Category: Safety

Job Hazard Analysis

img_quality_pageWhy is job hazard analysis important?

Many workers are injured and killed at the workplace every day in the United States. Safety and health can add value to your business, your job, and your life. You can help prevent workplace injuries and illnesses by looking at your workplace operations, establishing proper job procedures, and ensuring that all employees are trained properly.

One of the best ways to determine and establish proper work procedures is to conduct a job hazard analysis. A job hazard analysis is one component of the larger commitment of a safety and health management system.

via Job Hazard Analysis.

Emergency Medical Services Workers

e38f4ed53e48334f59c558152eed57f1Emergency medical services (EMS) workers are primary providers of pre-hospital emergency medical care and integral components of disaster response. The potentially hazardous job duties of EMS workers include lifting patients and equipment, treating patients with infectious illnesses, handling hazardous chemical and body substances, and participating in the emergency transport of patients in ground and air vehicles. These duties create an inherent risk for EMS worker occupational injuries and illnesses; and research has shown that they have high rates of fatal injuries and nonfatal injuries and illnesses.

via CDC – Emergency Medical Services Workers – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Preventing Carbon Monoxide Problems

  • Carbon-MonoxideHundreds of Americans die every year from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
  • Carbon monoxide in the home can come from many sources.
  • If you experience CO poisoning symptoms, get fresh air immediately and go to an emergency room.
  • Prevention is the key to protecting you and your family.
  • Make sure your CO alarm meets the requirements of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or International Approval Service (IAS).

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

You cannot see or smell carbon monoxide (CO), but at high levels it can kill a person in minutes. It is the leading cause of poisoning death, with over 500 victims in the United States each year.

Carbon monoxide is produced whenever a fuel such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood or charcoal is burned. The amount of CO produced depends mainly on the quality or efficiency of combustion. A properly functioning burner, whether natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has efficient combustion and produces little CO. However, an out-of-adjustment burner can produce life-threatening amounts of CO without any visible warning signs.

When appliances that burn fuel are maintained and used properly, the amount of CO produced usually is not hazardous. But if appliances are not working properly or are used incorrectly, dangerous levels of CO can collect in an enclosed space. Hundreds of Americans die accidentally every year from CO poisoning caused by malfunctioning or improperly used fuel-burning appliances. Many more people are harmed to some degree each year.

via Preventing Carbon Monoxide Problems.

Business Case for Safety and Health

cost-risk-benefitEmployers that invest in workplace safety and health can expect to reduce fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. This will result in cost savings in a variety of areas, such as lowering workers’ compensation costs and medical expenses, avoiding OSHA penalties, and reducing costs to train replacement employees and conduct accident investigations. In addition, employers often find that changes made to improve workplace safety and health can result in significant improvements to their organization’s productivity and financial performance.

via Safety and Health Topics | Business Case for Safety and Health – Benefits.

Injury Risk to Home Building Workers

SIPs-can-be-moved-by-two-menHome building is physically demanding work and manual material handling may be the most difficult part of the job. Manual material handling includes all of the tasks that require you to lift, lower, push, pull, hold or carry materials. These activities increase the risk of painful strains and sprains and more serious soft tissue injuries.

Soft tissues of the body include muscles, tendons, ligaments, discs, cartilage and nerves. Soft tissue injuries cause workers pain, suffering and lost income. They can also restrict non-work activity, like sports and hobbies. Builders’ and employers’ costs include loss of productivity and high workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

via CDC – NIOSH Publications and Products – Simple Solutions for Home Building Workers (2013-111).

GHS: Hazard Communication Standard

RTK504_LH1With newly formatted Safety Data Sheets and chemical labels beginning to arrive at worksites, experts recommend employers take the following steps:

  • Train employees. The deadline to ensure all workers are familiar with the updated labeling and SDS elements was Dec. 1, 2013.
  • Get the new SDSs. Take steps, including contacting chemical manufacturers, to ensure you have updated SDSs by June 1 for all chemicals onsite.
  • Review the SDSs. When the new SDSs come in, closely examine them and consider whether you have appropriate controls in place for all hazards.
  • Update hazcom program. If new hazards are listed on the SDSs, update your hazard communication program to mitigate the risks posed by those hazards.
  • Review training. Make sure your employees understand the new labels and SDSs. Refresher training may be necessary.

via GHS: The look of things to come | February 2015 | Safety+Health Magazine.

Fatal Falls at Work

Ladder_fallIn 2013, falls to lower level accounted for 574 fatal work injuries. Of the cases where height of fall was known (466 cases), 3 out of every 5 were falls of 20 feet or less. Only one in five cases involved falls from more than 30 feet. In fact one in ten cases involved falls of less than 6 feet.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2014

Connecting Psychosocial Environment and Employee Health

ist2_1935044_angry_boss_employee1Psychosocial environment refers to the culture and climate of the workplace.  Examples of the psychosocial environment of a workplace include respect for work-life balance, mechanisms to recognize and reward good performance, valuing employee wellness, encourage employee feedback about organizational practices, zero tolerance for harassment, bullying and discrimination, ensuring employee psychological safety and health.

via Psychosocial Environment.

The Dangers of Texting While Driving

a3c5f2336b83b767b539f935519f8c47The popularity of mobile devices has had some unintended and even dangerous consequences. We now know that mobile communications are linked to a significant increase in distracted driving, resulting in injury and loss of life.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2012 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,328 people killed – and crashes resulting in an injury – with 421,000 people wounded.

Forty percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.

Eleven percent of drivers aged 18 to 20 who were involved in an automobile accident and survived admitted they were sending or receiving texts when they crashed.

Distracted driving endangers life and property and the current levels of injury and loss are unacceptable.

via The Dangers of Texting While Driving | FCC.gov.