Monday, October 17, 2016

Complacency is Dangerous!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,  

As you know, our recent volunteer quarterly safety training meeting was on Behavioral Based Safety which included the 4 mind-states that are known to be leading causes of injuries.  The 4 mind-states are Rushing, Frustration, Fatigue and Complacency.  These 4 mind-states can cause or contribute to these 4 critical errors: Eyes not on Task, Mind not on Task, Being in the Line of Fire and/or Loss of Balance, Traction and Grip.  

I found a toolbox talk in regards to complacency and I wanted to share it with everyone.  Please see the toolbox talk below.  

Complacency can be defined as self-satisfaction, especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. Complacency is extremely dangerous in the workplace.  We get so used to things being done the same way every day and we don’t always look at the hazards in our surroundings.  We may also underestimate the risk of tasks that we perform regularly, or fail to notice a change in our environment when we become complacent in our daily routines. When working on the job, there is danger when a person goes on auto-pilot.  All too often we don’t realize how complacent we are until we have a near miss or incident. When something like this happens, it jump starts our heart and then we refocus our attention.  Most incidents are caused by unsafe acts. Companies and employees work hard to create a safe workplace and eliminate unsafe acts.  But what happens to one’s own unsafe behavior?  If you read between the lines of incident reports, you may see that workers involved in the incidents had become complacent about safety.  When workers begin to work in auto-pilot mode, and stop paying attention to what they are doing, that can lead to taking short cuts and taking risks. If employees aren’t thinking about what could go wrong every day, all day while they work, they are not completing the task safely.  Workers need to be trained to think ahead as they approach each task and consider:

· What they are working with
· What they will be doing
· Where they will be going
· What could go wrong

Encourage employees to examine equipment, procedures and the hazards that may exist. They need to focus physically and mentally on their work, no matter how many times they have done the same job in the past. 

Keep an eye on each other and help each other to perform in a safe manner, your loved ones count on it!

Don't let complacency happen to you and to those working around you. 

Have a Safe Day!