the deadly dozen of unsafe conditions

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The most dangerous conditions in the workplace


1. Lack of proper guards.

We looked at this issue in part under #6 of the unsafe actions under “Removing Guards“.

Not all missing guards are removed guards however. Guards may not have been installed when they should have been, creating an unsafe condition.

The Fix

1. A proper assessment of where safety would be enhanced through the installation of guards is, of course, the first step.

2. Guards are not only on machinery. Guards can include items like the Versa-Guard designed to keep personnel away from areas that might be hazardous. Permanent and temporary railings also fall in this category.

3. Install guards wherever there is a need to protect personnel from machinery. 4. Make sure that everyone is properly trained concerning removing guards only when

machine is locked out. 5. Post signs hazards and pinch points in areas where guards cannot be installed.

2. Lack of a proper warning system

My wife, bless her, talks to the people in the movie that she is watching. Maybe you do to. She can’t help herself. She wants to warn whoever is about to walk into a dangerous situation about the imminent danger. Needless to say, they never listen to her. ☺

Unfortunately this same frustration can exists in the workplace when a proper warning system isn’t in place. In the workplace, unlike when you’re watching a movie, the results can involve injury or even fatalities.

What we are talking about is essentially clear communication at any time, under any circumstances that will enable one worker to warn another of imminent danger. This can take the form of an alarm that notifies workers to evacuate when there is an ammonia leak in the plant or a way to let a worker who is wearing earplugs that his sleeve is about to get caught in the machinery. Regardless of the danger, every worker should be set up so that he or she can be warned when they need to be. It may also take the form of making sure you can warn a worker when he or she is about to do something that might result in injuries to others.

The Fix

Unlike some of the previous unsafe actions or unsafe conditions, this particular one has no easy, clear-cut solution. Every workplace will have to access their own particular circumstance to come up with a custom solution.


1. The first thing the safety officer needs to do is to talk to each and every worker to find out when and where they might end up in a situation where they might not be able to be clearly warned of an imminent danger.

2. A walk‐through may also be necessary in order to determine areas of high noise, areas where workers might be isolated and/or areas where workers’ vision might be limited.

3. Once the particular area and issue have been identified, networking with other safety professionals, interaction with their safety supplier and/or the manufacturer rep is one of the best ways to find a solution. Very few problems of this nature haven’t been encountered at some level, somewhere. Networking and interaction will help identify possible solutions.

4. Research about new products might also uncover a solution. Communication headsets and electronic earmuffs, for example have evolved with the digital age to include a number of possible solutions for workers in high noise areas who need to protect their hearing and yet still be able to hear from co‐workers and supervisors.

The solution, in each instance, may be simple or it may involve a combination of elements that work together (e.g. flashing lights combined with an auditory alarm) to provide adequate warning, regardless of the conditions or situation.

3. Fire and explosion hazards

A quick scan in Wikipedia of the worst industrial accidents of the past few years make obvious how serious today’s unsafe condition is; fires and explosions make up a huge percentage of the accidents. Just this past year, sugar dust at Imperial Sugar caused an explosion that was labeled “the deadliest industrial explosion in the United States in decades” (See the 4 posts on this blog concerning this explosion).

More lives are lost through fires and explosions than any other industrial accident. Conditions that are conducive to fires and explosions cannot be tolerated in the workplace.

The Fix

It is obviously beyond the scope of a daily post on a blog to try to solve the issues of fires and explosions in the workplace. A great place to start, however is “The Basics of Fire Safety” which is part of our “Basic Safety” series. Understanding the fire triangle, understanding combustibles, to chemical safety, … all of these are crucial.

For a proper assessment of the potential problems in your workplace, hire a professional, have the fire department do a walk-through, hire an industrial hygienist to do a proper evaluation.

It may cost a bit of money to have all this done but compared to the cost of the lives involved (not to mention the fines which, for Imperial Sugar amounted to $8,777,500) it is nothing.

4. Poor housekeeping

There was a book that hit the best seller list a number of years ago entitled “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum. Today’s unsafe condition falls into this


category. Remember what your mother used to tell you about cleaning up after yourself, about putting your toys away after you’d finished playing with them, about keeping your room clean? Apparently some of us never did properly learn these lessons. Poor housekeeping is a huge problem when it comes to unsafe conditions in the workplace.

