June 2013 – Page 2 – Risk Management 365

Wearing your Life Jacket

Boaters enjoy the feel of sun and spray. So it’s tempting to boat without wearing a life jacket – especially on nice days. But modern life jackets are available in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. Many are thin and flexible. Some are built right into fishing vests or hunter coats. Others are inflatable — as compact as a scarf or fanny pack until they hit water, when they automatically fill with air.

There’s no excuse not to wear a life jacket on the water!

via Life Jacket Wear / Wearing your Life Jacket.

Get Regular Check-Ups

Remember to schedule regular health checkups. These can help identify a medical condition before symptoms appear. Your health plan probably recommends a schedule for wellness checkups based on age and sex. Discuss this with your healthcare provider because he or she might advise you to get some checkups sooner or more often if you are at risk for certain illnesses. Be sure that your wellness checkup includes all the recommended tests and procedures.

via Get Regular Check-Ups | The New Medicine.

Simple Children’s Summer Safety Tips

Kids can get into all sorts of trouble if left to their own devices, so it’s up to their parents or guardians to take steps to keep them as safe as possible. The following are some likely places children will be during the summer and safety tips everyone should know.

Pools: Nothing says summertime fun like hanging out at the pool, whether it’s in your own backyard, the neighborhood pool or at a friend’s. Steps parents can take to ensure their child’s safety while swimming are:
Swim lessons: While knowing how to swim won’t always prevent water accidents, this can go a long way toward staying safe in the water. Even very young children can be taught to float. Parents should still supervise their kids in pools, however, and not rely solely on items like water wings to keep their kids safe.
The buddy system: No one should swim alone, even accomplished swimmers. You never know when a cramp could hit and cripple you in the water. Especially for children, swimming with a buddy can prevent drownings; if one person is in trouble, a friend can go or call for help.
No horseplay: Running or rough housing around a slippery pool deck can lead to accidents. Make sure your children know that running isn’t acceptable.
Beaches: For families who want to spend a day or week of vacation at the beach, the same pool safety tips apply, but you’ll also want to make sure your children know:
To wear a life jacket: If you boat or Jet Ski, wearing life jackets is important. Set a good example by wearing one yourself.
Home: If both parents work outside of the home and children are old enough to prepare their own meals or surf the Internet, some areas of concern may be:
Strangers: Children should be taught never to answer the door if their parents aren’t home. Also, if they answer the phone and don’t know who’s on the other end of the line, they shouldn’t say that their parents aren’t home. Saying “they’re not available to come to the phone” is better practice.
The stove: Only children who are old enough to capably use the stove should be allowed to cook. Even so, because accidents can happen to anyone, they should know where the fire extinguisher is located in the event of a fire and an escape route.
Internet safety: Many children will spend a lot of their summer vacation online, chatting with friends or playing games. Unfortunately, child predators use the Internet as well, trying to lure children. Make sure your child knows not to divulge any personal information, such as name, address, phone number, city, etc. Also, using a firewall or other computer programs to prevent a child from accessing pornography is a good idea.
Malls: When children are old enough to walk the malls without their parents, they often relish this independence and want to hang out with their friends. It’s smart practice to discuss mall dangers such as: Strangers: Child predators sometimes lurk around malls, knowing that young kids are susceptible to ruses such as being on television or helping to find a lost pet or friend. Parents should caution their children to avoid anyone they don’t know and never to go off with anyone, whether they know them or not, without their parents’ permission.
Vacations: If your family goes anywhere during the summer, having a plan in case someone is lost is smart practice. Some parents have a family password, so that if a child wanders off and someone claims to know where the child’s family is and will take him to them, the person has to know the password. Still, it’s better to tell the child to look for a gift shop or information desk and wait there. Discussing all of this beforehand-family passwords and where to go if they get lost-will go a long way toward preventing disasters.

via Children’s Summer Safety Tips.

Stress at Work

While some workplace stress is normal, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and impact your physical and emotional health. And your ability to deal with it can mean the difference between success or failure. You can’t control everything in your work environment, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless—even when you’re stuck in a difficult situation. Finding ways to manage workplace stress isn’t about making huge changes or rethinking career ambitions, but rather about focusing on the one thing that’s always within your control: you.

via Stress at Work: How to Reduce and Manage Workplace and Job Stress.

Motorcycle Safety – Wear a Helmet

Helmets save motorcycle riders’ lives.

