Five First-Aid Tips & Tricks

1. Direct Pressure Stops Bleeding – Serious bleeding from a major blood vessel or artery is a life-threatening emergency. The best way to stop severe bleeding is to apply firm, direct pressure directly over the bleeding wound.

2. Anyone Can Use A Defibrillator – Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) deliver an electrical shock to help victims of sudden cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating due to a problem with electrical activity. Public buildings should have an AED station on hand, mounted in plain sight and marked with a sign. An AED is designed to be used by anyone. They are fully automated and have voice prompts to guide the user through the steps. Providing employees with an annual training on the use of an AED could save lives.

3. Nosebleeds – Tilt the head forward, not back! The best way to stop a nosebleed is to pinch the soft part of the nose for a minimum of 10 minutes while having the person lean forward.

4. Water for Burns – Cooling a burn quickly is vital to prevent further damage to tissue. The best way to cool a burn is running water. Putting anything else on a burn (such as butter or toothpaste, etc.) will not be as effective at removing heat and stopping the burning process.

5. Chest Compression Rule – The most important component of CPR is high quality chest compressions. If you are unable or unwilling to do rescue breathing, then don’t. Instead do continuous chest compressions until medical help arrives.

March 2018 Risk & Safety Newsletter

Vehicle Backing Safety

One out of every four vehicle accidents can be blamed on poor backing skills, according to the National Safety Council. Approximately 500 people die and 15,000 are injured due to backing accidents each year. Using safe vehicle backing tips can help prevent you or your employees from experiencing the trauma and expense of a backing accident.

• Think ahead. Drivers should not put themselves in an unnecessary backing situation.

• Park defensively. Drivers choose an easy-exit parking space, like pull-through or where no one else is parked. Don’t crowd neighboring vehicles; be sure to park your vehicle in the middle of your space.

• Know your vehicle’s blind spots. Drivers need to remember that mirrors never give the whole picture while backing. In a medium-sized truck, blind spots can extend up to 16 feet in front and 160 feet behind the vehicle.

• Do a walk-around. Before entering your vehicle do a walk-around. This gives you a firsthand view of the backing area and any limitations. You can check for children, signs, poles, drop-offs, buildings, and other things you might hit if not attentive in your backing.

• Know your clearances. While performing your walk-around also check for obstructions, low hanging eaves and tree limbs, wires, and any other potential clearance-related obstacles.

• Alley parking is a special circumstance. If an alley doesn’t permit driving all the way through or room to turn around, you should back into it (if ordinances permit) so when leaving you can pull forward into the street rather than backing blindly out into the street.

• Use a spotter. Have another person help when backing. The driver and spotter should use hand signals instead of verbal instructions. This may take some practice so that you understand each other’s signals. Do not allow the spotter to be positioned directly behind your vehicle or walk backwards behind you while giving instructions. They should be off to the driver’s side where you can see them in your side mirror.

• Every backing situation is new and different. Sometimes a driver visits the same location several times a day. The driver should be watchful each visit for changes and new obstacles (new vehicles, trash cans, people, etc.)

• Drivers sometimes must spot for themselves. They need to return to the vehicle and start backing within a few seconds after finishing their walk-around. This will allow very little time for people, cars, or other obstacles to change the backup conditions. Backing without a spotter should only take place after the driver has learned as much as possible about the area they are backing into.

Long-Term Solutions to Safe Backing:

• Install rear-vision camera systems in vehicles to eliminate rear blind spots. Investing in a rear-vision camera system for vehicles can put drivers in full visual control of the rear of a vehicle.

• No amount of forward-driving experience can help a driver with backing a truck or other vehicles. All drivers need practice, practice, practice in safe surroundings until they become familiar with the way the vehicle backs up compared to the direction the steering wheel is turned. Supervisors need to test and approve drivers’ skills before allowing them on the streets.

• Create and support a company-wide training program. The program should include a driver’s course to teach and review backing techniques, as well as covering equipment usage, hand signals, dangers to avoid, and other risk-lowering topics. OMAG has partnered with OSU/OKC’s Precision Driving School to provide training to municipal drivers free of charge. Contact OMAG Risk Management Services to get more details on how to sign up.

With so many potential injuries, loss of property and vehicular liability claims isn’t it worth it to take some time to evaluate your vehicle backing skill?

HR Should Engage Employees for a Stronger Safety Culture

By in2vate, llc

One thing HR professionals can do to help build a stronger safety culture in the organization is to build levels of employee engagement. An engaged employee thinks and acts like an owner, and because of that, they not only remain safer on the job, but they are also much more likely to help you lead a safety culture.

