Unit 1: Introduction Name: SAFETY STOP for Each Other TRAINING OBSERVATION PROGRAM
Note to Readers The authors, reviewers, editors and DuPont have made extensive efforts to ensure that the technology, management systems, and other information contained herein are accurate and conform to best practices known to them at the time of publication. However, new approaches to managing safety, reasonable differences in opinions among experts, unique aspects of individual situations, and different laws and cultures, require that the reader exercise independent judgment when making decisions affecting the safety of any facility, practice or process. The reader should consider the applicability of the ideas and opinions offered to each situation based on the reader s knowledge of the employee culture, physical premises, practice or process in question. Suggestions for improvement will be warmly welcomed and carefully considered. * E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Delaware USA Copyright 2009 DuPont. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, The miracles of science, STOP What you ll learn in Unit 1 In Unit 1 you will learn how STOP for Each Other works. In completing this unit you ll: Think about the importance of safety to yourself and others. Think about ways in which injuries affect the injured person, the family, co-workers, and the organization. Start to consider why it is important to prevent injuries and occupational illnesses to yourself and others. See your role in safety and what you can do to help prevent injuries and occupational illnesses, beginning with yourself. Begin to see who is responsible for encouraging safe conditions and eliminating unsafe ones. Learn how safety can become a part of your everyday activities.
Principles of STOP STOP is based on the following safety principles that have guided DuPont in becoming a benchmark in safety performance: All injuries can be prevented. Employee involvement is essential. Management is responsible for preventing injuries. All operating exposures can be safeguarded. Training employees to work safely is essential. Working safely is a condition of employment. Management audits are a must. All deficiencies must be corrected promptly. We will promote off-the-job safety for our employees. Table of Contents STOP FOR EACH OTHER UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION...1 Safety and You...1 Why Safety Counts...2 How STOP Works...3 How to Use the Self-Study Workbooks...3 PREVENTING INJURIES...4 Creating an Injury-Free Workplace...4 ABOUT SAFETY AWARENESS...5 Seeing Safety...5 Getting Started...5 Safe and Unsafe Conditions...6 Seeing Safe and Unsafe Situations...7 Safe and Unsafe Acts...8 It Starts with You...9 Developing Skills in Seeing Safety...12 USING STOP IN YOUR WORK AREA...15 Overlapping Work Areas...17 UNIT 1 REVIEW QUESTIONS...19 UNIT 1 FIELD ACTIVITY...20 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from DuPont. All translation rights are reserved by the publisher.
STOP for Each Other Unit 1: Introduction Safety and You Think about these questions for a few moments: Do you want to work safely? Do you want others to work safely? Do you want to learn how to prevent injuries to yourself and to others? You probably answered yes to these questions. It makes sense to want to work safely and to eliminate incidents and injuries. Now consider these questions: How often do you think about safety as you do your job? How often do you look for conditionsand actions that could cause or prevent injuries? Many people, even those who want to work safely, answer never or hardly ever to these questions. The fact is that many of us just are not in the habit of thinking about safety. Now for the last question: Are you willing to take the time to learn how to work more safely, so you can help prevent incidents and injuries to yourself and others? If you re really committed to working safely, you ll answer yes to this question. Wanting to work safely is important, but just wanting to work safely won t prevent injuries. To be safe, you need to take positive actions to develop your safety awareness. Learning STOP principles and practices is the first step in that process. STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 1
Why Safety Counts How important is safety? Well, think about how many people would be affected if you were injured. Imagine that your right arm is in a cast, and for eight weeks you won t be able to drive a car. Write down the people you can think of who would be affected. FRIENDS FAMILY YOU ORGANIZATION CO-WORKERS How STOP Works STOP stands for the Safety Training Observation Program. During STOP training, you ll learn important principles and practices that will help you work more safely. Your STOP training is done one step at a time, with each step building on the previous ones until all the steps are completed. STOP training uses a combination of self-study workbooks, on-the-job activities, group discussions, and videos to build your safety awareness. You ll complete the self-study workbooks and field activities. Then your group discussion leader will conduct group meetings and show the STOP for Each Other videos. STOP is designed to help you think and act differently about safety. By the end of the program, if you follow each step carefully, you ll be looking at safety in a different way and working more safely. How to Use the Self-Study Workbooks STOP self-study workbooks are easy to use and allow you to set your own pace in learning. Follow these steps to use the workbooks. 1. Read What You ll Learn in Unit 1 at the beginning of the workbook. 2. Skim the entire workbook. 3. Now go back and read each paragraph in the workbook carefully, thinking about the concepts, examples, and statements. 4. Write your answer to each question in the workbook. It s important to answer the questions because this reinforces STOP concepts. 5. When you complete the workbook, continue to the Field Activity. You ll review this with your group discussion leader and at your group meeting. Injuries don t just affect one person. They affect many people. This is why safety counts and why you need to learn about STOP. The next section will get you started in safety awareness by showing you how you can prevent injuries. Page 2 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 3
