Safety
AROUND YOUR HOME

No place like home — for accidents

Roger Stegeman

According to the National Safety Council, 28,400 people died in 1997 due to unintentional home injuries. During the same year, nearly seven million people were disabled by accidents at home. The total cost of home injuries was almost $100 billion. This does not include motor-vehicle accidents.

During the same period, there were only 5,100 deaths in the workplace.

Statistics alone can be overwhelming. Think of it this way. The $100 billion for home injuries is equivalent to an $88,100 rebate on each new single-family home built in 1997, or 48 cents of every dollar of property taxes paid in 1997. Taking the philosophy that a certain amount of accidents and fatalities will occur each year no matter what we do to try to prevent them is unacceptable. No dollar amount truly measures the human suffering accidents cause.

The deaths caused by accidents at home are almost three times as high as the same rate for the workplace. In many workplaces it is very easy to identify the potential for serious injury. Most employers have extensive safety programs with policies and procedures to make the workplace safe. In terms of accident indexes, what contributes to the numbers in succesful safety programs?

According to the National Safety Council, four factors that contribute to the majority of accidents at work are -people, equipment, management and the environment. Although the surroundings of your home are quite different than that of your work, these four factors still apply. Knowing what safety attributes to look for will ensure your family's protection.

People
  For any program to be successful, all parts of the system must be committed. We all like to think that we are taking every precaution to ensure safety at work. And being a part of the work force often requires us to take risks. In an organization, a safety supervisor may train 400 or more people about work safety. At home, you are the boss. It should not be a big job to sell yourself on safety because the person who will benefit is you.

Equipment
   Checking equipment at home is just as important as checking equipment on the job. It is important to use the right tool for the job you are doing. Standing on a chair to reach something overhead is a dangerous substitute for a ladder.

Management
  The only person to take control of safety training at home is you. On the other hand, workers have varying degrees of exposure to hazards on the job. They can complain about the lack of safety equipment and the perceived, or sometimes even real, double-standard that occurs when supervisors at work preach safety and then ignore unsafe situations that exist. At home you are the boss. The decisions that you make about the safety of your family are your own.

Environment
   Environmental factors can be controlled by the homeowner. Falls are the number one cause of death in the home. Do you stack items on a staircase? If you use an extension ladder around the house, is there someone to stabilize it for you by holding it at the bottom?

Keeping safety at the forefront around your home can do a lot to ensure your families health and well-being.

Roger Stegeman is manager for safety for the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. You can write to him in care of Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708. Telephone: (217)529-5561.

14 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING AUGUST 1999