The ever-increasing use of smartphones finds most of with our heads down staring into the glow of text messages, games, tweets, twitters, selfies and more. One of the downsides to this obsession is that people mistakenly think they can perform their jobs safely while they use these devices.
Like any other piece of mechanical equipment, forklifts pose dangers not just to operators but to others in the vicinity. This tool will significantly help prevent these incidents as well as consequential safety violations and citations. HOW TO USE THE TOOL Here are two checklists you can adapt and use to ensure forklifts/powered industrial trucks meet equipment and maintenance standards.
Adapt and use this Hazards Assessment to determine areas of potential and existing ergonomic and materials handling concerns.
To root out ergonomic injuries you must be proactive. The first step is to do a record review and create a “snapshot” of worker injuries, so you can analyze causes and identify trends. Here’s a form you can adapt and use at your workplace to perform an effective records review.
It takes a split-second of inattention, a slight change in working conditions, a forgetful co-worker, or a lax safety program for you to fall through an opening.
Being prepared for an emergency is part of your employers and your responsibility. For help developing your emergency response planning, Ready.gov offers the following guidance.
Let’s start with the obvious hazard – a blocked emergency exit. Blocked by conveyors, carts, trash, and cardboard boxes.
Excavations and trenches more than 4-5 ft/1.2-1.5 m deep (depending on your federal, state, and provincial regulations) require a protective system is in place to protect workers from cave-ins. If a protective system isn’t in place – don’t enter the excavation. Look out for your safety and the safety of your co-workers and don’t become another buried body of an excavation cave-in.
Pesticides: Safety Training ??? Both the Worker Protection Standard and the Hazard Communication Standard mandate training for all Agricultural employees that come in contact with Pesticides. This training is required for Handlers, Early Entry Workers, and all other agriculture workers before they acquire five separate days of entry into pesticide treated areas after the REI expires
Ski Areas???snow ???ice???water???slippery surfaces???they increase the potential for a slip, trip or fall. But does this mean a slip, Trip or fall HAS to happen? Of course not. Slips, trips and Falls are preventable and that???s what this program is all about???prevention. The program examines some common slip, trip and fall accidents common to ski areas and examines the root causes of each.
Hand signals to effectively communicate with tractor operators.
This video outlines all the basic skills to safely operate a tractor.
Domestic violence often crosses over into the workplace and many domestic violence victims are in danger of being attacked, harassed, or stalked while at work. Would you know what to do if an employee came to you about violence they are experiencing at home? Does your organization have a plan? An organization’s response to and support of victims can help to keep the workplace safe and secure for everyone.
A study done by the Society for Human Resource Management, found 65% of companies don’t have a formal workplace domestic violence plan in place even though 16% of organizations have had a domestic violence incident in the past five years.
Domestic violence often doesn’t stay confined to the home. Whether directly or indirectly, domestic violence effects the victim, co-workers, and the organization. Learn these warning signs and risk factors for domestic violence in the workplace and share the information with your employees during workplace violence training.
Protecting employees from harm is the foundation of every safety program and piece of safety legislation. Protecting employees from workplace violence must be part of your safety program. Further still, having a plan and program in place to help employees experiencing domestic violence should be, and in many cases must be, part of your safety program.
How would you respond if one of your employees came to work with bruises or other injuries? Does your organization have a policy and process in place for dealing with suspected and confirmed cases of domestic abuse?
Housekeeping/Slips, Trips & Falls A construction site can become a very messy place. But, the longer it stays that way, the more dangerous it becomes. This video outlines the connection between good housekeeping and injury prevention, especially slips, trips & falls. Common trip and fall hazards are shown and the root causes are examined for maximum impact.
Employee Training is extremely important when it comes to using pesticides. Workers are protected under the Worker Protection Standard and the Hazard Communication Standard regarding hazardous substances in the workplace. Any agricultural worker must be trained in Basic Pesticide Safety rules before entering a pesticide treated area.
We are all vulnerable to disasters–whether they’re the work of Mother Nature in the form of earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, tornado or flood or deliberate acts of mankind in the form of arson, bombing or other act of terrorism. Surviving such disasters often hinges on being prepared.
When a serious incident happens in the workplace, everyone will be busy dealing with the emergency. Helping injured victims, assessing if the danger has abated, trying to piece together what happened. So, it’s critical to be prepared to investigate an incident before one occurs.
Poisoning, accidental or intentional, causes significant harm or death to many US and Canadian people. Poisoning takes many forms as harmful chemicals can be breathed in, swallowed, touched or injected.
Two workers entered an unprotected trench (11 feet deep x 8 feet wide) to set new sections of pipe. Only one would survive.
One cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as a car and the pressure on the chest can make it impossible for a worker to breathe, even if his or her head is above the level of the collapsed soil. Often, it’s impossible to rescue a trench collapse victim quickly enough to prevent death.
There are some obvious hazards in this picture, yet it’s still a good tool for training and learning. Share this image with your crew and see how many hazards they spot. Then discuss why they are hazardous, how these hazards can be corrected, and what they would do if they were asked to work in this excavation.
Since it's your first time, you may want to checkout some of the video tutorials.
800-ICW-SAFETY (800.429.7233)
SAFETYOnDemand@icwgroup.com