There are many side benefits for HR to raising levels of employee engagement, including higher levels of employee retention (engaged employees enjoy their job and are not looking for a reason to leave), higher levels of individual performance (engaged employees outperform non-engaged employees on the job), and greater business outcomes (a fully engaged workforce is collectively much more productive).
 
But the primary reason building employee engagement matters for a safety culture is that, according to at least one study (“Employee engagement and commitment,” Effective Practice Guidelines, Robert Vance, Society of Human Resource Management, 2006), engaged employees are five times less likely to get hurt and seven times less likely to have a lost-time injury than all other categories of employees and end up costing the organization one-sixth of what other employees cost in terms of workers’ comp, insurance premiums, fines, lawsuits and shareholder confidence.
 
Let’s look at a few general principles of engagement that should be in place for employee engagement to take root.
 
Build relationships of trust. First of all, we need to actively build relationships of trust with our employees. Getting to know our employees, their interest and their families is absolutely critical to building a strong safety culture. We need to know what drives them individually if we hope to appeal to their core values as an internal motivator to lead safety on the job.
 
Promote a team environment. We also need to create and maintain a healthy team environment. That means that we as leaders need to create open lines of communication and transparency so that everyone feels free to register concerns with us. But it also means that we need to step in and manage conflict if there is conflict between team members. Otherwise we’re bound to have team members with low levels of engagement that just don’t want to be there.

Take the pulse of your workforce. Finally, we need to take note of the levels of engagement of all members of our team to ensure the general trajectory of engagement is on the rise and not on the decline. And if we have direct reports who in turn have their own direct reports, it’s even more critical to keep an eye on the level of engagement of those on our team (particularly front-line supervisors) who are leading others. Because if they are disengaged, it’s very likely they are influencing others on their team to be disengaged as well. Disengaged supervisors tend to hire and create disengaged employees.
 
While these guidelines are insufficient (by themselves) to raise levels of employee engagement (that requires applying proven drivers of engagement), they are absolutely necessary for laying a solid foundation for that effort.
 
 
Reprinted with permission from BLR.

Source:  https://www.in2vate.com/mytraining/display_mtb.cfm?mtb_id=2516&mtb_type_id=1
 

Six Tips to Improve Your Lockout/Tagout Program

This article was written by Eric Prinzing for Occupational Safety & Health.  It is reprinted here with permission.

Lockout/Tagout compliance is a crucial safety requirement. Preventing the accidental start-up of energy during repair and maintenances ensures the safety of workers and helps create a productive workplace.

The OSHA Lockout/Tagout Standard (1910.147) provides clear lockout safety requirements. Despite this, lockout/tagout (LOTO) continues to be found in OSHA’s top 10 most frequent cited standards. It should be seen, then, as a serious and widespread concern. Here are 6 tips to help you stay compliant:

1. Choose the right devices – A lockout device is an extremely important component of a LO/TO program. Machines, circuit breakers, plugs, switches, push buttons, and valves are just some of the items that often require lockout devices. Since there are so many choices, choosing which device or set of devices is overwhelming. There are two considerations that will help: necessity (knowing exactly what you need) and organization (using standardized devices and tools to help keep your devices organized).

   First, determine exactly what you need. OSHA’s guidelines are certainly helpful, but each workplace is unique. Create a list of all machines or electrical components that may need lockout devices. This will make buying the most appropriate devices or kits easier because most are designed to meet a specific application.

   Second, standardize and organize your lockout devices. Lockout Stations are one effective way to store and organize necessary devices. This has several benefits: Not only do stations store necessary devices, but also, they save valuable space and promote efficient operations. If devices are organized in a station, workers know exactly where to find them, when preparing for a maintenance or repair. Padlocks should be standardized by size and color so workers can easily identify function and ownership.

2. Thoroughly Document Procedures – Lockout procedures need to be formally documented. This keeps workers and management on the same page and helps to eliminate any potential confusion. Documentation also provides workers with a valuable training resource. Formal documentation is required by OSHA, but given the differences in workplaces and machines, not every procedure will be the same. It is especially important, then, to make sure the procedures are as effective as possible.

   Procedures should thoroughly detail the steps needed to shut down and isolate hazardous energy. The procedures must describe how to safely place and remove all relevant lockout/tagout devices.

   In order to make the lockout process as easy to follow as possible, procedures should be posted near the relevant machine/equipment. Machine-specific photographs detailing each step are highly recommended. Photographs have a distinct advantage over written instructions or even graphics because the provide a specific and intuitive visual reference point for workers.

