Our team finds continued success with our number one value of safety every day with several constant behaviors. One of those behaviors is repeating fundamental concepts in safety meetings and team huddles, and this time of year during intermittent periods of ice and snow along with snowmelt, walking like a penguin is one of those fundamentals that is important to remind ourselves in discussions at work and at home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are about 3 million emergency department visits due to older people falls, about 1 million fall-related hospitalizations and 319,000 hip fractures from falls. We can all move a little safer this winter when we remember to walk like penguins.
How to walk like a penguin:
- Spread your feet out, at shoulder width
- Keep your hands free
- Keep your center of gravity over your front foot
- Square your shoulders
- Take short steps or just shuffle along slowly
Kyle Black is the District Manager at Seneca Meadows Landfill located in Seneca Falls, New York.