Risk Management 365 – Page 27 – Risk Profile Improvement

Home Swimming Pool Safety Tips for Kids & Adults

Maintaining a Safe Environment Around Your Home Swimming Pool

Millions of us enjoy warm weather every year by swimming in our backyard pools and relaxing in hot tubs. Tragically though, over 200 young children drown in backyard swimming pools each year. The American Red Cross suggests owners make pool safety their priority by following these guidelines:

Secure your pool with appropriate barriers. Completely surround your pool with a 4-feet high fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. Consider installing a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool.
Keep children under active supervision at all times. Stay in arm’s reach of young kids. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool—never allow anyone to swim alone. Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
Ensure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses from the Red Cross.
Keep your pool or hot tub water clean and clear. Maintain proper chemical levels, circulation and filtration. Regularly test and adjust the chemical levels to minimize the risk of earaches, rashes or more serious diseases.
Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as “no diving,” “stay away from drain covers,” “swim with a buddy” and “walk please.”
Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.

The American Red Cross and National Swimming Pool Foundation® have partnered to create an online Home Pool Essentials course that describes steps home pool owners can take to prevent tragedy and keep a well maintained pool or hot tub. The course is available at www.HomePoolEssentials.org.

via Home Swimming Pool Safety Tips for Kids & Adults | Red Cross.

Motivate People by Creating a Fun Workplace

There are 3 ways to motivate people to work harder, faster and smarter:

1. Threaten them.

2. Pay them lots of money.

3. Make their work fun.

In today’s workplace, threatening people has not been effective. Paying them lots of money (even if you can afford it) has only shown short-term success. Only number three, making their workplace enjoyable, has a track record of effecting real change. It is time managers learned how to create an atmosphere that is challenging, creative and fun for employees as well as for themselves.

via AgCareers Newsletter Article.

One Child’s Death is One Too Many: Preventing Backovers in America’s Driveways

Safety Tips for Parents

Keeping your children out of harm’s way requires ongoing education, supervision, and vigilance: there simply is no single fail-safe solution. However, safety experts advise employing the following strategies to help reduce the risk of a backover tragedy occurring:

Ensure your children are properly supervised at all times, especially wherever motor vehicles might be present.
Teach children not to play in, under, or around vehicles — ever.
Always assume children could be present and carefully check the street, driveway, and area around your vehicle before backing out.
Avoid making your driveway a “playground.” If you do allow children in this area, make sure that it’s only when there are no vehicles present. To further protect children who may be outside playing, separate the driveway from the roadway with a physical barrier to prevent any cars from entering.
To prevent curious children from ever putting a vehicle in gear, never leave vehicles running, and keep all vehicles, even those in driveways and garages, locked up tight.
When backing up, always know where all children are and have them stay in your full view and well away from your vehicle.
Look behind you as you back out S-L-O-W-L-Y with your windows rolled down to listen for children who may have dashed behind your vehicle suddenly — and be prepared to stop!
If you’re driving an SUV or truck, remember that the blind spot behind your vehicle can be especially large: use extreme care whenever you back up.

Finally, talk with neighborhood parents about backover incidents and ask them to teach their children not to play in or around any vehicle or driveway. By working together to promote awareness and protective home and neighborhood environments, we can help to keep all our children safe.

via One Child’s Death is One Too Many: Preventing Backovers in America’s Driveways | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Emergency: Active Shooter/ Workplace Violence

An active shooter/ hostile intruder is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area by any means including but not limited to firearms (most frequently used), bladed weapons, vehicles, or any tool that in the circumstance in which it is used constitutes deadly physical force. In most cases, there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims. Most active shooter situations are unpredictable, evolve quickly, and are over within minutes.

ACTION GUIDELINES

EVACUATE – Run: If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to evacuate the premises. Be sure to:

Have an escape route and plan in mind.
Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow.
Leave your belongings behind.
Help others evacuate, if possible.
Call 911 when you are safe.
Prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be.
Keep your hands visible.
Follow the instructions of any police officers.
Do not attempt to move wounded people.

SHELTER-IN-PLACE – Hide: If evacuation is not possible, find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you. Your hiding place should:

Be out of the active shooter’s view.
Provide protection if shots are fired in your direction (i.e. an office with a closed and locked door).
Not trap you or restrict your options for movement.
To prevent an active shooter from entering your hiding place:
Lock the door.
Blockade the door with heavy furniture.
If the active shooter is nearby:
Lock the door.
Silence your cell phone and/or pager.
Turn off any source of noise (i.e. radio, television).
Hide behind large items (i.e. cabinets, desks).
Remain quiet.

