Taking shortcuts on the job is a matter of life or death

Many times, especially in an industrial setting, taking shortcuts on the job is a matter of life or death. Employees are statistically six times more likely to experience an accident or injury as a result of unsafe behaviors, such as taking shortcuts, than unsafe working conditions.

Common types of safety shortcuts that occur in many workplaces:

1. Not implementing all necessary safeguards. Almost every work task has several safeguards that are to be implemented prior to work beginning. Each safeguard that is implemented is one more way to protect yourself and others from injury.
2. Not wearing the necessary PPE. PPE is the last line of defence for workers. You never know when you may need it.
3. Rushing during tasks or not taking the necessary time to do certain tasks. Many things can be missed when rushing during a work task. This can lead to incidents
4. We know what safety guards do ‐ but we remove those guards to save a few extra seconds.
5. We shouldn’t take a chance when driving or operating heavy equipment ‐ yet we don’t use the seat belt.
6. We know that flames or sparks are not permitted around flammables ‐ but some of us smoke around them anyway.
7. A protruding nail can cause a serious injury ‐ but we don’t bother to remove it or bend it.
8. Horseplay can cause injuries on the job ‐ but many of us continue to play practical jokes.
9. A circular saw can easily cut off a finger ‐ but we still “jam” the guard and make it useless.
10. We know the safe way to climb a ladder ‐ but climb it without anyone around, and/or with our hands full of tools anyway.
11. We should wear our PPE, such as our safety glasses – but still leave the glasses in a drawer or in our truck.
12. We know better than to use chemicals without reading the label or the SDS ‐ but we use the chemical anyway.
13. A bump or bruise to the head can hurt, and hurt badly ‐ but we still don’t use our hard hats.
14. It’s dangerous to block firefighting equipment ‐ but we stack materials in front of fire extinguishers (and fire doors!) anyway.
15. We know not to work within 10 feet of a power line ‐ but there’s just one more load of steel to be unloaded and it won’t happen to me.

Why do employees take shortcuts?

We always look for a faster way to do things and that’s how taking shortcuts at work can increase risk exposure and lead to accidents. 80 out of every 100 accidents are the fault of the person involved in the incident. One of the main causes of these avoidable accidents is our desire to save time by taking shortcuts on the job.

Employees take shortcuts for various reasons, including:

1.They are in a rush to get the job done due to:

• Organizational deadlines
• Meeting a quota/prioritizing production
• Running behind schedule
• Getting non-functioning equipment up and running
• Changes in the organization or job roles
• A ‘time is money’ attitude
• Job insecurity
• The drive to work quickly

2. They are unaware of the safety hazards associated with a task

3. They are experienced at their job and have become complacent in following safety procedures

4. They actively decide to ignore safety rules

Unfortunately, many of these types of shortcuts actually reduce the overall safety of the facility or cause risk to the individual who is taking them. When it comes to safety, do the right thing. Always obey the protocol instead of using dangerous shortcuts. As important as it is to focus on making sure everyone is taking the right safety precautions, it is equally important to ensure they are not making these common safety mistakes.

“It is better to be careful 100 times than to get killed once."

Article by Dr.Yashoda Tammineni,

MSc, Ph.D.

HSE,HOD at NIFS