Lesson 9.1
Safety Is Everyone’s Awareness, Not Everyone’s Technical Job
Estimated time: 7 minutes
Every employee should have basic awareness of obvious hazards.
That does not mean every employee becomes:
- an electrician
- mechanic
- safety officer
- chemical specialist
- medical responder
- engineer
The purpose of general workplace awareness is to recognize:
Something here could harm somebody.
Examples
You may notice:
- liquid on a walkway
- exposed electrical wiring
- a broken chair
- a blocked exit
- unstable shelving
- smoke or a burning smell
- damaged equipment
- something sharp in a customer area
- an unsafe obstruction
- another obvious hazard
Scenario
You notice sparks coming from an electrical outlet.
You have no electrical training.
What is the responsible response?
Not:
“Let me open it and see what happened.”
And not:
“Electrical work isn’t my department, so I’ll ignore it.”
The appropriate action depends on the workplace, but may include:
- warning people away
- following the workplace’s safety procedure
- notifying the authorized person
- escalating promptly
The International Labour Organization (ILO) recognizes a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle and right at work and emphasizes preventive workplace safety systems.
Remember
You do not need to be able to repair a hazard to recognize that it should not be ignored.