March 2015 – Risk Management 365

Skin Cancer Prevention

Traveling for spring break? Don’t forget to pack, protect yourself from the sun, and go!

Don’t risk ruining your trip or your health with too much sun.

Using sun protection can prevent sunburn during your vacation and protect you against skin cancer later. Nearly 5 million people are treated for skin cancer each year in the United States. Skin cancer can be serious, expensive, and sometimes even deadly. Fortunately, most cases are preventable, and as a traveler, you can use simple strategies to keep yourself and your family safe from the sun.

via Skin Cancer Prevention | Features | CDC.

Work Environment and Managers Key to Mental Health

A recent Unum study found that work environment has a significant impact on an employee’s absence from work due to behavioral health issues. The research also found it to be the leading barrier employees face when returning to work.

“The current culture of the American workplace is operating on a ‘do more with less’ mentality,” explains Dr. Kristin Tugman, PhD, assistant vice president of Health and Productivity at Unum. “This is creating a workforce that is struggling with presenteeism and lack of engagement, as well as an unbalanced work/life structure. As a result, employees are faced with more workplace stress than ever before.”

And that is having a negative effect on an employer’s bottom line: 41 percent of employees lose 15 to 30 minutes of productivity a day and 36 percent lose one hour or more as a result of workplace stress.

That stress can also be compounded by additional factors such as employee performance issues. The research showed that for some employees the stress of performance expectations becomes too great and they’re not able to persevere, so instead they go out on leave due to stress.

“The flip side to that is the negative stigma that is often associated with leave or disability, especially when the absence from work is due to a mental health issue,” said Tugman. “This stigma becomes a barrier too, causing employees to either be afraid to seek help or to take leave.”

These factors, in addition to workplace stress, contribute to presenteeism, or being at work but with an inability to perform at full capacity. And that can be bad news for employers too because currently presenteeism costs the United States approximately $150 billion a year.

via Work environment and managers key to mental health stability and wellness of employees.

Is your smoke alarm still working?

A smoke alarm with a dead or missing battery is the same as having no smoke alarm at all. A smoke alarm only works when it is properly installed and regularly tested. Take care of your smoke alarms according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Below are some general maintenance tips.

Smoke alarm powered by a nine-volt battery

Test the alarm monthly.
Replace the batteries at least once every year.
Replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years.

Smoke alarm powered by a 10-year lithium (or “long-life”) battery

Test the alarm monthly.
Since you cannot (and should not) replace the lithium battery, replace the entire smoke alarm according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Smoke alarm that is hardwired into your home’s electrical system

Test the alarm monthly.
Replace the backup battery at least once every year.
Replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years.

via Smoke alarm outreach materials.

Machine Safety

Machines can assist in improving production efficiency in the workplace. However these machines have moving parts, sharp edges, and hot surfaces with the potential to cause severe workplace injuries such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from these preventable injuries. Any machine part, function, or process that might cause injury must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine may result in a contact injury to the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be eliminated or controlled.

via CDC – Machine Safety – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Staying Safe at the Pump

Static electricity-related incidents at retail gasoline outlets are extremely unusual, but the potential for them to happen appears to be the highest during cool or cold and dry climate conditions. In rare circumstances, these static related incidents have resulted in a brief flash fire occurring at the fill point. Consumers can take steps to minimize these and other potential fueling hazards by following safe refueling procedures all year long.

Most important, motorists should not get back into their vehicles during refueling. It may be a temptation to get back in the car for any number of reasons. But the average fill-up takes only two minutes, and staying outside the vehicle will greatly minimize the likelihood of any build-up of static electricity that could be discharged at the nozzle.

A build-up of static electricity can be caused by re-entering a vehicle during fueling, particularly in cool or cold and dry weather. If the motorist then returns to the vehicle fill pipe during refueling, the static may discharge at the fill point, causing a flash fire or small sustained fire with gasoline refueling vapors.

Motorists who cannot avoid getting back into the vehicle should always first touch a metal part of the vehicle with a bare hand, such as the door, or some other metal surface, away from the fill point upon exiting the vehicle.

via Staying Safe at the Pump.

