Safety rules are put in place to protect people. Many safety regulations are created as a result of an injury occurring within a workplace. Many people pay a high price for these regulations with their lives, limbs, and blood.

If you’ve ever heard the term “it’s written in blood”, that’s a very true statement when it comes to safety rules. These rules are put in place to prevent terrible events from happening again. This week we will discuss why these rules exist, the tools used to implement them, and what organizations create and enforce these regulations.

Monday - Why are Safety Rules Important?

Whether written or unwritten, safety rules exist nearly everywhere we go and are involved in everything we do. Some safety rules may seem like no-brainers. However, without them, safety violations could go unnoticed leading to injury or death.

There are safety rules for everything from how to safety operate machinery to what to do in the event of a natural disaster. There are often specific hazards in the workplace that don’t exist in everyday life, so specific safety rules are necessary to protect against those hazards.

Safety rules exist for all known hazards but ultimately, it’s up to the individual to follow those rules to stay safe. Safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Tuesday - OSHA

In 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a national public health agency dedicated to the basic proposition that no worker should have to choose between their life and their job.

The rules and regulations set by OSHA make it clear that a safe workplace is a basic human right. OSHA’s mission is to assure safe and healthful conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education, and compliance assistance.

Wednesday - ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a federation that manages standards systems in the United States. Standards provide the structure and clear guidance on how to effectively implement safety rules.

ANSI provides assistance, technical support, and encouragement towards the development of national standards for occupational health and safety issues.

Thursday - Job Safety Analysis and Job Hazard Analysis

The purpose of a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) is identifying the hazards of a specific task within a job or operation in order to reduce the risk of injury to workers. Having a thorough JSA or JHA can help meet safety standards, improve communication, aid in training, and prevent hazardous conditions.

There are three specific components of a JSA or JHA:

1. Clearly define the steps required to complete a job or operation.
2. Identify the hazards at each step.
3. Implement safety measures to eliminate or reduce the risk of these hazards.

Friday - Open Discussion 

This week we’ve discussed the importance of safety rules, organizations responsible for creating and enforcing these regulations, and how JSA and JHA implementations can help create a safer workplace.

Within your group, discuss the safety rules in your workplace.

• How are safety rules created at your workplace?
• Are you aware of the safety rules?
• Do you and your co-workers follow the rules? Why or why not?
• How do you and your co-workers view safety rules?
• Are they important to you? Why or why not?
• Was there a time you were injured because of not following the rules?

DOWNLOAD SAFETY TOPICS HANDOUT (PDF)