A Blast From The Past – 11/02/2020

Safety E-QuickTips

U.S. Compliance Systems, Inc.

Monday November 2, 2020

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A Blast From The Past

This may not be from the 50’s but back in 2012 I wrote this Safety E-QuickTip, titled “It’s not over until it’s over.”

It’s still as relevant today as it was 12 years ago.

You’ve probably heard the sayings, “It’s not over until it’s over,” “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” or “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” These are commonly used sayings and the main point they are trying to get across is that you should not assume the outcome of some activity until it has actually finished.

This past week I heard from one of our clients who is a contractor. He was calling about an accident that had occurred recently on one of his jobsites. During our conversation he started talking about how many of their accidents, including the one we were talking about, happened toward the end of their projects when they have the least amount of work being performed and the fewest employees working on the site.

As the conversation continued, he told me that because he had been noticing more and more accidents occurring toward the end of projects, he had been stressing to both project management and employees the importance of making sure that everyone on the jobsite continues to work safely until the job is complete.

That is when I started thinking about the saying, “It’s not over until it’s over.”

This was not the first time I’ve heard from a client about an accident that has taken place toward the end of a project or even toward the end of the day.

So, why is it that many accidents happen when we are wrapping up a project or toward the end of the day?

Do both management and employees lose focus when it comes to safety? Do we get in too much of a hurry to wrap things up? Are we thinking about the next job or what we are going to do when we get off work? Or maybe we’re just tired . . .

Whatever the case may be, everyone in the workplace from management to the last employee wrapping up a project or leaving at the end must always remember “it’s not over until it’s over” when it comes to employee safety.

This is a great time of year to review past accidents and near-miss accidents to see how and when accidents are occurring on your projects or at your location. 

Have you received your first Safety E-QuickTip or just want to look at 300+ past issues? Check out our Safety E-QuickTips Archive Page on our website.

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Thanks for Reading and Please – Stay Healthy and Work Safe This Week!