THE UNSEEN SCENARIOS

The daily life of any workplace be it office or warehouse can be incredibly hectic, meaning we don’t always see what’s happening around us. The following workplace scenarios have been edited to remove names but these are all real scenarios that had been discovered in the workplace:  

• A caretaker rewired a plug onto an appliance that had previously had the plug removed after failing its regular test. The failed but reconnected appliance was then responsible for causing a fire causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. The public sector employer thus insisted that all faulty equipment in the future must have the whole lead cut off as close to the appliance as possible.

• The factory worker risked their life by continually replacing a fuse that persistently failed in a power tool with a solid metal bar, rather than highlight the issue and question why the fuse was always blowing. The temporary modification was uncovered during a periodic portable appliance test.

• The warehouse operative continued to use an electric drill with exposed wires rather than admit that it had been left out and damaged.

• The office employee taping up cracked power packs with tape rather than having them replaced.

Safety is more than just looking out for your own but also for those around you. Set yourself a personal challenge today and take note of anyone in your workplace that could benefit from increased attention to safety. Try and do this once a week and before you know it, you’ll know more about your workplace than anyone else, guaranteed!