Category: Safety

Older Drivers – How Aging Affects Driving

As people get older, their driving patterns change. Retirement, different schedules, and new activities affect when and where they drive. Most older adults drive safely because they have a lot of experience behind the wheel. But when they are involved in crashes, they are often hurt more seriously than younger drivers. Age-related declines in vision, hearing, and other abilities, as well as certain health conditions and medications, can affect driving skills.

via NIHSeniorHealth: Older Drivers – How Aging Affects Driving.

Avoid Dangerous Scaffold Accidents

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that falls are a leading cause of traumatic death on the job. Many of these incidents involve scaffolding. Scaffolds are working platforms suspended by ropes, or other means, from an overhead structure. Falls frequently occur as the result of:

* Improper installation or operation of scaffold equipment.

* Defective scaffold equipment.

* Insufficient worker safety training.

* Failure to provide or use personal fall protection equipment.

via High Risk: Despite Regulations, Scaffold Accidents Continue | Safety.com.

The 10 Objectives of a Safety Committee

In order to accomplish these objectives, the successful Health and Safety Committee should:

  1. Develop a written mission statement and charter.
  2. Clearly define the duties and responsibilities of officers and general members.
  3. Identify and prioritize goals and establish action plans to achieve each goal.
  4. Include representation from different levels and areas of the organization.
  5. Meet at least quarterly/monthly.
  6. Record and disseminate minutes of each meeting, documenting attendance, problems and issues and corrective action proposed and actions taken to address each issue.
  7. Make attendance mandatory with the penalty of removal for repeated absences.
  8. Develop methods to increase and maintain safety awareness.
  9. Organize special sub-committees to address specific issues and projects.
  10. Communicate the purpose, activities and accomplishments of the committee to all employees.

via Safety Committee Guidelines.

Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling

Manual material handling (MMH) work contributes to a large percentage of the over half a million cases of musculoskeletal disorders reported annually in the United States. Musculoskeletal disorders often involve strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders, and upper limbs. They can result in protracted pain, disability, medical treatment, and financial stress for those afflicted with them, and employers often find themselves paying the bill, either directly or through workers’ compensation insurance, at the same time they must cope with the loss of the full capacity of their workers.

via CDC – NIOSH Publications and Products – Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling (2007-131).

Risk of Falling Increases With Age

Risk of Falling Increases With Age

Many people have a friend or relative who has fallen. The person may have slipped while walking or felt dizzy when standing up from a chair and fallen. Maybe you’ve fallen yourself.

If you or an older person you know has fallen, you’re not alone. More than one in three people age 65 years or older falls each year. The risk of falling — and fall-related problems — rises with age.

Falls Lead to Fractures, Trauma

Each year, more than 1.6 million older U.S. adults go to emergency departments for fall-related injuries. Among older adults, falls are the number one cause of fractures, hospital admissions for trauma, loss of independence, and injury deaths.

Ways to Prevent Falls

Exercise to improve your balance and strengthen your muscles helps to prevent falls. Not wearing bifocal or multifocal glasses when you walk, especially on stairs, will make you less likely to fall. You can also make your home safer by removing loose rugs, adding handrails to stairs and hallways, and making sure you have adequate lighting in dark areas.

Falls are not an inevitable part of life, even as a person gets older. You can take action to prevent falls. Your doctor or other health care providers can help you decide what changes will help.

via NIHSeniorHealth: Falls and Older Adults – About Falls.

The 7 Reasons For A Safety Committee

Health and Safety Committees should be established for the following purposes:

  1. To increase and maintain the interest of employees in health and safety issues.
  2. To convince managers, supervisors and employees through awareness and training activities that they are primarily responsible for the prevention of workplace accidents.
  3. To help make health and safety activities an integral part of the organizations operating procedures, culture and programs.
  4. To provide an opportunity for the free discussion of health and safety problems and possible solutions.
  5. To inform and educate employees and supervisors about health and safety issues, new standards, research findings, etc.
  6. To help reduce the risk of workplace injuries and illnesses.
  7. To help insure compliance with federal and state health and safety standards.

via Safety Committee Guidelines.

Welding – Hot Work

What is hot work?

Working with ignition sources near flammable materials is referred to as “hot work.” Welding and cutting are examples of hot work. Fires are often the result of the “quick five minute” job in areas not intended for welding or cutting. Getting a hot work permit before performing hot work is just one of steps involved in a hot work management program that helps to reduce the risk of starting a fire by welding or cutting in areas where there are flammable or combustible materials.

via Welding – Hot Work : OSH Answers.

Hazard Communication Required

Hazard Communication Standard

In order to ensure chemical safety in the workplace, information about the identities and hazards of the chemicals must be available and understandable to workers. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires the development and dissemination of such information:

  • Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers;
  • All employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must have labels and safety data sheets for their exposed workers, and train them to handle the chemicals appropriately.

via Hazard Communication.

The Top Five Types of Workplace Hazards

Chemicals

Your employees may be at risk of health hazards if their jobs include exposure to chemicals. Substances that can harm your workers include fumes, gases, liquids, solids, dust, vapors and corrosives. Whether your employees are at risk of ingesting the substance, inhaling it or absorbing it through the skin, you have a responsibility to ensure the risks are minimized. These types of hazards can be in any type of business you run, from manufacturing to retail.

Fire

Fire is a risk for your business, no matter what type of company you are running. The Seattle Fire Department Fire Prevention Division estimates 70,000 to 80,000 fires occur in businesses in the U.S. each year. Knowing where your fire extinguishers are, holding fire drills and informing employees of your emergency escape routes can ensure safety.

Repetitive Use Injury

When your employees repeat the same actions throughout the day, such as typing or rolling dough, or washing windows, they are at risk of repetitive use injury. The parts of the body that suffer from repetitive use are the back, shoulders, forearms, wrists and hands. Ensuring adequate breaks from job duties can reduce the risk of injury.

Electrical Hazards

People who work directly with electricity, including electricians and engineers, are at risk of injury; personnel who work with electrical equipment in the office are also at risk of injury. Even an office worker making a fix with power tools outdoors can sustain electrical injury during adverse weather. You can minimize the risk of injuries by using one extension cord or power strip per connection, keeping liquids clear of electrical equipment and conducting regular safety examinations.

Accidental Falls and Falling Objects

If your employees work at elevated heights, they may be at risk of accidental falls. Anytime objects are stored at or above head level, there is a risk of injury caused by falling objects. Wearing safety gear including a hard hat or harness, and installing guardrails or a safety net can reduce the risk of injury. Instruct employees on the safe use of equipment.

via The Top Five Types of Workplace Hazards | Chron.com.