Work-related accidents tend to peak in January, so the safety agency recommends making preparations now
History has a tendency to repeat itself. And as icy conditions return, so do the expectations for winter accidents.
Falls, spills, cuts and numbness in appendages result when Jack Frost comes nipping, resulting in setbacks to construction schedules and more workers’ compensation claims. But according to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the best time to plan for really bad weather is December.
According to OSHA safety records, January consistently sees a spike in work-related accidents. OSHA Safety Manager Sam Drill attributed the peak to workers and managers not changing their work habits to fit the changing weather patterns.
“Part of (staying safe) is slowing down (and) having a greater awareness and attention to the things we wouldn’t normally do,” Drill said. “Here you are (during winter) on a slick surface when normally you are not.”
Falls and automobile accidents account for the majority of injuries during the winter, when surfaces get coated with a thin veneer of ice.
Sometimes the accidents seem innocuous.
Last January, for example, a vineyard worker slipped and fell while crossing a driveway at work. He fractured his hip and stayed in a hospital overnight.
In the same month, a truck driver slipped in a parking lot. She fell backward onto her tailbone and cracked open her battery-powered headlamp. She was taken to the hospital with a concussion and muscle strain.
Other times, the accidents are more severe.
In 2005, a worker at a lumber yard fell 11 feet off an icy ladder and later died of head and neck injuries.
“(Winter) accidents probably could have been even worse,” said Melanie Mesaros, OSHA’s public information officer.
In the construction trades, perhaps more than most, that appears to be the case.
Michael Moore is the safety manager for Max J. Kuney Co. He said that at his company there isn’t necessarily a greater emphasis of safety hazards during the winter months – the company emphasizes safety year-round – but he does see a “different type of awareness.”
“You can’t just come in skipping around all the time,” Moore said, and he makes sure his workers understand this.
It’s awareness, Moore said, based on seasonal shifts: Because it tends to be wetter during winter, for example, workers must stay vigilant in grounding all electrical devices to prevent electrocution. They must also stay on top of weather reports because they can’t expect the weather to stay the same every day.
But there’s also a psychological effect that’s often overlooked. The dark winter months tend to accentuate depression and anxiety, often tied to financial concerns stemming from the holidays.
“You also have people with other things on their mind, like they’re grieving for someone or they have bills,” Moore said. “It’s a real interesting time of the year.”
He expects this winter, with the slowdown in the construction industry, to be especially bad on workers’ psyches.
Nonetheless, common sense can reveal safety solutions that are easy to achieve as long as workers and managers stay focused. Moore said that slowing the pace, assessing all work conditions and dressing in layers are the keys to staying safe.
Although bundling up may be accepted universally as a way of staving off frostbitten fingers and hypothermia, there’s no consensus on how bundled up one should be, said Chris Miller, the safety and loss control expert for the Oregon-Columbia chapter of Associated General Contractors.
When someone bundles up, Miller said, that person is constricting his or her movements.
“You don’t want to wear gloves when you’re working with a drill, for example,” she added.
She tells chapter members that the first half of December is an ideal time to discuss safety, before either wintertime blues or the full-blown doldrums of the season take hold.
“Winter is dreary, and you’re waiting out there for the sun to come out,” she said. “And it’s typically a slower time of the year, so people tend not to focus on what they are doing.”
