Am I passionate about training, YOU BET!  I recently read an article about developing and using on-line training for OSHA & HIPPA compliance.  It seems like more and more companies are looking at on-line training for their employees. On-line training is available for OSHA, DOT, HIPPA and more.  Push a few buttons and you are trained.  While it is economical and less time consuming, there are some drawbacks.

As a trainer:

• I can look at a trainee and see in their eyes if they are understanding the material.   
• I can evaluate if a student learns by seeing, hearing or doing and then work with that student using their best learning style. 
• I can adjust the material if I see it is not relevant to YOUR students. 
• I can have a student verbalize back to me how much they understand about the subject to detemine if they need more information.

Please tell me how the computer can make these deteminations except by continually quizing the student. 

Good safety trainers are good for business and payback their expense.  They help increase productivity and help keep worker’s compensation lower.  Both result in more profits going to the bottom line.  I have used this example before, but a average incident (according to OSHA) cost an employer about $25,000.  At 3% profit margin the company has to make an additional $833,000 to break even, and that’s if you have only 1 incident.

I am assistant scuba instructor and now there are some certifing agencies that have on-line classes for courses content.  Not the buddy I would want to be with at 80 feet under water, and to have to depend on saving my life if something went wrong.  How about the on-line First Aid/CPR class, want that person to work on you? 

On-line training for the refresher great, for the initial training, think about it and what it may really cost you.

April 22 is Earth Day. 

 What are you doing for earth day and earth week?  Work or home, let us and other readers know.  As an added incentive, we will ramdomly select 1 reader’s comment and send that person a DVD Screensaver, Living Marine Aquarium filmed in HD widescreen.

So let’s hear from you.

The American Heart Assoication is adapting a new standard for CPR.  On March 31, an important advisory statement on “hands-only”  (compression-only) CPR was published in Circulation. This statement clarifies the 2005 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC, which included the recommendation that laypersons – or bystanders – should perform hands-only CPR if they are unable or unwilling to provide rescue breaths.  The Compliance Resource Center wrote about an article about a new study done in Lancet in April of 2007.  The Lancet study showed dramatic results when life-savers only had to worry about chest compressions without doing mouth-to-mouth breathing. 

”The report confirms that what we have learned in animal experiments applies to humans as well,” says Gordon A. Ewy, MD, director of the Sarver Heart Center at The University of Arizona in Tucson where chest-compression-only resuscitation was developed. “Bystander-initiated continuous chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing are the preferable approach for witnessed unexpected collapse, which is usually due to cardiac arrest.”

Hopefully more people will consider doing CPR (compression only) on a person when needed.  Statistics show that when CPR is started and continued until help arrives, it can save lives.

Safety Online recently reported that NIOSH, OSHA and NHCA (National Hearing Conservation Assoication), recently signed and agreement  to help prevent work-related hearing loss.  The partners agreement is to provide resources, speakers, recommend best practices and more.

Currently NISOH has a Hearing Conservation Program Evaluation Checklist available.  Over a year ago I reported  on this site, that International Safety Equipment Association petitioned OSHA about reducing the level of noise exposure in the work place.  Now there will be a greater effort to protect workers hearing and make more resources available to employers.

There has been 2 recent, serious incidents and deaths involving cranes.  OSHA compliance is for cranes and derricks is found at 29 CFR part 1926.550.  Here is a link to an ABC news video describing recent crane incidents including the “The Big Blue” crane incident in Milwaukee.

The Crane Certification Association of America in Vancourver, WA purpose  is to promote crane safety, improve the certification profession and address the subject of crane safety in governmental forums.

In fulfilling its purposes, the Association shall have the following objectives:

• To develop and/or promote educational information for increasing the knowledge and capabilities of the membership.
• To develop and/or disseminate information and materials that will carry out the purposes of the Association and serve the public.
• To provide and/or support forums for the interchange and acquisition of professional knowledge among its members.
• To foster liaison with governmental agencies that implement such other programs and projects that are consisted with the purpose of the Association.
• To conduct its affairs in a manner that will reflect the standards, purposes and objectives of the Association.
• Provide testing for practicing crane surveyors.
• Provide a professional designation to all members who successfully pass the Certified Crane Surveyors (CCS) test.

