Safety Tip: Crossing the Chasm

Imagine there is a deep hole in the middle of a field you are crossing. The chasm represents an unsafe condition. If you are not looking where you are walking, that represents an unsafe act. When an unsafe act meets an unsafe condition, the result is an incident. Unsafe Act + Unsafe Condition = Incident.

·       If you are looking where you are walking, the formula becomes:

Safe Act + Unsafe Condition = Near Miss.

·       If someone has covered the chasm or roped it off, the formula becomes:

Unsafe Act + Safe Condition = Near Miss.

·       If you are looking where you are walking and someone has covered the hole or roped it off, the formula becomes:

Safe Act + Safe Condition = Safety.

The goal is to eliminate unsafe acts and conditions to get to safety. Unfortunately, conditions are not always under your control. How you act is always under your control and if you always act safely you will be able to avoid incidents even in the presence of unsafe conditions.

When backing a vehicle, the unsafe condition might be a bollard or another fixed object that you did not notice during a circle of inspection. If you do not look where you are backing that is an unsafe act. If there is a fixed object in your path, that is an unsafe condition: Unsafe Act + Unsafe Condition = Incident.

Always act safely. Each time you use a vehicle, take two minutes before getting into the vehicle to build awareness of the surrounding area to detect hazards. Look behind the vehicle, in front of the vehicle and underneath the vehicle, and note all potential hazards. Avoid hurrying or believing nothing bad can happen. Always use a spotter when one is available.