WhereAreYou? A RedInsight Safety Initiative

 

Each year in NSW alone, there are over 30,000 major work-related injuries and 56 deaths on average each year (based on data between 2014 and 2018).

Mobile plant and earth moving equipment, such as forklifts, elevating work platforms, delivery vehicles, have the potential to seriously injure or kill people. Risks associated with mobile plant and blind spot awareness is thus incredibly important as each item of plant has different and varied blind spots. Knowing where you are and the risks associated with mobile plant could save your life.

The WhereAreYou? Program has been designed by Red Insight to help raise the awareness of blind spots, with a key focus on Construction, Mining, Transport, Warehousing, Forestry, Agriculture, and Manufacturing plant and workers (industries with highest rates of fatalities).

The Program commences with the facilitator discussing the risks associated with personnel and plant interaction.

The use of real-life scenario’s is vital in ‘making it real’ for the audience. Participant involvement in story telling is highly encouraged. Following the discussion, each participant takes their turn in positioning the Construction Worker figures around the isolated and unmanned item of plant.

It is intended that the figures are positioned in locations close to the item of plant where the participant believes the operator will be able to see them.

The participant will then enter the item of plant and observe how many of the Construction Worker figures can be seen.

More often than not, the worker realises they have placed at least one figure in a blind spot – precisely where the operator will not see them. Perhaps knowing ‘WhereAreYou?’ will increase the worker’s awareness in future interactions with mobile plant and improved management of the risk in working with mobile plant in the workplace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a great video we found on YouTube for another take on being aware of where you are whilst on site. Please note this video is a Canadian video and some laws are different in Australia.