Stop and Think is the fundamental basis of all safety systems and is easily understood by all.
In the Surface Drill and Blasting industry, we have established that nearly 95% of all injuries that occur at work could well have been prevented by the simple act of a person stopping and thinking before they act.
Up until now, we have developed, implemented, and currently enforce all the procedures that are required to fulfill our legislative obligations. In addition we have implemented and used the Hierarchy of Controls to establish the boundaries and protect our employees from harm.
However, we are finding that the more of these protective barriers that we put into place and the more controls that we use to prevent people from hurting themselves, the more we restrict people’s free will to think ahead.
With the Stop and Think system in place, not only do we utilise the current processes that have been established, but we fully encourage all our employees not to rely on these alone, and to Stop and Think of the task, before they act.
In the process of implementing this program, not only have we seen a major reduction in work place injuries, but we are also experiencing a serious increase in hazard reporting and active participation in safety meetings as well.
