Posted By David Bramall Mmmm - Steve, sounds like a minefield - more of a Phd than a short presentation. A few initial thoughts anyway. I dont believe that we are very safety concious. The lucky ones who are employed be responsible organisations are subject to regular compliance checks and therefore in line for a bit of disciplinary if found lacking in PPE, working practices etc. At home we dont have anyone checking up on us and therefore ignore the obvious safety rules - I know I have often been guilty of this to some degree, strimming, using a lawnmower etc. I dont tend to wear ear defenders, goggles, gloves and liners etc. to cut down on the noise and vibration. Possibly it's the idea that doing something full time poses greater hazards than a spare time activity - certainly true in terms of health effects, noise, vibration, manual handling etc, where the effect is a gradual build up. In the scenario you mention where instant damage may occur, we are probably more careful but still not 100%. That being said, however, we do from time to time see employees ( not in our own organisations of course) breaking every rule you can think of, so it is not a sweeping statement that in work we use controls and at home we dont. Probably not an answer but maybe a little food for thought. P.S. Having mentioned minefields earlier, a particular control of the hazards is recommended if you go there. Regards DrB

Posted By Raymond Rapp Should have mentioned that you might like to check out various literature on Risk Perception. I do not have any references to hand but will check some out when I get a chance.

Posted By Peter MacDonald I agree Ron. If I followed most site rules I would end up writing a risk assessment and hiring scaffold to change a light bulb in my own house. I'll just continue to stand on the chair thank you. Tool box talks on confined spaces before playing hide and seek with the kids. COSHH assessments required before consuming Kebabs. There is enough control freakery at work without it seeping into the home. Although I did mow the lawn in my flip flops last night which was just stupid.

Posted By Merv Newman My last employer was Dupont. We actively measured on and off the job accident statistics, which were both posted at the plant entrance. The thrust was "Safety is for Life !" Monthly audit and tool-box themes were either alternated on/off or integrated. When I talked (talk still) about chemicals and coshh a standard question is "where do you keep the really really dangerous chemicals at home" Um. Are yours under the kitchen sink too ? Go look, please. We encouraged employees to take their safety shoes home with them. We gave out gloves and hard hats for DIY. No obligation to use them, but why not ? The works committee loaned out power tools to employees. They were all PAT tested. Husbands/wives of employees occasionally protested this "interference" in their family lives. And when we tried to send "family safety bulletins" to the homes they sometimes came back screwed into tinytiny balls. So, yes, there is a culture clash. But personally I am 100% for "off-the-job" safety. It's for life. Not just at work. 15 years since I left DP. and I still hold the handrail going up or down stairs. But Wednesday of this week I had to get down a bowl stored on top of the kitchen cabinets. Stood on a chair. Dindnt I ? Merv