by Aaron Weidman, MS, ATC, CEAS

This week, we’re starting with story time! Let me give you a hypothetical scenario and you tell me if any of it sounds familiar.

Here I am, back at work as an industrial athlete. Let’s say I’ve been with this company (and in this role) for about 10 years now. I might bounce around different areas of the plant, but for the most part, I’m right here, doing this job to the best of my ability. I know it so well, I feel like I could do it in my sleep!

Fortunately, I drink enough coffee that sleep isn’t possible, which is probably it’s own issue, but that’s for tomorrow me to deal with. Today me is clocked in, ready to go. I’ve got my trusty tools, my gear’s all here, and everything seems to be in order.

This kind of scenario plays out across industrial settings every single day. But here’s the question: what’s missing?
Coffee? ✅
PPE? ✅
Tools and equipment? ✅

What else could we possibly need? Maybe what we need… is to check if our checklist needs more checks for us to check at the start of our shift. Follow me?

Make a List

It’s not just the tools we work with that need to be checked. It’s the stations or areas in which we work.

There has been some overhead shelving added to my area, so now I need to wear a hard hat. So, not only should I make sure I have my hard hat, but I’ll need to regularly check that hardhat to determine if it is in good condition.

How about these shelves? What’s placed on them – anything hanging off? Is the shelf tilted or leaning precariously to the right?

These types of observations are crucial to your safety as well as the safety of your coworkers.

The work continues. But, one day I’m faced with a new process at my station that requires me to grab another part off of the lineside rack to be installed. This now requires me to add steps so I face the rack as I grab the part and turn and face the line to install the new part.

This is where we Injury Prevention Specialists thrive!! We Green Teamers love checklists and acronyms. So while we’re reminding you to [E] Evaluate Your Equipment, in this scenario we also get to remind you of [A] Align Your Hips, Shoulders, and Toes. Don’t twist your torso to grab the part and twist back to install it. Boom! TWO letters of PREPARED in one paragraph!

Check It Twice

At the end of the day, we want you to be engaged with your checklist. Instead of just routinely checking the boxes, we should continuously check in with it to make sure it reflects the current state of things we should be checking! When was the last time you checked that your checklist was up-to-date?

I’ll be checking back with you down the road to make sure you are [E] Evaluating Your Equipment, but also your checklist as well. ✅

Aaron Weidman, MS, ATC, CEAS || Aaron is a Certified Athletic Trainer in the Normal, IL area. Aaron has spent his career helping athletes, patients, and team members prevent and recover from injuries and is passionate about prevention. When Aaron isn’t at work he enjoys traveling with his wife, touring with Taylor Swift, or at home spoiling their Scottish Terrier, Rizzy.

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Be sure to check out our other blogs for further injury prevention education and tips for the industrial athlete from Work Right NW!