PREP IT! - Come to Work...Prepared to be Safe

Preparing for ANYTHING before you do it helps you to be better at it, whether that is writing a test, playing a soccer game, or having a job interview. The same can be said about workplace safety. Once you make up your mind to stay safe in the workplace, there are things you can do to make sure that happens.

• Learn all you can about Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Reading through the material on this website, following the links suggested here, checking out OHS posters, brochures and videos, and talking to your parents and other experienced workers are all ways to pick up good information about workplace safety.
• Bring to work what you will need to stay safe. Depending on the job you are doing, you may be required to use/wear personal protective equipment, such as steel-toed boots, a hard hat, ear plugs, snug fitting clothing, etc. Well maintained clothing, equipment, and tools will go a long way toward keeping you safe.
• Be excited about the new skills you will learn. Think of the skills you learn today as building blocks for tomorrow, to use in this job and in the future. Welcome the opportunities this job brings for growing and learning, as you build life-long safety habits.
• Practice good safety habits in other areas of your life like snowboarding, driving, or using tools at home. If you "think safety" in everything you do, safety will become as natural as breathing.
• Prepare the questions you should ask before you need to ask them. Your first few days at work will be over-flowing with information of all kinds. Thinking ahead about the safety questions you should ask will help you remember to ask them. (See SAY IT! for questions you should ask at your workplace.)

Preparing and planning ahead to be safe in your workplace is one way to work out loud. When it comes to workplace safety, PREP IT!