September 2006
Monthly Archive
Thu 28 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
Survey: Workplace Flu Preparedness Progressing Slowly In U.S.
Seventy percent of respondents to a survey said they believed avian flu was likely to hit North America, but only 25 percent responded “yes” when asked, “Has your company engaged in building a plan in the event of an actual outbreak of the avian flu?” Forty percent expressed concern about an avian flu outbreak in their workplace, according to a survey from Kimberly-Clark Professional.
Respondents were given a list of possible actions employers could take to minimize workplace risk associated with avian flu outbreak and were asked to give their opinion as either in “favor” or “opposed.” Posting respiratory etiquette and hand-washing posters or stickers garnered the most positive responses, with 93 percent of respondents saying they favored posting these in common areas. This was followed by:
- Maintaining lists of health-related Web sites, telephone numbers and other resources for senior leadership or building management personnel (89 percent).
- Training workers in the proper use of protective equipment (87 percent).
- Establishing an emergency plan or kit to identify and treat avian flu symptoms (86 percent).
- Establishing a workplace continuity plan (85 percent).
- Storing protective masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and other materials in bulk (79 percent).
- Installing a verbal reminder system to encourage hand washing (75 percent).
- Encouraging people to work from home when possible (49 percent).
The national, online survey was conducted in May and polled employees in health care, science, manufacturing, office buildings, lodging and other industries. Kimberly-Clark Professional issued the voluntary, nonrandom survey using its own industry e-newsletter and received 379 responses.
For more information on pandemic flu preparedness, go to http://www.pandemicflu.gov.
Tue 26 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
What Does It Mean?
IM, WWW, HTML, WAP
PPE, SCBA, QLFT, SAR
by Allan Kaufman, Director, The Compliance Resource Center
Have you ever hear of any of these terms, which people use all the time: IM, WWW, HTML, WAP (instant message, world wide web, hypertext markup language, and wireless application protocol)? Today, the world is trying to shorten how we communicate to others. Many people today, use common and uncommon acronyms, which can be very difficult for many people to understand, to shorten their communications.
Safety professionals also use many acronyms, such as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), SCBA (Self-contained breathing apparatus), now it gets a little harder, QLFT (Qualitative Fit Test) and SAR (Supplied-air Respirator). Often without explaining what we mean to people. Safety, like other professions, use acronyms while often assuming that everyone knows what the letters or terms mean.
Below is a list of acronyms used by many safety and compliance people. The list is far from complete. I hope you can use this to educate your safety people and add additional acronyms used in your workplace. (more…)
Mon 25 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
Deciding To Stay Or Go — Shelter-in-Place PlanDepending on your circumstances and the nature of the disaster, the first important decision after an incident occurs is whether to shelter-in-place or evacuate. Ready.gov advises businesses to understand and plan for both possibilities in advance by developing clear, well thought out plans.
- Have an Evacuation Plan and a Shelter-in-Place Plan.
- In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should monitor TV or radio news reports for information or official instructions as they become available.
- If you are specifically told to evacuate, shelter-in-place or seek medical treatment, do so immediately.
- Use common sense and available information to determine if there is immediate danger. For example, if your building is damaged you will typically want to evacuate. (more…)
Mon 25 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
Deciding To Stay Or Go — Evacuation Plan
Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the disaster, the first important decision after an incident occurs is whether to shelter-in-place or evacuate. Ready.gov advises businesses to understand and plan for both possibilities in advance by developing clear, well thought out plans.
- Have an Evacuation Plan and a Shelter-in-Place Plan.
- In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should monitor TV or radio news reports for information or official instructions as they become available.
- If you are specifically told to evacuate, shelter-in-place or seek medical treatment, do so immediately.
- Use common sense and available information to determine if there is immediate danger. For example, if your building is damaged you will typically want to evacuate. (more…)
Sun 17 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
Tools are such a common part of our lives that sometimes we forget they can pose hazards to us. All tools are manufactured with safety in mind, but accidents can occur if we fail to take the time to find and eliminate any hazards associated with the tools. We must learn to recognize the hazards and how to correct them before any accidents occur.
Hazards of Hand Tools
The greatest hazards posed by hand tools result from misuse and improper maintenance. Some examples of this include the following.
- Using a screwdriver as a chisel may cause the blade tip to break off and injure a coworker or yourself. Using a knife blade as a screwdriver can have the same bad result.
- If a wooden handle is cracked, loose or splintered, the head may separate from the handle and injure anyone nearby. Don’t tape the handle and think it’s fixed. Replace the handle completely or discard the tool.
- A sprung jaw on a wrench can cause slippage and should never be used.
