The ASSE recently launched a new interactive online safety game designed to help young workers learn how to protect themselves against the many dangers that face them in the service industry.

Ever wonder why OSHA was created?  Why does your company have to comply with all of these standards and who makes the rules?  Why must your employees attend osha safety courses and recieve osha certifications and osha 10 hour and osha 30 hour cards for construction and general industry?Employers and employees ask these questions all the time but when you stop to think about why the fereral government requires osha safety training, it is because it saves lives.  That is the bottom line, because of osha, workplace safety accidents and deaths have decreased substantially since it’s inception in 1971.  Since that year occupational deaths of been cut by 62% and injuries have declined by 42%.

OSHA Safety training is a must for our employees.  The number of job-site accidents are staggering and would be more staggering if it were not for osha safety training.  In 2005, there were 4.Over 2 million occupational injuries and illnesses among U.S. employees. Approximately 4.6 of every 100 employees experienced a job-related injury or illness, and in 2006, 5,703 employees lost their lives on the job.  Now take those numbers and double them and that is what you would have if we did not have OSHA regulating our workplace environment.

Many employers complain about the cost of OSHA compliance training but the fact is that given the statistics the cost of OSHA compliance and OSHA Safety Training is far less than the increases in accidental death and insurance benefits the company would pay otherwise.  Not to mention OSHA regulations create a much safer work environment for employees.

The cost of OSHA compliance is far less than the cost of non-compliance.  OSHA penalties range from $0 to $70,000, depending upon how likely the violation is to result in serious harm to employees. Other-than-serious violations often carry no penalties but may result in penalties of up to $7,000. Serious violations may have penalties up to $7,000. Repeat and willful violations may have penalties as high as $70,000. Penalties may be discounted if an employer has a small number of employees, has demonstrated good faith, or has few or no previous violations.

The Health and Safety of our workplace should be a priority to every employer.  OSHA Training provides an avenue of education for employers and employees to share in the responsibility we all have to create a safe and bright working future for our families.

There is an old saying, “haste makes waste.”  But to safety professionals haste makes incidents.  Today, companies are getting leaner and meaner.  They want more productivity with less expense, meaning less people.   A job that was performed by 3 people, is now done by 2, or maybe 1 person.   As a safety person, this presents new challenges to our job.  Not only does haste make waste, it cause injuries.  To work faster and be more productive you often have to use unsafe work behaviors.

Look around you, how many people are gone?  Are you working more hours and being asked to do more?  Most people are.  Talking to other safety people, we are now starting to see more unsafe work practices and more injuries than previously experienced in the past few years.  Statistics may not show this trend for a couple of years, and one reason is the decline in the number of workers in the workforce.   But just ask a safety manager what they are experiencing, and they will tell you they are seeing more injuries than every before and more serious injuries.

I believe there are 2 main causes of incidents in the current workplace or at home, HASTE (speed) and NOT BEING AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.  As we work faster, we tend to think less of our surroundings and more about getting the job done.

When people try to do their job in a hurry, they tend to make mistakes.  Often these mistakes can cause a near miss and at other times it can cause an injury.  Most workers today do not report a near miss, which give us less opportunity to do a root cause analysis.  We have to wait until the near miss becomes an incident. 

We hurry or speed because we are required more things today.  When I teach defensive driving, speed is still the #1 cause of motor vehicle incidents.  Speed also keeps people from focusing on the task at hand.  Remember the I Love Lucy episode where the candy was coming down the conveyor belt?  The candy was coming down at a rate that made it impossible for Lucy and Ethel to pack it properly in the boxes.  Haste not only made waste, but look closely and you will also see possible near misses.

Think of your last few Slip, Trip or Fall incidents.  Our workplace had more than we wanted in the past few months.  Many were caused when someone wanting to get somewhere a little faster.  How about you, Mr./Ms safety professional?   It is finally time to leave work and go home.  What are you concentrating on:
· How fast you get out of the building
· Picking up your kids
· Making that one stop to get dinner
· Meeting someone someplace

 Whatever the case, you are probably not thinking of the ground around you, even if there is sow, ice or an uneven surface, and all of a sudden you slip and fall.
 As I stated above, haste keeps us from not being aware of our surroundings.  At home you need a box off a high shelf, so you pull up a nearby chair and stand on it.  Do you think about how unsafe this act is?  Probably not.  You cutting your lawn wear your flip-flops.  An unsafe act?  Your probably not thinking about this act either.  The company sales rep is trying to place and order and get to the next appointment at the same time.  Do you think they are thinking about their surroundings?  Bet not, until they have an vehicle incident. 

