Lehigh Valley Safety Incentive Winners

Our "Don't Gamble with Safety" Incentive is rolling along.

Congratulations to the following CERT Practice Card Contest Winners:

 

Keith Burkit

Eyes and Mind Not on Task

Caught his finger in the car door

Self-trigger on the state and analyze close calls to avoid injuries in the future

 

Andrew Miller

Eyes and Mind Not on Task, Line-of-Fire

Changed music on his ipod while driving and almost ran off the road

Analyze the close calls and work on habits to prevent accidents

Scott Ellmaker

Complacency, Rushing

Looking down at phone while walking and almost ran into someone

Analyze close calls, work on habits so it doesn;t happen again

Tina Flexer

Rushing, Fatigue

Traveling late at night, scraped knee when tripped on curb as exited shuttle

Work on habits to avoid loss of balance, traction, grip

Mike Felegy

Rushing, Complacency

Eyes Not on Task, Line-of-fire, Balance/Traction/Grip

Tripped over hose in syrup room

Self-trigger on state, Analyze close calls and Work on habits to prevent slips, trips, falls

Caitlin Donnelly

Rushing, Frustration, Complacency

Stabbed self in thumb trying to open a tube with a knife

Self-trigger on the state, work on habits to avoid injuries

 

Roberta Metzgar

Rushing, Frustration, Line-of-Fire

Close call with morning traffic

Analyze the close calls, look at others for pattens that increase the risk, Work on habits to avoid vehicle mishaps

Donna Butz

Mind Not on Task

Cut hand on a sharp object hidden below when pushed the garbage down into the container

Work on habits to stop future injuries

Pam Garin

Complacency, Eyes Not on Task, Balance/traction/grip

Broke two ribs when crashed while biking on a road she's ridden several times

Work on habits



Learn from the mishaps of others.  Keep your eyes and mind on task 24/7!



SafeStart: Rushing

Rushing is a part of life, especially these days.  It is not something that is going to go away – it’s probably going to get worse.  As soon as you realize you are going faster than you normally go, slow down.  Or if that’s not possible, make sure you’re looking at what you are doing and thinking about the line-of-fire and balance, traction or grip.

Trying to do many things at once is another form of rushing. It’s different than walking faster or trying to drive faster. Trying to do lots of things faster, all at the same time can easily cause eyes on task and mind on task problems. Consider a restaurant where a group of people or groups of people just happen to all come in at the same time.  The chef will have more orders, appetizers, salads and entrees on the go than normal.  More than likely, the chef will rush.

When you know you are doing more things at once than you normally would, you should:

·         Pause for a second and look around for anything that could hurt you if you made a critical error

·         Think about the correct order or sequence

·         Do one thing at a time and think about what you’re doing until it’s finished; then move on to the next task

·         Remind yourself that it’s not worth getting hurt over

Even if you slow down to a pace that allows you to avoid critical errors, it doesn’t mean everyone else will.  When other people are rushing, they will be more likely to make mistakes and the chance of them hurting you or someone else increases.  If you see someone else rushing – whether it’s on foot or in a vehicle, you should:

·         Recognize they will be more likely to make an error

·         Try to stay out of their way (get out of the line of fire)

The idea that rushing causes mistakes is as old as the hills. “Haste makes waste” is not a new expression.  Time management, organizational skills and planning can prevent having to rush.  If you can’t prevent rushing, use your Critical Error Reduction Techniques, or CERTS, to help you recognize the patterns that increase risk of injury and how to reduce the risk.