- Using impact tools with mushroomed heads can release flying fragments that cause eye damage or sight loss.
- Never operate hand tools while fatigued or under the influence of medication or alcohol. (more…)
Tue 12 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
This Safety Tip is published with the approval of:
Rich Widdowson
Vice President, Safety, Real Estate and Environment
Schneider Electric, North American Division
Our Safety Tip is courtesy of the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI).
Our Safety Tip is courtesy of the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI).With hurricane season fully under way, and end-of-summer electrical storms making the news, it’s easy to focus on the structural damage they can cause. Electrical safety during these weather events is just as critical, according to ESFI.
“We all know not to touch downed power lines,” said Richard Widdowson, vice president for Safety, Real Estate and Environment at Schneider Electric, a manufacturer of electrical products with a seat on ESFI’s board of directors. “But there are steps that everyone should take during a storm that can protect both equipment and lives.”
Among the safety tips Widdowson recommends:
* If power goes out, unplug such major electrical appliances as refrigerators, freezers and washing machines to avoid both electrocution and the potential for a power surge when power is restored that can damage or destroy electrical motors.
* If flooding occurs, do not attempt to access submerged electrical appliances — merely stepping in water in which a plugged-in electrical appliance is fully or partially submerged can result in electrocution.
* If use of a portable generator becomes necessary, be certain to use it only outdoors, and well away from doors and windows.
* Have a licensed electrician inspect any flooded or otherwise storm-damaged appliances before attempting to use them.
Tue 5 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
The New Tag Team WORLD CHAMPS……………LOCKOUT/TAGOUT
By Allan Kaufman, Director, The Compliance Resource Center, www.thcrcenter.com
Have you ever watched professional wrestling? One of the matches often shown is a tag team match. Now you can have your own safety tag team.
“Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)” refers to specific practices and procedures to safeguard employees from the unexpected energization or startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities. It is the number five (5) most fined area in OSHA.
Approximately 3 million workers service equipment and face the greatest risk of injury if lockout/tagout is not properly implemented. Compliance with the lockout/tagout standard (29 CFR 1910.147) prevents an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year. The lockout/tagout standard’s formal name is The Control of Hazardous Energy, 29 CFR 1910.147. To get a copy of the full standard, all you need to do is visit a page of OSHA’s Web site at www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_data/1910_0147.html. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation.
In a study conducted by the United Auto Workers (UAW), 20% of the fatalities (83 of 414) that occurred among their members between 1973 and 1995 were attributed to inadequate hazardous energy control procedures specifically, lockout/tagout procedures. The two (2) main fined areas are failure to have policies and procedures and failure to do training. Part of compliance means having GOOD written lockout/tagout policies and procedures, and a GOOD training program.
Most professional athletics will tell you (even professional wrestlers), that a good and effective training program can often make the difference between a championship, or finishing near the bottom. Watching some Chicago Cub baseball games, I can’t help but notice the number of mental errors the players make.
Many of the baseball and safety errors can be dramatically reduced, by initiating a good training program and a continued refresher-training schedule. Most Lockout/Tagout incidents occur when someone is trying to rush or has not been trained properly. Make you team part of the LOCKOUT/TAGOUT World Champion Tag Team.
Below is a checklist, which I hope you will find useful in developing your Lockout/Tagout program. (more…)
Mon 4 Sep 2006
Posted by Allan under
SafetyNo Comments
NIOSH Safety and Health Topic:
Respirators
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Respirators protect the user in two basic ways. The first is by the removal of contaminants from the air. Respirators of this type include particulate respirators, which filter out airborne particles; and “gas masks” which filter out chemicals and gases. Other respirators protect by supplying clean respirable air from another source. Respirators that fall into this category include airline respirators, which use compressed air from a remote source; and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which include their own air supply.
Respirators should only be used as a “last line of defense” when engineering control systems are not feasible. Engineering control systems, such as adequate ventilation or scrubbing of contaminants should be used to negate the need for respirators.
NIOSH issues recommendations for respirator use. Industrial type approvals are in accordance to the NIOSH federal respiratory regulations 42 CFR Part 84. Development of respirator standards are in concert with various partners from government and industry.
OSHA Revises Respiratory Protection Standards
New Assigned Protection Factors (APFs) for respiratory protection programs are being incorporated in OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard. APFs are numbers that indicate the level of workplace respiratory protection that a respirator, or class of respirators, is expected to provide to employees when used as part of an effective respiratory protection program. The standard will now contain provisions necessary for a comprehensive respiratory protection program, including selection and use of respirators, training, medical evaluation, and fit testing. Details are in the Aug. 24 Federal Register
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