At the production site, individual safety requires ensuring “four things are under control””

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Not long ago, the safety supervision department of my company held a warning education session on typical accident cases from this year. Of the 6 typical accident cases reported at the meeting, five were related to unsafe behaviors by employees, which underscores the importance of regulating employees’ safe behaviors during production processes. To regulate employees’ safe behavior, the author believes that the first step is to guide them to exercise control over their thoughts, words, actions, and hands at the workplace – achieving what can be called the “four forms of control”. It is also important to strengthen their awareness of self-protection and to take appropriate safety measures, so as to ensure that they do not harm themselves, others, or allow themselves to be harmed by others, thereby fulfilling the principle of the “four no-harms” and reducing the occurrence of work-related accidents at the source. 　　First, control your mind. In recent years, many accident cases have shown that the majority of them are caused by deviations in the safety awareness, concepts, and behaviors of safety managers or on-site operators. On site, this manifests as giving illegal instructions, carrying out illegal operations, and violating labor discipline, all of which lead to accidents. Therefore, only by controlling one’s mind can one maintain proper behavior. In the production environment, no matter how complex and changing the working conditions are, or how urgent and challenging the production tasks, and regardless of the pressure related to safety, workers must keep a firm focus on safety, uphold their sense of safety, and always adhere to the principle of \"safety first.\" They should avoid reckless thoughts, complacency, risky actions, haste to finish work, violations of safety rules, and impulsive behavior, instead translating safety concepts into actions and internalizing them in their minds. The production site is constantly changing, especially for workers who are assigned to individual tasks or work in isolated areas. Since there is no one nearby to provide mutual assistance and protection, it is particularly important to keep one’s mind and focus under control at the workplace. One must maintain a calm state of mind at all times; in the event of any safety emergencies, it is necessary to respond calmly. It is also important to resist the influence of herd mentality, imitation behavior, and habitual tendencies, so as to address faults and problems correctly. If an issue cannot be resolved by an individual, it is essential to contact superiors promptly to ensure that safety at the workplace can be maintained and controlled. 　　Secondly, control what you eat. The mouth has three main functions: speaking, eating, and drinking. As the saying goes: Misfortune comes from what one says; talking too much is pointless, and speaking too much inevitably leads to mistakes. At the production site, whether it’s operators or managers, they should say what needs to be said and avoid saying what shouldn’t be said; in other words, they need to know what to say in each situation. For example, at the production site, one should not say anything that violates safety laws and regulations, safety rules and procedures, operational guidelines, or behavioral standards; one should not say anything that could undermine unity among colleagues, exacerbate conflicts among them, or deceive others; nor should one say anything offensive, defamatory, or abusive toward others. This is the best way to keep one’s mouth under control. In particular, management personnel, as the direct responsible parties and supervisors for safe production on site, should listen more and speak less; they ought to take into account the opinions of the workers on site and think carefully before speaking. Their statements must be well-reasoned and credible, rather than arbitrary or baseless. They should not use their position, status, or power to speak harshly or impose penalties arbitrarily when things don’t go as planned, thereby demoralizing the workers. Instead, they should communicate to resolve misunderstandings and avoid conflicts, thus creating a positive environment for safe production on site. 　　Once again, control your legs. In fields such as mining, metallurgy, construction, equipment manufacturing, and chemical industry, due to the large number of production facilities, complex production processes, and special on-site conditions, there are clear regulations regarding the areas in which operators at various levels and positions are allowed to work and the responsibilities they bear. For example, it is specified which areas are accessible and which are not, as well as which areas pose many safety risks. Operators must therefore exercise self-discipline by avoiding areas where they are not supposed to go and performing tasks that are not permitted; they should not rely on luck to enter places or areas where they are not allowed to be, nor should they carry out activities that are not permitted. In recent years, based on analyses of safety incidents reported by some enterprises, it has been observed that in some cases, operators driven by curiosity entered areas they were not familiar with, areas where they should not go, or areas restricted to personnel holding specific positions, which led to various safety incidents. Therefore, operators at all levels must strictly discipline themselves in accordance with safety regulations, keep control of themselves, and be extremely cautious. Of course, sometimes companies encourage employees to move around frequently, but this is only under the condition that it is done in safe areas and within designated limits. Employees should not leave their posts without permission, go to places where they are not supposed to be, or take on tasks that are not within their responsibilities, in order to avoid accidental injuries. 　　Fourth, keep your hands to yourself. Hands are used for working and living; keeping one’s hands under control at the work site, following procedures and operating in a proper manner are important guarantees for ensuring the safety of the workers themselves and achieving the goal of \"no harm to oneself or others\". However, in real-world safety production, there are always some workers who lack a proper awareness of safety, and they violate safety procedures and norms at will; they wear or use personal protective equipment casually, or even remove it because they find it troublesome or due to the hot weather; they fail to store, carry, and use tools as required, and sometimes even modify them according to their own preferences; they simplify production processes and procedures in order to work faster and more easily, or they move around, touch things, and operate equipment carelessly on site, which can lead to accidental startups of equipment or cause injuries to themselves or others. Therefore, it is crucial to follow standard operating procedures. Operators must understand, memorize, and master knowledge related to safe production on site, as well as the knowledge required for their specific roles, along with information about production processes and techniques. They should use correct safety attitudes, concepts, and behavioral guidelines to ensure proper and standardized operations. Processes that should not be simplified must not be simplified, equipment and facilities that should not be touched must not be touched, buttons and controls that should not be manipulated randomly must not be altered, and tools that should not be changed arbitrarily must not be modified in any way. Making “avoiding violations of safety rules” a fundamental principle in individual safety behaviors can help reduce human-caused accidents. 　　In short, safe production is a dynamic process, and there are many uncertainties associated with it on the job site. To prevent accidents, it is necessary for workers to have a strong awareness of safety, to follow safety protocols in their actions, and to ensure that they operate in accordance with established rules. This enables them to coordinate their thoughts and actions effectively, achieving unity between mind, words, actions, and hands, thereby protecting their own safety and helping to achieve the goal of \"no harm to oneself, others, the environment, or property\" and preventing safety incidents.