Backyard and Pool: Household Safety Checklist

AtlantisOutdoors/Backyard/Pool

  • Are all walkways and outdoor stairways well lit?
  • Are all walkways clear of toys, objects, or anything blocking a clear path?
  • Are all sidewalks and outdoor stairways clear of concrete cracks or missing pieces?
  • Are all garbage cans securely covered?
  • Are all swing sets parts free from rust, splinters, and sharp edges?
  • Are all parts on swing sets or other outdoor equipment securely fastened?
  • Is the surface beneath the swing set soft enough (cushioned with material such as sand, mulch, wood chips, or approved rubber surfacing mats) to absorb the shock of a fall?
  • Are all outdoor toys put away in a secure, dry place when not in use?
  • Is there climb-proof fencing at least 4 feet (1.2 meters) high on all sides of the pool? Does the fence have a self-closing gate with a childproof lock?
  • Have all ladders been removed from an above-ground pool when not in use?

Other Safety Issues

  • Have you removed any potentially poisonous houseplants?
  • Have you instituted a no-smoking rule in your home to protect kids from environmental tobacco smoke?
  • Have you considered possible health risks from — and if indicated, tested for — lead, radon, asbestos, mercury, mold, and carbon monoxide?
  • If there are guns in the home, have they been placed in a locked cabinet with the key hidden and the ammunition locked separately?
  • Do you always supervise your child around pets, especially dogs?

via Backyard and Pool: Household Safety Checklist.

OSHA – What is a General Duty Clause Violation?

OSHA-inspector.99125913_stdSeveral conditions must be met for OSHA to issue a General Duty Clause violation:

  • The hazard was recognized.
  • The employer failed to keep the workplace free of a hazard to which his or her employees were exposed.
  • A feasible and useful method was available to correct the hazard.
  • The hazard was causing or likely to cause death or serious injury.

Recognition of a hazard  can be established if the employer knew about the hazard. This can be ascertained through the employer’s previous inspection history. For instance, a compliance officer suggesting a particular situation may constitute a hazard could, given the right conditions, cite the employer on a second inspection for the hazard under the General Duty Clause.

OSHA also can use employee complaints or the employer’s own statements to determine if the hazard was recognized. In addition, the hazard can be recognized by the employer’s industry.

“OSHA does not necessarily need to show that a cited employer recognized the hazard,” Tucker said. “For purposes of the General Duty Clause, a recognized hazard exists if the hazard is recognized either by the employer or by the employer’s industry.” The existence of consensus standards or industry practices also can provide evidence that the hazard was recognizable, Tucker added.

Employees must be exposed to the hazard, and they must be the employees of the cited employer. An employer who creates, contributes to or controls a hazard that would otherwise be a General Duty Clause violation cannot be cited as such if his or her own employees are not exposed to the hazard, according to OSHA’s Field Operations Manual, an agency reference document that identifies inspection duty responsibilities.

Situations such as a multi-employer worksite can be more complicated. OSHA would have to establish that the workers exposed to the hazard were employed by the employer.

A feasible means of abating the hazard also is necessary, and that requirement places a burden on OSHA, Hammock said. In the rulemaking of a typical standard, OSHA has to demonstrate a feasible means of abatement. When a violation of a standard is issued and the employer contests, the burden falls to the employer to provide evidence as to why the abatement methods outlined in the standard are not feasible.

However, with the General Duty Clause, that burden shifts to OSHA, according to Hammock. Similar to establishing hazard recognition, OSHA said it can rely on consensus standards to show how a hazard cited under the General Duty Clause may be abated.

When OSHA issues a General Duty Clause violation, it is for the hazard, not for a particular incident or lack of a particular abatement method.

The hazard must be serious, meaning it could cause death or substantial physical harm. Establishing whether a hazard is serious is similar to how OSHA classifies a serious violation for its standards, the Field Operations Manual states. A serious hazard presents a “substantial probability” of death or serious physical harm.

As an example, the Field Operations Manual offers an employee standing at the edge of an unguarded floor 25 feet high. A fall likely would result in death or serious injury.

via The General Duty Clause.

