Author: Randy

Calculating Wind Chill Dangers

-cf95fc3f260e5818The NWS Windchill Temperature (WCT) index uses advances in science, technology, and computer modeling to provide an accurate, understandable, and useful formula for calculating the dangers from winter winds and freezing temperatures. The index:

  • Calculates wind speed at an average height of five feet, typical height of an adult human face, based on readings from the national standard height of 33 feet, typical height of an anemometer
  • Is based on a human face model
  • Incorporates heat transfer theory, heat loss from the body to its surroundings, during cold and breezy/windy days
  • Lowers the calm wind threshold to 3 mph
  • Uses a consistent standard for skin tissue resistance
  • Assumes no impact from the sun (i.e., clear night sky).

via NWS Wind Chill Index.

5 Facts about CPR and AEDs

cpr-and-aedHere are five facts about AEDs and CPR :

1. CPR will not restart a heart. Instead, it manually pumps blood through the heart and enables oxygen to reach the brain. This is absolutely vital for someone experiencing cardiac arrest. According to the America Heart Association, if CPR is administered immediately, it doubles or even triples the victim’s rate of survival.

2. CPR is hard work. Pushing hard on the victim’s chest (at a depth of about 2 inches) at a rate of 100 compressions per minute can quickly become exhausting. If another person is available to help give CPR, you should switch out every 2 minutes.

3. Both CPR and AEDs are safe. It’s unlikely you’ll hurt someone by performing CPR. And because CPR is so critical in the first minutes someone experiences cardiac arrest, you should administer this life-saving action even if you’re not absolutely sure whether the victim is breathing or has a heartbeat. Good Samaritan laws also should protect you even if an unlikely injury does occur.

4.An AED will administer a shock for two types of abnormal heart rhythms: ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. These are fatal arrhythmias. While they have a high likelihood of being corrected by an AED, they also may recur, which is why it’s important to leave an AED on (while continuing to administer CPR) until emergencies services arrive.

5. AEDs are so easy a third-grader can use one – literally. According to an expert, when third graders were presented with AEDs and asked to use them, they were able to do so correctly. An AED will talk you through each step and determine whether or not a shock is needed. It’s that easy.

via Life Saver: 5 Facts about CPR and AEDs | EHS Today | Health content from EHS Today.

Lean Thinking for Employee Health & Safety

integrating-lean-and-safety-myths-and-practical-strategiesMost people associate the term Lean with the Toyota Production System. This combined management and production system helped a small company grow to world-class size and market share. As they did so, most of the auto manufacturers and other industries studied their methods and tools to learn how to improve their own organizations. What does this method of lean thinking have to do with employee health & safety? Here are a few examples:

  • Integrates employee safety health and well-being into the business
  • Marries waste elimination (injury and illness) to making $$ in non traditional way
  • Simple and easy for supervision and employees to think and apply lean tools  –Hands on experiential learning
  • Builds culture of critical thinking – It’s not “what” you do but “how” and “why”

You can trace the roots of Lean back many years but there are still many companies that have not fully implemented it. They are missing a huge opportunity to improve their business and even their long term survival. 

Protect Yourself From Violent Crime

crime-sceneA list of tips for adults on staying safe

  • Don’t walk or jog early in the morning or late at night when the streets are deserted.
  • When out at night, try to have a friend walk with you.
  • Carry only the money you’ll need on a particular day.
  • Don’t display your cash or any other inviting targets such as pagers, cell phones, hand-held electronic games, or expensive jewelry and clothing.
  • If you think someone is following you, switch directions or cross the street. If the person continues to follow you, move quickly toward an open store or restaurant or a lighted house. Don’t be afraid to yell for help.
  • Try to park in well-lighted areas with good visibility and close to walkways, stores, and people.
  • Make sure you have your key out as you approach your door.
  • Always lock your car, even if it’s in your own driveway; never leave your motor running.
  • Do everything you can to keep a stranger from getting into your car or to keep a stranger from forcing you into his or her car.
  • If a dating partner has abused you, do not meet him or her alone. Do not let him or her in your home or car when you are alone.
  • If you are a battered spouse, call the police or sheriff immediately. Assault is a crime, whether committed by a stranger or your spouse or any other family member. If you believe that you and your children are in danger, call a crisis hotline or a health center (the police can also make a referral) and leave immediately.
  • If someone tries to rob you, give up your property—don’t give up your life.
  • If you are robbed or assaulted, report the crime to the police. Try to describe the attacker accurately. Your actions can help prevent someone else from becoming a victim.

via Protect Yourself From Violent Crime — National Crime Prevention Council.