Prevening Injuries Creating an Injury-Free Workplace A key point of STOP for Each Other is that all injuries can be prevented. All of them? Yes, all of them. Some organizations even those involved in highly hazardous jobs have gone 36, 40, and even 48 months without an injury. In almost every case the leadership and the employees in these organizations take responsibility for the safety of one another as well as for themselves. STOP for Each Other is based on the idea that you can take steps to prevent injuries for yourself and others. If everyone does this, injuries will be prevented. What do you think about the idea that all injuries can be prevented? Do you agree or disagree? Why? Write your response here. Incidents vs. Accidents During STOP you ll be reading about incidents and injuries. Why not accidents and injuries? Here s the reason the word incident instead of accident appears in STOP. Many people think of accidents as something that have to occur. Well, they might say, accidents do happen. But the STOP philosophy is that all incidents and injuries can be prevented. Once you learn how to recognize the causes of incidents and injuries, you can take steps to eliminate them. In short, incidents don t just happen; incidents are preventable. Even if you don t agree with this idea, by the end of STOP training, you may have changed your mind. Right now, though, all you need to do is keep an open mind on the subject. If you do, by the end of STOP training you may find you ve made some important changes in the way you view safety. You ll see why we believe that About Safety Awareness Seeing Safety Let s return to two questions you read earlier: How often do you think about safety as you do your job? How often do you look for conditions and actions that could cause or prevent injuries? These questions are aimed at building your safety awareness by helping you see safety. STOP is all about developing your safety awareness. This involves thinking about safety and looking for safe and unsafe situations all the time, so that it becomes second nature a habit to see safety. Most people aren t born with this awareness. Fortunately, safety awareness can be learned. Seeing safety means being alert to what you are doing and what is going on around you all the time. As you learn to look, to question, and to see how you and others are doing your jobs, you ll become more and more aware of safety. Then you ll be able to recognize and eliminate the cause of incidents and injuries for yourself and for others. Getting Started One way you can make seeing safety second nature is by observing continuously for safety. Think for a moment about a job you do all the time, something that is second nature to you. Suppose, for example, that your job always involves working with certain tools. Before you begin the job, you check to make sure you have all the tools you need. If one is missing, you probably notice it right away. This part of your job has become second nature to you. All injuries can be prevented. Page 4 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 5
In the same way, architects are always aware of the design of the buildings they see because they spend so much time thinking about building layout and construction. They automatically look at the way a building is designed as soon as they enter it. Police are always aware of what s going around them, on and off the job. They re trained to be alert to everything, including actions that could indicate a crime is about to occur. They bring this alertness with them everywhere they go. Experienced drivers never fail to scan the road for potential problems. Seeing things this way is second nature to these people because they are in the habit of noticing what s happening around them at an almost subconscious level. What is second nature to you? What do you see quickly, almost without thinking, because you re used to looking for it? Write your answer here. Just as you ve made this part of your life second nature, you can make seeing safety second nature, too. As you learn to look at your job, your workplace, and the people around you, you ll become more and more aware of what s safe and what isn t. Safe and Unsafe Conditions Seeing safety begins with noticing safe and unsafe conditions. An unsafe condition is a situation that could cause an incident or injury. Safe conditions are those that promote safe work. Safe conditions result from safe actions, and unsafe conditions are the result of unsafe acts. Maybe you don t realize it now, but as your STOP training progresses, you ll see that you actually create safe and unsafe conditions. Think about these questions: Do you see how easy it is to create safe and unsafe conditions? Maybe you ve created an unsafe condition because you were in a hurry, or maybe you just weren t