The evolution of ergonomics.

In a recent survey, 40% of construction workers said “working while hurt” is a major problem. This no doubt reduces overall worker productivity. Continuing to work while hurt or impaired can lead to serve injuries and possibly end a career in construction.

Ergonomics is defined as the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability. In addition to, when done properly, ergonomics can lead to a more productive, healthier happier workplace.

Ergonomic changes, generally, are not expensive and can be very simple. Types of ergonomic changes can include:

• Planning/Process Development: Plan the job to minimize manual handling of heavy materials, storing materials so they are accessible and easier to get to, even making sure that walkways are clear and even so carts and dollies can be easily employed
• Tools & Equipment: Using better, ergonomically-designed tools which may be lighter weight, require less force to operate or fit the hand better and are more comfortable to use
• Cooperation: Getting help when needed to handle heavy loads as well as organizing stretching programs before work begins each day
• Materials: Use lighter materials, such as lighter weight block
• Training: Training workers and foremen to identify ergonomic risk factors and common solutions

What ever your level of ergonomics is in your workplace, Seton can help you develop, integrate or enhance with our line of ergonomic products and training materials.

To read more on this topic, visit the Laborer’s Health and Safety Fund of North America.

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It’s June 1^st, Memorial Day has passed, and to many the start of summer has officially begun, but did you know it is also the start of National Safety Month? That’s right, it is an annual observance run by the The National Safety Council. June is a month dedicated to increasing education about the top causes of preventable injuries and deaths and to encourage safe behaviors at work, at home, on the road and in our communities.

In June the National Safety Council (NSC) encourages businesses and communities from coast to coast to get involved and participate in National Safety Month. Each week is dedicated to a specific theme to help bring attention to a critical safety issue.

Here is the line up for June 2010:

Week 1 – June 1-6: Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention

Week 2 – June 7-13: Teen Driving Safety

Week 3 – June 14-20: Preventing Overexertion at Work and at Home

Week 4 – June 21-27: Dangers of Cell Phone Use While Driving

Week 5 – June 28-30: Summer Safety

To learn more about National Safety Month visit www.nsc.org

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More than 80 workers lose their lives each year in crane-related fatalities. There are significant safety issues to be considered for the operators of the “lifting” devices, as well as for the workers in proximity to them. Employees of specialty trade contractors (foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors; building equipment contractors) usually experience the largest share of crane-related fatalities in the private construction industry.

Crane accidents are usually the result of failure to:

• Maintain the crane in a safe condition
• Properly inspect the crane
• Properly calculate the load
• Rig the load properly
• Manually compute the load as a check-and-control measure against the crane computer
• Understand the physics involved in crane operations and concepts of making a safe lift

Source: ConstructionBusinessOwner.com

One way to help prevent possible crane related injuries and fatalities in the future, is to start by posting clear and direct crane safety signs.

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When cleaning up a spill, many are concerned with the potential hazards they are preventing to the environment, but what about the hazards to personnel?

Keeping yourself safe when responding to a spill is crucial to the spill clean up process and employee health and safety. Of course the hazards that one might face during the spill cleanup process, vary greatly depending on what job is being performed. Slips, trips and falls are possible due to slick conditions, heat related injuries can occur depending on the environment and even drowning based on location, as those currently cleaning up in the Gulf may be likely to face.  Workers involved in spill clean up operations are covered by OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standard (1910.120 and 1926.65).

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels was in Louisiana Monday and met with a group of experienced hazardous materials professionals to help lead an effort to ensure that oil spill cleanup workers receive necessary protections from the hazards of this work.  OSHA has published a press release from this meeting, to read more please click here.

“Oil spill cleanup workers are on the front lines attacking this disaster,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “It is our top priority to ensure that this is done as effectively, efficiently and safely as possible.”

Workers load a boat with oil booms in Bay St. Louis, Miss., as they continue preparations to head off damage from the oil spill in the Gulf Friday, April 30, 2010. Source: www.cbsnews.com (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

OSHA is distributing guides for cleanup workers and developing those guides in Vietnamese and Spanish. OSHA also has established a website to provide hazard awareness material for all involved in the cleanup activities. The website will be updated with new information as the situation warrants.

