safety – Page 7 – Risk Management 365

Work Zone Traffic Safety

Summary of Work Zone Traffic Safety

The Hazard: death or serious injury from being struck by vehicles or equipment in work zones.
Who is at risk: streets/highways, utilities and other public works department workers who maintain roadways, bridges, sewers, catch basins, etc.
Prevention: reducing the speed of vehicles, traffic control plans warning motorists of work zones, guiding traffic safely through the work zone, and returning passing vehicles to normal traffic flow.
Laws: The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforced the MUTCD (29 CFR 1926.200-203).

Four Functional Categories of Fall Protection Products

All fall protection products fit into four functional categories.

1. Fall Arrest; 2. Positioning; 3. Suspension; 4. Retrieval.

Fall Arrest

A fall arrest system is required if any risk exists that a worker may fall from an elevated position, as a general rule, the fall arrest system should be used anytime a working height of six feet or more is reached. Working height is the distance from the walking/working surface to a grade or lower level. A fall arrest system will only come into service should a fall occur. A full-body harness with a shock-absorbing lanyard or a retractable lifeline is the only product recommended. A full-body harness distributes the forces throughout the body, and the shock-absorbing lanyard decreases the total fall arresting forces.

Positioning

This system holds the worker in place while keeping his/her hands free to work. Whenever the worker leans back, the system is activated. However, the personal positioning system is not specifically designed for fall arrest purposes.

Suspension

This equipment lowers and supports the worker while allowing a hands-free work environment, and is widely used in window washing and painting industries. This suspension system components are not designed to arrest a free fall, a backup fall arrest system should be used in conjunction with the suspension system.

Retrieval

Preplanning for retrieval in the event of a fall should be taken into consideration when developing a proactive fall management program.

via Fall Protection.

What is an Emergency Action Plan?

An emergency action plan (EAP) is a written document required by particular OSHA standards [29 CFR 1910.38(a)]. The purpose of an EAP is to facilitate and organize employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies. Well developed emergency plans and proper employee training (such that employees understand their roles and responsibilities within the plan) will result in fewer and less severe employee injuries and less structural damage to the facility during emergencies. A poorly prepared plan, likely will lead to a disorganized evacuation or emergency response, resulting in confusion, injury, and property damage.

via Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool | What is an Emergency Action Plan?.

What is Crystalline Silica?

Respirable crystalline silica – very small particles at least 100 times smaller than ordinary sand you might encounter on beaches and playgrounds – is created during work operations involving stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, mortar, and industrial sand. Exposures to respirable crystalline silica can occur when cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, and crushing these materials. These exposures are common in brick, concrete, and pottery manufacturing operations, as well as during operations using industrial sand products, such as in foundries, sand blasting, and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in the oil and gas industry.

via OSHA’s Rulemaking on Crystalline Silica Rulemaking.

Workplace Health – Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capability of the working population. The goal of ergonomics is to reduce stress and eliminate injuries and disorders associated with the overuse of muscles, bad posture, and repeated tasks. A workplace ergonomics program can aim to prevent or control injuries and illnesses by eliminating or reducing worker exposure to WMSD risk factors using engineering and administrative controls. PPE is also used in some instances but it is the least effective workplace control to address ergonomic hazards. Risk factors include awkward postures, repetition, material handling, force, mechanical compression, vibration, temperature extremes, glare, inadequate lighting, and duration of exposure. For example, employees who spend many hours at a workstation may develop ergonomic-related problems resulting in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

via CDC – Workplace Health – Implementation – Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) Prevention.

When To Conduct an Accident/Incident Investigation

All incidents, whether a near miss or an actual injury-related event, should be investigated. Near miss reporting and investigation allow you to identify and control hazards before they cause a more serious incident. Accident/incident investigations are a tool for uncovering hazards that either were missed earlier or have managed to slip out of the controls planned for them. It is useful only when done with the aim of discovering every contributing factor to the accident/incident to “foolproof” the condition and/or activity and prevent future occurrences. In other words, your objective is to identify root causes, not to primarily set blame.

