Is your air conditioner working overtime right now? Well we all know that answer! Yes…the humidity levels have been at a high for a couple weeks now.  Besides your higher than average electric bill you need to worry about – what about the safety of your home?  Here are some surprising statistics regarding the use of cooling appliances in your home.

• According to the CPSC, 15% of consumer-product related electrocutions are attributed to large appliances. These electrocutions occur most commonly while someone is attempting to service or repair the appliance.
• In 2006, an estimated 33,500 injuries were reported to hospital emergency rooms as involving air conditioners, fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, and heat pumps. The leading types of injuries were laceration (14,890), contusion or abrasion (6,110), and strain or sprain (4,430).
• In 2003-2006, the 7,000 reported home structure fires per year involving air conditioning and related equipment included 2,400 per year involving central and room air conditioners specifically and 3,700 per year involving fans.

Source: http://esfi.org/

Safety Tips from Seton!

1) Always keep in mind safety when researching and purchasing new appliances for your home. Read consumer and manufacturer recommendations and reviews.

2) Inspect the equipment when its delivered to your home. Make sure nothing looks broken or out of the ordinary.

3) Consult a qualified professional if you have any doubts when buying a new expensive appliance to determine  the right fit for your home.

4) Do not install anything by yourself or without the proper equipment. The best way is to hire a professional for any appliances that need electrical work.

5) Always check and double check routinely on the safety of your existing appliances!

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Workers from a US Postal Distribution Center in Scarborough, Maine have been repeatedly exposed to severe electrical shocks including arc flashes and blasts. Fines totaling over $430,000 were issued on Monday June 28, 2010.

According to OSHA,

“The citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service’s failure to equip its workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to safely work with live electrical parts,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it.”

OSHA’s investigation began in late December 2009 when an employee compliant came through. One of the reasons why the fines are so steep is because they are considered “willful”.  OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. For more information on this story please visit http://osha.gov/

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The warmer weather has arrived and with summer vacation upon us many will be heading out to theme parks both locally and around the country. This got me to thinking about workplace safety, in these kinds of venues, and I’ve found some interesting info on the subject.

It appears that injury and fatality rates of workers at amusement and theme parks are one of the highest in the industry. Many workers have been run over, dragged and struck by different theme park rides causing them serious injuries and many have lost their lives. To help prevent these accidents from occurring it is important to provide workers with the proper training on the hazards and safe work practices for each piece of equipment they operate, as well as on the mechanical hazards associated with rides and the lockout/tagout procedures.

Seton offers many lockout/tagout products as well as numerous safety signs. Visit www.seton.com to view our wide selection and remember to work smart at the park this summer.

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Week 4 (May 23-29) Remembering Safety in the Field

Electrical hazards cause more than 300 deaths and 4,000 injuries in the workplace each year.  Electrical accidents rank sixth among all causes of work-related deaths in the United States.  ESFI released this list of  basic electrical safety practices:
• Be sure you are properly trained and qualified for the job.
• Plan every job and think about what could go wrong.
• Identify the electric shock and arc flash hazards, as well as others that may be present.
• Use the right tools for the job.
• Isolate equipment from energy sources.
• Test every circuit and every conductor every time before you touch it.
• Work on electrical equipment and conductors only when de-energized.
• Lockout/tagout and ground before working on equipment.
• Treat de-energized electrical equipment and conductors as energized until lockout/tagout,
test, and ground procedures are implemented.
• Wear protective clothing and equipment and use insulated tools in areas where there are
possible electrical hazards.

In week 4’s section, you will find:

• Safety Tips
• Facts & Statistics
• Guidelines to safe practices

Virtual Demonstrations

• AFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• GFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• TRR Virtual Demonstration View l Download

Source: http://esfi.org/

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Week 3 (May 16-22) Educating Your Children

An estimated 53,000 electrical fires occur in U.S. homes each year. Most of these can be avoided by taking a few simple safety precautions.  “Using electricity is something we take for granted, but using it safely is very important,” says ESFI president Brett Brenner. “By understanding how electricity works and where it is found, we can each do our part in preventing electrical dangers no matter where we are.”  May is National Electrical Safety Month, and a great time to review important electrical and fire safety practices with your children and family to help keep your home safe from electrical dangers year-round!

In week 3’s  section, you will find:

• Outdoor Electrical Safety
• Indoor Electrical Safety
• Electrical & Fire Safety For Your Family

Virtual Demonstrations

• AFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• GFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• TRR Virtual Demonstration View l Download

Source: http://esfi.org/

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Week 2 (May 9-15) Staying Safe At Work

In the workplace, electrical hazards are the cause of another almost 4,000 non-fatal injuries.  “Eliminating electrical hazards begins with education and awareness,” says ESFI President Brett Brenner.  “National Electrical Safety Month is a time for all of us at home and at work to reexamine our surroundings and determine what steps we can take to prevent the hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries and billions of dollars in productivity and assets that occur each year because of electrical hazards.”