OSHA has provided information on worker safety guidelines during the oil spill cleanup, please visit http://www.osha.gov/oilspills/index.html.

OSHA’s role is to ensure that employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees, America’s working men and women, by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education and assistance.

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According to NAOSH (North American Occupational Safety & Health) organizers, the goal of NAOSH week is to “focus employers, employees, partners and the public on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home and in the community.”

Observed throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico, NAOSH week is the perfect time to:

• Create a positive attitude toward safety in your workplace
• Promote a safety culture in your facility
• Encourage communication between employees and safety committees

NAOSH Week is led by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), in concert with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and partners in Mexico.

Companies throughout North America are promoting safety in their companies in a variety of creative ways. Here are just a few examples of how they are observing NAOSH week this year:

• Hosting safety conferences with special guests from the community like OSHA officials, local fire departments and hazcom response teams.
• Holding safety poster contests for the children of employees.
• Registering employees for special training sessions like CPR courses or first aid classes.
• Hiring ergonomics experts to review employee’s workstations to ensure healthy work practices.
• Playing “Family Feud” style games where the questions are all safety related.
• Hosting a healthy eating BBQ.
• Reviewing and practicing emergency evacuation procedures.
• Sponsoring fundraiser walks for victims of workplace accidents and to raise safety awareness.
• Organizing PPE donning and doffing competitions where competitors have to determine the hazard, choose the correct PPE, then put it on and take it off correctly.
• Holding a “pedometer challenge” to see who can walk the most throughout the week.
• Reviewing, updating and changing their safety signs, safety posters and safety banners to make sure their safety messages and instructions are current and relevant

For more information and ideas on how you can participate in NAOSH Week visit NAOSH.

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 It is important for all places to have an emergency preparedness plan that is well thought out and can be executed in case of emergency or disaster.   But do those plans incorporate a procedure for people with disabilities?  There are over 41 million in the US that have some type of disability.   After the attacks of September 11, 2001,  the NOD  (National Organization on Disability) began a program to launch an Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI) that addressed people with disabilities are included in all levels of emergency preparedness planning, response and recover.  Today the EPI is a nationally recognized leader in emergency preparedness for people with special needs and disabilities.

 Just recently announced in 2009, the EPI revealed its new Workplace Emergency Preparedness Program (WEPP).  As reported by the EPI  the program includes an an 8-step training program for businesses. This training and outreach program is delivered by qualified and experienced EPI staff and can be customized to fit any company’s needs. Core topics include Access, Inclusion, Representation, Disability Considerations, Pandemic Planning, Business Continuity, and Disability Sensitivity Awareness. Whether your business is just starting a workplace emergency program, or if you have a highly developed and integrated emergency operations center, WEPP can help to ensure that all employees are safe at work.

At Seton, we want to help make your facility safe for all. We offer a variety of  safety products as well as many ADA signs that can assist in developing or growing your Emergency Preparedness Program.

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We can track people with our cell phones and even add apps to find the artist of a song and then buy tickets to their concerts with just a few taps on the screen, but even today miners still die on the job and all I can think is “Why?”

With all the technology we have, why is it that hundreds of workers still die each year while working in mines hundreds of feet below the Earth’s surface?

It is too soon to know exactly what caused the explosion this past Monday inside that West Virginia coal mine – where at least 25 workers are said to have perished and 4 are still missing – but I can’t help but think “How could this have been prevented?”.

There is much speculation that proper safety practices in the coal mine were lacking and that the incident resulted from high methane levels. It is said that “it would take at least 96 hours to ventilate the mine of deadly methane gas to make it safe for search crews to enter.” As reported by The Wall Street Journal

This tragic incident serves as a reminder to us all how important Safety Training and Workplace Safety is. It is imperative that employers continue to revamp safety procedures, provide consistant safety training to employees and address any safety issues immediately. My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones in this most recent incident and to anyone who has lost a loved one on the job. Remember to always “Be Safe, Not Sorry”.

