Safety & Health


Effective Safety Committees – How to get yours up to speed

MEMIC recently put together an excellent guide on effective Safety Committees.

What is a Safety Committee?  A Safety Committee is a group of concerned individuals who have the overall safety and well-being of the employees and the success of the company in mind. Forming safety committees is an easy and effective way to improve the safety and health of the workplace. From an employer’s perspective, safety committees are great because they get employees involved and focused on keeping their workplace safe, on reducing accidents, and on increasing productivity. From an employee’s perspective, safety committees provide a safe venue where individuals can express their safety concerns, ask safety-related questions, or offer suggestions for improvement.

The purpose of the Safety Committee is to get more employees actively involved in safety, to eliminate accidents, and to help create a corporate culture that embraces safety. A Safety Committee consists of individuals gathered together to:

  • complete self-inspections
  • review workplace accidents and complete accident investigations
  • recommend corrective actions
  • express their safety concerns
  • review and improve safety policies and programs
  • suggest and coordinate safety training

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Preventing Serious Injuries & Fatalities (SIFs)

  • Over the past decade non-serious workplace injuries have decreased, but fatalities have decreased at a much slower rate.
  • The present study findings call into question decades-long-held assumptions in the safety community.
  • Research results show that contributing factors are different between less-serious events and SIF events.
  • Precursors to SIFs exist in most organizations and can be identified and measured.
  • New paradigms are required to influence step changes in improving serious injury and fatality (SIF).

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FAQ about Tag Lines for Lifts

Definition:  Tag lines, per 1926.1401, means a rope (usually fiber) attached to a lifted load for purposes of controlling load spinning and pendular motions or used to stabilize a bucket or magnet during material handling operations.

  • 1910.180(h)(3)(xvi)  states “…A tag or restraint line shall be used when the rotation of the load is hazardous.”
  • 1926.1417(w) says “A tag or restraint line must be used if necessary to prevent rotation of the load that would be hazardous.”
  • 1926.1431(k)(5) regulates “tag lines must be used when necessary to control the platform.”

When to use:

  • The load suspended by the crane is likely to swing back and forth (due to wind or other external factors) creating a control hazard.
  • The movement or rotation of the load causes a hazardous condition.
  • To help orient a load for proper placement or connection upon landing

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Leading Indicators in Occupational Safety and Health

Leading Indicators

The Campbell Institute has conducted a multi-year research study on leading indicators in the Environmental, Health and Safety field, with particular attention to Occupational Health and Safety.  They have published 2 documents on their research on leading indicators that contain a wealth of information from industry leaders and visionaries.

  Elevating EHS Leading Indicators: From Defining to Designing (2.1 MiB, 1,064 hits)

  Practical Guide to Leading Indicators (1.7 MiB, 1,284 hits)

Great information and resources for companies looking to move from a lagging indicator performance measurement system to a system that is designed to identify problems in the early stages for corrective action implementation.  The documents provide case studies on what some of the top companies in the world have implemented with regards to safety and health leading indicators.

Discussions on leading indicators that are based on: risk assessment, hazard id, risk profiling, preventive and corrective actions, management of change process, learning systems, EHS management system evaluations, auditing, discipline, recognition, communication, training, compliance, perception, engagement, permits, and more.

Source: The Campbell Institute


AIHA Publishes Body of Knowledge on IAQ, Respiratory Protection, and Direct Read Instruments

aiha

AIHA has begun publishing technical documents that represent the “body of knowledge” that a competent and skillful practitioner should possess.  The documents are available for free on AIHA’s website and currently consists of the following:

More BoK documents are in development.

Source: AIHA BoK


OSHA Recordkeeping and Recordability: Medical Treatment vs. First Aid

OSHA Recordability Medical Treatment First Aid

Determining what constitutes an OSHA recordable injury can often be a science in itself.  Luckily, the good folks at JJ Keller have put together a list of medical treatments (recordable) vs. first aid (non-recordable) for your reference.  Care categories include:

  • Visits to health care professionals
  • Cuts, lacerations, punctures, abrasions
  • Inoculations
  • Splinters
  • Strains, sprains, dislocations
  • Burns, skin rashes, blisters
  • Bruises, contusions
  • Medications
  • Oxygen
  • Physical therapy (PT)
  • Loss of consciousness

Click below for a .pdf copy of the summary document.

  OSHA Medical Treatment vs. First Aid (52.3 KiB, 3,121 hits)

Want to know what is considered first aid in the eyes of OSHA 29 CFR 1904.7.b.5.ii?  Download OSHA’s first aid list below.

