Posts Tagged ‘safety-training’

Think Safety When the Mercury Rises

by Shannon

MercuryRisingFor those who work outside having the hot sun beating down on their backs is nothing new. After all, jobs don’t stop when temperatures soar. Unfortunately, the only choice is to work through it — often easier said than done.

The hot summer months pose special hazards for those who work outdoors. Your crew must protect themselves against heat, sun exposure and other hazards. Both you and your employees must be aware of the potential hazards in the work environment and how best to manage them.

Working in direct sunlight can add up to 15 degrees to the heat index, and right now we are in the “dog days of summer”. It’s not too late to training employees on the safety hazards of heat related illnesses and implementing preventative measures for your workers who are exposed to extreme heat conditions.

  • Train and educate workers and supervisors on risk factors and early warning signs of heat related illnesses
  • Provide cool drinking water near work areas and promote regular hydration before feeling thirsty
  • Monitor temperature and humidity levels near work areas
  • Implement a heat management program so everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency
  • Use work cycles to limit prolonged exposure to hot work areas and allow workers routine breaks in the shade
  • Acclimate workers by exposing them for progressively long periods of time to hot work environments
  • Use the “buddy system” to monitor worker conditions
  • Use safety supplies such as cooling pads and cooling bandanas
  • Schedule hot jobs for the cooler part of the day
  • Avoid alcohol and drinks with large amounts of caffeine or sugar
  • Always have a heat stress kit on hand for emergencies

Through heat stress knowledge and tactics, you can help ensure the health and safety of your workers over the rest of the summer.

Do you have any additional tips you use to stay cool while working in the hot summer sun? Share them in the comments below, your tips could help a fellow worker in the industry.

Keep Workers Safe from Heat Stress

by Shannon

Summer Heat

June 20th is the start of summer and as we enter the summer months, the warm weather has the potential to become very dangerous—even deadly—to workers who perform their job duties outside.

According to OSHA, both environmental and job-specific factors can put workers at risk for heat-related illness. Environmental factors include: high temperature and humidity, radiant heat sources, contact with hot objects, direct sun exposure (with no shade), and limited air movement (no breeze, wind or ventilation).

Job-specific factors include physical exertion and the use of bulky or non-breathable protective clothing and equipment.

Here are some ways to prevent heat-related illness from OSHA:

  • Use engineering controls, such as air conditioning and ventilation
  • Implement work practices, such as work/rest cycles
  • Drink water often
  • Enable workers to build up a tolerance to working in the heat

Employers and employees should learn the symptoms of heat-related illnesses so they can get quickly get treatment for workers who need it. Make sure people know how to recognize the signs of heat stress and be sure to have the proper emergency supplies on hand. Everyone needs to work together to ensure safety on the job.

Do you have any tips for staying cool during the summer months while working inside or outside? If so, post them in the comments below. Your tips may help another this upcoming summer season.

National Safety Month Highlights Important Safety Topics

by Shannon

National Safety Month - June 2016

The National Safety Council (NSC) designates every June as National Safety Month. Throughout the month, Emedco will highlight many of the safety topics that the NSC does during this time. The NSC encourages people to use the month to identify risks and learn how to address those risks and keep everyone safe.

June 5th marks the first week of National Safety Month where the focus is “Stand Ready to Respond”.  The main message for the week is the importance of being prepared for emergencies. The NSC suggests training in first aid and CPR. Emedco recommends updating your first aid kits and making sure that your AED program is a success.

“Be Healthy” is the theme for Week 2 of National Safety Month, where safeguarding your health is the focus. Among the information NSC provides this week they ask that those who do a lot of shift work be extra conscious of their health. It is believed by some that shift work – which NIOSH defines as working outside the typical daylight hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. – is connected to a variety of health disorders, including diabetes, cancer and hypertension.

Week 3 is the time to “Watch Out for Dangers”. NSC’s main message for this particular week is to stay safe by being alert at all times. This includes simple everyday tasks, such as watching where you are going.

Week 4 is all about how to “Share the Roads Safely” and the importance of focusing on the road instead of distractions. NSC suggests making safe choices on the road, to get enough rest to avoid fatigue while driving, and cautions drivers to be aware of their speed, especially around work zones.

The main take away this June should be to stay focused on safety and help save lives and prevent injuries not just during National Safety Month, but the whole year through.

Do you have plans for celebrating National Safety Month in your facility? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know how you’re bringing attention to safety in your workplace this month in the comments below.

Online or classroom-style safety training?

by emedco

With computers basically taking over the world, is there still room for classroom-style safety training? More and more companies are moving toward e-learning versions of training, for everything from employee on-boarding, to health and benefits, to safety. But, is that the best way?

