Peanut Butter Can Help Save Life & Limb

Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is simple, right? Totally.

Making your employees embrace safety is simple too, right? Perhaps. 

The simple act of making a sandwich can also be a simple (and excellent) safety lesson, as Ashley Stroder and Jace Carlson experienced during the inaugural SBCA Safety Summit at BCMC 2018. 

Hindered by fictitious eye and arm injuries, Ashley and Jace were asked to quickly make a sandwich on stage while the audience chuckled with them through their struggles. Neither sandwich was particularly edible at the end of the exercise, but it made it clear how difficult even an “easy” everyday task can become following a devastating workplace injury.

Much of the discussion throughout the Safety Summit focused on how to get employee buy-in, from the old guard who focus heavily on production numbers and efficiency to the new folks who aren’t aware of the potential dangers associated with component manufacturing. 

If you’re looking for a fresh, eye-opening way to foster a better safety culture in your plant, consider a similar exercise for your next company-wide safety meeting. Asking your employees to participate in a hands-on experiment, like blindfolded or one-armed sandwich artistry, is an inexpensive yet impactful way to put the reality of a workplace accident front and center no matter who’s in the audience. It will cost you a loaf of bread and some spreads, but it might just save you thousands of dollars…or even someone’s life or limb.