Safety Alerts are necessary, particularly where trends highlight critical information that may prevent future incidents. Consultation of alerts is particularly effective when the incident has a resounding familiarity to the receiver of the information – for example, a skids steer operator will be more interested in how a 23 year old suffered fatal injuries when caught between the bucket and the front cross member of a skid steer loader than he would about plant nurseries (see the SafeWork NSW safety alerts below). Incidents that happen within your own organisation are also highly relevant.
Of course we all know to choose alerts that are pertinent to our own organisation and type of work. But how much is enough? I have been to toolboxes where the supervisor points out in the direction of the notice board, mentions the 9 new alerts for the week, and sends the workers on their way without actually raising any awareness or engagement on the critical information. Tic 
(wrong). Did a senior manager somewhere demand toolbox records and threaten with KPIs?
It should be simple. Select safety alerts based on relevancy. Then deliver the information through consultation. How you deliver the information can be just as important as the content. Ask questions. And most importantly, listen.
Some other recent Safety Alerts published by SafeWork NSW as follows:
- Skid Steer Loader 31/08/2016 http://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/news/safety-alert/skid-steer-loaders
- Plant Nurseries 22/08/2016 http://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/health-and-safety/industry-safety/plant-nurseries
- Guards and Disks on Angle Grinders 27/07/16 http://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/news/safety-alert/guards-and-disks-on-angle-grinders2
Here’s some information from SafeWork South Australia. These videos are in relation to Minimising Musculoskeletal Disorders.
I can go on and on. There is a lot of information available. A lot. So here’s some questions for you in relation to Red Insight’s news posts.
- How much is too much?
- What type of information do you want to see? Safety Alerts, legislative updates, engineering feats, tragic incidents, or, my personal favourite, insightful safety topics such as how to increase proactive reporting, how to run effective consultations, is “No Harm” or equivalent vision statements effective or detrimental?
We understand sharing certain information is necessary but are also interested in what you WANT to see. Let us know in the comments. We would love your feedback.