Category: Work Comp

Why Is Health and Safety Important in the Workplace?

SafetyTrainingIt may seem obvious but health and safety in the workplace is extremely important, not only because it protects employees, but also because productivity increases when workers are happy and healthy. In addition, there are laws that protect employees and require training. Employers should ensure their workplace is free of hazards for their work environment and set up training programs so everyone is aware of company policies and best practices.

via Why Is Health and Safety Important in the Workplace – Ask.com.

Bloodborne Infectious Diseases

bloodborne-pathogen-procedures-online-anytimeExposures to blood and other body fluids occur across a wide variety of occupations. Health care workers, emergency response and public safety personnel, and other workers can be exposed to blood through needlestick and other sharps injuries, mucous membrane, and skin exposures. The pathogens of primary concern are the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Workers and employers are urged to take advantage of available engineering controls and work practices to prevent exposure to blood and other body fluids.

via CDC – Bloodborne Infectious Diseases – HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Work Related Hearing Loss

hearing-lossEvery year, approximately 30 million people in the United States are occupationally exposed to hazardous noise. Noise-related hearing loss has been listed as one of the most prevalent occupational health concerns in the United States for more than 25 years. Thousands of workers every year suffer from preventable hearing loss due to high workplace noise levels. Since 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that nearly 125,000 workers have suffered significant, permanent hearing loss. In 2009 alone, BLS reported more than 21,000 hearing loss cases.

via Safety and Health Topics | Occupational Noise Exposure.

Machine Guarding

WarningMoving machine parts have the potential to cause severe workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from these preventable injuries. Any machine part, function, or process that may cause injury must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine or accidental contact injure the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be eliminated or controlled.

via Safety and Health Topics | Machine Guarding.

Keep Employees Safe with an Effective Safety and Health Management System

subsafety2There are five major elements of an effective SHMS:

a) Management Commitment and Planning – Top management must provide visible ongoing commitment and leadership for implementing the SHMS covering all workers, including contract workers.

b) Employee Involvement – The best SHMSs involve employees at every level of the organization. Employees are often those closest to the hazard and have first-hand knowledge of workplace hazards.

c) Worksite Analysis – Worksite Analysis is a comprehensive evaluation of the hazards and potential hazards in your workplace.

d) Hazard Prevention and Control – Effective management actively establishes procedures for timely identification, correction, and control of hazards. Once hazards and potential hazards are recognized, a hazard prevention and control program can be designed.

e) Safety and Health Training – Training is the means to help assure employees and management understand safety and health hazards in the workplace and know how to protect themselves and others from the hazards while doing their job.

 

OSHA Top 10 Most Cited Standards

osha-inspection-citationThe following is a list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards* following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA. OSHA publishes this list to alert employers about these commonly cited standards so they can take steps to find and fix recognized hazards addressed in these and other standards before OSHA shows up. Far too many preventable injuries and illnesses occur in the workplace.

  • 1926.501 – Fall Protection
  • 1910.1200 – Hazard Communication
  • 1926.451 – Scaffolding
  • 1910.134 – Respiratory Protection
  • 1910.305 – Electrical, Wiring Methods
  • 1910.178 – Powered Industrial Trucks
  • 1926.1053 – Ladders
  • 1910.147 – Lockout/Tagout
  • 1910.303 – Electrical, General Requirements
  • 1910.212 – Machine Guarding

via Top Ten Standards.

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. 

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.

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.

Avoid Slips, Trips, and Falls at Work

PPR-127Slips, trips, and falls constitute the majority of general industry accidents. They cause 15% of all accidental deaths, and are second only to motor vehicles as a cause of fatalities. The OSHA standards for walking/working surfaces apply to all permanent places of employment, except where only domestic, mining, or agricultural work is performed.

Walking/working surfaces are addressed in specific standards for the general industry, shipyard employment, marine terminals, longshoring, and the construction industry.

via Safety and Health Topics | Walking/Working Surfaces.