TOOLBOX TALK

Workers bringing an apparently long, stressful day to a close have just about one immediate thought in mind: Drop the work gear and hurry on out of the workplace and head on home where the irksome supervisor is thankfully a world away, until tomorrow. So off they go hardly paying attention to the  state of the worksite. Is it safe for their inevitable return tomorrow? Are tools and surplus material stowed away properly, away from natural elements so they can safely be redeployed or put to use tomorrow without much ado? Are hazard control systems like the permit-to-work duly signed off with the end-of-day work status notes accurately documented to aid safe worksite re-entry come tomorrow or in the overriding pressure to be the first through the gate some minor but safety critical details have been overlooked, under stated or simply glossed over? Is equipment or machinery that should be switched off switched off? Are relevant warning signs posted where they are supposed to be poste

Workplace accidental deaths and injuries are a worrisome feature to nations and organization worldwide. International Labour Organization, ILO, estimates that there are as many as 2.2m fatalities occurring yearly across the globe. In Nigeria, it is common knowledge that hundreds, if not thousands of workers fail to return home yearly from work due to accidents which could’ve have been prevented if the right safety systems were deployed. That the nation is the ultimate loser in these unwanted events is an understatement. For every person lost or maimed at work, the family, organization and country suffers irrecoverable loss, whether it be the family losing a bread winner, the factory an experienced hand or the nation taking a loss in taxes accruable to her. Workplace safety is therefore an issue that demands and should be given the utmost attention and focus by the individual employee, employer and the government of the day. A thriving economy is a safe economy as exemplified by