Toolbox Meeting 18 -- 5 SAFETY TRUTHS

1. Nothing is more important than your safety and the well-being of your family: No job, no paycheck, no promotion, no deadline and no time clock. Nothing is more important than your safety and the well-being of your family.

2. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (O.S.H.A.) is a good friend. Since its creation in 1971, workplace fatalities have been cut in half. O.S.H.A. is the lifeguard of the working people. It is there for us. The bottom line of your employer is, obviously, profit. The bottom line of O.S.H.A is accidents prevented and lives saved.

3. You have the right to know. You must be informed of any chemical hazards in the workplace. This includes information on labeling, material safety data sheets and employee training. This is a law.

4. It is the responsibility of your employer to provide you with any required safety equipment, to train you in its use and to document this information. This is a law.

5. Intelligence and communication are at the core of safety. You must train yourself to recognize unsafe conditions. Once identified, you should avoid, change or compensate for them. It is imperative that all unsafe conditions be pointed out to everyone involved.

Credit: Bud Johnson, safetyisascience@aol.com