DEFINITIONS

ACCIDENT – The National Safety Council defines an accident as an undesired event that results in personal injury or property damage.
INCIDENT – An incident is an unplanned, undesired event that adversely affects completion of a task.
NEAR MISS – Near misses describe incidents where no property was damaged and no personal injury sustained, but where, given a slight shift in time or position, damage and/or injury easily could have occurred.

via Safety and Health Management Systems eTool | Module 4: Creating Change – Safety and Health Program Management: Fact Sheets: Accident/Incident Investigation.

Selling a Poison: Liquid Nicotine for E-Cigarettes

A dangerous new form of a powerful stimulant is hitting markets nationwide, for sale by the vial, the gallon and even the barrel.

The drug is nicotine, in its potent, liquid form — extracted from tobacco and tinctured with a cocktail of flavorings, colorings and assorted chemicals to feed the fast-growing electronic cigarette industry.

These “e-liquids,” the key ingredients in e-cigarettes, are powerful neurotoxins. Tiny amounts, whether ingested or absorbed through the skin, can cause vomiting and seizures and even be lethal. A teaspoon of even highly diluted e-liquid can kill a small child.

But, like e-cigarettes, e-liquids are not regulated by federal authorities. They are mixed on factory floors and in the back rooms of shops, and sold legally in stores and online in small bottles that are kept casually around the house for regular refilling of e-cigarettes.

Evidence of the potential dangers is already emerging. Toxicologists warn that e-liquids pose a significant risk to public health, particularly to children, who may be drawn to their bright colors and fragrant flavorings like cherry, chocolate and bubble gum.

via Selling a Poison by the Barrel: Liquid Nicotine for E-Cigarettes – NYTimes.com.

OSHA’s 2013 Top Ten Most Cited Violations

The 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.

OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030 applies to all persons who may reasonably anticipate contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials in the course of their employment. This includes contact with skin, eyes, mucous membranes or contact from piercing the skin. The focus of the regulation is the creation of a written exposure control plan that describes how the employer will protect employees from exposure.

via OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030 – Quick Tips #105 – Grainger Industrial Supply.

Tornado Preparedness and Response

Preparedness

Preparedness involves a continuous process of planning, equipping, training and exercising. Planning for tornadoes requires identifying a place to take shelter, being familiar with and monitoring your community’s warning system, and establishing procedures to account for individuals in the building. Employers may need to obtain additional equipment and/or resources (e.g. Emergency Supply Kits) identified in the plan. In addition, workers need to be trained and plans need to be practiced to ensure that personnel are familiar with what to do in the event of a tornado.

Planning

Identifying Shelter Locations

An underground area, such as a basement or storm cellar, provides the best protection from a tornado. If an underground shelter is unavailable, consider the following:
Seek a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible
Stay away from doors, windows, and outside walls
Stay in the center of the room, and avoid corners because they attract debris
Rooms constructed with reinforced concrete, brick or block with no windows and a heavy concrete floor or roof system overhead
Avoid auditoriums, cafeterias and gymnasiums that have flat, wide-span roofs.
Personnel should also be aware of what to do if caught outdoors when a tornado is threatening. Seek shelter in a basement or a sturdy building. If one is not within walking distance, try to drive in a vehicle, using a seat belt, to the nearest shelter. If flying debris is encountered while in a vehicle, there are two options: 1) staying in the vehicle with the seat belt on, keeping your head below the windows and covering it with your hands or a blanket, 2) if there is an area which is noticeable lower than the roadway, lie in that area and cover your head with your hands.

Accountability procedures

The following steps are recommended to help ensure the safety of personnel if a tornado occurs:

Warning Systems
Tornado Watch – Tornadoes are likely to occur in the watch area. Be ready to act quickly and take shelter, and check supply kits. Monitor radio and television stations for more information.
Tornado Warning – Imminent threat – A tornado has been sighted in the area or has been indicated by radar. Take shelter immediately.
Your local emergency management office can provide information about your community’s tornado warning system.
Develop a system for knowing who is in the building in the event of an emergency
Establish an alarm system to warn workers
Test systems frequently
Develop plans to communicate warnings to personnel with disabilities or who do not speak English
Account for workers, visitors, and customers as they arrive in the shelter
Use a prepared roster or checklist
Take a head count
Assign specific duties to workers in advance; create checklists for each specific responsibility. Designate and train workers alternates in case the assigned person is not there or is injured

via Tornado Preparedness and Response – Preparedness.