Materials handling is an essential task in any industry and covers everything from moving steel pipes by crane to manually hauling bags of concrete. Whatever your workers are moving or assembling, this common task also involves some of the most common costly injuries.
Every now and then you will come face-to-face with a new piece of equipment or new machine at work, or something slightly different from what we are trained on and used to using. The areas for potential problems will vary significantly with the equipment involved, but usually a few basic rules apply.
Stress – everyone has it. It is a natural part of life, but too much stress can cause health problems and can affect your ability to work safely. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to disconnect and unwind in our 24/7/365 world of news, noise, and responsibilities.
Complete this checklist prior to use of heavy equipment. Distribute the checklist to the supervisor and heavy equipment operator. You can edit this list to better suit your specific situation.
A 45-year-old owner of an electrical contracting company died after falling 9 feet to the road when the articulating boom of the aerial lift truck he was working from collapsed.
How close is too close when it comes to power lines?
Are you considering the following heavy-equipment-related hazards and safe work practices in your heavy equipment policies and programs? Whether you’re creating a policy for the first time or reviewing and updating existing policies and procedures, use these recommendations as a guide for heavy equipment safety.
Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times. Use this checklist from the National Institutes of Health to help improve employee emotional health.
Physically and mentally healthy employees are happier, safer, and more productive. An employee wellness program can provide support to employees who are facing challenging times and help all employees with their overall wellness. More and more companies are hopping on board the wellness wagon because they understand the connection between wellness and work.
Did you know? FIVE lifestyle behaviors (physical inactivity, poor nutrition, smoking, alcohol use, and non-adherence to medications) and FIVE chronic medical conditions (diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, mental illness, and cancer) drive 75% of all deaths worldwide.
The overwhelming majority of health-related productivity losses occur on the job from reduced performance by employees who show up for work not feeling their best. This is commonly known as presenteeism. The implications and costs of presenteeism are enormous and can be highly disruptive. Integrating wellness strategies into a safety program can help combat the effects. Here’s a 4-step model by the Canadian Mental Health Association, Manitoba Division (Manitoba Model) to consider.
March 27th, 2019 | One of the most powerful protections for employees under the Occupational Health and Safety Act is the right to refuse unsafe work. While the right to refuse unsafe work has proven to be an essential element of safeguarding workplace safety, it has also been improperly used as a tool for other, non-safety related ends by employees and organized labour. Employers must navigate these treacherous waters, ensuring that legitimate work refusals are dealt with appropriately, while preventing abuse of this significant power.
Those fabulous machines eat snow for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, they can also chew the operator up if you’re not careful.
Hearing damage, and the symptoms can take time to develop. You are likely to be exposed to different types and levels of noise during you work day.
Developed by Oregon Nurses Association, Bay Area Hospital, and The [...]
Ten things to consider if you are responsible for the safety of lone workers.
Three workers were using solvent to refinish an elevator interior. One of the solvent-soaked rags was ignited by either a spark from a light fixture panel or a worker's rag brushed against one of the recessed lights in the roof of the elevator, shattering the bulb and igniting the rag. The worker dropped the rag on the floor to try and extinguish the flame but the accumulated fumes of the cleaner ignited and the entire cab became filled with flames. Trapping the workers inside the elevator.
An Injury and Illness Prevention Program can help you save lives, save money, and comply with regulations.
The most recent work-related fatality information reinforces the need for an ongoing focus on incident prevention.
The hazards you and your workers are up against depend on factors such as the type of job, how it’s done, and the environment in which it’s carried out. As a supervisor part of your responsibility lies in identifying exposure to hazards and finding ways to protect workers from them. One of the best ways to do this is by conducting hazard and risk assessments.
Do you know the six elements of a successful hazard control plan? Here’s a hint…an effective hazard control plan involves worker input; reduces or removes hazards; and minimizes or eliminates risk.
Working alone means working where you cannot be seen or heard by another person and where you cannot expect a visit from another person. While not an ideal situation, sometimes it is necessary. In occupations as diverse as a home care nurse, security guard, property manager, plant attendant, taxi driver, custodian, logger, ranch hand, retail clerk and oil field mechanic, sometimes must work alone.
Use this Picture This as a tool to train and inform workers on injury prevention. Show them the image and ask them: Pretend you’re the supervisor who instructed this chap to do this work. First, think about how you would have set him up to be safe. Second, what would your reaction be if you pulled up to this scene and saw how the work was being performed. Then discuss their feedback and cover anything they might have missed.
The freedom of working alone sounds like a dream job for many, but the downside is there’s nobody around to help you if something goes wrong. Social workers, home care nurses, custodians, security guards and late-night convenience store clerks all face hazards from working solo. People might not be able to hear your calls for help and come to your rescue when you work alone.
Complete this checklist before an employee is set to work alone. Distribute the checklist to the supervisor in charge of the lone worker and to the lone worker. These items are minimum requirements to be met before the work begins. You can edit this list to better suit your specific situation.
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