If we apply this thought to accident prevention, we might well say: "The degree of success in preventing accidents reflects the degree in which individuals obey the unenforceable."

Today is a good time for each of us to analyze our own attitudes toward the so-called unenforceable as applied to safety. If our individual analysis reveals an unsatisfactory frame of mind toward accident prevention, it must be corrected before our faults affect the attitudes of our family and associates.

We all know that attitudes are seldom fixed. They change, often rapidly, depending on new knowledge and experience. Take your attitude toward a new worker. The first day you may think that person a pompous jerk. After several weeks, you discover that same person to be one of the most interesting persons you have ever met.

Attitudes toward safety can be just as varied—from the attitude that it is a crackpot obsession foisted on us from above to the attitude that safety makes sense and is well worth achieving.

If our attitude toward safety as a group or as individuals is bad, it is probably based on the wrong facts, or facts poorly presented—or not presented at all. We must be acutely aware of the fact that every time we talk about safety with a co-worker, safety attitudes are being influenced for good or bad.

Accordingly, we owe it to each other to have ample facts on safety, present them in a reasonable and believable manner. Above all, we should avoid mere exhortation which tends to put safety in the crackpot class.

Don't belittle safety. It's the person who has been hurt that knows this best. Take it seriously, and encourage the same point of view in others.

Take a good look around you. Are there soda bottles on an air conditioning duct? Is there broken glass that should be replaced? No one will develop a sound safety attitude unless given a safe environment in which to work.

Safety starts with people - you and me alike. We can make all the rules we like, but obedience to what is called the "Unenforceable" is our real problem.

To request consultation education and training services, call: 517.322.1809

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Consultation Education & Training Division
7150 Harris Drive, Box 30643
Lansing, MI 48909-8143
(517) 322-1809