Safetyguy08's Blog – February 2011 Archive (20)

In our last post, we talked about the hidden costs associated with on the job injuries (See "The Real Cost of Injuries on the Job").

Preventing this same accident is actually a whole lot cheaper but here's the rub; accident prevention can't be quantified properly. How much money did I save the company last year by implementing the safety policies I put in place as the…

Jim goes to work tomorrow, a job he's been doing for 6 years now and one he shouldn't have any problem doing. But this morning he's a little more tired than usual and so he's a little more careless and he gets injured. It's serious enough to send him to the hospital for stitches. When the medical bill comes back it's a thousand dollars.

As injuries go, that's really not that bad and didn't really cost the company as much as it could have. Here's the rub though, that $1,000.00 is, in…

I have, over the years, helped several companies pick out and purchase a horizontal fall protection system. Whether we are talking about a flat roof that maintenance workers are going to occasionally have to access or I-beams on construction sites, horizontal systems become a viable way to tie-off workers, especially when you're at the top and there is nothing more overhead to tie-off to.…

Continuous Chest Compression CPR is the new directive as dictated by the American Heart Association. Forget about trying to give them the "kiss of life" and just do the chest compression.

The latest findings report the Continuous Chest Compression CPR doubles the chance of survival for victims of sudden cardiac arrest.

Play this YouTube video for your employees next time you have a safety meeting:…

We've covered this issue more than once in this blog, namely the issue of how well our natural gas pipelines are being maintained (See the Sept. 23, 2010 & the Sept. 21, 2010 blog posts).

A new report issued last week by a coalition…

I'm redoing a downstairs bathroom right now at my home. I need to cut some of the water pipe in order to reroute the hot and cold water (the idiot that put it in before I bought the house ran the pipe between the outside and inside wall of the bathtub so there's no way to remove the tub without cutting the pipe out!). I want to make sure that there's no debris in the pipes so before I shower I was thinking of pouring gasoline through the pipes to clear out any pieces of copper or whatever…

April marks the 40^th anniversary of OSHA. I would say that's a long time but seeing as I'm older than that…

OSHA's posted cool timeline on their website that reflects all the major milestones in their history.

You can view it as a timeline with clickable "bubbles" showing all the major events

You can view it as a Flipbook (kind of like the new Facebook slideshow…

Disclaimer: This guide is intended for general guidelines only and should not be used to determine the exact glove to use in a specific application. Glove manufacturers should provide a chemical degradation chart for the specific gloves that they provide. Use these charts in combination with the MSDS sheets for the chemicals that you are using in the process to determine the exact glove to use for optimum…

4. Cognitive Ergonomics

Cognitive ergonomics (CE) is a more recent and emergent form of ergonomics that seeks to understand how our environment affects the way we think and feel. It attempts to measure the effects of the work environment on mental processes such as perception, memory and motor skills; A work environment that is designed to maximize the manner in which workers react or respond to it will result in a work environment where fewer accidents happen.

A good example…

3. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

CTS is related to RSI resulting in swollen tendons, usually in the hand and arms. It is a result of pressure on the median nerve in the wrist, the nerve that provides movement and feeling to the hand. It is most often associated with typing but can also result from any task that require the hands or wrists to perform repetitive motions such as assembly line work.

Symptoms of CTS:

• Numbness in the hand, wrist or…

1. Vibration and impact related injuries – continuous, repeated vibrations to the hands and wrists (though by no means limited to these) can result in vibration white finger (VWF), also known as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

Vibrations in the 5-150 Hz are the most dangerous and responsible for most of the cases of VWF.

Symptoms:

• Tingling or numbness at the end of the work shift.
• Color…

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)

RSI (also known as Cumulative Trauma Disorder) includes all injuries resulting from continuous, repetitive tasks that strain, stretch or compress the muscles, nerves or tenons.

Symptoms of RSI include the following:

• Tingling, numbness and/or loss of sensitivity in the hands
• Loss of strength in the hands that results in…

What is "Ergonomics"?

www.Dictionary.com defines ergonomics as… "the study of the relationship between workers and their environment, esp. the equipment they use."

While this is technically a correct definition, ergonomics as most of us understand it goes beyond this. It is essentially the science of "fitting" people and the environment (whether work or recreation) together in such a manner as to keep people from muscular, nervous…

The old saying goes "The only thing that you can count on with certainty is change". This is especially true when it comes to manufacturing processes and the general nature of the way work gets done.

Here's the problem… Ten years, five year or one year ago when analyzing and assessing the correct PPE for a specific job or process, it was determined that a certain garment, let's say the Dupont Tychem, was the adequate garment to be used in order to protect workers. Over time, however,…

In an effort to clarify the term "feasible administrative or engineering controls" which shows up in the noise standard, OSHA had published a document entitled "Interpretation of OSHA's Provisions for Feasible Administrative or engineering controls" back in October. On January 19^th they withdrew this interpretation.

From the news release on the OSHA website:

"Thousands of workers every year…

We all know that Uvex makes great safety glasses and goggles. They also provide some good information. I got this the past week from Uvex and thought that you might benefit from some of the links and information.

Together with you, building a culture of safety in the workplace.…

Confused about cut resistance ratings? You're certainly not alone and there's a very good reason why.

The truth is that there are two different ratings when it comes to cut-resistance. There's the ANSI/ISEA rating and the EN388 (the European) rating. Now you would think that a glove sold here in the USA would be rated according the ANSI/ISEA rating, right? Not necessarily and here's why. The European rating usually makes your gloves look better if you're a manufacturer of cut…

All too often, when thinking about risk, we automatically start to think about how to protect the worker from the hazard (e.g. when welding we automatically start to consider which respiratory will work best in order to protect the worker from the fumes generated by the welding process). That is really not the hierarchy, however. Way before we start thinking about respirator cartridges we should be thinking about exhaust, fume extractors, thinking about alternate ways to get the job done,…

What Every Building Owner Needs to Know

By Jack Cameron

As soon as the first skyscraper went up, there were window washers. It's a profession that has a lot of inherent danger in it. Improvised and unsafe equipment or practices were often commonplace. Even when newer, safer equipment was available; it wasn't able to be used because it wasn't authorized for such work. Tracey Domaszowec, whose…

According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family Medical Leave, discrimination against pregnant women is prohibited. There are several implications regarding health coverage, pay, etc… that you should look at if (or rather "when") you have a pregnant woman working for you.

Beyond these issues, however, are safety related issues that you should take into consideration. You could be liable if anything happened to mother and/or child, if something went wrong and it could be…