Poor housekeeping can cause accidents like…

• Tripping because of tools and debris left on the floor • Cuts, bruises and abrasions from protruding objects and pallets that weren’t put away correctly • Injuries from falling objects that weren’t put away where they should have been or weren’t put

away correctly • Slips, trips and falls from floor spills, upswept areas and other poorly kept up floors • Burns from fires because of chemicals, solvents and rags that weren’t properly disposed off or

put away properly

I’m sure that you can think of other possible accidents that poor housekeeping can cause.

The Fix

Good housekeeping isn’t something that you can do once a year, once a month or even once a week. Good housekeeping is something that has to be done on an ongoing basis. Some people, of course, will be easier to train than others. Let’s face it, some people are just slobs who have never learned to put stuff away, sweep up and generally keep a tidy workplace. These individuals, however, should not be allowed to “get away” with it. Proper housekeeping needs to be a part of every job description. It needs to be something that is included in the assessment of whether or not an employee is doing their job properly. Raises, promotions, bonuses, etc… need to be tied to proper housekeeping to incentivize workers to do better. Workers need to be reprimanded for poor housekeeping and praised for proper housekeeping.

There is no quick fix to the issue of poor housekeeping. Good housekeeping needs to be a part of the culture of any company. It has to start from the top and work its way down.

5. Unexpected movement hazards

We need to start, perhaps, by explaining what an unexpected movement hazard is. Unexpected movements are essentially the opposite of expected movements. When we hear a back-up alarm we expect the vehicle to start backing up; when we see brake lights coming on, we expect the vehicle in front of us to stop or at least slow down. When back up alarms don’t work, brake lights fail to come on, accidents happen.

The same thing applies in the workplace, not only with vehicles but with machinery, equipment and loads. When an item is expected to remain stationary and suddenly shifts instead, accidents and injuries can ensue. When I know that a load is going to shift I get out of the way and make sure that I am clear. When the shift is unexpected, however, I can’t take precautionary measures.

The Fix


1. Movements that are a part of normal operations need to be properly marked and/or protected against. Barriers, signs, etc… can let workers know that, even though the equipment is stationary at this time, it will be moving at some point. Signs that clearly explain or show what the hazard is to workers are essential in preventing injuries.

2. Movements that are unintentional should be protected against by making sure that loads are secure, pallets aren’t stacked too high, aisles aren’t blocked and shelves and pallet racks aren’t overloaded and items on them are stacked neatly.

3. All vehicles should be equipped with brake lights, back‐up alarms and turn signals to clearly show the driver’s intent.

Note: Taking care of yesterday’s unsafe condition – poor housekeeping goes a long way towards taking care of today’s unsafe condition too.

6. Protruding objects such as nails, wire, or other metals

I purchased a home this past April. During the home inspection, we noticed that some of the rebar in the back of the house had never been broken off so that they protruded straight out of the wall. Now this was a house that was built back in 1979. This means that for the past 31 years, these rebar have been sticking out, some of them as much as 6-10 inches. I had visions of all those movies where the bad guy gets shoved backwards and ends up impaled on rebar (’cause I don’t watch the kind of movies where that happens to the good guy, only to the bad guy ☺). The first thing I did, when I purchased the house was to break those rebar off flush with the wall.

I tell share this tidbit of personal lore, to illustrate today’s unsafe condition. Protruding objects can be extremely dangerous.

A rebar or a nail viewed from the end of its length is no more than a dot, hardly visible at all; even when viewed from the side it is no more than a thin line. The potential for impalement, puncture, eye injury, cuts, scrapes and stabbings is high.

The Fix

The fix for today’s unsafe condition is fairly straight forward. Break them off, cut them off, bend them back or extricate them. If they are an integral part of whatever they are protruding from and cannot be removed, then the object in question should be turned so that the protrusion is against a wall of something else so that contact with workers is not an issue. If this is not possible, then the protrusion needs to have a cover of some sort that will protect workers from it.


7. Improper clearance or congestion at aisles or passageways

Did you hear about the truck driver who tried to drive under a bridge that was too low for the clearance on his truck? He got part of the way through and got stuck. A pedestrian, walking by looks at the truck, stuck under the bridge, looks at the driver and comments “Got stuck under the bridge eh?” The truck driver looks over at the pedestrian… “Nope! I was delivering this bridge and my truck broke down!”

