Page 33 - OHS, October 2024

Do the same thing in one-on-one con-
versations. During walkarounds, stop to
talk to employees about winter safety. Use
the same prompts outlined above to active-
ly engage workers. Another topic of con-
versation is the cost of injury—how would
it aff ect their personal lives to get frostbite
or injure themselves by slipping? Make sure
workers see the value in paying attention to
winter hazards, not in terms of dollars and
cents, but in terms of missed family events
and reduced quality of life.
Aft er conducting a walkaround and
speaking to employees about winter safety,
do it again a couple days later. And then do it
again. And again. Each time, fi nd a new an-
gle to discuss cold-weather hazards so that
it doesn’t become repetitive. Aft er a while,
the underlying message will be clear: winter
safety matters, and it’s something we’re go-
ing to pay attention to all season long.
Looking Beyond Frostbite
A warning: aft er a few weeks, it will feel
hard to fi nd a new approach to discussing
icy parking lots and frostbite risk. Expand
your view of winter safety now because as
the thermometer drops, there’s a lot more
to talk about than slips and cold stress.
Winter brings a bundle of human fac-
tors that put workers at risk. Th ey’re harder
to spot than black ice, and they can be just
as deadly. Shorter days increase our col-
lective levels of fatigue. A slew of holidays,
from Th anksgiving to Presidents Day, can
ramp up distraction in the workplace. Holi-
day shopping will invariably lead to mon-
ey-induced stress in some of your workers.
Cold weather induces frustration.
Th ere are two goals here. Th e fi rst is to
disrupt complacency. Aft er years of deal-
ing with snow, ice and arctic temperatures,
workers’ views of winter safety are likely
frozen in place. Talking about seasonal fa-
tigue and other issues shows them that a
number of unrecognized hazards lurk in
the winter months.
Second, this is a prime opportunity to
warm workers to the concept of human
factors. Mental and physical states like fa-
tigue, rushing and distraction aff ect people
all year round and in all sorts of workplace
contexts. Given how prevalent human fac-
tors are, it can be hard for safety profes-
sionals to train employees to recognize and
respond to human factors, which is why
many workplaces get outside help.
At the very least, EHS folks can talk
www.ohsonline.com about human factors relating to winter haz-
ards. Th is limits the scope of the conversa-
tion, making it easier for safety professions
to manage. Doing so can also acclimatize
workers to thinking about human factors,
which sets the stage for a larger human
factors-focused safety intervention down
the road.
If winter safety interventions are as
frigid as the ground outside, it’s time to
thaw them out. Expand your discussion
of winter hazards by fi nding a new way to
talk about the physical dangers and widen-
ing the approach to what counts as a cold-
weather safety issue by incorporating hu-
man factors. Come spring, you just might
fi nd that you have fewer winter-induced
injuries—and a playbook to approach sea-
sonal hazards throughout the year.
Ray Prest is the Director of Marketing at Saf-
eStart, a company focused on human factors so-
lutions that reduce preventable deaths and inju-
ries on and off the job. Ray has educated people
about safety and human factors management
for over 20 years.
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OCTOBER 2024 | Occupational Health & Safety 33