Author: Randy

Effective Safety Committees

Safety committees are a key part of safety in the workplace. They can provide a central focus when they represent all functions or departments to allow the organization to take an overall look at safety requirements and to foresee problems. They can provide a sounding board by being a visible and approachable body for safety or health complaints and suggestions. Finally, they can provide central coordination of safety training activities.

via Safety Committees training, regulations, analysis, news, and tools – Safety.BLR.com.

Assessing Your Weight and Health Risk

Risk Factors for Health Topics Associated With Obesity

Along with being overweight or obese, the following conditions will put you at greater risk for heart disease and other conditions:

Risk Factors

  • High blood pressure hypertension
  • High LDL cholesterol “bad” cholesterol
  • Low HDL cholesterol “good” cholesterol
  • High triglycerides
  • High blood glucose sugar
  • Family history of premature heart disease
  • Physical inactivity
  • Cigarette smoking

via Assessing Your Weight and Health Risk.

Cell Phone Policies of Companies with Best Fleet Safety Performance

Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) fleet benchmarking study of companies with a combined fleet of 350,000 vehicles found that policies banning all cell phone use while driving were common among  companies with the best fleet safety performance:

  • 83% of fleet safety leaders banned all cell phones, versus 43% of other companies.
  • 17% of fleet safety leaders allowed hands-free use, versus 57% of other companies.
  • 83% of fleet safety leaders responded to policy violations with disciplinary action, and 50% percent include termination as a disciplinary response.

via Employer Policies, Distracted Driving Resources, Free Cell Phone Policy Kit.

Heart Attack Symptoms and Early Warning Signs

A heart attack is a medical emergency. If you have symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 or your local emergency number right away.

  • DO NOT try to drive yourself to the hospital.
  • DO NOT WAIT. You are at greatest risk of sudden death in the early hours of a heart attack.

Chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack. You may feel the pain in only one part of your body, or it may move from your chest to your arms, shoulder, neck, teeth, jaw, belly area, or back. The pain can be severe or mild. It can feel like:

  • A tight band around the chest
  • Bad indigestion
  • Something heavy sitting on your chest
  • Squeezing or heavy pressure

The pain usually lasts longer than 20 minutes. Rest and a medicine called nitroglycerin may not completely relieve the pain of a heart attack. Symptoms may also go away and come back. Other symptoms of a heart attack can include:

  • Anxiety
  • Cough
  • Fainting
  • Light-headedness, dizziness
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Palpitations (feeling like your heart is beating too fast or irregularly)
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sweating, which may be very heavy

Some people (the elderly, people with diabetes, and women) may have little or no chest pain. Or, they may have unusual symptoms (shortness of breath, fatigue, and weakness). A “silent heart attack” is a heart attack with no symptoms.

via Heart attack – PubMed Health.

Joint Pain at Work

Joint Pain at Work – That creaking you hear may not be your co-workers Halloween skeleton decoration but their actual knees, hips, wrists and shoulders.  Joint pain at work can be very SCARY… and painful… and costly.  Arthritis, one example of joint pain, is the leading cause of work disability.  In 2007, the annual cost of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions was $128 billion.

via The NIOSH Science Blog has been updated: Joint Pain at Work.

Smoking Raises Surgery Risks

Smokers Are Nearly 40% More Likely Than Nonsmokers to Die After Surgery

Smokers who undergo surgery are more likely than nonsmokers to have complications or to die shortly after surgical procedures, according to a study. The risk of death within 30 days of a wide variety of surgeries was nearly 40% higher in smokers than in nonsmokers, says Alparslan Turan, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology at the Cleveland Clinic. There was also an increase in cardiovascular complications,” Turan says. In his study comparing more than 82,000 smokers with nonsmoking patients, the smokers were:

  • 57% more likely to have cardiac arrest
  • 80% more likely to have a heart attack
  • 73% more likely to have a stroke

The risk of pneumonia was double [for smokers],” Turan says.The patients had a range of common surgeries, such as colon procedures, breast surgeries, appendix removal, and hysterectomy. Smokers were also more likely to contract infections and to be put on mechanical ventilation after surgery because of complications.

via Smoking Raises Surgery Risks.

Workplace Emergency Plans

Like individuals and families, schools, daycare providers, workplaces, neighborhoods and apartment buildings should all have site-specific emergency plans. Ask about plans at the places where your family spends the most time: work, school and other places you frequent. If none exist, consider volunteering to help develop one. You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead, and communicate with others in advance.

via Workplace Plans | Ready.gov.

How To Prevent and Control Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors

You can prevent and control many coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors with lifestyle changes and medicines. Examples of these controllable risk factors include high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and overweight and obesity. Only a few risk factors—such as age, gender, and family history—can’t be controlled.

To reduce your risk of CHD and heart attack, try to control each risk factor you can. The good news is that many lifestyle changes help control several CHD risk factors at the same time. For example, physical activity may lower your blood pressure, help control diabetes and prediabetes, reduce stress, and help control your weight.

via How To Prevent and Control Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors – NHLBI, NIH.

Aging Workers

Are there any specific health and safety concerns related to aging workers?

A few. Most studies say that older workers tend to have fewer accidents, but when an older worker does get injured, their injuries are often more severe. They also may take longer to get better. Plus, the types of injuries can be different. Younger workers tend to get more eye or hand injuries, while older workers who have been working for many years report more back injuries.

via Aging Workers : OSH Answers.