Do you feel lucky?

Bob was in a hurry to get a product out of the stock room.  Using a ladder that he could not quite position correctly because there was another object in the way, he went up the ladder to retrieve what he was looking for.  As he was coming down he felt the ladder sliding to the right.  He was able to correct his balance to stop the ladder from sliding any further and made it down to the ground safely.  Luckily nothing happened – this time.  This is what most people refer to as “a close one.”

Scenarios like this happen in different ways, different places and often involve power equipment.  The point is that it was close to becoming an accident and needs to be addressed so that it doesn’t happen again.

Encourage employees to report close calls so that improvements can be made.  Also, have your employees take that little extra effort to perform their job properly because safety measures are in place to prevent injuries.

Take a closer look at close ones and evaluate them to make sure they don’t someday become an accident.  The RASI Safety Library has a ‘Near-Miss’ section that you can use at your Safety Meeting.

WR’s Safety Specialist Rick Means is available to help members draw up safety plans and suggest topics for safety meetings. Contact him at 360-943-9198 x18, or [email protected]