When Public Safety Meets Workplace Safety

The discipline of precaution! You need to look no further than the front page of any newspaper on any day, and you can see these are changing times. A time we have never seen in current history where the lives of our families and friends are under threat. The threat of a global pandemic. Yet contrary to popular belief, we have control over how we are affected by this threat. Irrespective of our circumstances in life, we still have a job to do! Forgive me for stating the obvious, but that job is ‘staying alive’ and ‘keeping others alive’, from our not taking an unnecessary risk that otherwise places us in the line-of-fire for contracting COVID-19 from a diseased person.

On a personal level and having worked as a health and safety professional for many years in high-risk industries. There is little or no change in modality from working safely, as there is to living safely right now! A possible difference is there is less paper to sign in keeping safe in the civilian world than at the workplace. Yet, the rudiments are still the same—a hazard known to have life-threatening consequences identified in your scope. The risks associated with the hazard identified and individually assessed; the controls described through those risk assessments are assigned and deployed as found necessary to reduce each risk to an acceptable level. Same, same, only different!

There are those of us that have performed work tasks that involve high-risk job steps in high-risk industries. Thanks to ongoing training on the complexity of hazards and risks found in those environments. These hazards and risks are well understood by those who work in those workplaces. Some high-risk job steps may surprise those that have not had high-risk job step training. Some examples of high-risk job steps are climbing a ladder, using cleaning agents or electrical equipment and entering dusty atmospheres. Who would have thought less than several months ago, that doing your shopping at the supermarket was an activity with potentially life-threatening consequences? Deserving of the assigning of risk controls!

Interestingly enough, where there is a risk, high risk. The controls that enable the worker to perform those tasks safely, or in our case humans going about their daily life activities safely. These controls are often perceived as elaborate, extensive, overarching yet deemed appropriate in preserving human life. When the controls are understood, they are easy to put in place, easy to work with and maintain. My experience is that it feels reassuring to work with the controls assigned against risk. After all, they keep us safe, and that assurance is comforting, just like putting on your seat belt before taking your car for a drive.

Understandably the procedures for us to remain COVID-19 disease-free, are also elaborate, extensive, overarching and deemed appropriate. The discipline in preserving life lays within precaution and how quickly you have been able to adapt and maintain the necessary controls. For me, it feels terrific to follow the risk controls, company control or Government controls; the intention behind them is the same. They call it safety assurance for a reason! Disease prevention controls have been assigned by people who have appropriate training, experience and understanding in the hazard and risk that COVID-19 presents to our community. That’s the assurance part of the equation the rest is up to us.

It does not matter if you are entering a confined space, working at heights or doing your shopping. Right now, unlike any other time in our current history. We need to be following specific procedures in our daily lives to mitigate the associated risks involved with moving through a potentially hostile public environment. Clearly understood from the spike in COVID-19 detection in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney in the age demographic of 25 years to 30 years of age people. Is evidence enough of what is appropriate in respect to our safe behaviour and behavioural safety, in the prevention of disease transferal and spread. 

The controls we assign to mitigate COVID-19 disease risk, are every bit as important to us going about our daily lives. Similarly, the controls used by offshore oil & gas platform workers, or workers making a confined space entry, are as crucial in keeping them safe. There is a level of discipline required and needed to enable safe negotiation of these potentially hostile environments. Through my professional undertakings, I have spent many thousands of hours educating workers on how to remain safe in some of the most hostile of employment environments. My job has been simply to keep people safe in these workplaces. While at work, I've made many observations on safe and unsafe workplace behaviour. Some workers are more successful than others in adopting controls on workplace hazards and risks. Specific behavioural characteristics of the ready adapter are apparent, and I have made special consideration of some of those characteristics for you today.

These are some tips for staying safe at work and safe from COVID-19

1.      Don't question the controls on risk, accept them. If you feel there is a need to challenge a control you need to do that in the appropriate forum and not through demonstrating a rejection of the control.

2.      Be relaxed when using the controls. The implementing of risk control has a burden attached to it in time, effort and thought. The weight of the burden is increased by frustration and anxiety. Lessen the burden by staying relaxed for successful use of your control.

3.      Anticipate your control conformance needs. Take the time to work through all likely scenarios for your use of the risk controls and their needs. This understanding will assist in ensuring that you have coverage of available resources to conform to control requirements.

4.      Stay informed and discuss the controls and their use. Allow yourself the opportunity to talk with authorities and friends on the controls you need to implement in mitigating risk. This will help enforce compliant behaviour but also allows for improvement opportunities on what you are doing.

5.      Reward yourself for successfully using the controls. Playing the game by the rules is something we are all educated to do, just like the oranges at halftime or the team's awards after the match for on-field efforts. Your on-field efforts of living safely and not spreading disease are deserving of reward and make you the player of the day!

Social distancing, hand hygiene, staying at home and not going out in public unnecessarily. Are some recommended controls assigned by the Government, for us to adopt in mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19. From my origin in the Construction Industry, the controls we must use in some cases are mandatory controls and are designed specifically to preserve life. Where people could once freely handle asbestos 30 years ago, free-climb any structure without fall protection in place. Try doing that at work today; it can’t happen without your encountering severe consequences for the demonstration of the undesired behaviour. It comes as no surprise to me that we are now living in an environment that is reflective of the modern workplace. A workplace where every risk is understood. And where found necessary, the controls on those risks, are implemented without question.

My professional challenge has always been to change the behaviour of workers, helping them make better choices and be more risk-averse. Assisting others to make better choices is now something for the whole of us to achieve. By way of observation, most people in our community understand what is required to keep us all safe. We should make a point of commending those in our world who are demonstrating proper use of the needed controls against the spread of COVID-19.

On the other hand, when you see someone you know, and they are not following the Governments recommendations on safe personal behaviour during these challenging times, my advice is.

1.      Start a conversation with them from the reported safe distance. See how non-compliant people are coping and ask them if they are OK?

2.      Without pointing out to them what they are doing unsafe; through your conversation, try to lead them to discover the error, in their life activity demonstration. 

3.      If they still don't get it, try another tact, tell them what you are doing right and see if that then inspires within them understanding.

4.      Then finally, if they still don't get it at all. Let that person know; you are concerned about their life and the risk they are taking during this time of Global Pandemic. Voice your willingness to assist them in getting and remaining safe.

In health and safety, when people initiate appropriate behaviour and use risk controls for themselves, we have done our job. In so doing, there is a decreased exposure to risk and a higher likelihood of success. I will never shy away from the reality that health and safety is a game of numbers, and the number we need right now? 100% conformance to the Governments controls on the prevention of disease spread. Try this strategy to support the world initiative of pandemic disease control. Go to the Australian Government Website for COVID-19 and learn all you can about preventing it’s spread, then appoint yourself as a coach or trainer to help keep others safe.

Campbell Reade is a Chartered Occupational Health and Safety Professional through the AIHS, holds a master’s degree in OHSEMS from ACU and is currently a PhD research student with UOW. He is available for the delivery of OHSE Risk consultancy, guest speaking and training.