Toolbox Meeting 5 -- HORSEPLAY

There is probably at least one on every job -- the practical joker. The smart aleck who likes to make a bid for laughs and attention by playing "jokes" on fellow workers. The smart aleck thinks horseplay is funny and clever. Unfortunately, he can usually find a few fellow employees unwise enough to encourage him.

Actually, this joker is as dangerous as a broken ladder or a defective brake. Horseplay is a hazard to all fellow employees who are trying to mind their own business and do their jobs well. Foolishness should not be tolerated. Such acts as tripping, pushing, throwing tools or other objects, the "hot foot" and so on, have no place on a construction job.

On one job, a worker lost an eye because someone thought it was funny to throw something at him from some distance away. Fooling around with air hoses has caused many cases of ruptured eardrums or ruptured bowels.

In some states, horseplay that results in injury can result in criminal prosecution. The courts have held that these injuries are not the result of an accident, but a deliberate act.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Why does horseplay occur on a construction job?
2. How can horseplay be discouraged?

For more information read Section 1 - General Safety - in the Elevator Industry Field Employees' Safety Handbook