Do your checks for real

The hazard

Complacency is not laziness. It catches skilled, experienced people, because doing a job over and over without getting hurt makes the danger feel smaller than it is. The hazards have not changed, only our attention has. That gap is where shortcuts, missed steps and nasty surprises happen.

The action

Pre-use checks and inspections catch what memory misses on routine work, so do them for real instead of just signing the sheet. In construction, the employer's safety program must provide for frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment by competent persons (29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2)). On construction work, equipment that does not meet the rules must be tagged as unsafe, have its controls locked so it cannot be used, or be removed from where it operates (29 CFR 1926.20(b)(3)). (29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2))