Online training has a lot of benefits, including:

  • Trainees can take the course anytime, anywhere (flexibility)
  • Multiple learning styles can be addressed
  • Less intimidating for employees to interact (answer questions on screen and think about safety situations)
  • Easy to capture test scores (if applicable)
  • Cost-efficient for the company
  • Consistency in material covered
  • Less time employees are pulled off the job to receive training

While these seem like great reasons for a company to move to computer-based training, there are many reasons offered in support of classroom style training. Such as:

  • Employee interaction (group collaboration)
  • In-person question and answer
  • Hands-on training opportunities
  • Constructive team building
  • Allows more time to grasp concepts and lessons
  • Forces trainees to focus on the training, versus multitasking while taking part in an online session

In a recent article, author Louis Trahan wrote that “The fact of the matter is that many people simply learn better in a classroom setting. Some people thrive on the conversation of a topic with other people,” which is something you cannot necessarily get from online training.

Regardless of which method you choose for your safety training, think about your work environment and employees and based on that decide which method is best for your company.

Posted by got2 love safety

OSHA cites huge fines, does it make an impact?

by emedco

I just read an interesting article about OSHA issuing second million-dollar fine in a month. South Dakota Wheat Growers Association faces a $1.61 million in citations (there were 23 willful violations) for a December 22nd 2009 fatality at one of their facilities.  The worker suffocated after being engulfed by grain in one of the facility’s bins. OSHA’s investigation found that five additional workers were also at risk of being engulfed when they were sent into the bin to dig the victim out. We all should know that confined space safety is critical.

This company ignored safety standards and so do many, many others which is absolutely horrible. How do owners and safety managers sleep at night knowing they are intentionally putting their workers at risk?    Why isn’t it top priority all the time? There are so many workplace injuries and OSHA fines are getting more significant. That is great news! However, you usually don’t hear if the companies contest the fine(s) and if OSHA actually collects on them. It appears that fines don’t seem deter the company nor create a changed mentality about safety training and observance. It has to start from the top down, too many employees are being injured or killed. Does your company invest the time and treat workplace safety seriously? I appreciate your comments.

-Donna Kolody/Emedco

Customize your safety training materials

by emedco

Every safety training program is different. A unique blend of techniques and tools are used depending on the safety needs of the workplace, the number of employees, the specific goal of the training program, etc.

Many materials used for safety training take on a one-size-fits-all format. But, if you are looking for a way to create a unique safety training program at your facility, why not try customizing your training, certification and safety reminder materials?

Customization allows you to add your logo, wording, colors, and more to make your materials more effective or create a sense of teamwork and company commitment.

Consider customizing products like:

Posted by got2 love safety

Ideas for a successful safety incentive program

by emedco

Many companies use incentive programs to encourage their employees to work safely and reward them for following safety procedures. But, there can be drawbacks to safety incentive programs. In some cases, the way the programs are structured can cause employees not to report accidents or near misses to avoid ruining the reward for other employees.

Based on the ideas of multiple safety professionals, I pulled together the following ideas for positive safety incentive programs:

Employee Point System

  • Give  employees points for reporting hazards, correcting hazards, reporting injuries and near misses, and/or wearing proper PPE during spot checks. Employees can also receive points for injury-free months in the workplace.
    • Individuals can redeem points from this system for prizes

Supervisor Point System

  • Same as the employee point system, but supervisors get points for different things, such as department housekeeping, weekly safety audits, employee training/certification, and documentation.
    • Redeem points from this system for prizes similar to employee point system

Department Challenge

  • Departments compete against each other to earn points. Points are for demonstrating safe practices. Do not penalize department for doing things incorrectly.
    • Team with most points after X period of time wins something

Safety Learning Lunches

  • Rather than penalize employees for near misses or accidents, have a lunch once a month to address any accidents/mishaps that have happened in the workplace. If no mistakes happened in that month, still hold the lunch and maybe recognize an employee or two for working safely that month.

Monthly Employee Recognition

  • Reward an employee once a month for exemplary safe practices. You can recognize him/her at a staff meeting or monthly lunch, etc.

If you have other ideas, please share them. We can all learn from best practices!

Posted by got2 love safety

Safety training is more than a one-day learning session

by emedco

So, you just finished planning and conducting the best safety training class your organization has ever seen. Good work! Now your employees have all of the information they need to go out into the workplace and do their job in the safest way possible for the rest of their careers.

If only it was that simple.

A day of safety training, even if done annually, is not going to keep employees focused on safety long term. It can be difficult to keep safety in the forefront of employees’ minds given the daily projects and pressures of the workplace.

Employees need to be reminded and motivated to work safe – day in and day out. Here are a few things you can do:

  • Continuously reward employees for safe practices and certifications. Present employees with certification plaques, pins, buttons or wallet cards they can wear or display in the workplace. These items can bring a sense of pride to employees as well as help workers identify individuals who are trained or certified in particular tasks.  
  • Communicate, communicate, communicate. Signs, banners and labels are a great way to constantly remind employees of workplace safety practices. Place them on walls, machines or in large work areas. Stick them on hard hats and other equipment employees use regularly. Don’t clutter the workplace putting safety signs on everything in sight. Use discretion, but ensure there are constant safety reminders in the facility.
  • Observe and correct hazards…immediately. Employees should be aware they are frequently being observed for proper safety practices and will be immediately reported for unsafe actions. This will ensure that safety practices become as important to employees as the output of their jobs. Scoreboards are a useful tool to publicly keep track of employees’ safety performance.

Good luck!

Posted by got2 love safety