thinking about safety. But now you re starting to see that unsafe conditions can lead to injury to yourself or others. This is the beginning of safety awareness. You ve probably also done things to create safe conditions. Maybe you barricaded an area that had a wet spot or picked up a dropped tool lying on the floor. You might have done these things without thinking, but now you can see that you were creating safe conditions. From now on you ll be looking carefully at what you do so you can create safe conditions all the time. Seeing Safe and Unsafe Situations Seeing safety doesn t just happen. It takes practice to learn to look at safe and unsafe situations all the time, every time. One way to start to see safety is to think about what is safe and unsafe. Following are some examples of safe and unsafe situations. Write S for a safe situation or U for an unsafe situation. A machine is guarded properly. An electrical cord from a power tool is stretched across a walkway. A high, well-maintained fence prevents entry into a hazardous area. A file drawer is left open while the employee leaves the area to attend a meeting. Uneven pavement is being repaired. The area is barricaded and warning signs are posted. Have you ever forgotten to post warning or danger signs where you needed to when you were doing a job? Have you ever left tools in an aisle where someone could trip over them? An electrical cord stretched across a walkway is a tripping hazard. An open file drawer is unsafe because someone could bump into it. On the other hand, guarding a machine properly helps prevent injury. So does providing a fence for a hazardous area. Barricading and posting signs where work is being done are ways of creating a safe situation. Have you ever put something on a stair just for a minute? Page 6 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 7
As you think about these examples, ask yourself if you see really see safe and unsafe situations as you do your job. If you re not used to noticing them, now is the time to start. Begin looking around you for safe and unsafe situations. Safe and Unsafe Acts Think about this question. What is the cause of most on-the-job injuries? Unsafe acts Heavy equipment You may be surprised to learn that about 90 percent of all injuries are caused by the unsafe acts or at-risk behaviors of people. This point is absolutely critical as you learn to see safety. Once you see that people, not equipment or objects, cause most injuries (without meaning to, of course), you ll understand why STOP says that all injuries can be prevented. Simply stated, if you take away the cause of injuries, you can eliminate injuries. Since unsafe acts cause most injuries, you can eliminate the actions that lead to injury. At the same time, if you follow and encourage safe work practices, you help create a safe workplace for yourself and others. Think about this. An office employee was looking for a folder in a file drawer. When the telephone rang, she turned to answer it but didn t take time to close the drawer. While she was on the telephone, another employee came into the office and bumped into the open drawer. Would you say this injury was caused by an unsafe act, an unsafe condition, or both? If you consider this situation carefully, you ll see that the injury resulted from an unsafe condition caused by an unsafe act leaving the file drawer open. In fact, just about all unsafe conditions can be traced to unsafe acts. STOP for Each Other is based on the idea that we need to look out for ourselves and for one another. This means looking for safe and unsafe situations that could lead to an injury to you or to someone else. An important part of STOP for Each Other is We depend on each other. It Starts with You Here s something that s important to remember: other people aren t always the ones who create safe and unsafe conditions. You could be the person who does something that results in an incident or injury or you could be the person who prevents an injury to yourself or to someone else. Your personal safety awareness will help you eliminate and prevent incidents and injuries. Working safely starts with you. Developing Safety Awareness How will you know you re developing your safety awareness? Here are some ways: Before you begin a job, you consider how to do the job more safely. You make sure you know how to use all personal protective equipment needed. You check that your tools are right for the job and are in good condition. When you enter a work area, you scan it to see what is going on. As you work, you check your position to reduce strain on your body. If you spot an unsafe act or unsafe condition, you correct it or take steps to see it s corrected. While you re working, you become aware of any changes in the area people coming or going, jobs beginning or ending. You start talking with others about safety. You start taking safety home in a new way with safety awareness. Page 8 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 9