PROTECT YOURSELF – Fight: As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter by:

Acting as aggressively as possible against him/her.
Throwing items and improvising weapons.
Yelling.
Committing to your actions.

WHEN POLICE ARRIVE

Put down any items in your hands.
Keep hands visible.
Follow all instructions.
Avoid making quick movements towards officers.
Do not stop to ask officers for help or direction when evacuating, just proceed in the direction from which officers are entering the premises.

via Emergency: Active Shooter/ Workplace Violence | Emergencies – What to Do?! | Department of Security at Miller School of Medicine.

Meditation: A Simple, Fast Way to Reduce Stress

If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace.

Anyone can practice meditation. It’s simple and inexpensive, and it doesn’t require any special equipment.

And you can practice meditation wherever you are — whether you’re out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor’s office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.

via Meditation: Take a stress-reduction break wherever you are – Mayo Clinic.

What is a safety culture?

Safety cultures consist of shared beliefs, practices, and attitudes that exist at an establishment. Culture is the atmosphere created by those beliefs, attitudes, etc., which shape our behavior. An organizations safety culture is the result of a number of factors such as:

Management and employee norms, assumptions and beliefs;
Management and employee attitudes;
Values, myths, stories;
Policies and procedures;
Supervisor priorities, responsibilities and accountability;
Production and bottom line pressures vs. quality issues;
Actions or lack of action to correct unsafe behaviors;
Employee training and motivation; and
Employee involvement or “buy-in.”

via Safety and Health Management Systems eTool | Module 4: Creating Change – Safety and Health Program Management: Fact Sheets: Creating a Safety Culture.

Slips, Trips and Falls Prevention

Most people have a friend or relative who has fallen, or maybe you’ve fallen yourself. Falls are the second-leading cause of unintentional death in homes and communities, resulting in more than 25,000 fatalities in 2009. The risk of falling, and fall-related problems, rises with age and is a serious issue in homes and communities. Take the time to remove slip, trip and fall hazards to keep your family safe.

Common locations for falls:

Doorways
Ramps
Cluttered hallways
Areas with heavy traffic
Uneven surfaces
Areas prone to wetness or spills
Unguarded heights
Unstable work surfaces
Ladders
Stairs

Fall prevention tips:

Secure electrical and phone cords out of traffic areas
Remove small throw rugs or use non-skid mats to keep them from slipping
Remove tripping hazards (paper, boxes, toys, clothes, shoes) from stairs and walkways
Periodically check the condition of walkways and steps, and repair damages immediately
Never stand on a chair, table or other surface on wheels
Clean up all spills immediately

via Slips, Trips and Falls Prevention, Fact Sheets & Statistics.

Accommodating an Aging Workforce

With more baby boomers postponing retirement, the effects of an aging workforce are becoming a concern for many organizations. By 2020, it is projected that 25% of workers will be over the age of 55, and since older workers are more likely to have disabilities, employers will have to adjust to meet the shifting needs of their workforce. According to a survey by the Disability Management Employer Coalition and Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute, most employers recognize the issue. Just over 85% said they were very or somewhat concerned about the impact of an aging workforce. However, their concern has not translated into universal action-—64% of businesses have not considered the aging workforce in designing absence and disability management programs. To close this gap, researchers suggested that employers concentrate on certain key elements of disability management, including practicing flexibility in scheduling and work location, maintaining and enhancing benefits, implementing wellness and return-to-work programs, instituting proactive safety checks, making certain physical and strategic accommodations for older workers, and improving corporate communication and culture to take an aging workforce into consideration.

via Accommodating an Aging Workforce | Risk Management.

What is E. coli?

Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Most E. coli are harmless and actually are an important part of a healthy human intestinal tract. However, some E. coli are pathogenic, meaning they can cause illness, either diarrhea or illness outside of the intestinal tract. The types of E. coli that can cause diarrhea can be transmitted through contaminated water or food, or through contact with animals or persons.

via CDC – General Information – E. coli.

Truck Drivers and Sleep Apnea

Truck drivers must have adequate restful sleep to be safe and effective at their job. According to the FMCSA says that up to 28 percent of all U.S. CDL holders have sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a danger to everyone, truck driver and others alike. Sleep apnea is a condition where the upper airway narrows or closes during sleep. This causes a person to wake repeatedly during his/her sleep, which makes their sleep not restful.

via Truck Drivers and Sleep Apnea.