In today’s environment, safety people are dealing with these actions more and more.  What can we do to prevent more incidents?  The message has to start at the top with senior leadership.  While every CEO wants their company to be more efficient and leaner, they cannot proceed to a point where it promotes unsafe behaviors to be more productive.  The CEO must be the leader to make sure everyone is aware that safety is high priority.   The message should state that behaving in an unsafe manner is not acceptable and actually costs the company more when an incident occurs.

Managers and supervisors have to be held accountable that their employees are working safer and smarter.  The workers should understand to report if part of their job creates an unsafe work behavior.  In other words, EVERYONE has to be responsible for having a safe workplace.  Safety people have to make sure that workers are acting in a safe manner.  Slowing down enough to make their job safe and giving the worker an opportunity to focus on being aware of their surrounding.  Through training, reminders and other forms of communication, the message must be constant and often.

Hopefully as workers slow down and become more aware of their surroundings, we can eliminate the phase HASTE MAKES WASTE and replace it with SLOW, STEADY AND SAFE MAKES YOU MORE PRODUCTIVE.

It is estimated that over 40 million workers in the United States had to receive emergency medical treatment for workplace-related injuries in the year 2003. This is a staggering number when one considers the efforts most companies have put into maintaining a safe workplace. In modern times, a number of companies have been found liable for injuries sustained in their places of business. There is a relationship that exists between workplace safety and profitability.  As we know, over the past 10 years the number of work related injuries and deaths has declined.  In fact, being “at work” is the safest place many people can be.

Every company, especially those involved in industrial manufacturing, is constantly looking at ways to continuously improve their products and processes. They realize that their profits are directly related to the ways and means by which they produce their products. Unfortunately, too many companies get caught up in drive for higher profits and tend to allow workplace safety to become an afterthought.

The costs associated with operating a large manufacturing facility in America are astounding. Workplace injuries place a massive burden of expense and weakened productivity on a company. These injuries can be reduced with proper planning and careful attention to detail. Most workplace injuries are preventable. There are a number of factors to consider, but maintaining a safe and tidy work area is one of the best ways to prevent injury. Workers, too, have a responsibility in keeping themselves safe from harm.

Workplace injuries place a significant burden on health care providers and insurance companies. As companies continue to pay higher premiums for employee health care, one of the only means available for cost recovery is to increase the prices of the goods they produce. This places the burden of expense on the consumer, and allows companies to ignore the root cause of their workplace injuries. The focus here seems to be on maintaining a healthy relationship with shareholders, and not necessarily on maintaining a healthy workforce.

It is interesting to note that there are record numbers of jobs, especially in the industrial sector, being sent overseas. There are a number of reasons to account for this. One of the most significant reasons is that American companies are able to shave their operating costs down to a fraction of their domestic costs, by capitalizing on cheaper labor in foreign markets. Foreign governments, eager for investment, are all too willing to accommodate the interests of big western business. Far too often, this comes at the expense of workplace safety.

If companies want to be profitable in the long term, they need to reexamine their approach to workplace safety and the health of their workers. Many companies are sending jobs overseas, in order to take advantage of cheap labor and relaxed labor laws. American companies can be both profitable and safety conscious. Through directed education campaigns and preemptive planning, workplace injuries can be reduced in a significant way. Remember: a safe worker is a happy worker, and a happy worker is a productive worker.

The excerpt below is from the OSHA Best Practice guide on First Aid.  This publication is free to anyone wanting to improve on the first aid standard from OSHA. 

First aid is emergency care provided for injury or sudden illness
before emergency medical treatment is available. The first-aid
provider in the workplace is someone who is trained in the delivery
of initial medical emergency procedures, using a limited amount of
equipment to perform a primary assessment and intervention
while awaiting arrival of emergency medical service (EMS)
personnel.
A workplace first-aid program is part of a comprehensive safety
and health management system that includes the following four
essential elements1:

• Management Leadership and Employee Involvement
• Worksite Analysis
• Hazard Prevention and Control
• Safety and Health Training
  

The purpose of this guide is to present a summary of the basic
elements for a first-aid program at the workplace. Those elements
include:

• Identifying and assessing the workplace risks that have potential
  to cause worker injury or illness.
• Designing and implementing a workplace first-aid program that:
  • Aims to minimize the outcome of accidents or exposures
  • Complies with OSHA requirements relating to first aid
  • Includes sufficient quantities of appropriate and readily
  accessible first-aid supplies and first-aid equipment, such as
  bandages and automated external defibrillators.

Assigns and trains first-aid providers who:

• receive first-aid training suitable to the specific workplace
• receive periodic refresher courses on first-aid skills and
  knowledge.
• Instructing all workers about the first-aid program, including
  what workers should do if a coworker is injured or ill. Putting
  the policies and program in writing is recommended to
  implement this and other program elements.
• Providing for scheduled evaluation and changing of the first-aid
  program to keep the program current and applicable to emerging
  risks in the workplace, including regular assessment of the
  adequacy of the first-aid training course.
  

