Safety is not just a series of unrelated activities… it is a way of doing business, a mindset, a culture… a Safety Culture.

 ”To be successful, safety must be more than a program or a book or a procedure. It must be a company philosophy - an attitude that is unquestioned.”
Les McGraw, Fluor Corporation Chairman and CEO

Over the years, safety professionals have identified a number of characteristics that are coming in companies with a superior safety culture.  Specific behaviors, attitudes, procedures, expectations and systems that are part of a dynamic safety culture environment, both for normal operations and for emergencies, have been identified:   (more…)

Summer is upon us, and is it HOT!  With warmer temperatures, employees working outdoors (or in a hot warehouse) should be especially careful of the sun, heat and other hazards brought on by the summer climate.

Who is most at risk?

• Infants, young children, elderly and pets
• Individuals with heart or circulatory problems or other long-term illness
• Employees working in the heat
• Athletes and people who like to exercise (especially beginners)
• Individuals taking certain medications that alter sweat production
• Alcoholics and drug abusers

To reduce the risk of heat stress, OSHA recommends that employees:

• Know symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting;
• Block out direct sun and other heat sources;
• Use cooling fans/air-conditioning; rest regularly;
• Wear a wide-brim hat, cap or bandana, and sunglasses that block UV rays; and
• Drink plenty of cool water, about a cup every 15 minutes.

It is especially important for you and your employees to know the difference between “heat exhaustion”, which requires prompt treatment, and “heat stroke”, which is a serious, call-911, medical emergency.  Read more about heat stroke and heat exhaustion in the National Safety Council’s “Surviving the Hot Weather” Fact Sheet.

http://www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Documents/Surviving_the_Hot_Weather.pdf

OSHA has made available their printable Heat Stress QuickCard^® (English/Spanish) for employers and employees on preventing injury and illness while working in hot weather.  This is worth printing and distributing to your workers. 

Studies have shown that drivers using cell phones, and especially when trying to text and drive, are as impaired as if they have had several drinks.  Hands-free devices are a start, but not a final solution, because the real impairment comes from the fact that the driver’s MIND is not on the road (and, in the case of texting, neither are his EYES!)

Employers should take a strong role to ensure that mobile workers are using their cell phones safely and not putting their life or that of others at risk due to cell phone usage. Employers can create cell phone safety policies to outline situations and repercussions for those who fail to follow the policies. Polices can be created with input from both management and remote workers to help ensure that there is a fair balance and that the policies are realistically workable and enforceable.  Goals: (more…)

The Swine Flu is spreading rapidly in the USA, and the workplace, where large numbers of people congregate, is a major factor in this spread, says the CDC. The CDC estimates that between 14 million and 34 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range is about 22 million people infected with 2009 H1N1.

Swine Flu is costing employers countless millions of dollars in lost productivity, sick pay, medical costs, etc. There are, however, some things that you as an employer can do to reduce the spread of Swine Flu in your workplace. (more…)

It has been said many times that children are our most precious resource. While parents throughout time have loved their children enormously, today’s parents have taken this saying to heart in more visible ways than previous generations. From the “Caution - Baby on Board” window decals of the early 1980s to the ubiquitous “My child is an honor student at…” bumper stickers of today, modern parents use the family car as a billboard to showcase their parental pride and their children’s accomplishments.

But the same motor vehicle that goes from school to soccer practice to piano lessons ­- in which Mom, Dad and the kids seem to live ­- may also be the vehicle in which our teenagers die. (more…)