Do you realize that attitudes can, and generally do determine whether you will be safe and healthy or unsafe and injured?

What is your attitude about safety? Do you believe in it enough to act safety all the time? Or, do you just pay lip service to the idea without using it yourself? Let's see if your thinking about safety is constructive and sound or negative and insecure. First, what is an attitude? The dictionary says it's a feeling--- a point of view based on a strongly held conviction. It's the way an individual or a group of people think and believe--- a habit of thinking that often leads to a fixed way of acting. Attitudes can be good, bad, strong, or weak; and they can change. Good safety attitudes lead to good safety behavior--- like wearing eye protection all the time whether the immediate situation demands it or not. There are good attitudes toward safety, and there are bad attitudes. Have you heard the excuse, "The law of averages caught up with me" after an accident or injury? How many of the following expressions of unsafe attitudes sound familiar to you?

• I know what I'm doing
• It slows me down
• Accidents just happen
• It can't happen to me
• Don't tell me what to do
• Safety is sissy stuff
• I've been doing it that way for years

What causes these unsafe attitudes? Take the worker who won't listen to instruction or follow directions. Maybe he or she has "a chip on the shoulder" and resents all authority. Maybe he or she thinks there is nothing new to learn. The trouble with unsafe attitudes is that they can lead to dangerous acts. Some people seen to think they can ignore safety rules whenever it's not convenient to obey then. Maybe they are trying to prove that the rules don't apply to them, but the safety of everyone in an organization requires the involvement of everyone all the time. Your daily emotions can affect your attitudes. Don't let your troubles interfere with your thinking on the job, possibly resulting in injuries to you or another. Emotions cannot be eliminated, but they must be controlled and understood. Safe attitudes are also strengthened by your knowing your job. If you are in doubt, consult your supervisor for job safety follow-through. It's his or her responsibility to help you.

HAVE A SAFE YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From the safety Committee


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