Every year thousands of workers are injured, and some are killed, “at the office.” Broken bones and head injuries from falls, burns, and electrical shock hurt just as badly when they occur in an office setting as when they happen at an industrial site.
Some of the worst hazards in any work area are the ones you don’t see - because they’re above you. What’s at stake is your life, and there are two basic ways you could lose it: electrocution or falling objects.
Electricity is the movement of electrons between atoms. In their normal state, electrons in a conductor such as copper, freely and randomly move from atom to atom.
Most workplaces are required to establish and implement an Emergency Action Plan. Use this Checklist to determine if your EAP includes all required elements – or to help create a new EAP.
Fire, natural disaster, and other emergencies can strike your workplace without warning at any time. While you can’t predict them, you can prepare for them and preparedness save lives, prevent injuries and limits property damage. If that’s not motivation enough, being prepared for workplace emergencies may save your business thousands and even hundreds of thousands in safety fines avoided.
Knowing what to do in an emergency (fire, chemical spill, natural disaster, etc.) helps evacuation move quickly and safely, allows for the quick contact of emergency services, prevent further destruction, and save lives. Use this Questionnaire to quiz workers on how they would respond in an emergency. Their answers and feedback will help you identify holes in your emergency planning programs and your training. You can edit it to fit the specific needs of your organization.
Imagine being at work when suddenly the lights go out and someone starts yelling, “There’s a fire! We need to get out of here! This place is on fire!” Imagine fumbling your way in the dark and the smoke to an exit…only to find it was locked…from the outside. This is exactly what happened to Lilly Davis and 80 other workers on September 3, 1991 at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant.
If you and your friends were facing a dangerous, deceptive enemy, you'd want to find out all you could about the enemy and share any information you come up with. The fact is you do have such a treacherous enemy—the workplace hazard. And this enemy threatens you and your co-workers daily.
The power of fluids is amazing. Hydraulic power is a form of stored energy that, when under control, does good work. When released unexpectedly, hydraulic power can damage you for life or even kill you.
Most workplaces in Canada and the U.S. are required or voluntarily have safety committees, or Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSC). A safety committee or JHSC is made up of worker and management representatives that meet on a regular basis to discuss and deal with health and safety issues.
When you are going to or leaving from a parking lot, garage, or other parking area how often do you check over your shoulder to see who is behind or near you; pay attention to your surroundings – really pay attention instead of walking and looking at your phone or daydreaming; look in and around your vehicle for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary?
Driving at night has unique challenges that aren’t found (or aren’t found as often) while driving during the day, which include the obvious that the sunlight is not available. In the winter months the days are shorter and many of us drive to work and back home in the dark.
You’re an accident waiting to happen if you are not alert at work. This applies to most high-risk jobs, trucking and transport jobs, repetitive jobs, such as sorting logs in a lumber mill, and a host of other jobs – regardless of the inherent risk level.
A befuddled state of mind is not conducive to performing tasks whether personal or work-related. It is a breeding ground for accidents. This groggy and foggy state may be the result of a cold, flu or other illness and often mixed with over-the-counter or prescription meds. You can be impaired by both over-the-counter and prescription meds. Alcohol, marijuana or other drugs aren’t the only drugs that cause impairment.
Once they’re on the move, forklifts and other powered industrial trucks become dangerous and subject to specific travel safety rules. This form helps prevent these related injuries and incidents from happening, along with consequential safety violations and citations.
Loading and unloading of forklifts and other trucks are subject to specific safety requirements that are designed to ensure stability of loads and prevent harm to operators and others nearby. This form helps prevent these related injuries and incidents from happening, along with consequential safety violations and citations
A well-run meeting should stick the allotted time, have a clear purpose and plan, and at least one call to action at the end. Read more about running a meeting in this article by Adam Bryant at the New York Times. How can you apply these three principles to your next safety meeting or training?
Caught and between. These two mild words describe a type of injury which is anything but mild. Instead, they refer to being caught between two moving objects or a moving object and a stationary object. The result is compression and crushing injuries which can be fatal. The places where these incidents occur are called "pinch points."
Winter driving is hazardous at the best of times, but slippery roads and reduced traction can make it deadly. Prepare for winter driving before winter storms head your way.
Chocking is the act of using a wedge to immobilize the wheels of a vehicle or equipment to keep it from accidentally moving. Chocking the wheels of a vehicle, such as a truck or trailer, physically stops the movement of wheels to prevent runaways that can injure workers and destroy property.
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.
People or profits? Results or relationships? Safety or Savings? As supervisors we often feel an enormous amount of pressure (spoken or unspoken) to make these types of difficult decisions. We also feel a great deal of conflict as well over the choices we make. Effective leaders focus on both results and relationships.
Adapt and use this Hazards Assessment to determine areas of potential and existing ergonomic and materials handling concerns.
Adapt and use this survey to better understand the ergonomic issues, including early stages of MSD discomfort and disorders.
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