TOOLBOX TALK

Really? Don't you believe it. I've come across some fellows on-the-job who believe they're so competent they can't afford to be sidetracked by 'all that safety talk'. Such people scare the living daylights out of me for I can't imagine anything more ignorant. For a start, you can't be good on-the-job if you don't operate by the rules or boundaries of that job. There's no free-for-all standard or job specification anywhere for anyone to play with. Every job is pinned to specifics such as how it should be done, by whom, level of competence required, applicable level of training and certification, the desired performance outcome and measurement. Otherwise productivity wouldn't amount to much in the end. Breaking down a job into specific steps creates the opportunity for the right operational safety questions to be asked and answered even at the conceptual stages. The more a job task is subjected to critical analysis the safer it'll be ...

Long before mobile phones came along people still found ways to make things turn out the way they weren't supposed to. No doubts. Work could still be hazardous or downright perilous provided the right triggers were present. People ate, drank, smoked behind the wheel. Why some even tried reading the morning or evening paper in slow-moving traffic, while not a few lady drivers made a habit of a little powder application every now and again. What with having to beat the rush hour traffic - no time enough at home, so the in the car it is. Well some got away with it but many didn't. That means many got involved in vehicle collisions that could have been avoided or prevented. Which meant spending time and money unforeseen, unplanned. Time too, not to mention the rest of it like anger, frustration, etc. But in the end it wasn't 'too bad' because we could generally  'live' with the outcome or so we quietly mused. Then came along this cute invention called mobi...

Business safety issues in Nigeria are largely left to hope rather than experience. Cataclysmal occurrences elsewhere are ascribed to ill luck, home trouble, which can be left with the pastor or marabout to sort out while you get on with the business of "making money". Sad road to take. Mind you, the choice is yours. Besides, the power to choose is one of the most powerful tools God gifted us with so there's no call for regret when it all falls down and your business is wiped out with employees killed or maimed and you're left with massive restitution bills, compensation claims, hiked insurance premiums and general re-start headaches; and a permanently damaged business reputation.   Mind you, people will cotton on faster if we had a clear cut policy and practice of enforcement of health and safety regulations in this country. Things would work better, boundaries and limitations would be more apparent and consequences will be obvious. But not here. It's free-fo...

That nasty word again, accident! They are a pain in the wrong place, pure and simple. Regarded with fear and trepidation by most, it is totally justifiable to seek ways and means to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Whether in your home, community, business or at play, accidents mean just the one thing: Losses. Accident victims may never quite completely finish recounting their experiences to the minute detail nor is it possible to put a definite figure to the cost of loss suffered or incurred but they will surely not forget the date, place and time of occurrence. Fact is there's usually little or no redeeming feature to an accident, all considered. Apart from the chaos and disruption that attends their wake, accidents normally leave those victims the worst for wear no matter the level or severity. Prevention therefore stands out as the best option of choice open to anyone keen on avoiding the bagful of troubles trail...

  Safe driving is a habit just as much as unsafe driving. Both of them are a matter of choice and practice! It starts with learning to drive: you're either taught to drive the right way or the wrong way. Then you simply proceed from there on to hone the skills and perfect the art as learned in training. The result is therefore as evidenced on the road everyday, each day, 24/7.   So it is safe to say that safe and unsafe driving habits are two sides of the same coin ... . The real story begins to unfold when that coin is tossed, to land one face up. Violations, collisions, property damage, injuries, anger, frustration and sometimes, death often result when it lands 'saying' unsafe. Then all hell is let lose as previous plans are put on hold or completely derailed to make way for the real issues of the moment. Principal of which is that your trip is immediately aborted as the unsafe driver and one or more other innocent road users have to square up to the reality of a ...

No one likes to have to deal with unwanted events - accidents, much less the major ones! For one thing, workplace accidents, no matter how minor, spell doom for the corporate pocket. They simply are downgrading events with little or no redeeming features. They come in in all shapes and sizes, and can occur at anytime of day or night. Clearly, this underlines a need to meet them head on with concrete response plans long before reality hits. The prime objective of ER planning should be mitigation of the resultant effects of an occurrence. It is therefore of utmost importance to make such plans as simple and as clear as possible - short and sharp, as some might say. Clarity in terms of roles and responsibilities; simple and direct as can be, in terms of sphere of influence or field of command. Plans must be such that each segment dovetails seamlessly into the next, or confusion and shirking of responsibility will reign...

Next time you start out taking a risk, ask yourself if it's worth it. Don't get me wrong. Taking risks is perfectly normal otherwise we will be a pretty boring lot.. After all, that's what life is about. You know, no venture, no success, like they say. Besides, I read somewhere a few years back that a thing is safe only if the risks are acceptable. You know, like flying, swimming, running, drinking or even eating, etc. Sure, we know so too but hey, show me what doesn't have an element of risk and I'll show you something dull and uninteresting. So all of these routine human activities are inherently hazardous. As a matter of fact, you could come face-to-face with trouble yourself, if you do not obey some basic safety rules governing such activities. I mean, you could choke while eating if you ate too fast, too much, etc. Any swimmer will tell you for free too that the risk of drowning is accepted as an inevitable part of swimming. It doesn't ma...