Tips For Driving in the Fog

Driving in fog is dangerous because visibility is reduced. To keep safe, follow these five tips for driving in fog:

1. Slow down.

If you cannot see where you are going, do not drive fast. Use your speedometer as a guide to regulate your speed, because thick fog masks the sensation of speed by removing visual indicators of velocity.

2. Use low-beam headlights.

When visibility is restricted, a driver’s natural tendency is to activate the high-beam headlights. When driving in fog, this further impairs visibility because the high-beam illumination reflects off of the fog and back at your vehicle.

3. Use fog lights.

If your vehicle has front fog lights, they can help illuminate the road and make your vehicle more visible to other drivers. Some vehicles have rear fog lights, which help motorists who are following you to see your vehicle from a greater distance.

4. Use the right-side pavement line as a guide.

In thick fog, use the white line painted on the right side of the road as a guide. Do not use the center pavement markings, because doing so will guide you to move closer to oncoming vehicles, which are also driven by people having trouble seeing where they are going.

5. Do not stop on the road.

When you cannot see where you are going, a natural reaction is to slow down or even stop. In fog, never stop on the road. Find a safe place to pull over that is as far away from traffic as possible and turn off your lights. Leaving your lights on may cause motorists to think that your taillights indicate the lane of travel, which could cause a collision.

via 5 Tips For Driving in the Fog | J.D. Power.

New Workers’ Comp Reimbursement Rules Take Effect In Michigan

Changes in how doctors are paid for treating some injured employees covered by workers’ compensation are expected to address the long-term use of pain relievers and help cut medical costs for Michigan job providers, according to state officials.

The new rules prevent reimbursements for opioid treatment beyond 90 days for non-cancer-related chronic pain unless physicians meet detailed reporting requirements, the Michigan Workers’ Compensation Agency said.

via New Workers’ Comp Reimbursement Rules Take Effect In Michigan.

Passenger Without Seatbelt a Risk to Others in the Car

In a study, published in the Jan. 21 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at the association between the death of a car occupant and the use of restraints, either a seat belt or child car set, of another occupant in the same car based on fatal accident data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The found the risk of death was higher for the other occupants of the car if someone else was unrestrained, no matter where they were sitting. For example:

For someone in the front seat wearing a seatbelt, the risk of death rose by 20% if someone behind them was unrestrained.
For a restrained passenger in the rear seat, the risk of death increased by 22% if someone in front of them was unrestrained.
For someone with a seatbelt on one side of the car, the risk of death rose by 15% if someone in the same seat row was unrestrained.

Based on those findings, researchers say that use of a seatbelt among rear-seat occupants could prevent about one in six deaths of front-seat passengers caused by car crashes.

via Backseat Riders Need Seatbelts, Too.

Stress and Improving Overall Health in the Workplace

Policy Considerations for Lowering Stress and Improving Overall Health in the Workplace:

Teleworking and flex-schedule policies
Job-sharing, phased retirement options
Healthy commuting supports and incentives
Smoke-free building and campuses
Healthy foods, healthy meetings and green/sustainable environments policies
Peer support and mentoring programs
Policies promoting volunteering and community service
Time off work for health promotion, physical activity, screenings, healthcare visits
Robust non-discrimination, diversity and cultural awareness/sensitivity programs
Continuing education, distance learning, and other training supports
Incentives for health program participation and engagement

via CDC – NIOSH – Total Worker Health™ in Action – January 2013.

How to Eat Healthy

At the heart of good health is good nutrition. Make smart, healthy choices to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.

INCLUDE

Fruits and vegetables
Whole grains
Beans and legumes
Nuts and seeds
Fish (preferably oily fish high in omega-3 fatty acids), skinless poultry, and plant-based alternatives
Fat-free and low-fat dairy products
Healthier fats and non-tropical oils

LIMIT

Sodium and salt
Saturated fat
Sweets and added sugars, including sugar-sweetened beverages
Red meats – if you choose to eat red meat, select lean cuts

AVOID

Trans fat and partially hydrogenated oils

via How to Eat Healthy.