Category: Safety

How can workplace violence hazards be reduced?

work-place-violence-68330In most workplaces where risk factors can be identified, the risk of assault can be prevented or minimized if employers take appropriate precautions. One of the best protections employers can offer their workers is to establish a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence. This policy should cover all workers, patients, clients, visitors, contractors, and anyone else who may come in contact with company personnel.

By assessing their worksites, employers can identify methods for reducing the likelihood of incidents occurring.  OSHA believes that a well written and implemented Workplace Violence Prevention Program, combined with engineering controls, administrative controls and training can reduce the incidence of workplace violence in both the private sector and Federal workplaces.

This can be a separate workplace violence prevention program or can be incorporated into an injury and illness prevention program, employee handbook, or manual of standard operating procedures. It is critical to ensure that all workers know the policy and understand that all claims of workplace violence will be investigated and remedied promptly. In addition, OSHA encourages employers to develop additional methods as necessary to protect employees in high risk industries.

via Safety and Health Topics | Workplace Violence.

The Risk of Surgical Error

iStock_000005365498Small-e1282704396512After a cautious and rigorous analysis of national malpractice claims, Johns Hopkins patient safety researchers estimate that a surgeon in the United States leaves a foreign object such as a sponge or a towel inside a patient’s body after an operation 39 times a week, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week and operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week.

The researchers, reporting online in the journal Surgery, say they estimate that 80,000 of these so-called “never events” occurred in American hospitals between 1990 and 2010 – and believe their estimates are likely on the low side.

via Johns Hopkins Malpractice Study: Surgical ‘Never Events’ Occur At Least 4,000 Times per Year – 12/19/2012.

Understanding the Roles of Behavior in Safety

SAFETY2Behaviors have always had a role in safety dating back to prehistoric times, and they always will. Behaviors were the primary, and sometimes only, tools for survival, remaining today as the last tool when all else fails. When in an environment you do not control or when you lack the right tools or systems fail, it is up to you to behave in a manner for self-preservation. This is popularized with the common statement, “You are the one responsible for your safety.” This is not ideal; it is, however, reality.

via Understanding the Roles of Behavior in Safety — Occupational Health & Safety.

Preventing Choking Among Infants and Young Children

choking childMany infants and children die each year from choking. These deaths can be prevented if parents and care givers watch their children more closely and keep dangerous toys, foods, and household items out of their reach.

Safety Tips: Tips for Preventing Choking

If you are the parent or care giver of an infant or child under 4 years old, follow these tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the chances of choking.

At Mealtime

  • Insist that your children eat at the table, or at least sitting down. Watch young children while they eat. Encourage them to eat slowly and chew their food well.
  • Cut up foods that are firm and round and can get stuck in your child’s airway, such as
  • hotdogs -always cut hotdogs length-wise and then into small pieces
  • grapes-cut them into quarters
  • raw vegetables-cut them into small strips or pieces that are not round

Other foods that can pose a choking hazard include:

  • hard or sticky candy, like whole peppermints or caramels
  • nuts and seeds (don’t give peanuts to children under age 7)
  • popcorn
  • spoonfuls of peanut butter

via Preventing Choking Among Infants and Young Children.

Prevent Child Injuries – Protect the Ones You Love

stock9More than 9 million children between birth and age 19 are seen for injuries each year in U.S. emergency departments, and injuries are the leading cause of death among children in this age group.

The top causes of child injury and the steps you can take to prevent them.

Burns

  • Install and maintain smoke alarms in your home.
  • Develop and practice a family fire escape plan.
  • Set your water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
  • Use safe cooking practices, such as never leaving food unattended on the stove.

Drownings

  • Install a four-sided isolation fence, with self-closing and self-latching gates, around backyard swimming pools.
  • Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and get recertified every two years.
  • Supervise young children at all times around bathtubs, swimming pools, and natural bodies of water.

Falls

  • Use playground equipment that is properly designed and maintained, and that has a soft landing surface material below.
  • Use home safety devices, such as guards on windows that are located above ground-level, stair gates, and guard rails.
  • Supervise young children at all times around fall hazards, like stairs and playground equipment.

Poisonings

  • Store medicines and other toxic products such as cleaning solutions in locked or childproof cabinets.
  • Put the poison control number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every home telephone.
  • Dispose of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs.

via CDC Features – Prevent Child Injuries during Home Safety Month.

Winter Safety – prepare for winter

Holiday TipsWinter is a wonderful time of year. Spending time with your family, the many holidays, the New Year, snow and the warmth from a fireplace all remind us of the upcoming season. But, as with any time of the year, there are specific things we need to be aware of to keep our family safe and injury-free.