Use ESFI’s new Office Safety Checklist to perform a basic electrical safety inspection at work and keep your office safe from electrical hazards.

In week 2’s  section, you will find:

• Surge Protector & Power Strip Safety
• Extension Cord Safety
• Office Checklist

Virtual Demonstrations

• AFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• GFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• TRR Virtual Demonstration View l Download

Source: http://esfi.org/

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A padlock crisis in Paris? Yes.

It appears that lovers who visit the Pont des Arts and Passerelle Léopold-Senghor Bridges have been leaving behind more than just memories, they are locking padlocks to the bridge’s fence as a sign of undying love. These padlocks have now been referred to as cadenas d’amour or love padlocks.

Paris, traditionally know for its cafes, artwork and monuments, now has another popular tourist attraction to add to the list. Beginning about two years ago, there are now almost 2,000 padlocks, in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes now locked to the bridges and scripted with messages of eternal love.

Think this is too wild to be true, click to see more!

This begs the question, in what non-traditional ways do you use padlocks?

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Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is celebrating all month long for National Electrical Safety Month. ESFI’s campaign is focused on the importance of electrical safety and promoting ways to prevent common injuries, fires, fatalities that can occur in the workplace and at home.  Each week ESFI will be focusing on a different theme to promote. ESFI will be offering  several tools that are free to download such as fact sheets, press releases, workbooks, checklists and demonstrations!  Check out the ESFI website for the first set of tools below that are available!

Week 1 (May 2-8) Renovating the Right Way

Week 1: Renovating the Right Way Campaign Toolkit l Download

In this section, you will find:

• Do-It-Yourself Electrical Safety Fact Sheet
• Power Tool Safety Fact Sheet

Additional Resources:

Electrical Safety Workbook

Home Safety Checklist

Virtual Demonstrations

• AFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• GFCI Virtual Demonstration View l Download
• TRR Virtual Demonstration View l Download

Source: http://esfi.org/

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To understand how group lock boxes can be a great solution for lockout, let’s recap how they work.   A supervisor will use a single lock on each energy control point to lock out the equipment. All the keys for locks are put in the lock box.  Each worker would apply his own lock to the lock box.  As long as any one of the worker’s lock remains on the lock box then the keys to the locks cannot be accessed and the energy isolating devices cannot be operated.   As required by OHSA, this will ensure each employee retains exclusive controls. 

Here is a great example to show the benefits of a group lock box:

• Scenario: 5 workers need to lock out 10 energy control points
• Using hasps, 50 locks are required (all 5 workers must apply individual locks to each control point)
• Using a lock box, only 15 locks are required (10 job locks applied to the control points and 5 employee locks applied to the lock box).
That’s 70% fewer locks!
• Less weight hanging from the energy point-1 lock instead of 5!
• Save time–the locks on the lock box easily allows you to track who is still working. With hasps, you need to walk around to each energy control point to see whose lock is still in place!

Seton carries a  wide variety of Lockout Kit options to ensure that your needs are met during Lockout Tagout procedures. A security cabinet helps guarantee that energy sources are safely and securely locked out during and electrical safety lockout. Choose from  a wall cabinet, key cabinet, locks cabinet, or general safe cabinet to achieve safe lockouts.

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Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. More than 700 farmers die in work-related accidents yearly.

Some of the most common accidents involve confined spaces inside grain bins. When grain bins are emptied, they can cause serious injuries to workers from crushing, to electrocution to suffocation.

The University of Illinois Extension offers the following safety suggestions when working in or near grain bins:

• Whenever possible, do not enter a grain bin.
• Break up crusted grain on the outside with a long pole, while making sure the pole does not come in contact with electric lines.
• Wear a safety harness attached to a properly secured rope.
• Stay near the outer wall and keep walking if the grain starts to flow, then get to a bin ladder or safety rope as soon as possible.
• Use confined space procedures [including posting confined space signs] and have someone who knows confined space rescue procedures outside the bin in case you are entrapped.
• Wear a dust filter – grain fines and dust can cause breathing difficulty.
• Use lockout procedures [including lockout tags] to shut off power to augers and fans when entering grain bins.
• Children should not be allowed to play in or around grain bins, wagons, or trucks.
• Ladders, brightly painted for easy identification, should be installed inside grain bins for emergency exit.

Seton offers a variety of products to help make grain bin work safer. From lockout tags that help prevent accidental power ups to confined space safety signs to remind workers of hazards to safety harnesses and dust masks to prevent injuries while working in the bins.

Source: Nathan Winter, Extension educator – agricultural productions systems, McLeod/Meeker County

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