SAFETY MOMENT, JULY 8

Stress, fatigue and substances affect safety

See today's safety moment How to give a safety moment

Safety moment, July 8

Everyone brings their life to work: money worries, family problems, long hours, time away from home, grief or a layoff. Stress, burnout, anxiety, depression and substance use are health problems, not weakness, and people do get better with help. They also pull your focus off the task, and on a jobsite a lost focus can get someone hurt. Looking out for each other's minds is part of looking out for each other's safety.

SAFETY MOMENT

July 8

The hazard

Everyone brings their life to work: money worries, family problems, long hours, time away from home, grief or a layoff. Stress, burnout, anxiety, depression and substance use are health problems, not weakness, and people do get better with help. They also pull your focus off the task, and on a jobsite a lost focus can get someone hurt. Looking out for each other's minds is part of looking out for each other's safety.

The action

Worry, lack of sleep, alcohol, drugs and some medications slow your reactions and cloud your judgment. On a jobsite, that can mean a missed step, a hand in a pinch point or a wrong move with equipment. If you are not fit to do a task safely today, say so. Asking for a different task is better than getting hurt.

ASK THE CREW

How can we check on each other without making it awkward?

From the talk: Mental health at work. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

1926.21

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

PRINT AND EDIT

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