Recently the American Heart Association introduced 2 major changes in the way CPR is being taught and being done.

Hands Only

Hands-only CPR is a technique that involves simply using chest compressions on an individual who has suffered sudden cardiac arrest .  The technique involves no mouth to mouth contact and is best used in emergencies outside of hospitals where a bystander has seen another person suddenly collapse. The important part to remember here is you should see the person collapse.

If you see a person collapse and they are not breathing put one hand over the other and begin pumping on the chest just below the nipples. Pump at a rate of about 100 beats per minute.  You do not have to be certified, to perform Hand Only CPR.

Traditional CPR Change

The other big change is to traditional CPR steps. There will be a switch in the process of how to do CPR. For many years the steps have been ABC. Open Airway, give 2 Breaths and then 30 Compression of the chest.

Now the order will be giving compressions first then the breathing. Getting the blood circulating is much more important then taking the time to open the airway and give the breaths.

If you are certified in CPR the change will not be hard to make.

If you are not certified, this is a great opportunity to take a class, and have the knowledge that some day you might be able to SAVE-A-LIFE.

U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 380,000 home structure fires per year during 2003-2007.

These fires caused an annual average of

• 2,840 civilian fire deaths,
• 13,160 civilian fire injuries, and
• $6.4 billion in direct damage.

• 92% of all structure fire deaths resulted from home fires.

• On average, eight people died in U.S. home fires every day.

Causes and Circumstances of Home Fires

Details from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System show that in 2003-2007:

• Cooking equipment was the leading cause of home structure fires and home fire injuries.
• Smoking was the leading cause of civilian home fire deaths. Heating equipment ranked second in home fire deaths overall, but was the leading cause of fire deaths in one- or two-family homes

Almost all homes have at least one smoke alarm, but almost two-thirds of reported home fire deaths in 2003-2007 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Kitchens were the leading area of fire origin.

• 41% of home structure fires started in the kitchen.  These fires caused 36% of civilian home fire injuries

15% of home fire deaths also resulted from kitchen fires.

• 8% of reported home fires started in the bedroom.  These fires caused 24% of home fire deaths and 21% of home fire injuries.
• 4% of home fire deaths started in the living room, family room, or den.  These fires caused 23% of home fire deaths and 10% of the home  fire injuries.
• Fires confined to chimneys or flues accounted for 6% of all reported home fires. These fires caused very few casualties.

Look at the above diagram. How does this figure have anything to do with safety? If you have had any Six Sigma training you will recognize this as a Fishbone Cause and Effect Diagram.

Our business is now using this diagram to explore how to reduce our reported Slips, Trips, and Falls (STF). We are breaking down the root cause of the STF to its basic cause and effect. This information is helping us develop a strategy to make our employees more aware of their surroundings.

When I became a Six Sigma green belt, I never figured I would be  using the training for this purpose.Developing  a STF fishbone has helped our safety committee understand root cause analysis better, and has given us ideas to affect our reduction of the #1 reported incident to OSHA.

Give it a try. Maybe it will help your safety department get a better understanding of a root cause of any incident.