We’ve all been there. A momentary lapse in judgement. Distractions. Losing focus for just one second.

Just yesterday merging onto the highway, I “assumed” another driver saw me as I was coming right and she was turning left. She didn’t see me. Somehow we missed each other, but it woke me up.

How do we PREVENT that one moment that can lead to an incident, an injury or fatality?

In her article “Six Strategies for a Stronger Safety Culture” EHS Today editor-in-chief Sandy Smith says that a common trait of companies with minimal injuries is the workforce’s engagement in a safety program. She concludes that employees “feel like safety is a big part of the job, and there’s no reason to take shortcuts or unnecessary risks.”

PLH Group has a seven point PREVENT system that ensures employees pause and review prior to critical steps at the jobsite. PREVENT is a way of life for employees of PLH Group which encompasses electric power, oil and gas services entities.

The key components of the program are:

• Morning meeting
• Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)
• Critical Step
• Stop Work Responsibility
• Behavior Based Safety (BBS) Observer
• Jobsite Safety Audit
• S.T.A.R. (Stop. Think. Act. Review)

So how does one large company get their message out to each individual employee?

It starts with orientation where new employees watch a video highlighting the components of the system. They are given a QR code to the video that can be accessed anywhere at any time. But it doesn’t stop there.

These tools are integrated into each step of every project and are designed to create a way of thinking that stops accidents in their tracks by making employees aware of an arising situation that could result in injury. Because awareness is heightened, especially at the “critical” point where something could happen, employees are much more likely to be able to diffuse the situation with positive results.