Preventing serious injuries and deaths from motorcycle crashes is a major and growing public health concern.

Consider that:

Motorcycle crashes killed 4,502 people in 2010.
Motorcycle-related deaths have increased by 55% since 2000.
Motorcycle crash-related injuries and deaths totaled $12 billion in one year, in medical care costs and productivity losses.

The good news is that riders’—and their passengers’—can protect themselves by wearing helmets. Helmets are estimated to prevent 37 percent of crash deaths among motorcycle riders and 41 percent of crash deaths for motorcycle passengers.

via CDC Features – Motorcycle Safety.

Texting and Driving is Dangerous

A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.

One million people chat and text while driving each day. People feel pressure to remain in constant contact, even when behind the wheel. What drivers do not realize are the dangers posed when they take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel, and focus on activities other than driving.

The average text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for nearly five seconds. When traveling at 55mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field. The message being conveyed is that texting while driving isn’t multitasking, it’s essentially driving blind.

via Texting and Driving Prevention.

Bicycle Safety

Do not push your child to ride a 2-wheeled bike without training wheels until he or she is ready. Consider the child’s coordination and desire to learn to ride. Stick with coaster (foot) brakes until your child is older and more experienced for hand brakes. Consider a balance bike with no pedals for young children to learn riding skills.
Take your child with you when you shop for the bike, so that he or she can try it out. The value of a properly fitting bike far outweighs the value of surprising your child with a new one. Buy a bike that is the right size, not one your child has to “grow into.” Oversized bikes are especially dangerous.
Your child needs to wear a helmet on every bike ride, no matter how short or how close to home. Many injuries happen in driveways, on sidewalks, and on bike paths, not just on streets. Children learn best by observing you. Set the example: Whenever you ride, put on your helmet.
When purchasing a helmet, look for a label or sticker that says the helmet meets the CPSC safety standard.
A helmet protects your child from serious injury, and should always be worn. And remember, wearing a helmet at all times helps children develop the helmet habit.
A helmet should be worn so that it is level on the head and covers the forehead, not tipped forward or backwards. The strap should be securely fastened with about 2 fingers able to fit between chin and strap.The helmet should be snug on the head, but not overly tight. Skin should move with the helmet when moved side to side. If needed, the helmet’s sizing pads can help improve the fit.

via Summer Safety Tips.

Sleep, Performance, and Public Safety

Insufficient sleep may not have led the news in reporting on serious accidents in recent decades. However, that doesn’t mean fatigue and inattention due to sleep loss didn’t play a role in these disasters. For example, investigators have ruled that sleep deprivation was a significant factor in the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, as well as the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl.

Investigations of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker, as well as the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, have concluded that sleep deprivation also played a critical role in these accidents. In both cases, those in charge of the operations and required to make critical decisions were operating under extreme sleep deprivation. While the Challenger disaster put the multi-billion dollar shuttle program in peril, the Exxon Valdez oil spill resulted in incalculable ecological, environmental, and economic damage.

via Sleep, Performance, and Public Safety | Healthy Sleep.

Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight

A healthy lifestyle involves many choices. Among them, choosing a balanced diet or healthy eating plan. So how do you choose a healthy eating plan? Let’s begin by defining what a healthy eating plan is.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, a healthy eating plan:

Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products
Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts
Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars
Stays within your daily calorie needs

via Healthy Weight: Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight | DNPAO | CDC.

Eye Safety: Tips

1. Create a safe work environment

Minimize hazards from falling or unstable debris.
Make sure that tools work and safety features (machine guards) are in place.
Make sure that workers (particularly volunteers) know how to use tools properly.
Keep bystanders out of the hazard area.

2. Evaluate safety hazards.

Identify the primary hazards at the site.
Identify hazards posed by nearby workers, large machinery, and falling/shifting debris.

3. Wear the proper eye and face protection.

Select the appropriate Z87 eye protection for the hazard.
Make sure the eye protection is in good condition.
Make sure the eye protection fits properly and will stay in place.

4. Use good work practices.

Caution—Brush, shake, or vacuum dust and debris from hardhats, hair, forehead, or the top of the eye protection before removing the protection.
Do not rub eyes with dirty hands or clothing.
Clean eyewear regularly.
Prepare for eye injuries and first aid needs.

5. Have an eye wash or sterile solution on hand.

via CDC – Eye Safety: Checklist – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.