There are certain types of incidents that happen regularly and become trends. These trends are frustrating, but they also provide valuable insights into how to manage workplace hazards. Are most incidents happening at a certain time of day or in a particular location? Focus in on these areas, make improvements to safety practices and break the cycle of these repeated incidents.
1. Have a look at your crew’s previous injuries and incidents. Identify the incidents that happen most often and the conditions or behaviours that can be improved to prevent them from happening again.
2. Use WorkSafeBC and BC Forest Safety incident alerts (linked below) from across the industry to identify common injury trends like:
3. Review close calls or near misses, where an injury or damage almost happened, or where the injury or damage was minor but could have been more serious. Just like real incidents, look at the work conditions and behaviours that caused these near misses and take these learnings to help improve your safety programs.
4. Review alerts and incidents from other industries. A lot can be learned from oil and gas or construction sectors.
5. Research information on SIFp (Serious Injury and Failure potential) programs and implement the lessons from other companies into your situation. Some serious incidents are rare and because of that, they are not top of mind for many workers and supervisors.
6. Use the alerts, trends, and updates to safe work procedures as topics for safety meeting discussions, one-on-one check-ins with operators, or for sharing via social media or text. Communication is key – always keep safety as part of the conversation and promote an attitude of vigilance.
| File attachments |
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| Safety Alert of the Month Jan 2021 FINAL.pdf |
