Situational Awareness

We all want to increase our effciency and productivity at work. For this to happen we need to be constantly aware of what is happening in our surroundings. Without situational awareness we are putting ourselves and coworkers into potential danger. There needs to be accountablility for our surroundings as without it we can cause preventable time-consuming incidents to occur.

There are a few techniques you can use to improve your situational awareness. Here are four suggestions on when to reassess your work environment:

1. Beginning of a new project

• There are always different hazards that come along with each project. Make sure your complete your Field Level Assessment to assess the risks. 

2. Start Of Your Shift

• Observe what is happening near and in your workstation for the day.

3. When Complacency Has Set-In

• During this stage, we forget to observe what is happening in our environment. 

4. Working with New or Different Coworkers

• Some workers may have unsafe and unpredictable behaviors

Follow SLAM while working

• Stop and think about your task before performing it.
  • Are there any hazards to be considered before starting my task?
• Look around at the environment that you are working in. 
  • Will the weather effect hor or if I perform my task?
• Assess the probability of the hazards and risk of performing your task.
  • Does my task cause substantial risk to myself and others around me?
  • Should I go ahead and perform my task based upon my current environment?
• Manage whether the task should be performed. 
  • If you deem it unsafe, stop working. Immediately report to your supervisor on how to mitigate the hazards before starting your task.