Quick tips to a healthier back

38e2e8559711563c7e84e42b0c4606bbFollowing any period of prolonged inactivity, begin a program of regular low-impact exercises. Speed walking, swimming, or stationary bike riding 30 minutes a day can increase muscle strength and flexibility. Yoga can also help stretch and strengthen muscles and improve posture. Ask your physician or orthopedist for a list of low-impact exercises appropriate for your age and designed to strengthen lower back and abdominal muscles.

  • Always stretch before exercise or other strenuous physical activity.
  • Don’t slouch when standing or sitting. When standing, keep your weight balanced on your feet. Your back supports weight most easily when curvature is reduced.
  • At home or work, make sure your work surface is at a comfortable height for you.
  • Sit in a chair with good lumbar support and proper position and height for the task. Keep your shoulders back. Switch sitting positions often and periodically walk around the office or gently stretch muscles to relieve tension. A pillow or rolled-up towel placed behind the small of your back can provide some lumbar support. If you must sit for a long period of time, rest your feet on a low stool or a stack of books.
  • Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.
  • Sleep on your side to reduce any curve in your spine. Always sleep on a firm surface.
  • Ask for help when transferring an ill or injured family member from a reclining to a sitting position or when moving the patient from a chair to a bed.
  • Don’t try to lift objects too heavy for you. Lift with your knees, pull in your stomach muscles, and keep your head down and in line with your straight back. Keep the object close to your body. Do not twist when lifting.
  • Maintain proper nutrition and diet to reduce and prevent excessive weight, especially weight around the waistline that taxes lower back muscles. A diet with sufficient daily intake of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D helps to promote new bone growth.
  • If you smoke, quit. Smoking reduces blood flow to the lower spine and causes the spinal discs to degenerate.

via Low Back Pain Fact Sheet: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Texting and Driving a National Epidemic

young woman driving on highway while reading / writing text on smart phone.Texting while driving is a growing trend, and a national epidemic, quickly becoming one of the country’s top killers. Drivers assume they can handle texting while driving and remain safe, but the numbers don’t lie.

Texting While Driving Causes:

  • 1,600,000 accidents per year – National Safety Council
  • 330,000 injuries per year – Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study
  • 11 teen deaths EVERY DAY – Ins. Institute for Hwy Safety Fatality Facts
  • Nearly 25% of ALL car accidents

Texting While Driving Is:

  • About 6 times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated
  • The same as driving after 4 beers – National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin.
  • The number one driving distraction reported by teen drivers

Texting While Driving:

  • Makes you 23X more likely to crash – National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin.
  • Is the same as driving blind for 5 seconds at a time – VA. Tech Transportation Institute
  • Takes place by 800,000 drivers at any given time across the country
  • Slows your brake reaction speed by 18% – HumanFactors & Ergonomics Society
  • Leads to a 400% increase with eyes off the road

via Texting and Driving Statistics.

Eat Well, Exercise, Moderate Alcohol Intake, Don’t Smoke, And Live Longer

healthy-aging1Following four healthy behaviors was associated with a lower risk of death in this analysis of data from 16,958 people who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III Mortality Study. Researchers collected information on lifestyle behaviors from the participants between 1988 and 1994 and followed the group until 2006 to determine who died. Each healthy behavior was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death during the study follow up, but people who had all four healthy behaviors had some dramatic reductions in their risk of death. People who ate a healthy diet, got enough exercise, drank moderate amounts of alcohol, and did not smoke had a 63% lower risk of all-cause death, 66% lower risk of death from cancer, 65% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and 57% lower risk of death from all other causes during follow-up compared to people who did not have any of these healthy behaviors. While many people had at least one healthy behavior, only 4.8% of the participants had all four.

via Eat Well, Exercise, Moderate Alcohol Intake, Don’t Smoke, And Live Longer | Rodale News.

The 4 Hiring Practices of Highly Successful Organizations

hiringA new survey by human resource consulting firm Development Dimensions International and web-based recruiting resource Electronic Recruiting Exchange (ERE) reveals what keeps successful organizations on top. They don’t just glance at a resume and then hire whoever looks good in a suit, but instead use four modern hiring practices to find top talent.

Keys to success

“The survey strongly suggests that specific hiring practices and tools are linked to an organization’s success,” says Scott Burton, vice president of staffing and assessment consulting for DDI. The study shows that in the past year the organizations with the more effective hiring systems ranked higher in financial performance, productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and retention. “This is further proof of what HR professionals have long said: Success is based on finding the right people for the right jobs.”