3. Clearly Mark All Isolated Points – All energy control points should be clearly and permanently marked with standardized tags or labels.

   Tags and labels should be easily visible. It is also very important to make sure all energy isolation points are consistent with the machine-specific procedures discussed in tip #2.

4. Develop a Rigorous Training Program – Effective training is an indispensable part of a successful lockout program. It can also be one of the most difficult parts because all workplaces and workforces need to be trained according to their specific needs.

    It is important for each worker to know exactly what his role is. Tasks should be clearly defined and clearly assigned to the appropriate worker. There are three types of workers involved in lockout operation: authorized, affected, and other. An authorized employee is directly involved in locking out equipment and machinery scheduled for repair or maintenance. An affected employee is someone whose work is affected by lockout procedures. Usually, this means an employee who works with the equipment being locked out for service or repair. An employee is classified as other if he/she does not work with the machine/equipment, but works in the area where the equipment is located. Each worker needs to know what type of employee he/she is, and strong communication needs to be developed among all workers. Authorized employees must clearly alert all affected employees when a lockout device is placed or removed. In order to prevent unsafe removal of devices, only authorized employees can remove devices they have placed. Lockout padlocks have room for workers to clearly write their names in permanent ink, which underscores the strong need for clear assignments and individual responsibility.

   As with procedures and isolation points, documentation is an important component of training. Recording exactly what types of training have occurred is helpful on several levels. It helps management make sure all workers have been trained, and they are trained for doing the right tasks. Any gap in training can be easily found and corrected. It documents when training took place, which helps workplaces, plan ahead. If you know when your last training session took place, it is easier to plan when the next one should be implemented. Finally, looking at documentation of lockout training can help see your program from a new, more objective perspective. Suggestions can then be taken into account and improvements can be made.

   Training also should be tailored to each specific workplace. If one has a multilingual workforce, for instance, multilingual tools, signs, and documents should be used. Workers should be encouraged to relate their specific safety needs.

   OSHA requires that lockout/tagout training occur annually. Yearly training should be seen as a bare minimum rather than ideal. In many cases, it would be helpful to revisit training exercises more frequently than yearly in order to ensure that critical repairs and maintenance are being done safely. Also, repeat training helps workforces keep a “safety first” mentality. When deciding exactly how much training is necessary, it is important to keep workers engaged in the process and to make sure their ideas and concerns are carefully considered.

5. Evaluate –Careful evaluation is an invaluable tool for improvement. The success of lockout training and written procedures can only be truly gauged after they have been put to use in an actual maintenance or repair situation. Evaluation is necessary to make sure the training exercises, procedures, and devices are working properly. It also affords opportunities to make improvements that may not have been obvious in the training stage.

   OSHA provides rules for periodic inspections. These should be followed closely and provide an excellent foundation for evaluation and improvement. Inspections need to occur at least annually and be performed by an authorized employee who is not involved in the procedure being inspected. All deviations must be corrected and all roles must be thoroughly reviewed. The inspection must also be documented. The date of inspection, procedures, machines/equipment involved, and names of workers performing the inspection must be recorded.

6. Evolve – A good lockout program should always be able to evolve. OSHA may introduce more requirements or stringent guidelines. It is important to make sure your program is up to date. Open communication between all levels of employment also will help your lockout program reach its potential. A program that encourages communication can identify strengths and weaknesses more efficiently than a program that remains static and unchanging after initial training. Employees should be encouraged to communicate which training exercises are working well and which ones need “tweaking”. A lockout program can then go beyond fulfilling minimum requirements: It can be tailored to your workplace and your workforce.

 The ultimate goal is maximum safety for your workers, and all steps should be taken to reach that goal.

https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2016/08/01/Six-Tips-to-Improve-Your-Lockout-Tagout-Program.aspx

Preventing Waterjetting Injuries

You wouldn’t expect latex gloves to protect you from a gunshot. They won’t protect you from water-jetting accidents either. 

An OSHA article describing the dangers of high-pressure jetting notes, “High pressures can cause injuries similar to gunshot wounds, but have the added health hazard of involving contaminated water.” 

In pipeline-related industries, dangers are plentiful. Trenches, excavation, and confined spaces are often touted as the main concerns in risk management, but operators face another underestimated risk on a daily basis — cleaning with water under pressure. 

 “Injection injuries can happen at much lower pressures that are in use in drain and sewer applications. And that carries the risk of infection and tissue damage as well.  …Water injection injuries can appear minor but can cause serious health complications, even at pressures in the range of a consumer pressure washer or drain cleaner,”

says Peter Wright, association manager with the WaterJet Technology Association and Industrial & Municipal Cleaning Association. 

