Sometimes we can’t see the forest because of the trees.
As employee workplace safety representatives we are always looking to reduce injuries, accidents and illnesses to our members. After all it’s our job and we are expected to find the root cause. Employers are legally required to answer every accident investigation, usually the same day just to be compliant. They need to put something down on the report. Do we get caught up like them by agreeing to root causes like lack of attention, rushing or they just weren’t thinking just to be compliant to timelines? After all it is easier to just blame the worker!!
Easy answers for them, easy excuses more likely. Are we missing the real root cause, the non compliance to the act or code? These legal registers are the Holy Grail when it comes to protecting the health and safety of all workers and we need to use them. And how many safety committees use them? How many committees seek to be compliant to them? How many are looking for the wrong answers by not using them?
We are constantly flooded with articles from safety companies and their sales reps for better and improved products and training programs. Are we being distracted from the real issue, do we think these people have the answers to our problems? Are they distracting us from finding the real root cause?
What we should be looking at?
For Federal, Provincial or Territorial workers the answer is already written. Like my desk yours is probably the same with several books and manuals suggesting we look deep into the behavioural psyche of workers when looking for root causes. Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. There it sits amongst the blame the worker library silently screaming for me to read it. A lot of work, effort and bargaining have gone into them not only to guide us to those answers but to tell us what they are. Workplace safety acts and codes are the answer. You have probably heard the phrase strive to exceed the act or code in your workplace. Just meeting the requirements of these codes or acts is a struggle for most workplaces, but it is the answer. Sometimes we can’t see the forest because of the trees.
