A safety contact is the most common way to kick off any kind of meeting in the mining industry. Here's ten ideas to keep in your back pocket ready for next time you're called upon to give the safety contact.
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"Can you give us the safety contact to kick off the meeting"... yes you!
Be prepared for the next time you're asked to do the Safety Contact or Safety Share at a team meeting by having a cheat sheet list of three written in the front of your diary or notepad.
A great safety contact:
- Comes from personal experience
- Is Interesting and Brief
- Contains a question for the group to prompt input
- Contains a lesson to help others in the future
Ten ideas that might help you generate your cheat sheet for the front of your diary:
- Think back to the last scar or injury you received - how could you have prevented it?
- Use the last safety observation or work area inspection that you completed - what did you or the observee learn?
- Mobile phone use when driving - driving is equally impaired whether using a hands-free kit or not - its the talking that reduces attention, not holding the phone. Who's ever hung up the phone and can't remember the last five minutes of their drive?
- Bicycle helmets - wear a helmet every time you ride, helmets reduce the risk of brain injury by 88%.
- Check the tread on your car tyres -its the first thing police look at following a car accident, and tread worn below the indicators may void your insurance.
- First aid and CPR - quiz the group on who knows the correct breathes to compressions ratio for CPR - the answer is 30 breaths then 2 compressions in 30 seconds. Breaths pause for compressions, and this ratio goes for all ages and for one or two first aiders. Reference
- During a lighting storm: Stay inside, avoid using the phone, avoid touching appliances or water taps, don't stand under tall objects (and if you have to crouch down and keep your feet close together) - lighting kills more Americans each year than tornadoes and hurricanes.
- Back care - quiz the team on correct lifting techniques (bend at knees, back straight; check your path first; get help; load close to body; avoid fast jerking movements; avoid twisting).
- When using power tools or extension cords, always keep the cords loose and never wrap them around the tool - they can overheat and catch fire.
- Check the Darwin Awards for inspiration: www.darwinawards.com