Observe Your Surroundings

Welcome back to February week two for Look Twice Act Once! This week, we are going to be talking about using those things on the front of your face – your eyeballs – to take a look around and make sure things are right before you start.

You all know that you must fill in a work area checklist before you start work. This serves two purposes: Firstly, to make sure the area you are working in is safe to work in and that there are no hazards around which could cause you injury or worse. It is then your responsibility to make sure these hazards are mitigated or eliminated before you start work. This could be something as simple as debris on the floor, or it could be something more complex like the power not being isolated.

Secondly, it gets YOU thinking about hazards and being safe in the workplace. It engages your brain to start thinking about that nail sticking out of a joist, and gets you out of the ‘not my job’ mindset that can creep in. Remember, safety is EVERYONE'S responsibility on site – that includes you.

Remember, if something looks wrong – and that little voice in your head is telling you that something is wrong, it probably is. And even if it isn’t, it’s better to have raised that issue than not have spoken up at all.

So keep your eyes open when working – look for hazards or anything out of place. And if you happen to see anything, make sure you report it and if need be, stop work until it is safe to return to work.