Teacher’s Note

Activity 5: Office Hazard Hunt

Identifying & Solving Problems

• Investigation
• Identifying Issues
• Evaluation
• Problem Solving

Offices can be more dangerous than your students might think. This activity is designed to get them thinking about some of the things that can be hazardous in offices.

Getting Started

Hand out the picture of the office or make a transparency of the picture and project it for a class discussion. Ask students to identify the situations in the office that can make it dangerous for the woman who works there. Seven hazards are identified on this page but your students may find more! When they find a hazard ask them to state what is wrong, what could happen if the hazard isn’t fixed and what needs to be done to eliminate the danger.

• The file cabinet could fall forward because the drawers were left open or someone could bump into them.
• Awkward posture: her back should be straight, her feet flat on the floor and her arms should be supported by the armrests and parallel to the desktop.
• She could trip on the wastebasket and garbage on the floor.
• Boxes could fall off the copier.
• Poor posture: her head should not be tilted upward. It should be straight.
• Someone could trip on the cord and parcels that are on the floor. Someone could slip on the paper on the floor.
• The blade on the paper cutter could cut someone.