This guide also includes an outline of the essential elements of
safe and effective first-aid training for the workplace as guidance to
institutions teaching first-aid courses and to the consumers of
these courses.

So why is Best Practices important?  Chubb estimates workers compensation now accounts for 50 percent of medical care costs. Chubbs The Rewards of Managing Risk; A Guide for Entrepreneurs and Managers helps managers and safety professionals develop a best practice model to build a safety culture based on the “Best Practice” model.  OSHA standards are generally at a minimum standard because they cover a broad base of workplaces from very small companies/organizations to very large businesses.  Everyone has to be able to meet the standards. 

Building a safety culture based on ”Best Practices” means going above and beyond the standards.  Developing practices that create an injury free workplace and having everyone involved from the top down. 

What Best Practices does your company uses?  Let us know and we will pass them along for everyone to see.

Slips, Trips and Falls happen everywhere.  These hazards have much more potential to cause harm in a healthcare setting, where patients are not well and people are in a hurry.  Haste is the number 1 cause of Slips, Trips and Falls.  Here are some helpfuls hints to think of.

Potential Hazard
Employee exposure to wet floors or spills and clutter that can lead to slips/trips/falls and other possible injuries.  
Possible Solutions:

• Keep floors clean and dry [29 CFR 1910.22(a)(2)]. In addition to being a slip hazard, continually wet surfaces promote the growth of mold, fungi, and bacteria, that can cause infections.
• Provide warning signs for wet floor areas [29 CFR 1910.145(c)(2)].
• Where wet processes are used, maintain drainage and provide false floors, platforms, mats, or other dry standing places where practicable, or provide appropriate waterproof footgear [29 CFR 1910.141(a)(3)(ii)].
• Walking/Working Surfaces Standard requires [29 CFR 1910.22(a)(1)]: Keep all places of employment clean and orderly and in a sanitary condition.
• Keep aisles and passageways clear and in good repair, with no obstruction across or in aisles that could create a hazard [29 CFR 1910.22(b)(1)]. Provide floor plugs for equipment, so power cords need not run across pathways.
• Keep exits free from obstruction. Access to exits must remain clear of obstructions at all times [29 CFR 1910.36(b)(4)].

Other Recommended Good Work Practices:

• Ensure spills are reported and cleaned up immediately.
  Use no-skid waxes and surfaces coated with grit to create non-slip surfaces in slippery areas such as toilet and shower areas.
• Use waterproof footgear to decrease slip/fall hazards.
• Use only properly maintained ladders to reach items. Do not use stools, chairs, or boxes as substitutes for ladders.
• Re-lay or stretch carpets that bulge or have become bunched to prevent tripping hazards.
• Aisles and passageways should be sufficiently wide for easy movement and should be kept clear at all times. Temporary electrical cords that cross aisles should be taped or anchored to the floor.
• Eliminate cluttered or obstructed work areas.
• Nurses station countertops or medication carts should be free of sharp, square corners.
• Use prudent housekeeping procedures such as cleaning only one side of a passageway at a time, and provide good lighting for all halls and stairwells, to help reduce accidents.
• Provide adequate lighting especially during night hours. You can use flashlights or low-level lighting when entering patient rooms.
• Instruct workers to use the handrail on stairs, to avoid undue speed, and to maintain an unobstructed view of the stairs ahead of them even if that means requesting help to manage a bulky load.
• Eliminate uneven floor surfaces.
• Promote safe work in cramped working spaces. Avoid awkward positions, and use equipment that makes lifts less awkward. 
   

The workplace should be one place an employee can expect to feel safe. Maintaining a safe workplace should, therefore, be a primary goal of any business owner. The easiest way for an employer to prevent injuries in the workplace (and the associated costs that inevitably come with them) is to ensure that every eventuality is considered, and appropriate safety measure are put in place. The twelve Workplace Safety tips below are a good start.

Workplace Safety Tips:

1. Encourage your employees to maintain a clean and tidy workspace. This will have the dual effect of improving safety AND productivity by removing any potential hazards or distractions from your working area.

2. When working with heavy machinery, use specially constructed guards and engineering solutions combined with PPE (personal protective equipment) to protect your employees from injury.

3. Recognise employees that conform to the safety standards that are set, and ensure appropriate discipline is handed out to employees that flout these rules.

4. Give clear work instructions. Make sure your employees know the right way to do what is expected of them. Include safety instructions in every procedure you write.

5. While you should consider every aspect of your workplace safety, you should focus on the most common problems for your particular workplace first and foremost. You should keep a log of any workplace accident, which will allow you to identify and solve the most pressing issues.

