Tag: safety

Lightning Can be Deadly

Summer is the peak season for one of the nations deadliest weather phenomena— lightning. But don’t be fooled, lightning strikes year round. In the United States, an average of 54 people are reported killed each year by lightning. To date, there have been 16 deaths in 2012. Hundreds of people are permanently injured each year. People struck by lightning suffer from a variety of long-term, debilitating symptoms, including memory loss, attention deficits, sleep disorders, chronic pain, numbness, dizziness, stiffness in joints, irritability, fatigue, weakness, muscle spasms, depression, and more. Lightning is a serious danger.

via NWS Lightning Safety.

Warning – Confined Space

Confined Spaces can be dangerous.

“Confined Space” refers to a space which by design has limited openings for entry and exit, unfavorable natural ventilation which could contain or produce dangerous air contaminants, and which is not intended for continuous employee occupancy. Confined spaces include but are not limited to storage tanks, compartments of ships, process vessels, pits, silos, vats, degreasers, reaction vessels, boilers, ventilation and exhaust ducts, sewers, tunnels, underground utility vaults, and pipelines. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Labor USDOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries CFOI program, fatal injuries in confined spaces fluctuated from a low of 81 in 1998 to a high of 100 in 2000 during the five-year period, averaging 92 fatalities per year.

via CDC – Confined Spaces – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

The Five Steps of Risk Management Leads To Lower Cost

There are five steps to risk management:

  • Identify
  • Analyze
  • Control
  • Finance
  • Measure

The most important step is “Identify” because you can’t Analyze, Control, Finance or Measure what you don’t know. Insurance is “NOT” risk management. Insurance is “FINANCING” risk. Managing risk 365 days a year vs. buying insurance 1 day a year is the key to lowering the total cost of risk (TCOR) for business.

Stop the Strain at Work

Overexertion has long been among the leading causes of nonfatal workplace injuries, and attempts to combat it continue to be a burden on employers and their pocketbooks.  An estimated 3.5 million overexertion injuries occur every year, most of which are from excessive lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying. Back injuries are the most common form of overexertion in the workplace and can result in huge costs. According to a 2010 report from the Boston-based Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, in 2008, overexertion cost businesses $13.4 billion in direct workers’ compensation costs – accounting for more than 25 percent of the overall $53.4 billion national burden.

via 6 11 Stop the Strain.

Plan for Natural Disasters

Your home or work routines can be disrupted with little or no warning by natural disasters, fires or other catastrophic events. Its important that you and your family are prepared as help may not always be available. During large community wide emergencies, first responders – police, fire and emergency medical services may be overwhelmed with numerous calls for help or even physically unable to reach your location due to blocked roads.  Make a plan and share this information with your loved ones to prevent needless confusion and worry.

  • Determine the safest course of action for you and your family for each hazard. In some situations, it may be better to stay where you are, also called sheltering in place. This would be necessary during a tornado or hazardous chemical release, for example. Sometimes, leaving an area to escape danger or evacuation is the safer course of action in situations such as a fire or hurricane.
  • Stay informed. Know how your community alerts citizens in an emergency. It may be an emergency broadcast on the radio or TV. You might hear a special siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go door-to-door. If available, sign up for your communitys emergency text or email alert system.
  • Plan for your family’s comfort during disasters. Severe weather, earthquakes, flooding and other emergencies may cause utility outages.
  • Prepare a kit that can meet your household’s basic needs food, water, etc. for 72 hours. Dont forget a kit for your car.
  • Practice with your family what to do in an emergency. Conduct regular drills for the most common hazards such as a fire, tornado or earthquake.
  • Know how to keep in touch. Local telephone service may be interrupted. Sometimes, it is easier to send a text message or contact a family member in another state. Each family member should know how to make contact to advise that they are safe.

via Plan for natural disasters.

The High Cost of Injuries at Work

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that approximately 3.3 million serious work-related injuries and about 4,300 fatalities occurred in 2009. The human cost of preventable workplace injuries and deaths is incalculable. However, according to the 2010 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, the direct cost of the most disabling workplace injuries and illnesses in 2008 amounted to $53.42 billion in U.S. workers compensation costs, more than one billion dollars per week.

via Injury and Illness Prevention Programs.

Workplace Safety – Accident/Incident/Near Miss Investigation

One of the best ways to avoid further accidents is to understand how an accident occurred and how to avoid that type of accident in the future. The accident investigation is a tool. The goal is not to lay blame. The goal in an accident investigation is to:

  • Satisfy legal requirements (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health? NIOSH, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration?OSHA)
  • Find out what happened and determine immediate and underlying or root causes.
  • Rethink the safety hazard.
  • Introduce ways to prevent a reoccurrence
  • Establish training needs.
  • An accident, a near miss and an incident should all be investigated.
  • Accident investigations are a tool for uncovering hazards that either were missed earlier or require new controls (policies, procedures or personal protective equipment).
  • Near-miss reporting and investigation identify and control safety or health hazards before they cause a more serious incident.
  • Incident investigations should focus on prevention.

ACCIDENT — an undesired event or sequence of events causing injury, ill-health or property damage.

NEAR MISS — near misses describe incidents where, given a slight shift in time or distance, injury, ill-health or damage easily could have occurred, but didn’t.

INCIDENT — an incident is an unplanned, undesired event that hinders completion of a task and may cause injury or other damage.

via Workplace Safety Toolkit.

A history of violations: One worker’s comp horror story

While each state has its own workers’ compensation laws, the basic tenet remains: the employer provides compensation and medical care for employees who are injured in the course of employment and the employee, in turn, relinquishes their right to sue.

But that security blanket began to unravel the morning of Nov. 5, 2003, when Kristi Fries, an employee at Mavrick Metal Stamping, a now closed Mancelona, Mich., auto parts supplier, reached to remove a part from a 110-ton stamping press. Her unzipped sweatshirt triggered the machine’s controls, causing the press to slam down and crush her arms, resulting in the amputation of both arms between the wrist and the elbow.

via A history of violations: One worker’s comp horror story | BenefitsPro.

Stay Safe While Boating

Recreational boating—enjoyed by over 70 million Americans each year—can be a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends. And making safety a priority can ensure that boating stays fun.

Consider that:

  • In 2009, 3,358 people were injured and 736 died in boating incidents. Of those who drowned, 9 out of 10 were not wearing life jackets.
  • Of the people who died in a boating incident in 2009, more than 7 out of 10 (73%) drowned. More than 90 percent of the people who drowned were not wearing a life jacket.
  • Alcohol use was the leading contributing factor in fatal boating incidents.

via CDC Features – Stay Safe While Boating.

Control Risk to Workers

Controlling exposures to occupational hazards is the fundamental method of protecting workers. Traditionally, a hierarchy of controls has been used as a means of determining how to implement feasible and effective controls. One representation of this hierarchy can be summarized as follows:

  • Elimination
  • Substitution
  • Engineering controls
  • Administrative controls
  • Personal protective equipment

The idea behind this hierarchy is that the control methods at the top of the list are potentially more effective and protective than those at the bottom. Following the hierarchy normally leads to the implementation of inherently safer systems, ones where the risk of illness or injury has been substantially reduced.

via CDC – Engineering Controls – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.