Another association which promotes safety is the CMAA Crane Manufacturers Association of America.  The CMAA is part of of the OSHA Alliance Program.  

Here is a link to an 8 minute video about crane safety provided by OSHA and The Department of Labor. 

In June 2006, The Climate Project (TCP) began operations based in Nashville, Tennessee, as non-profit organization with the mission of increasing public awareness of the climate crisis at a grassroots level throughout the United States and abroad.  By April 2007, a diverse group of 1000 volunteers from every corner of the USA had been trained to present a version of the slide show on which the Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth” is based. More Nashville trainings are planned for later in 2007, focusing on specific sector groups.

Want to do something to help stop global warming?
Here are 10 simple things you can do and how much carbon dioxide you’ll save doing them.

• Change a light
  Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
• Drive less
  Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often.  You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!
• Recycle more
  You can save 2.400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
• Check your tires
  Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%.
  Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!
• Use less hot water
  It takes a lot of energy to heat water.  Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
• Avoid products with a lot of packaging
  You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
• Adjust your thermostat
  Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer you could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
• Plant a tree
  A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
• Turn off electronic devices
  Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Spread the word!

I have frequently been asked about ANSI and ANSI standards.  New people in safety want to know what is ANSI, and experienced safety people ask about certain standards and where can they get the standard. 

ANSI is the American National Standards Institute.  The Institute oversees the creation, promulgation and use of thousands of norms and guidelines that directly impact businesses in nearly every sector: from acoustical devices to construction equipment, from dairy and livestock production to energy distribution, and many more. ANSI is also actively engaged in accrediting programs that assess conformance to standards – including globally-recognized cross-sector programs such as the ISO 9000 (quality) and ISO 14000 (environmental) management systems.

ASSE will often partner with ANSI to help develop safety standards such as ANSI/ASSE Z359, Fall Protection Code.  Organizations such as ANSI, ASSE, and other for-profit companies sell ANSI standards.  So now you know what ANSI is and where to find any standard you are looking for.  Have a safe day!

Have you ever wondered about what’s inside that box you watch all the time?  Over 40 millions people have at least 1 TV which contain some or all of the hazardous materials listed below.  Many poeple are buying the new LCD or Plasma screen TVs. Hence, the old TV sets are being dicarded into landfills.  The Balitmore Sun recently reported how this could lead to seroius environmental problems. Environmental groups are very concerned about these hazardous materials going into the landfills and our soils.

TV sets and computer monitors are safe when they’re viewed under normal conditions in homes and offices. But when owners discard them, toxic materials inside can leak into the environment if the sets are not properly recycled. Here’s what’s inside:

Lead: Sets with cathode ray tubes (CRTs) contain 4 to 8 pounds. Used in screens and soldered circuit boards. Can cause brain damage, blood disorders, kidney damage and birth defects. Children are particularly vulnerable.

Mercury: Used in lamps of flat-screen liquid crystal displays (LCDs). High levels can contribute to brain and kidney damage, birth defects.

Cadmium: Used in phosphor coating of CRT screens. A carcinogen that accumulates in the body and can cause kidney damage.

Barium: Used inside CRTs. Short-term exposure can cause neurological problems and damage to heart, liver and spleen.

BFRs: Brominated flame retardants are used in wiring. Can disrupt hormones and immune system, especially in children.

PVC: Polyvinyl chloride insulates wires. Can emit toxic fumes when burned in incinerators and can leach out in landfills.

Electronics TakeBack Coalition, Consumer Electronics Association and the EPA are concerned about how this new waste stream will affect the amount of waste and the landfills in the upcoming years. 

What can we do?  Recycle your TV and/or computers properly.  Check with your recycling centers or the EPA to find the best way to keep these hazardous materials out of the landfills.  Be RESPONSIBLE!

Back in Nov of 2006 I published this article.  Driving incidents are the number 1 cause of employee injury today, and with the weather we are currently having, I think it is important to revisit the article again. 