Is this an example of an unsafe act? Why or why not? Sometimes it seems that if we re doing something for only a few seconds, it s all right to forget about safety. Of course, this isn t true. Seeing safety is something that has to be practiced all the time. Safety awareness doesn t take a vacation even for a second. Is this an example of an unsafe act? Suppose your job involves driving most of the day, traveling to various sites. When you drive long distances, you always wear your seat belt. But when you drive short distances, you sometimes don t wear a seat belt. No, because moving drums is part of the job. Now suppose that you work in a storage area. You are responsible for unloading, moving and storing many kinds of materials. Normally, you handle the materials properly, but today, you re in a hurry. You begin unloading drums by yourself and in doing so, strain your back. Yes, because an injury could have been prevented by taking time to get a helper, using the proper equipment, and doing the job safely. Sometimes we do things in a hurry and this can be dangerous. We need to think about what we re doing all the time, even if it takes a minute or two longer to prevent an unsafe act. Being alert to what we re doing at all times is part of safety awareness. Think about what could happen if you re injured. The job won t just take longer to do...it might not get done at all. Here s another situation. After picking up some boxes, you and your co-worker carry them downstairs without using the handrail. Not using the handrail could lead to tripping or falling. Now think about how you might handle the situation differently to avoid this unsafe act for both you and your co-worker. What could you do to carry the boxes safely? You might make two trips, carrying one box at a time, or you might ask a third person to help you. It s all a matter of being aware of potential injuries to you and to others. Now suppose you re going to be operating a piece of equipment that requires safety glasses. You decide that since you re just doing a quick cut you won t put them on. Then you reach under the saw blade to grab a piece of material. Page 10 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 11
Could these unsafe acts lead to an injury? You probably know the answer is yes. Now think for a moment. Have you ever worked without proper personal protective equipment? Have you ever bypassed correct job procedures? Reached past a guard or seen someone else do it? These unsafe acts could lead to serious injuries to the eyes or fingers. How could you eliminate these acts? Wearing personal protective equipment and following job procedures shows safety awareness. In these examples none of the employees were trying to get hurt. But none of them were trying to see safety, either. In each case a lack of safety awareness caused the employees to create an unsafe situation. When unsafe acts are eliminated, incidents and injuries can be prevented. Step by step, STOP helps you increase your safety awareness to become a skilled safety observer. When you observe and eliminate unsafe acts, you prevent injuries to yourself and to others. Developing Skills in Seeing Safety You re building your safety awareness by thinking about safe and unsafe situations and the role you play in creating them. Let s look at some more examples that will develop your skills in seeing safety. But I ve Always Done It This Way! Did you ever do something you knew was unsafe because you ve always done it this way? Maybe you stood on a chair to change a light bulb, or maybe you didn t put on gloves when you were handling wooden boards. Maybe you think this is all right because you ve always done it this way. The fact is that most injuries don t occur the first time a person commits an unsafe act. Most injuries occur after an unsafe act has been repeated over and over. This is why you need to work safely all the time, every time. Think about this incident. Who could have prevented this injury? The person who noticed the leak and didn t barricade the area was responsible for creating an unsafe condition. That led to an injury to someone else. Remember, we depend on each other to work safely. The person who slipped and fell didn t create the unsafe condition, but she wasn t practicing safety awareness, either. The employee who slipped could have walked around the leak. Then she could have notified the person responsible for the area about the unsafe condition. She could have stayed in the area to warn other people about the leak or barricaded the area until the condition was corrected. In short, both of the people in this example needed to practice safety awareness. By using safety awareness, everyone can help eliminate unsafe acts and unsafe conditions. Now let s look at how a similar situation was handled. An employee noticed a pool of water in an equipment area. Right away he placed cones around the area to warn other employees to stay away. Then he put Caution signs near the wet area. Finally, he reported the leak to the Area Coordinator. An employee noticed a leak from a piece of equipment and ignored it. Later, another employee slipped on the liquid and injured her arm. Page 12 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 13
What did this employee do that may have prevented an injury? This employee was seeing safety. He used safety awareness to address an unsafe condition that could result in an injury to another employee. He was looking out for himself and for others. You ve read that 90 percent of all injuries are caused by the unsafe acts of people. The remaining injuries are caused by work-related unsafe conditions such as product hazards, equipment failure, noise, and heat. STOP training will also help you recognize and eliminate these unsafe conditions. STOP teaches all of us that safety is everyone s responsibility. That means that you not someone else are responsible for working safely all the time, every time. One place where you have special control over safety and special responsibility for safety is your work area. We ll look at this next. Using STOP In Your Work Area Your work area is the place where you do your job. It includes