk management IS about:
• Ensuring workers and the public are properly protected;
• Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and
risks, with a focus on
reducing real risks;
• Enabling innovation and learning, not stifling them;
• Ensuring those who create risks manage them responsibly and
understand that
failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust
action; and
• Enabling individuals to understand as well as the right to
protection, they also have
to exercise responsibility.
Sensible risk management IS NOT about:
• Creating a totally risk free society;
• Generating useless paperwork;
• Scaring people by exaggerating or publicizing trivial risks;
• Stopping important recreational and learning activities for
individuals where
the risks are managed; and
• Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm and
suffering.
HSC wants to cut red tape and make a real difference in people’s
lives. “These principles build on all of this and will hopefully
drum home the message that health and safety is not about long
forms, back-covering, or stifling initiative,” said Jonathan Rees,
HSE deputy chief executive. “It’s about recognizing real risks,
tackling them in a balanced way and watching out for each other.
It’s about keeping people safe — not stopping their lives.”
Perform a risk assessment, an important step in protecting workers
and businesses as well as complying with the law. It helps focus on
the risks that really matter in the workplace – the ones with the
potential to cause real harm. In many instances, straightforward
measures can readily control risks, for example ensuring spillages
are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip, or cupboard drawers
are kept closed to ensure people do not trip. For most, that means
simple, cheap and effective measures to ensure your most valuable
asset — your workforce — is protected.
Of course, all risk cannot be eliminated. Someone will eventually
have to go up on that roof peak and nail down some plywood, but
employers are required to protect people as far as ‘reasonably
practicable.’ And I don’t think it’s asking too much to have him put
a safety harness on when he goes up there.
Thanks and good luck.
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