Okay, we aren’t really talking about trucks and bridges but the point about making sure you know what your clearance is has relevance in regards to today’s unsafe condition.

Forklifts, pedestrians, hand-trucks, pallet jacks… they all need to have clearance both overhead and side to side. Pallets that are sticking out, boxes piled in the aisles or passageways, garbage that hasn’t been thrown away… all of these are potential recipes for disaster.


A pallet sticking out too far, either overhead or down low can get caught by a forklift or pallet jack and cause shelves and racks to topple. Inventory that is piled in the aisles can get bumped and bury someone on the other side.

The Fix

Once again, the fix has to do with good housekeeping.

1. Inventory that has yet to be put away where it is supposed to go needs to have a staging area where it is kept until it is ready to be put away.

2. Aisles should always be kept clear (you’ll find that this also improves productivity. Having to move stuff around every time you need to put stock away is not only frustrating and a potential hazard but it also takes up time).

3. Pay attention to clearance. Pallets on racks need to be flush with the front of the rack. If the pallet is too deep, replace the pallet. It might be a little bit more work but it will ultimately save time and money… and possibly a life.

4. In areas where clearance is not possible (low pipes or ducts for example), make sure that drivers know that they don’t have the clearance. Marking tape and signs also need to be posted. Reroute traffic to avoid these low clearance areas.

8. Poor placement, storage or arrangement of materials.

Do you ever watch any of those cooking shows? It’s always cool to me to see how the chef never actually has to move anywhere. All he has to do is reach out and whatever he needs, whether ingredients or tools, are right there. I wish it were that way when I work on my woodworking projects but it isn’t. I usually spend as much time looking for what I need as I do actually working on the project. I keep telling myself that one of these days I’ll get my tools and wood organized so that I’ll just have to reach out and, like the cook on the shows, everything I need will be right there within reach.

Truth is that it isn’t just about practicality and saving time, it’s about safety as well. A tool that I need is on the other side of the saw table so that I have to reach across to get it, exposing my arm to a spinning saw blade; I need to step back to reach something or other and place myself in the path of a moving object… You get the idea. That’s not even counting the ergonomic issues related to reaching, bending and twisting to get items that could and should have been placed in such a manner as to be easily accessible.

The Fix

It is inevitable that there are certain tools and materials that you are going to have to reach for, that you are going to have to go get. Depending on the job, it would be even more unsafe to try and stack everything in such a manner as to not have to ever more to reach them, not to mention impossible. For most tools and materials that you are going to need on a consistent basis as you work, however, it is important to establish a workflow that minimizes reaching, twisting, etc… Tool belts, organized shelving and carts, toolboxes… all of these can place the desired tools and material within easy reach.


An added benefit is that it will not only make the job safer, it will also make you more efficient.

9. Hazardous tools, equipment or materials

It is said that knowledge is power. It is also life when it comes to hazardous tools, equipment or materials. Knowing where danger exists, knowing why a particular tools or piece of equipment is potentially hazardous is the first step in protecting against it. You wouldn’t give a baby a chainsaw to play with; no more should you start using equipment and tools without knowing how to use them safely.

Today’s condition is, of course, extremely general and generic and there is no way to specify all the dangers and hazards involved in all the tools, equipment or materials that you might use in the course of your job; nor, in fact, is there a need to.

The Fix

As I mentioned at the start, the answer to the problem is knowledge. Learn, train and refresh. Understand the dangers, learn the potential issues and take the necessary precautions. It’s really that simple. You wouldn’t climb in the cockpit of a 747 and try to take off without a pilot’s license because you understand that what you don’t know will kill you. Every new tools, every new piece of equipment and every new material should be treated with the same caution. Read and make sure you understand all the safety precautions. Periodic refresher courses can help keep current with changes and technological advances.

If it means feeling silly asking a question, if it means feeling a little less macho, so be it. After all, no one looks macho in a pine box.

10. Poor lighting, high noise levels.

Bill Cosby used to have a routine where he talked about the fact that his mind is in a battle with his body. He said that whenever he gets up in the middle of the night his hand reaches to the light switch but his brain stops his hand telling him that he doesn’t need the light. Meanwhile as he tells it, his toes are saying “No, turn on the light! Come on, please turn on the light!”.

