Five Simple Steps to Safety
For decades, a simple recipe has helped to improve safety in underground mines in Ontario and around the world. Introduced by Neil George in 1942, the Five-Point Safety System is a step-by-step approach to eliminating hazards and fostering a com- mitment to safety. What are the five points?
1. Check the entrance to the place of work.
2.Are working place and equipment in good order?
3.Are people working properly?
4. Do an act of safety.
5.Can, and will, people continue to work properly?
The new 22-page A Pocket Guide to the Five Point Safety System produced by the Mines and Aggregates Safety and Health Association makes an ideal introduction to the system or a refresher for those already familiar with the five points. It outlines each of the steps, and discusses the role that conditions, attitudes and methods play in accidents. It also offers a checklist for companies seeking to administer and apply the system in their workplaces.
The guide will be especially useful for supervisors, who play a critical role in making sure the system works.
22 pages
Paperback, $5 each for MASHA members;
$15 for non-members
Mines & Aggregates Safety & Health Association
690 McKeown Ave.
North Bay, ON, P1B 9P1
(705) 474-7233 ext.279
5 Comments
Nikki Hetherington
How effect is this system with above ground mining? I would think quite effective. I have used the 5 point system in underground mines, and would like to implement it for the above ground mine I am currently working at. We are also still under construction at this mine, so there are a few factors which come into play.
Bruce Salo
Nikki,
I can attest that the 5-Point Safety System is as effective on surface as it is underground. My father was taught the 5-Point Safety System by Neil George in Mattagami, Quebec. I learnt the system from my father as well as the mines that I worked at as a younger man. Like any safety system it must be followed and utilized properly. The nice aspect of the 5-Point Safety System is that it requires the supervisor to interact with the employees before the shift and during the shift. So it is going to work in any workplace regardless of where or what that workplace is.
“Safety is a state of mind where men are continually made aware of the dangers around them at all times.” – Neil George
Good luck with your implementation of the 5-Point Safety System in the surface portion of your operation.
Craig Kaufman
I worked underground for less than a year as one of the Hard Rock Mining Students in the late ’90s and still use it in many unrelated industries to this day. If at the very least, it gets you thinking of safety….
Mark Moffatt
The Neil George 5 Point Safety System was in place back in the late 70’s in Elliot Lake when I was there. We have moved to a few differnt types of Safety Systems since then but I think they all hinge around Neil George Safety System. We have used acronyms such as CAM (Conditions, Attitude and Method), SUPA (See, Understand, Plan and ACT), SLAM ( Stop, Look Access and Manage). Number 5 of the N.G.S.S. is here today but the twist is ZERO Harm. Can we achieve Zero Harm? I believe we can achieve this, when people stop saying “It’s mining of course people will get hurt” and start saying “I will not accept people getting hurt in the work place”. We can change this one Safety Meeting at a time , one Person at a time.
Bruce Salo
Mark,
I worked in the Elliot Lake camp as well, at a Rio Algom mine. The Neil George 5-Point Safety System has been around since the late 50’s early 60’s and has make a very positive impact on the mining industry both in Canada and internationally.
I am a proponent of the original system and don’t agree with some or most of the alterations that people add or change in the system. The system was developed and designed in a particular manner to achieve the required goals of ensuring that everyone goes home the way that they came to work. I guess that if the alterations of the system achieves the same out come then so be it but that is not for me.
The often heard comment of “It’s mining of course people will get hurt” is totally unacceptable and should be corrected every time it is heard. I grew up in a mining family and know that comments like that are reckless and made by people who do not know that “zero harm” is very possible. Their mind set towards safety is that of acceptance rather then that of any incident no matter what the severity is unacceptable.