It’s hard to believe a year has passed since I wrote my first safety blog. As some of you may remember, June is National Safety Month so it’s only fitting that I write about safety this month.
I’ve been thinking a lot in terms of personal safety. At Wilcox, our employees are required to complete safety training on a range of topics. This holds true for our geologists, field scientists, marketing manager, and the executive team. It doesn’t matter what your position is, you are required to participate in certain training topics.
The last training conducted was electrical awareness. I opened the training by stating this would not pertain to everyone in regards to on-the-job situations, but most of what I was about to teach could be applied at home, outside of work.
It’s important to remember that taking responsibility for your personal safety doesn’t just take place on the job or inside the four walls of our office building, but responsibility for your safety should never end. You are the only one who can guarantee your safety. There may be others looking out for your safety throughout your life, but ultimately the onus is on you.
This is why I have such a hard time when I see people committing unsafe acts. I truly believe that each person knows what is safe, but personally makes a decision to act unsafely. It’s in our nature to want to survive and strive, so overriding the urge to be unsafe should be an easy decision.
I’ve been impressed with the number of employees recognizing unsafe acts and situations during the work day. I would ask that you keep your safety eyes open and identify, correct, and eliminate unsafe hazards outside of work as well. If we all commit to doing this for June and beyond, we can make our world that much more safe. Happy National Safety Month!