Pub 129 Safety Talks - APWU

Safetv Talks 5-4OffIce HasteIf you ask the average person to name the major cause of highwayaccidents, he or she will probably answer, “speed. ” Although that maynot be entirely accurate, we all know that “too fast for conditions” isinvolved in a great many serious automobile accidents. However, we arenot going to talk about auto accidents today.The reason I mention speeding is to point out that undue haste is also acontributing factor in a great many office accidents. Let’s take a look at afew of the reported cases in which office employees have been injuredbecause they were in too much of a hurry.Case History 1. A woman who was in a hurry to deliver a report toher boss didn’t notice that the lower left drawer of her desk was open. Inher haste she tripped over it and fell against a typewriter table. Shechipped a bone in her left elbow, bruised her left hip and lost more thantwo weeks of work.Case History 2. A woman who was wearing high heels hurriedtoward the washstand in the ladies’ room. Somehow one foot struck theother and she fell, striking her nose on the sharp edge of a shelf abovethe washstand. She sustained a fractured nose, plus facial lacerations.Case History 3. A man entered an office building in a hurry and ranfor the elevator. In doing so, he turned his ankle. An X-ray examinationrevealed a fracture of the left ankle and a chipped bone.Case History 4. Upon leaving his office, an employee ran across thestreet to board a bus. It was raining, and in his haste to catch the bus, hecrossed in the middle of the block. When he reached the high curb, hisright foot struck it, causing him to lose his balance and fall to thesidewalk. He suffered contusions and abrasions of the hand, knee, lowerleg and ribs and lost 10 workdays.Make Haste Safely. We all approve of doing things promptly, butcertainly not at the expense of injury. When your boss wants a report ina hurry, it is a good idea to get it for him, but it won’t help him a bit ifyou go flying through the air and land in a heap on the floor.Slips and falls are responsible for nearly one-half of all disabling injuriesto office workers, according to a survey made in California. The reportsexamined show that a large percentage of the people injured in falls werehurrying when the accident happened.Pub. 129, October 1990