Integrity Safety Services, located in Vancouver, WA is one of the companies that I had the opportunity of interacting with during the Washington Governor’s Safety Show earlier this month.
They were kind enough to give me a stretching DVD designed for companies to implement in order to reduce workplace injuries from muscles that haven’t been stretched yet. I recently checked out their website and I was pleasantly surprised to find a sizeable download pages with “Weekly Safety Meetings”. This list of 74 different topics is available in pdf format either individually or collectively (all 74 talks in one document).
Looking for ideas for safety meetings? Looking for print-outs? You can’t do any better than what Integrity Safety Services is offering for free.
Check out their website at http://www.integritysafety.com and click on the “Downloads” button to view the topics.
While you’re there, check out the services that they offer:
• Targeted Consulting Services
• Safety Management Solutions
• Safety Training
• Video Production
These guys have a lot to offer so take advantage of the free downloads and then give them a call to find out how they can give you a hand with your safety program.
We’ve been talking about Accident Prevention this week, covering the goals, the objectives as well as looking at an APP checklist. To finish off the week, I didn’t want to leave without looking at what LNI has to say about it.
The Department of Labor and Industries provides us with a step-by-step guide entitled “Your Accident Prevention Program (APP)” which can be downloaded free of charge here.
The 83 page document covers everything you might need to know in order to put together your own APP.
With sample sheets of:
- APP regulations
- Incident Investigation Reports
- Meeting Minute Forms
- Training Documentation
- Training Record Forms
- Orientation Forms
- And more…
You’ll have everything you need to be up and running in no time. You’ll be so prepared you’ll almost welcome the LNI inspector next time he pops in for a surprise visit!
Monday and Tuesday this week, we looked at the goals and objectives of an effective Accident Prevention Plan.
Today, thanks to the Texas Department of Insurance, I want to give you a link to download an Accident Prevention Plan Review Checklist.
This checklist (available in PDF format here), covers:
- The Worksite in general
- The Management Component
- The Record Keeping Component
- The Analysis Component
- The Health & Safety Training Component
- The Audit/Inspection Component
- The Accident Investigation Component
- The Periodic Review and Revision Component
- The Corrective Actions
If you are trying to put together a new Accident Prevention Plan, this is a great place to start.
If you already have one in place, this is a great download to use in addition to the existing Accident Prevention Plan.
You know what they say about an ounce of prevention… Nowhere does this apply more than in the workplace.
Today I’m going to list the goals and tomorrow, the objectives
Goals of an effective Accident Prevention Plan
- Every employee is personally involved
- Every hazard in the work place is eliminated
- The awareness regarding the safe operation of all facilities is increased
- All work-related injuries, property damages and loses associated with them are eliminated
- Morale is the highest it can be because the employees know that they are working in a safe environment
- All injury related loses (time, materials, facilities, etc…) are eliminated
Remember, this is the goal. In the best of all possible worlds, it is never possible to completely attain these goals, but they MUST be the goal. A goal that strives for less than 100% perfection is not an acceptable goal.
Tomorrow we will look at the objectives of an effective Accident Prevention Plan
Yesterday we looked at the goals of an effective accident prevention plan and noted that the goal has to be 100% perfection.
Today we are going to look at the objectives.
The Objectives of an effective Accident Prevention Plan
- Policies, changes and implementation are for everyone regardless of level of management or personnel.
- Hazards are to be identified, corrected and controlled
- Surveys and inspections are to be an integral part of the routine
- Resources and personnel will be allocated as necessary
- Orientation and training are established, assessed and evaluated regularly
- A clear and effective chain or line of communication between various departments and levels
- Accurate and complete documentation and record keeping
- Clear identification of assigned responsibilities and roles, as well as accountability
According to the National Safety Council website (http://www.nsc.org), OSHA has just released the 2009 to ten list of safety violations. They are:
1. Scaffolding– 9,093 violations
Scaffold accidents most often result from the planking or support giving way, or to the employee slipping or being struck by a falling object.
2. Fall Protection– 6,771 violations
Any time a worker is at a height of four feet or more, the worker is at risk and needs to be protected. Fall protection must be provided at four feet in general industry, five feet in maritime and six feet in construction.
3. Hazard Communication– 6,378 violations
Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers.
4. Respiratory Protection– 3,803 violations
Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors and sprays. These hazards may cause cancer, lung impairment, other diseases or death.
5. Lockout-Tag out– 3,321 violations
“Lockout-Tag out” refers to specific practices and procedures to safeguard employees from the unexpected startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities.
6. Electrical (Wiring)– 3,079 violations
Working with electricity can be dangerous. Engineers, electricians and other professionals work with electricity directly, including working on overhead lines, cable harnesses, and circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and sales people, work with electricity indirectly and may also be exposed to electrical hazards.