The Effect of Poor Health on Workers Compensation Costs

obesity-and-back-pain-300x218A driver of workers compensation medical costs lies in the number of comorbid factors—diseases or disorders that exist simultaneously, but independently, with another disorder—that injured workers may have that make it more difficult to recover from work injuries. These conditions include systemic problems, such as hypertension, obesity or diabetes. Often, injured workers who have been out of work for a long period of time have lost their medical insurance because their employers can no longer carry them on the books as employees. This lack of insurance makes it difficult for them to afford prescriptions for any of these underlying systemic conditions. These untreated medical conditions then slow recovery from the work injury, which leads to higher costs for the workers compensation carrier.

via National Trends in Workers Compensation | Risk Management.

The Cost of Inactivity

largeIf exercise and regular physical activity benefit the body, a sedentary lifestyle does the opposite, increasing the chances of becoming overweight and developing a number of chronic diseases. Despite all the good things going for it, only about 30 percent of adult Americans report they get regular physical activity during their leisure time—and about 40 percent of Americans say they get no leisure-time physical activity at all.

via The Benefits of Physical Activity | The Nutrition Source | Harvard School of Public Health.

Be Prepared for Sudden Cardiac Arrest at Work

aed_illus

Reasons for AEDs in the workplace

  • Workers may suffer sudden cardiac arrest while on the job.
  • Onsite AEDs save precious treatment time, and can improve survival odds because they can be used before emergency medical service (EMS) personnel arrive.
  • A heart rhythm in ventricular fibrillation may only be restored to normal by an electric shock.
  • The AED is compact, lightweight, portable, battery operated, safe, and easy to use.

via Saving Sudden Cardiac Arrest Victims in the Workplace.

Prevent Kidney Disease

kidney-failure-e1371156824494Kidney disease damages your kidneys, preventing them from cleaning your blood as well as they should.

This damage can cause wastes to build up in your body and lead to other health problems, including heart disease, anemia, and bone disease. Chronic kidney disease eventually can cause kidney failure if it is not treated.

If you do have the disease, it’s important to be diagnosed early. Treatment can slow down the disease, and prevent or delay kidney failure. Because chronic kidney disease often develops slowly and with few symptoms, many people with the condition don’t realize they’re sick until the disease is advanced and requires dialysis. Blood and urine tests are the only ways to tell if you have chronic kidney disease.

Steps to help keep your kidneys healthy include the following:

  • Keep blood pressure below 130/80 mm/hg
  • Stay in your target cholesterol range
  • Eat less salt and salt substitutes
  • Eat healthy foods
  • Stay physically active
  • Take your medications as prescribed

If you have diabetes, take these steps, too:

  • Meet blood sugar targets as often as you can
  • Have an A1c test at least twice a year, but ideally up to four times a year. An A1c test measures the average level of blood sugar over the past three months.

If your blood pressure is high, check it regularly and get it under control to make sure your kidneys remain healthy. Talk to your doctor about medicines to lower your blood pressure.

Helping to prevent type 2 diabetes is another important step in preventing kidney disease. Recent studies have shown that overweight people at higher risk for type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of the disease by losing 5 to 7 percent of their body weight, or 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person. You can do that by eating healthier and getting 150 minutes of physical activity each week.

via CDC Features – Diabetes, High Blood Pressure Raise Kidney Disease Risk.

OSHA Employer Responsibilities to Protect Employees

osha-2Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. Employers MUST provide their employees with a workplace that does not have serious hazards and follow all relevant OSHA safety and health standards. Employers must find and correct safety and health problems. OSHA further requires employers to try to eliminate or reduce hazards first by making changes in working conditions rather than just relying on masks, gloves, ear plugs or other types of personal protective equipment (PPE). Switching to safer chemicals, enclosing processes to trap harmful fumes, or using ventilation systems to clean the air are examples of effective ways to get rid of or minimize risks.

Employers MUST also:

  • Inform employees about hazards through training, labels, alarms, color-coded systems, chemical information sheets and other methods.
  • Keep accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
  • Perform tests in the workplace, such as air sampling required by some OSHA standards.
  • Provide hearing exams or other medical tests required by OSHA standards.
  • Post OSHA citations, injury and illness data, and the OSHA poster in the workplace where workers will see them.
  • Notify OSHA within 8 hours of a workplace incident in which there is a death or when three or more workers go to a hospital.
  • Not discriminate or retaliate against a worker for using their rights under the law.

via Workers.