leadership dot #1934: safety

If I asked you what a set of “rules” were for a construction zone, you might list out things like wearing a hard hat or watching for overhead power lines, but I doubt you would include morning and evening exercises. But a Minneapolis firm believes these are essential elements of the workday and includes warm-up stretching in their on-the-job project safety requirements.

Construction is hard, physical work and I suspect that Mortenson realizes that the workers are less prone to injury if they have prepared their bodies as if they were lifting weights in a gym. I am sure it also helps everyone to get focused and ready to begin the serious work ahead.

Think about what your organization should include on its list of daily tasks to improve your safety. Is there a daily ritual you could do such as running a virus scan to locate electronic intruders, wiping down the work space with an anti-bacterial wipe, ensuring that doorways are free from blockage or backing up a key file?

Just like with stretching, precautions don’t need to be extensive or lofty – just routine. Articulate what little steps need to be on your 100% list to help your employees keep themselves safe.