There is a significant opportunity to reduce job-related injuries by as much as 90% and most of us aren’t even aware of it. And, it is surprisingly simple to do and takes very little time. What is this hidden gem of safety? It’s called a Refocus Reset and it takes all of four seconds to complete.

First instituted on CN Rail, the Refocus Reset was part of a strategy to reduce the number of serious incidents—including many amputation injuries—they were experiencing. Upon further examination,CN Rail found that their employees were well-versed in safety rules and procedures, but were simply not focused on the task at hand. Even well-rested employees got caught up in the routine of the day and when performing familiar activities found themselves daydreaming or thinking about other things. You see, with routine tasks, it is usually not the task itself but some small thing you did not anticipate that causes an incident. Perhaps you did not notice the debris in front of the tool you were going to pick up. Or perhaps you did not notice somebody placed something on the part you were about to pick up.

It is easy to imagine the different activities we do every day and how easy it would be to apply a Refocus Reset. For example, getting in a forklift and having a quick look around. In those few seconds, we change our thinking from where we are going to focusing on the area, road conditions, other vehicles, etc. In other words, we refocus our attention.