the equipment and any space over which you have some control. Because safety is your personal responsibility, you need to know everything that goes on in your work area at all times. Suppose you operate equipment in a large workroom with other pieces of equipment, each with its own operator. Where is your work area? In this case your work area includes your equipment and the space around it...because the other operators are responsible for their equipment and their work space. Sometimes, though, your work area goes beyond the equipment and space that you control directly. Sometimes your work area can extend to places that you simply affect. For example, suppose you re getting ready to do sandblasting. In this case, your work area extends beyond the place where you physically do your job. Why? Because what you are doing can affect others in a much larger area. Before you start the job, you need to barricade the area to keep the grit away from others. Page 14 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 15
So your work area is larger and goes beyond the immediate space where the sandblasting is done. This is true in many other jobs, too. A plumber s work area could extend to the place he puts his tools and equipment as well as to his immediate work area. A backhoe operator s work area can be any place the backhoe could touch, including areas overhead that might have wires or other hazards. And a receptionist s work area could include not just her desk but also the area around it. Now read the following example to see how important it is to be aware of what is taking place in your work area. An administrative assistant was getting a new computer. When the delivery person arrived with the computer, he moved the old one from the employee s desk and placed it on a chair. The administrative assistant left it there for several days, where it created a hazard to people walking in the area. A number of people had a chance to do something about this unsafe condition. Who were the people who could be responsible for seeing that the old computer was stored in a safe place? Overlapping Work Areas What happens when your work area overlaps another employee s work area? In this situation, you both need to work together to see that the work is done safely. For example... Suppose you re asked to go to a lab area to do some repair work. Your work area has now moved into another employee s area of responsibility. Before you begin work, you need to know who is in charge of the area and who is working there. Then everyone involved needs to review procedures, including required personal protective equipment, so the job can be done safely. You now have joint responsibility for safety in the area where you are working. Think about your work area. Does it ever overlap with other areas? You need to cooperate with others when your job moves into their areas of responsibility. This helps protect you and them. Remember, it all starts with you. You ve just finished the first workbook! Now go on to the Review Questions and Field Activity that follow. Both the delivery person and the employee receiving the computer were responsible for putting the old computer in a safe place. And the people who walked by the chair with the computer on it could have reported the unsafe condition. They were also responsible for not addressing this unsafe condition. Safety awareness includes everyone. Page 16 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 17
What you learned in Unit 1 In Unit 1 you: Thought about the importance of safety to yourself and others. Thought about ways in which injuries affect the injured person, the family, co-workers, and the organization. Started to consider why it is important to prevent injuries and occupational illnesses to yourself and others. Saw your role in safety and what you can do to help prevent injuries and occupational illnesses, beginning with yourself. Began to see who is responsible for encouraging safe conditions and eliminating unsafe ones. Learned how safety can become a part of your everyday activities. Unit 1 Review Questions 1. STOP stands for the S Training Observation Program. (Fill in the blank.) 2 Injuries affect the person who was injured as well as his or her: (Check all that apply.) family co-workers organization 3. STOP for Each Other is designed to help you see. (Fill in the blank.) 4. A key STOP concept is that: (Check one.) most injuries can be prevented. all injuries can be prevented. 5. A basic STOP for Each Other idea is that We on each other to work safely. (Fill in the blank.) 6. Suppose you walk into an area and see several tools lying on the floor. In this case you are: (Check one.) not responsible this is not your work area. responsible for addressing the unsafe situation according to your organization s policies. 7. Your work area includes the equipment and space over which you have. (Fill in the blank.) Page 18 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 STOP for Each Other Unit 1 Page 19
Unit 1 Field Activity The following activities will help you use STOP principles and practices in your work area. Complete this sheet, and be ready to discuss it with your STOP group discussion leader at the group meeting. 1. Define your work area (draw it or describe it in words). 2. List one or two unsafe conditions that you have seen recently, especially in your work area (for example, tools left in disarray, uneven flooring). 3. What are the actions that led to these conditions? 4. What could happen if you don t correct these conditions? Page 20 STOP for Each Other Unit 1