6. Try to care for your employees more than your profits. If a machine is unsafe shut it down. If an expensive repair job is required, or a project delayed because of this, then so bet it. Better that than and injured employee.

7. Spend time getting to know the details of the work your employees do. Even if you once did that job, it is likely it is done differently by different people. By knowing the details of your employees daily work routine, you can help to ensure it is done safely.

8. Do not wait for your machinery or work tools to become defective before repairing them. Many times employees get into dangerous situations by having to compensate for a machine defect or wear. In the case of wear, it may have occurred so gradually that they think it is normal. Regular maintenance of your equipment will ensure optimum safety and productivity.

9. Ensure unavoidable hazards (such as wet floors or hot surfaces) are clearly labelled.

10. Ensure your workplace is well lit, allowing your workers to see what they are doing and reducing eye strain, which can be damaging over time.

11. Ensure your workplace is well ventilated, ensuring a fresh supply of oxyggen and removing any contaminents from the air.

12. Ensure optimum visability in your workplace. If possible, keep areas open and opsticles at eye level and above to a minimum. In some cases, however, reduced visability will be unavoidable. This can be improved with the use of observation equipment, such as cameras or convex mirrors, which can provide wide angle views on blind turns caused by tall obsticles. These safety mirrors are also useful as security mirrors, reducing shoplifting by providing better overall visibility on the shop floor.

Strains and sprains from manual materials handling are significant causes of workplace injury. Although lifting, placing, carrying, holding, and lowering are involved in manual materials handling (the principal cause of compensable work injuries), Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that four out of five of these injuries were to the lower back, and that three out of four occurred while the employee was lifting an object.

Management and workers should both be involved with analyzing and assessing manual materials handling job tasks for risk of injury. When a manual materials handling task has been assessed as a risk, the first control option should be redesign (i.e., redesigning the task so that the risk is completely eliminated). If this is not possible, the risk should be reduced through the use of mechanical aids and training.

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What do these numbers have in common?   41,059…..2.49 million…..230.6 billion?

Ok, your best guess. 

As a DDC-4 instructor I talk about these number in my classes.  The 41,059 are the number of fatalities in the US in 2007 from motor vehicle collisions (about 10 times the number of deaths in the whole Iraq war).  You might guess the next number.  The number of injured from motor vehicle collisions in 2007.  The third number represents the amount of insurance money paid out in 2007.  Finally, a statistic that is hard to print.  Speed is the #1 killer of people ages 1-33 is motor vehicle accidents and the #4 of people over 33.

Do these numbers open your eyes?  They do mine.  We are out there hurting and killing ourselves and others.  Yet this article will probably not change the driving habits of many or any people.  Here are a couple of other questions you might not know the answers to.

1. What is the number 1 cause of traffic collisions?
2. What is the number 1 cause of drive distraction?

Think you got it right?  You might have the first question correct, but I am guessing not the second. 

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I recently attended the 20th Chicagoland Safety and Health Conference.  During the day I asked as many safety professionals as possible what was the #1 incident on their OSHA 300 log.  To a person the response was Slips, Trips and Falls (STF).  Because this is one of the most common incidents I thought it would be good to revisit an old article published on this site about 2 years ago.  I hope you find this interesting and useful.

Employees don’t just slip and fall because they are careless. Hidden risks exist at all work sites.  Slips and falls are complex events. If you focus on just one part of the problem, such as a cracked tile or slippery floor, the risk will still exist. Instead, attack the whole problem with a systems approach that analyzes your organization and pinpoints areas needing attention.
Taking Control
Same-level slips and falls are the second-leading cause of disabling workplace injuries. They cost private industry more than $5 billion in direct costs alone each year. The indirect costs for hiring and training replacement workers, increased absenteeism, and decreased productivity are estimated to be three to five times higher. But slips and falls are not unavoidable “acts of God” due to employee carelessness or bad luck. You can control them. Here’s how.Same-level slips and falls are the second-leading cause of disabling workplace injuries. They cost private industry more than $5 billion in direct costs alone each year. The indirect costs for hiring and training replacement workers, increased absenteeism, and decreased productivity are estimated to be three to five times higher. But slips and falls are not unavoidable “acts of God” due to employee carelessness or bad luck. You can control them. Here’s how.First, secure management buy-in. Employees don’t just slip and fall because they are careless. Hidden risks exist at all work sites. You can demonstrate to managers the cost and the cause of slip-related injuries with photos of potential hazards, qualified worker observations, and slipperiness measurements from work sites. Managers often don’t realize that a leading portion of their loss comes from preventable slips and falls; by illustrating the negative impact on the bottom line and the potential positive outcome from a system approach, you will get management buy-in.

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