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) believes that training is an essential part of every employer’s safety and health. Because the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 does not address specifically the responsibility of employers to provide health and safety information and instruction to employees, OSHA has developed voluntary training guidelines to assist employers in providing the proper safety training in their facilities.

The guidelines are designed to help employers:

• Determine whether a worksite problem can be solved by training
• Determine what training, if any, is needed
• Identify goals and objectives for the training
• Design learning activities
• Conduct training
• Determine the effectiveness of the training
• Revise the training program based on feedback from employees, supervisors and others

 The development of these guidelines help assist employers in safety training activities and were created in the form of a model designed to enhance the total education and training effort of employers. The model addresses things like who should be trained and what topics should be cover. To view the guidelines in an online informational booklet visit: http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha2254.pdf

It is important to note that OSHA does not intend to make the guidelines mandatory. And they should not be used by employers as a total or complete guide in training and education matters which can result in enforcement proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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When it comes to implementing safety programs in the workplace one must not forget the small businesses. It is just as important to implement a safety program in a facility where the number of employees is in the single digits as it is in a business with hundreds.

Safety programs help to involve employees in achieving and maintaining a safe, healthful workplace while minimizing the risk of injury. After all fewer accidents, injuries and illnesses will lower your company’s workers compensation costs and insurance premium rates and can also increase the company’s overall profit.

To start a program you will need to develop a safety committee that will discuss and find solutions to problems that can cause accidents, injuries, and illnesses. The safety committee is most often comprised of employees in your workplace. It’s best to ask for volunteers and you will be surprised to see how many employees will take an interest in joining.

The Safety Committee you develop should meet on a monthy/weekly basis, depending on your facilities needs. Typically low-hazard workplaces, such as office settings meet monthly, whereas more hazardous workplaces, such as construction sites, meet on a weekly basis. It is a good idea that if your business has less than 10 employees you consider having all employees attend the safety committee meetings.

The main purpose of these meetings is to discuss what employees can do to achieve or maintain a safe, healthful workplace. Focusing on one important topic, such as controlling an existing hazard or identifying an unsafe work practice is a good start. As the meetings progress new issues can be brought to the table with solution ideas and/or prevention tips.

It is a good idea to elect a secretary to take minutes during the meeting. This will serve as a written record of the committee discussions, activities and accomplishments. Minutes can be kept in a Safety Committee Meeting notebook and should be read at the start of each new meeting. The minutes also help to keep track of your committees progress and any unfinished issues.

It’s important that employees receive their regular wages while they attend safety committee meetings so as not to discourage participation – aside from that, it is the law.

When implemented, a safety program will soon become an everyday business practice. You will probably notice employees become a closer team and may see an increase in efficiency as well.

In conclusion, it is important to note that OSHA encourages all businesses small or big to establish safety and health programs and find and fix hazards to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. They offer many resources designed specifically for smaller employers. Visit the OSHA site for small businesses to gain access to the most popular materials for small businesses. They offer everything from free on-site consultation to interactive computer software to technical information to easy-to-follow guides for specific OSHA standards.

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Domino’s Pizza^® is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for a spring campaign to spread the word on fire safety in the home.  When a pizza is ordered the customer will see a message about fire safety featured on the pizza box.  “Domino’s makes 1 million deliveries each day, so we reach a lot of people in their homes, where fire safety begins,” said Domino’s spokesperson Chris Brandon.

“NFPA is constantly trying to reach people with fire safety information in different ways, and teaming up with Domino’s gives us a unique opportunity to deliver important fire safety tips directly to millions in their homes – with pizza!” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of communications. “

Safety lessons learned at home make for best practices outside the home as well – school, work, etc! So remind you employees, family and friends – The more you know, The better prepared you are in case of an emergency.

View the cooking fire safety checklist from Domino’s and NFPA.

Seton is The Source for Safety, Labeling & Signage 100% Guaranteed Every Time!

Source: ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 12, 2010

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