As you ease your way into work for another year in 2012, I thought that it would be a good time for a reminder.
Throughout the year you will be faced with occasions when you will need to make a judgement call. It may be through a structured decision making process during a risk assessment or design process or it might be simply asking an employee or co-worker to complete a task for you, or even undertaking the task yourself.
The reminder is this; Is the job safe? Is the job safe enough that you would allow your son or daughter to complete the task? Consider your child as an eighteen year old, old enough to make their own decisions, suitably trained for the job, but none the less, still your child.
If the answer is no, or maybe, or I’m not sure, then clearly you need to review the task and come up with a better solution.
Remember that eliminating the task all together is the best solution; this may be through automation, or replacing the task with an alternative but safer equivalent. Safeguarding followed by PPE and administrative controls may all be suitable solutions, but your jobs not done until you can confidently say you would be happy for your child to complete the job.
By Wade Leslie, Director, Robotize Pty Ltd.
Many thanks to Les and 4 YO Aiden for inspiring this reminder, and for their message about child safety awareness in 2012. Thanks also to the companies whose products are featured in the photo.
Hiviz vest by Proskill/Mascot childs range of workwear, Blundstone boots, Hard Yakka overalls, Bolle child size safety glasses (also shaded type), hearing protection by Howard Leight (Honeywell Safety) and Industrial Safety Fencing.
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