Here are some of the mental states to be aware of:
- Rushing – this can be self- imposed or imposed by a supervisor or coworker. Maybe you need to get home early or take care of another job at work. Or you were late for work due to a flat tire or traffic.
- Frustration – when people have too many things to accomplish or work is going more slowly than anticipated. This can also be caused by interactions with others, or not having the right tool for the job and having to use the wrong one.
- Fatigue – this can be caused by mental or physical exhaustion, too little or poor quality sleep, illness or injury. A sick child keeping you up at night. It could be caused by dehydration.
- Complacency – this lowered state of alertness often happens when people feel very confident in their abilities. Thinking, yeah, I’ve done this for years, I could do it in my sleep. This over confidence will lead you to skip normal checks. How many of you turn your head and check blind spots when driving, or do you just check your mirrors?
How do we get into these states of mind? Sometimes it’s internal, maybe you woke up in a bad mood. It can also be how you interact with others, like an argument with a family member, or you don’t get along with a coworker. Allowing yourself to fall into these mental states can lead to errors which increase the risk of injury. These errors include:
- Eyes not on task – looking away to speak to a coworker, or check your phone. Maybe you didn’t see someone walk into your work area and be exposed to a hazard. Or maybe you weren’t watching where your fingers were in a pinch point. Texting while driving or even changing the radio station.
- Mind not on task – thinking about the weekend, or a sick family member, an argument you had with someone can allow you to miss warning signs of an exposure or potential injury. Have you ever followed someone on the freeway for miles without really paying attention?
- Line of fire – allowing yourself to be too close to a hazard, or not leaving yourself a way out of a tight situation. You can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. You don’t want to be between a moving and stationary load, or between two moving vehicles.
- Balance/traction/grip – falling, slipping, letting go of a tool can lead to broken bones, strains, cuts or worse. Intentionally walking on a pile of rubbish instead of walking around it can lead to sprains and punctures from nails.
It’s important to recognize how often we fall into these states and have these errors. Have you ever said to yourself, I’ve always done it that way and nothing bad has happened? If so, each one of those occasions was a near miss, an almost accident. If we don’t reduce the near misses, we won’t be able to reduce the serious injuries. It’s a matter of time until a catastrophic accident or fatality will happen. It’s like speeding, you can do it every day with no consequences, but then your luck runs out and you get a ticket, or are injured in a crash. We can’t rely on luck. We want to be good, not lucky.
What can you do to help keep you safe? A great company relies on its workers to be involved. Report near misses or unsafe conditions to your supervisor, fix the small things that are wrong in the work area, correct unsafe acts by yourself or coworkers. Check yourself every day when you come to work, are any of these factors affecting you. If it seems a coworker is affected by any of these states, check on them, make sure they are okay. Let your supervisor know what you saw. Near miss reporting will be an essential part of our safety program. We are working on ways to allow you to get the information to us. The recent reduction that we have seen in injuries will continue with your help. We can’t do it without you.