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The Best of Workplace Safety |
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Friday's Risk
Management Newsletter
What can fly
through the air for a half-mile or more, smash its way through
brick walls, yet release its power through an opening no bigger
than the diameter of a pencil?
A compressed gas cylinder.
Cylinders may look hardy, but they are pressurized to thousands
of pounds per square inch, which makes them extremely hazardous
when exposed to motion or vibration.
How’s
this for sheer power? A
carbon dioxide cylinder with a missing cap was carelessly pulled
across an airplane hanger floor. When the cylinder fell, the
valve broke off; the cylinder took off at high speed. It crashed
through several aircraft wings, broke off sprinkler heads, which
flooded the area, destroyed expensive equipment, and tore through
a concrete wall before finally coming to rest outside the building.
Fortunately no one was hurt, however the total damage exceeded
a half million dollars.
Your
Safety Attitude probably dates back to your childhood.
Most of us were taught
to look both ways before crossing the street and not to play
with matches. As adults, we are warned not to smoke, not to stay
in the sun too long, and not to drive under the influence of
alcohol. Yet, as common as these safety rules may be, many of
us still forget or ignore them from time to time.
At work, some employees neglect safety rules because they:
· Are in a hurry
· Figure accidents only happen to others
· Are tired, careless, complacent
Every time you engage in unsafe acts, you are taking a gamble
that an accident won’t occur. Is your health– and possibly
your life– worth such a gamble?
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