Safety is a subject that everyone can agree is important, but too many people think of safety only when thinking about where they work. Workplace safety is extremely important. Each year there are approximately five-thousand workplace fatalities and over two-million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers. Because of workplace injuries and illnesses, OSHA monitors employer safety programs and enforcement disciplinary action when an employer does not adequately protect their employees. But what about away from work?
Recent statistics show that you are ten times more likely to be killed or injured at home than you are on the job. On the job, your employer would not let you use a spliced electrical extension cord for power supply, but at home there is no one there to stop you. In the workplace, your employer would not allow you to transport a flammable liquid in a container that was not designed for that purpose, but recently I was sent a video of a person filling plastic bags with gasoline and putting them into the trunk of a car (if you are interested in seeing this video, here’s the link: https://youtu.be/XRjNdgAetQE).
Safety is not just something you practice at work to earn a pizza party or a prize. Safety is something that should be practiced in every aspect of everyone’s life. Before embarking on a new project or task at home, use some of the knowledge you have learned at work to keep yourself and your family safety. To close this article, let me provide you with a helpful chart on when safety should be first on your priority list.