Despite being generally overlooked in terms of safety across the industry — due in part to a relatively low rate of injury when compared to working in trenches and the like — jetting is a concern simply because of how common it is. 

Lines are jetted for daily cleaning operations, inspections, and rehabilitation: With just about any work involving pipes, water jets are in play. 

 “Trying to get people to understand that you can get injured by a water jet strike is probably the most difficult bit to get across to people,” says Nick Woodhead, president of US Jetting. “We’ve got to start promoting safety.”

“I think people assume that hoses are not going to burst, and therefore, they are sort of immune. Or they’ve never seen a hose burst, or they’ve never seen a jet injury, so it doesn’t really register. People get complacent.” 

And it’s not just equipment malfunction that operators need to worry about. 

Case in point: Chad Unverzagt, the Indiana operator who was killed in 2012 during a routine sewer blockage. Unverzagt wasn’t killed by an exploding pipe or other malfunction — his hose got loose while the system was pressurized as he was attempting to retrieve it from the pipe. A momentary lapse in a job he’d done a thousand times before and for more than 30 years in the industry. 

With no protective gear, he didn’t stand a chance against the high-pressure water, which lacerated his neck, killing him before help could arrive. 

 “That’s more of an isolated incident, but it’s worth reminding people,” Woodhead says. “That’s why you’ve got to know what you’re working in.” 

A few months after that incident, Cleaner published another Safety First article, highlighting a new line of protective clothing from TST Sweden AB. Though the medium-pressure gear hadn’t reached enough awareness at the time to help Unverzagt, today, operators and their employers have fewer and fewer excuses for ignoring proper safety. 

“The safety gear is essential when you’re running a machine. So many people don’t wear anything,” Woodhead says. “We’ve got to try and get it across to people, it is worth investing in the kit to protect yourself. Even if you’re the operator and maybe the boss doesn’t want to spend the money; it’s worth investing in it, just as a precaution.” 

US Jetting has made it their practice to supply a pair of protective gloves to customers with the purchase of a jetting system, and it has encouraged other manufacturers to do the same. 

Other products like semiautomatic jetting systems give even more options for mitigating risk to operators. 

“OSHA says if there is safety gear available, the employers are bound to supply it,” Woodhead says. “Rather than have government regulation, we’d rather be self-regulated and have people understand (the dangers).” 

Beyond planning for the worst, simple common sense and following standard operating procedure goes a long way to ensuring safety. That includes checking the equipment before each job, performing the necessary maintenance, and assessing each job site before beginning any work. 

“It doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes to do the cursory checks,” Woodhead says. “Once you’ve gotten to your location, you’ve got to do your due diligence. … Just scope out the job for 15 or 20 minutes while your tank is filling up.” 

To get you started, Wright offers a few quick tips to keep in mind: 

“Use a skid that will not allow the nozzle to turn around in the pipe or mark the end of the hose a distance from the nozzle to help indicate the location of the nozzle within the pipe. Ensure the system is depressurized before conducting maintenance or repairs. Ensure the nozzle is well inside the pipe before bringing the system up to pressure,” Wright says. 

It’s easy to oversimplify pipe cleaning, but when the pressure is on, there’s a lot operators can do to prevent accidents — it’s just a matter of knowing how and promoting safety whenever possible. 

“It’s definitely important to have respect for the power and the force of high-pressure water streams,” Wright says.

Hearing Conservation

Hearing loss from noise can occur with no symptoms and no warnings of any kind. Its progress is so slow and sneaky that you hardly notice it because you simply adjust as sound reception becomes fainter.

People who work around noise and don’t wear hearing protection probably don’t realize what is happening to their hearing. Most people are unaware that everyday noises such as lawn mowers and machinery have an effect on hearing. Since the damage accumulates over many years, it’s often too late to prevent or reverse what has already been done.

Exposure to a large amount of sound will cause a person’s hearing to worsen temporarily. For most people, resting and avoiding loud noises returns their hearing to its normal level. Hearing loss occurs when a person is continually surrounded by loud noises and takes no precautions so that damage becomes permanent.

Every person will experience some amount of natural hearing loss as they age. Simple steps such as lowering the volume on your TV or stereo can keep hearing loss to a minimum.

Prolonged exposure to loud noises can cause permanent hearing loss, but noise can be reduced before it ever reaches the eardrum by earplugs or ear muffs (most cost-effective), or by using noise dampening materials around machinery. If ear protection is necessary for a job or certain work function, the employer (municipality) is required to have it available and require its use by employees.

