What Happens When You Run Out of Luck? – 03/28/2022

Safety E-QuickTips

U.S. Compliance Systems, Inc.

Monday Mar 28, 2022

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What Happens When You Run Out of Luck?

Sometimes a blast from the past needs to be repeated. Here’s one from 2014.

As you read this, remember that we all have lucky days and others that just don’t work out so well.

As an employee or company management, how do you determine if your company is really providing a safe workplace for your employees?

Is it that your company hasn’t had any serious life-threatening injuries or workers’ compensation claims in the past “X” years?

Or does your company look a little deeper into employee safety to ensure that their safety efforts are really doing the job of protecting employees from hazards in the workplace?

Often when I talk to employers who are looking to purchase a safety program, they tell me they have been in business for 10, 15 or even 20 plus years and have never had a serious accident or fatality. Their reason for purchasing the program is to meet specific requirements, such as OSHA regulations or specific job site, insurance, or third-party requirements.

As we discuss more, I will often ask if they have had very many near miss incidents. Their response often surprises me.

They will go into detail about multiple near miss situations that have occurred over the years involving employees, or even themselves, that very easily could have ended with one being seriously injured or even killed. But apparently, luck was on their side.

I usually find myself having to be careful in what I say next. I don’t want to sound like I’m lecturing them on how their luck may run out some day if they don’t put some effort into implementing a company safety program.

So, I will often provide some fact about other companies we have worked with in the past that have had excellent safety records without implementing a company safety program, only to find that their luck has finally run out and an employee has been seriously injured or worse.

When looking at your company’s safety records, it is a great idea to consider near miss incidents because they are a warning that something you are doing or not doing needs to change. This is not only important for those just looking to implement a safety program, but also for those who have a program that is already in place.

I’ll leave you with this. The definition of luck is “success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions.”

Do you really want to rely on chance when it comes to workplace safety?

Employee QuickTip

Don’t rely on luck when it comes to workplace safety because we all know your luck could run out.

Employer/Management QuickTip

So how will you determine if your company is really providing a safe workplace for its employees? Will you rely on luck, or will you look a little deeper into your program to ensure that the company’s safety efforts are really doing the job of protecting employees from hazards in the workplace?

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Thanks for Reading and Please – Stay Healthy and Work Safe.