Can you sum up the essence of OHS in less than 100 words?

Safeguard challenges you to take 5,  brainstorm and send us your best selection.

 I realise it's not a great time of year to take on extra challenges, but the competition is not onerous - in fact it is probably a case of less is more ... and there will be a prize!

Here's the competition context

Fabio Capello, the Italian who manages the England national football team apparently isn’t too fluent in English. But earlier this year he defended his reportedly limited grasp on the language, saying he needed not more than “100 words maximum” to communicate with his players.

 Tim Dowling of  The Guardian came up with other professions where 100 words of English might suffice. He included OHS experts and provided the following words:

"No, unsafe, not, improper, unable, misuse, substandard, prevent, stop, inadequate, supervision, insurance, payment, broken, accident, workplace, issue, risk, assessment, circumstances, statistically, liable, beyond, control, checks, scaffolding, helmet, harness, handrail, ventilation, potential, harm, noise, restriction, comply, glass, signage, conker, licence, venue, security, fire hazard, guidelines, slippery, visibility, sharp, exposed, danger, radiation, maximum, capacity, minimum, requirement, footwear, injury, strain, repetitive, tree, masonry, responsible, adult, caution, fire, electric, shock, loose ,lighting, litigious, compensate, of course, we're all going die, madam, that's hardly the point, due care attention, just doing job, Daily Mail, Little john, jerk, blame, culture, lawyers, all fun until someone loses eye"

Which words do you think are essential?

Given the general issues around worker literacy, and that English is a second language for many New Zealand workers, Safeguard thought this could be worth serious, and not so serious, consideration. We know OHS is no laughing matter, but humorous responses may be rewarded for summing up health and safety advice in as few as words as possible – no more than 100. As usual, there will be a prize for the most pithy.

Send your entries to angela.gregory@thomsonreuters.com 

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