Winter Car Kit

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about 70 percent of winter deaths related to snow and ice occur in automobiles. When driving in such conditions is necessary, the agency recommends traveling in daylight and not traveling alone, keeping others notified of your schedule, and staying on main roads. In addition to winterizing your vehicle mechanically and keeping its gas tank full, FEMA advises carrying the following items in the vehicle’s trunk:

• Shovel
• Windshield scraper
• Battery-powered radio
• Flashlight
• Extra batteries
• Water
• Snack food
• Mittens
• Hat
• Blanket
• Tow chain or rope
• Tire chains
• Bag of road salt and sand
• Fluorescent distress flag
• Booster cables
• Road maps
• Emergency flares
• Cell phone or two-way radio

Source: FEMA

by Jennifer Collins

Many workplace hazards are more easily identified than others. Those who test parachutes for instance, can make a clear connection between workplace hazards and life threatening situations. Some people put their lives at risk each day in military and public safety positions to feed their families or serve their country. There are however, entire classes of workers who have been put in danger without even knowing it. Some of these hard working men and women have been victim to the silent killer known as asbestos.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring element that is present in a number of asbestos containing materials, or those that contain at least 1% asbestos, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Asbestos was first used by early civilizations for a number of factors. They realized that pottery was more heat-resistant when the hair-like asbestos fibers were mixed with the clay. They also used it in their clothing and blankets, noticing an increased durability and warmth to garments woven with asbestos fibers. Up until approximately 1980, asbestos was used in the United States for any number of home and industrial purposes. It is present in pipe insulation and electrical fixture coverings because it is fire retardant and prevents heat transfer. It is mixed with several construction compounds such as floor tiles, roofing shingles, and artificial home siding materials.

Contrary to popular belief, asbestos when left alone, poses little threat to human inhalation though those asbestos containing materials should be replaced as a rule. However it is when it is damaged by heat, weather, or other force which renders it “friable,” when it is most dangerous. When the asbestos fibers become loosened or otherwise disturbed by any number of factors they become airborne and inhaled.

Occupational hazards are the most common origin of asbestos related health complications. Duties which engage asbestos materials are those who are the most likely to disturb the particles and inhale them. This can happen in a myriad of occupational situations but is most common in shipyards, construction sites, and some areas of manufacturing. In shipyards for instance, it is not likely that those work on the ships will be affected but more likely that those who were involved in the construction or repairs of ships. These are professions in which repairs of older fixtures, which contain asbestos, could mean chipping away the insulation and rendering it friable. When these types of repairs or duties are done day after day for many years, the likelihood of developing asbestos related disease is increased.

Asbestos related diseases, such as the lung cancer http://www.mesothelioma.com/ are incredibly painful and debilitating ailments, in which in the absence of a cure the body will eventually asphyxiate itself. Often the symptoms of asbestos related respiratory complications will not appear for several years, even decades after an exposure. This can lead many to be unaware of the causal relationship between a prior occupational exposure and the reality that they now have to deal with. It is a darker chapter of American industry, in which workers were not protected from a known human carcinogen. It is important that if you have been exposed to asbestos, or think you may have been exposed while working in one of the above or related industries that you seek the assistance of a physician. There are medical, emotional, and legal support structures already in place to assist victims of occupational asbestos exposure. Early detection of the disease is the primary variable which can increase treatment and quality of life management options.

However, it is being aware that can help us all. Be knowledgeable about what materials your working with, and what could be potentially harmful. If asbestos is involved, leave it alone or request the proper training from your employer which teaches professionals how to remove and dispose of asbestos products. Knowledge of these materials is the primary line of protection, and knowing is half the battle.
Jennifer Collins
jcollins@mesothelioma.com

Jennifer Collins grew up in Aberdeen, Maryland in the city that is known as the “Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay.” She attended Aberdeen High School and graduated in June of 2001. From there she studied Communications and English at Colby College in rural Maine. Upon graduation in 2005, Jennifer gained her M.A. in communications design at the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University.

She first discovered an interest in asbestos-based health complications while working with a prominent health resource website in a research position. Jennifer worked in several freelance capacities before joining the web design team at Mesothelioma.com in February of 2007. Today she resides in Syracuse, NY and enjoys weekends in the nearby mountains with friends and the small town charm nightlife of upstate New York’s Salt City.
 

The Compliance Resource Center would like to thank Jennifer Collin for contributing her article to our site.  If you would like to write an article for this site, please contact us at allan@thecrcenter.com