“The survey offered still more evidence for the power of web technologies within the recruiting industry,” says ERE president David Manaster. “In fact, the results show that the Internet has superseded the hallmark of recruiting success, employee referrals, as the most widely used and effective recruitment tool for many professionals.”

Four hiring practices of highly successful organizations. The study revealed that the organizations with the most effective hiring policies were more likely to use the following four practices:

  • Job interviews in which candidates are asked to describe specific examples of their skills
  • Automated resume screening and search
  • Assessments that predict whether candidates are motivated by the factors associated with a particular job or a company’s values and ways of doing things
  • Simulations that gauge specific job-related abilities and skills

“Organizations should be using the four key hiring practices more, because they make it much easier to find the best candidates,” Burton says. “The current news of layoffs may be creating the illusion that it will be easier to hire good people, but that’s a mistake. It may be easier to get a mound of resumes, but it will continue to be difficult to find the right people for the right job.”

via The 4 Hiring Practices of Highly Successful Organizations, Recruiting Article | Inc.com.

How Can I Protect Skin From the Sun?

cute child applying sunscreen at the beachNothing can completely undo sun damage, although the skin can sometimes repair itself. So, it’s never too late to begin protecting yourself from the sun. Follow these tips to help prevent sun-related skin problems:

  • Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or greater at least 30 minutes before sun exposure and then at least every 2 hours thereafter, more if you are sweating or swimming
  • Select cosmetic products and contact lenses that offer UV protection
  • Wear sunglasses with total UV protection
  • Wear wide-brimmed hats, long sleeved shirts, and pants
  • Avoid direct sun exposure as much as possible during peak UV radiation hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
  • Perform skin self-exams regularly to become familiar with existing growths and to notice any changes or new growths
  • Eighty percent of a person’s lifetime sun exposure is acquired before age 18. As a parent, be a good role model and foster skin cancer prevention habits in your child
  • Avoid tanning beds

via Sun Safety Tips.

Workplace Injury Reports to Go Online

pob0211_safety02_106540332For many workers, their jobs may be the most dangerous activities they engage in on a regular basis. On average, twelve people died each day last year from workplace incidents—amounting to over 4,300 deaths. Moreover, nearly 3 million workers suffered injuries or became ill at work last year.

These statistics actually represent some of the lowest workplace mortality and injury rates in decades, but Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez has urged that the government “can and must do better.” To Perez, the statistics “aren’t just numbers and data – they are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, who will never come home again.”

In an effort to reduce workplace hazards and prevent injuries, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently proposed a new rule that would add requirements for the electronic submission of workplace injury and illness information. In announcing the agency’s proposal, David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, indicated that the new requirements should provide “better access to data that will encourage earlier abatements of hazards and result in improved programs to reduce workplace hazards and prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities.”

via Workplace Injury Reports to Go Online | RegBlog.

5 Easy Steps to Living Long and Well

mens-health-anti-agingLiving past 90, and living well, may be more than a matter of good genes and good luck. Five behaviors in elderly men are associated not only with living into extreme old age, a new study has found, but also with good health and independent functioning.

The behaviors are abstaining from smoking, weight management, blood pressure control, regular exercise and avoiding diabetes. The study reports that all are significantly correlated with healthy survival after 90.

via Gentlemen, 5 Easy Steps to Living Long and Well – New York Times.

A Comprehensive Fall Protection Program Can Reduce Risk and Insurance Costs!

fall-protection-sign-ODE-3000_300The National Safety Council estimates that falls in the workplace account for over 100,000 injuries annually, and that falls are one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities. The Centers for Disease Control reports that workers’ compensation and medical costs associated with occupational fall incidents are approximately $70 billion annually in the United States (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/falls/).

Statistics like these make the benefits of implementing a comprehensive fall protection plan in your workplace easy to see. Not only do such programs provide the obvious benefit of protecting workers from injury, they can substantially reduce workers’ compensation claims, reduce your insurance premiums, increase productivity, reduce OSHA fines, and boost worker morale.

via A Comprehensive Fall Protection Program Can Reduce Your Risk and Your Insurance Costs! | Rigid Lifelines.