7. Ladders– 3,072 violations
Occupational fatalities caused by falls remain a serious public health problem. The US Department of Labor (DOL) lists falls as one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational death, accounting for eight percent of all occupational fatalities from trauma.
8. Powered Industrial Trucks– 2,993 violations
Each year, tens of thousands of injuries related to powered industrial trucks (PIT), or forklifts, occur in US workplaces. Many employees are injured when lift trucks are inadvertently driven off loading docks, lifts fall between docks and an unsecured trailer, they are struck by a lift truck, or when they fall while on elevated pallets and tines.
9. Electrical– 2,556 violations
Working with electricity can be dangerous. Engineers, electricians, and other professionals work with electricity directly, including working on overhead lines, cable harnesses, and circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and sales people, work with electricity indirectly and may also be exposed to electrical hazards.
10. Machine Guarding – 2,364 violations
Any machine part, function, or process that may cause injury must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine or accidental contact injures the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be eliminated or controlled.
With the advent of the second wave of H1N1 flu cases and the increase in people showing up at hospital emergency wards and being checked in for flu related symptoms, are we going to see a second and great wave of MRSA cases?
This years’ outbreak of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA, pronounced “mersa”) cases that were contracted in hospitals is by now well-known. While the spread of MRSA seems to be more under control and the number of new cases seems to have dropped, the question that needs to be asked at this time is can hospitals continue to control MRSA with this new influx of H1N1 cases?
Even more alarming is instances where MRSA and H1N1 combine as was recently the case with a teenage boy in NY. The combination claimed his life.
The problem is that Staph is very common; many of us carry the Staph in our noses. When this Staph becomes resistant to antibiotics however, health problems start to escalate rapidly.
Doctor Howard Faden of Women and Children’s Hospital in NY explains it this way: “These bacteria have the potential to produce pneumonia, and that’s what happens when you have influenza. The influenza interferes with the ability to clear these bacteria. The bacteria get into the lung, and then patients develop severe pneumonia in conjunction with their influenza infection.”
Being aware of this potential danger is important. If there are cases of MRSA in your immediate surroundings (work, home, school, etc…) you need to notify your doctor, especially if you are being treated for flu-like symptoms. If you go to the emergency room, hospital or doctors office with flu symptoms, be proactive about the doctors and nurses using gloves, respirators and sterile instruments. Let them know that you are concerned about the combination of H1N1 and MRSA.
While my purpose is certainly not to try to give you something else to get tied in knots about, I bring this to you in the hopes that the information will give you the edge, should a trip to the doctor be necessary.
Comments welcome!
In Response to the ongoing threat of the H1N1 flu virus, Sperian has developed a series of educational posters that they are offering, at no cost.
The free download contains a comprehensive set, consisting of:
Before the flu in your area: Flu transmission Methods, Wash your hands, and Cover Your Coughs.
During the flu: Signs of the Flu, and Flu Dangers
If masks are dispensed: Respirator Fitting and PPE Disposal
(Click on the image below to download the free zip file)
Most people who have to wear a fall protection harness find them hard to put on, uncomfortable and hot and sweaty.
With that in mind, Capital Safety went back to the drawing board and designed a completely new and different fall protection harness.
Every component is an innovation and improvement on current designs. The ExoFit NEX™ wraps around you for the ultimate in no-tangle donning and comfortable security. The shoulder, hip and leg padding is built-in so it can’t slip. The breathable lining guarantees you’ll stay dry and comfortable every day. It even has memory-fit features allowing you to lock the adjustments in place to prevent the web from slipping. The ExoFit NEX™ introduces a series of industry firsts that have been developed from user needs. Some of these features include the following:
- Duo-Lok™ Quick Connect Buckles
- Revolver™ Vertical Torso Adjustors
- Tech Lite™ Aluminum D-rings
- Hybrid Comfort Padding
- Repel Technology Webbing
- Integrated Suspension Trauma Straps
The links below include the following product launch support materials:
Be sure to check out the ExoFit NEX™ on our website here.
With flu season in full swing, including the now infamous H1N1, people are purchasing hand sanitizer like never before. Manufacturers like Purell are saying that the demand is unprecedented.
Purell has increased production, even hiring more people to try to meet demand and running the plant 24/7. Even with this increase however, demand may outpace supply. This has led to some companies and individuals to hoard the hand sanitizer, further compounding the problem.
Purell and other manufacturers tell us that there should be enough to meet demand and that hoarding will only lead to some places not being able to get the hand sanitizer they need and thereby making the spread of the flu more likely. If everyone purchases only what they need for the next couple of weeks at a time, everyone will have enough. If you purchase more than you need than you are taking some away from someone else and if they don’t have it they are going to end up spreading the flu, further compounding the problem.
As is always the case, fear and panic aren’t going to help. A calm, rational response will keep us all much healthier and keep the problem from getting worse.