5 Excuses for not wearing proper hearing protection:

• “I can’t hear other workers.” – At high noise levels, hearing becomes overloaded. Reducing overall sound levels allows the ear to operate more effectively in much the same way sunglasses provide improved vision in bright light, high-glare conditions.

• “My machine sounds different.” – The sound of a machine will sound different to workers wearing hearing protection, but they will become accustomed to the new sound and will be able to monitor the sound of machines as well at the end of the day as at the start of the shift.

• “I’m used to noise.” – Exposure to noise does not toughen ears. Ears do not become used to noise - workers become deaf.

• “Protectors are uncomfortable.” – Like new shoes or glasses, new hearing protectors need a period of adjustment. If discomfort persists, the device should be exchanged for a different size or type that will fit more comfortably.

• “I’ve already lost some of my hearing; why should I wear hearing protection now?” – Just because you lost some hearing doesn’t mean you’re protected from losing more or all of it. Initially, hearing is damaged at higher frequencies, but as unprotected exposures continue, the damage will spread to the lower frequencies, eventually affecting your understanding of speech. Although hearing protection devices cannot restore a noise-induced hearing loss, they can prevent additional losses from occurring.

It is important to remember, once hearing protection is put on it needs to be monitored. Hearing protection can loosen or be jostled out of position and needs to be readjusted from time to time to be most effective.

It is best to identify tools, machines, and areas where hearing protection must be worn, and have the appropriate types of hearing protection for the type of work.  Train your workers and have appropriate policies and procedures in writing and in place. Supervisors must monitor workers who are in areas where hearing protection is required and hold them to the policies.

Don’t play it by ear. When the job calls for hearing protection, use it!

How to Avoid Injuries and Illness When Temperatures Plummet

Limiting a worker’s exposure to cold can go a long way toward preventing cold stress injuries and illnesses such as frostbite, hypothermia, trench foot, and chilblains.  Three major factors to keep in mind when working outdoors are air temperature, wind, and moisture. Exposed skin is in danger of freezing within one minute when the temperature is 10 degrees and there is a wind of around 20 mph. Wet conditions greatly increase the potential for frostbite or hypothermia. Moisture on the skin and any wind can cause the body to lose heat.

Dressing properly for the cold is critical for workers.  Experts recommend using breathable layers, making sure clothing is not so tight it cuts off circulation or impedes movement.  Be aware that PPE may restrict some movements. Layering also allows workers to remove clothing if they become too warm from exertion or changing weather conditions. Layering clothing provides a worker with better insulation against the cold because the body warms trapped air between the layers. If the fabric is breathable it will keep perspiration from building up on the skin and pulling away needed body heat. Wearing a hat or hood is also recommended, to decrease the loss of body heat escaping from the head. Knitted hats that cover the ears and at least part of the face will likely keep a worker warmer than a ball cap.

Regarding footwear, experts suggest insulated, waterproof boots with good built-in traction. In extremely cold regions, it is also recommended boots be felt lined, rubber bottomed and leather-topped. Gloves should also be insulated and water resistant.

OSHA doesn’t have a defined standard on working in the cold but states that employers must protect workers from hazards in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The following are recommendations for employers pertaining to protecting employees:

• Schedule work to be completed during the warmest part of the day

• Tell workers to use the “buddy system” (nobody works outdoors alone) so they can monitor each other

• Provide extra workers for longer, more demanding jobs

• Set up a warm dry shelter for workers to take breaks in out of the cold

• Provide warm liquids to drink, avoiding caffeine and alcohol

• Use engineering controls such radiant heaters, if possible

• Ensure you have a method to communicate with all workers, especially in remote locations

Also advise workers to avoid touching metal surfaces with bare skin, and to bring extra clothing in case they get wet. Have emergency cold weather kits available: blankets, a thermos of a hot beverage, first aid kit with chemical hot packs and a thermometer.

OSHA warns workers to avoid working to fatigue or exhaustion. Stay hydrated and drink as much water as in the summertime. You can get dehydrated even though you don’t feel like you are sweating. It is a common mistake in cold temperatures. People don’t realize heat is escaping their body and taking moisture from the body with it.

Employers must train their workers on the prevention, risks, and symptoms of cold stress. Quick daily reminders are also helpful, especially when the weather is particularly bad. Provide written information concerning the signs and symptoms of frostbite, hypothermia, trench-foot, chilblains, and angina. This information can be easily found on the internet. Employers should remind workers of the symptoms they need to be looking out for, and that it is a time when they must keep a close eye on their co-workers, and make sure everybody is doing “OK”.