As funny as he is to listen to when he delivers this routine, he makes a good point about the cause of accidents when environmental conditions (lighting, noise levels, etc… ) aren’t as they should be.

Poor lighting conditions keep us from properly seeing the hazards that we should. Even low lighting which we wouldn’t normally think of as “poor”, can hide dangers. When additional light is brought in workers will often realize how poor the lighting really was.

High noise levels keep us from hearing others. They also cause us to be “lulled” by the noise into not paying attention, into “zoning out” and not paying attention.


The Fix

Today’s fix is fairly straight forward. For low light, add light. Pay attention to the quality of the light as well. Full spectrum lighting not only illuminates better but also helps with moods by providing the same quality of light that outdoor lighting does.

For high noise levels, the fix is a little more complicated. The first step is, of course, to try to engineer the problem away (this is always the first step). Sound barriers, insulation, upgrading the equipment, moving the noisy equipment to a more remote location or isolating it completely should be explored first. Only when these measures have been exhausted should hearing protection be used. For more information on hearing protection (including making sure that you don’t over protect workers) check out our series on “The Basics of Hearing Protection“.

11. Hazardous atmospheric conditions

Confined Space monitoring, Respiratory protection, air sampling, particulate count… all of these have to do with hazardous atmospheric conditions. Man was meant to breathe clean, pure air, not contaminated air. Unfortunately, the workplace is often not the place for clean air. Whether we are talking about particulates in the air that have the potential for explosion (see our posts on the dust explosion at imperial sugar) or airborne contaminants that are harmful when inhaled (See our recent post on the 16 new chemicals added to the toxic list, for example) it’s not surprising to find today’s unsafe condition in the top 12 “deadly dozen”. Unfortunately workers are often unaware of the hazards that they are being exposed to. Many substances are odorless and undetectable except through careful and regular monitoring.

The Fix

While the solution is essentially simple “Make sure that the air you are breathing is pure!” the practical application isn’t. Detecting and regulating the purity of the air can be somewhat problematic and difficult. Because working conditions change so often (new chemicals are brought in, leaks occur, dust settles, etc…) an air sample taken one minute might be dramatically different from one taken just a few minutes later. There is no simple, easy answer then to the question of clean air. The only answer is continual awareness.

Have conditions changed? Has a new chemical been brought in? Is anything happening that might cause an oxygen deficiency?

Understanding how and why air can become contaminated is important in knowing when a potential hazard might exist. Monitoring the air quality then becomes important in order to access the levels of contaminants in order to protect adequately.

For more information on respiratory protection, see do a quick search in the search field at the top of this page using terms such as “respiratory” or “air monitoring”.


12. Improper personal attire

We round out the deadly dozen of the unsafe actions today. Much like the last unsafe action “Failure to wear the proper personal protective equipment” the final unsafe condition has to do with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Just because a worker is wearing PPE does not mean that they are safe. There are different types of PPE for different applications. A respirator cartridge that is meant to protect against particulates will not protect against vapors for example. Tyvek intended to protect against particulates is not going to protect against chemical splash. Nor are safety glasses going to protect against dust or chemical splash.

The Fix

The bottom line is that it is up to the worker as well as the employer to make sure that the PPE that they are wearing (or being given to wear) is the RIGHT PPE.

As a worker, you have a right to protect your health and with that right comes the obligation on the part of the employer to provide workers with the information needed in order to make an the proper assessment. Research, question and read. Find out what is the proper PPE and make sure that you are wearing it. Make sure that the level of PPE is adequate (if, for example, you need a P100 respirator and you are only using a N95, you are not adequately protected).

I have a small mirror on my desk here at the office. At the top of the mirror there is the following sentence: “Meet the person most responsible for your safety”. When all’s said and done, both with the Deadly Dozen of Unsafe Actions as well as the Deadly Dozen of Unsafe Conditions, the overarching lesson to take away is exactly that. Your health and safety is your responsibility. Laws and regulations are constantly made and enforced to make sure that employers do what they should to protect workers but ultimately it’s up to you, the worker, to make sure that everything necessary is being done to protect yourself and your co-workers.

If you are a consistent reader of this blog as well as other safety related website, conferences, shows, etc… then I am preaching to the choir. Spread the word and make sure that 2011 isn’t the year we regret not saying something with regards to safety.

the deadly dozen of unsafe conditions

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