  • Home fires are more prevalent in the winter months than any other season. Cooking is the leading cause of all winter residential building fires. Other winter fire hazards include space heaters, fireplaces and candles.
  • The cold weather increases your chances of getting frostbite or hypothermia. Between  the years of 1999-2004, an average of 647 people died each year from hypothermia.
  • In 2009, over 16,000 Americans were treated for head injuries in emergency rooms because of playing winter sports (skiing, sledding, snowboarding, snowmobiling).
  • Fatal crashes were 14% more likely to happen on the first snowy day of the season than on days following. It takes drivers a few days to regain their sense of driving in this weather.
  • According to the CDC, most carbon monoxide poisonings happen in January; the second most in December. Carbon monoxide detectors save lives, but less than one-third of American homes have one installed.

via Winter Safety – prepare for winter, driving tips.

Keep Fingers and Hands Safe: Practice Snowblower Safety

help t7Each year, hundreds of people suffer maiming or amputations of their fingers or hands due to the improper handling of snowblowers. The American Society for Surgery of the Hand would like to provide you with patient information to help you avoid these injuries during the winter season.

Injury Profile

  • Average age: 44 years
  • Sex: Male
  • Dominant hand — 90% of injuries
  • Amputations of tips of fingers
  • Middle finger most commonly injured

Common Weather Conditions

  • Heavy, wet snow
  • Large snow accumulation, greater than six inches
  • Temperature: 28 degrees Fahrenheit or greater

Injury Causes

  • Not noticing that the impeller blades are still rotating even though the machine is off
  • Operator attempts to clean the clogged exit chute with hands
  • Hands connect with the rotating blades, resulting in severe injury

Remember — if your snowblower jams:

  • Turn it OFF!
  • Disengage clutch.
  • Wait five seconds after shutting machine off to allow impeller blades to stop rotating.
  • ALWAYS use a stick or broom handle to clear impacted snow.
  • NEVER put your hand down chute or around blades.
  • Keep all shields in place. DO NOT REMOVE the safety devices on the machine.
  • Keep hands and feet away from all moving parts.
  • Keep a clear head, concentrate, and
  • DO NOT DRINK before using your snowblower!

REMEMBER — SAFETY FIRST AT ALL TIMES!

via Keep Fingers and Hands Safe: Practice Snowblower Safety.

The Risk Management Process

Quality-Risk-ManagementRisk management is a cycle. That means that it is not something that gets checked off a “to do” list but it is a continuous activity. Having a risk management process means that your organization knows and understands the risks to which you are exposed. It also means that your organization has deliberately evaluated the risks and has strategies in place to remove the risk altogether, reduce the likelihood of the risk happening or minimize harm in the event that something happens.

At a very basic level, risk management focuses you on two fundamental questions:

  • What can go wrong?
  • What will we do to prevent the harm from occurring in the first place and in response to the harm or loss if it actually happens?

via Risk Management in HR | HR Planning | HR Toolkit | hrcouncil.ca.

Christmas Safety Tips

Christmas_TreeChristmas is a special time of the year for families.  We suggest the following safety tips to keep the holiday season joyful.

Christmas Tree Safety:

  • Consider an artificial tree as they are much safer and cleaner
  • A real tree should not lose green needles when you tap it on the ground
  • Cut one inch off the trunk to help absorb water
  • Leave the tree outside until ready to decorate
  • The tree stand should hold a minimum of one gallon of water
  • Check the water level daily
  • Make sure the tree is secured and cannot be knocked over
  • Keep the tree away from all heat sources
  • Use miniature lights that have cool-burning bulbs
  • Always turn off the tree lights when going to bed or leaving the house
  • Never use candles even on artificial trees
  • Dispose of the tree properly after the holidays

Home Safety:

  • Make sure you have a properly working fire alarm
  • Use only outdoor lights on the exterior of the home
  • Never use worn light strings
  • Connect no more than three strands of lights together
  • Never use an indoor extension cord outdoors
  • Avoid overloading wall outlets and extension cords
  • Keep outdoor electrical connectors above ground and out of the snow
  • Never use electric lights on a metallic tree
  • Extinguish fireplace ashes before going to bed or leaving the house
  • After parties, check under and around chairs, sofas and other furniture for smoldering cigarettes if there have been people smoking in the house
  • Have at least one working carbon monoxide detector in the house
  • Have a fire extinguisher available

via Christmas safety.

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

lock_out_tag_out_requiredWhat is hazardous energy?

Energy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees.

via Safety and Health Topics | Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout).