20 Milliseconds are a Lot of Time
The title may seem exaggerated, for if we divide a second in 20 thousand
parts and say they are a lot of time, surely you’ll laugh at me.
Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) invited me to their annual conference and a training session for agricultural safety trainers given by Progressive
Agriculture. There, among other topics, the time the brain takes to respond to
stimuli was addressed.
A few participants raised their hand when the instructor asked if anyone ever listened
to music using ear buds at work, or didn’t wear goggles when pruning or put their
hand in a working machine thinking it would only take a second or nothing would
happen.
Smiling, the instructor asked two volunteers to stand facing each other; one was to
drop a ruler and the other one was to prevent it from touching the floor. Several
people did the exercise and the shortest response time was 20 milliseconds. We were
all glad at the record response time until the instructor read what a machine can do
in that time:
It can make 20 slices or 3 crushes. We all stopped smiling.
This information impressed me much, for I realized that actually the accident begins
by causing harm; thus, 20, 10 or 5 milliseconds are a lot of time, for they are
enough to lose a member or even a life. That is why what matters is not that
people have fast reflexes but trying to avoid accidents at all cost.
Risk is not worth anything and no money can buy sight, a
member, the possibility of walking, of going back to work or of
hugging your beloved ones.
Safety at work is everybody’s responsibility, but
think who really benefits from it in the end.
Progressive Agriculture www.progressiveag.org
CASA http: www.casa-acsa.ca
Margarita Caropresi
www.atoctli.com
info@atoctli.com
PO Box 798 Station F Toronto On. M4Y 2N7 Canada
(416). 697 . 9639