  OSHA First Aid (5.9 KiB, 1,759 hits)

Source: JJ Keller


Occupational Health and Safety Videos for Training and Awareness

worksafebc

If you haven’t had the opportunity, check out WorkSafeBC’s YouTube page.  With over 400 videos, they have something for everyone and are a great training resource.  The subject matter of the videos touches most all areas of occupational health and safety, including:

  • LOTO and electrical safety
  • GHS
  • Forklifts, powered industrial trucks, and mobile equipment
  • Struck-by
  • Fall protection
  • Confined spaces
  • Hot work
  • Asbestos
  • Indoor air quality
  • & much more

Click below to visit WorkSafeBC’s YouTube page

wsbcyoutube

Source: YouTube WorkSafeBC


Ergonomics: MSD Prevention Toolkit

msd prevention

Work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are among the most frequently reported causes of lost or restricted work time.

  • According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) MSDs account for over 600,000 work related injuries and illnesses (34% of all lost workdays).
  • Direct costs attributable to MSDs exceeds $20 billion per year.
  • Indirect costs may be 3-5 times higher.
  • $1 of every $3 of Worker’s Compensation costs are spent on MSDs.
  • Mean costs for an upper extremity MSD case are $8,070 vs. $4,075 for all types of work-related injury.

Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario has put together an excellent toolbox on assessment methods and training for work related MSDs.  Check it out HERE.

Source: Institute for Work & Health


OSHA Publishes Rule for Confined Spaces in Construction

confinedspace

 
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces.

Manholes, crawl spaces, tanks and other confined spaces are not intended for continuous occupancy. They are also difficult to exit in an emergency. People working in confined spaces face life-threatening hazards including toxic substances, electrocutions, explosions and asphyxiation.

Last year, two workers were asphyxiated while repairing leaks in a manhole, the second when he went down to save the first – which is not uncommon in cases of asphyxiation in confined spaces.

“In the construction industry, entering confined spaces is often necessary, but fatalities like these don’t have to happen,” said Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “This new rule will significantly improve the safety of construction workers who enter confined spaces. In fact, we estimate that it will prevent about 780 serious injuries every year.”

The rule will provide construction workers with protections similar to those manufacturing and general industry workers have had for more than two decades, with some differences tailored to the construction industry. These include requirements to ensure that multiple employers share vital safety information and to continuously monitor hazards – a safety option made possible by technological advances after the manufacturing and general industry standards were created.

“This rule will save lives of construction workers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Unlike most general industry worksites, construction sites are continually evolving, with the number and characteristics of confined spaces changing as work progresses. This rule emphasizes training, continuous worksite evaluation and communication requirements to further protect workers’ safety and health.”

Compliance assistance material and additional information is available on OSHA’s Confined Spaces in Construction Web page.


Excavation and Trenching Safety – Handout, Quiz & Answers

Wisconsin Safety

The Wisconsin Oil & Gas Industry Safety Alliance has produced a fantastic presentation/handout on excavation and trenching safety, including a quiz with answers.  Check out what they put together.

You may encounter trenching and excavation operations on site. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the potential hazards. By understanding the hazards; providing adequate work zone traffic control; using protective equipment such as trench boxes; having a properly trained, competent person on site to monitor the trenching operations; and instituting a written program that emphasizes planning prevention, and training; excavation-related injuries and fatalities can be prevented.

Take a look at the handout HERE

Quiz questions (10) provided HERE

Answers to the quiz provided HERE

Source: Wisconsin Oil & Gas Industry Safety Alliance


OSHA eTools, vTools and eMatrices


OSHA has established a system of tools (eTools and the eMatrices) that are “stand-alone,” interactive, Web-based training tools on occupational safety and health topics. They are highly illustrated and utilize graphical menus. Some also use expert system modules, which enable the user to answer questions, and receive reliable advice on how OSHA regulations apply to their work site. Selected eTools are available as downloadable files for off-line use. Addtionally, there are Expert Advisors (based solely on expert systems) and v-Tools which are prevention video training tools.

eTools

eTools en Español

Ergonomics eTools

eMatrix

Expert Advisors

Prevention Videos (v-Tools)

Source: OSHA.gov


GHS Infographic – Only the Facts

Sitehawk.com recently published an infographic detailing the pertinent facts relating to the implementation of GHS.  While GHS has historically focused on the international community, with early adoption by the European Union and Japan, the GHS trend is moving west and will definitely be in the spotlight in the U.S. in 2012. GHS has already had and will continue to have profound effects on chemical data management initiatives, both for companies that must author and publish material safety data sheets (M)SDS for their chemical products, as well as those companies that must manage (M)SDS and related chemical data for onsite chemical inventories.  Below is a summary of the highlights.

Source: Sitehawk.com