At approximately 7:00 a.m. on August 21, 2007, Employee #1, a construction worker, began his workday using a 90-lb jackhammer to remove a 4-ft by 8-ft section of concrete from around metal posts. He and his coworker were working in direct sunlight with a temperature of 82 degrees and 60 percent relative humidity. They took two breaks, one for 15 minutes at 10:00 a.m. and another one for 5 minutes at 11:15 a.m. Employee #1 and his coworkers ate lunch at noon for an hour. At 1:20 p.m. he asked for a drink of water and ten minutes later, told coworkers that he felt weak and shaky. At 2:00 p.m., Employee #1 stopped working, went down on one knee, and then passed out. He was immediately transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope, dehydration, and low potassium levels. He received IV fluids and was released at 4:55 p.m. Employee #1 had not eaten breakfast, only drank coffee before work. His only water intake had been two small Dixie cups at 10:00 a.m. and a small Gatorade at lunch. Employee #1 and the coworker both had water bottles with them and a source of water nearby for refills, but Employee #1 used his bottle to pour over his head to keep cool. A review of his ambulatory and hospital records by the DOSH Medical Unit indicated that his symptoms were consistent with heat syncope induced by mild heat exhaustion with dehydration.
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This program utilizes video shot on location as well as 3D animations to train new or experienced employees in the importance of safe operation and the responsibilities of professional lift truck operations, and the skills and techniques operators can use to help ensure workplace safety and incident prevention. Anyone required to operate forklifts must be trained in accordance with mandated standards. Training must include a wide variety of topics including engineering principles, forklift operating rules, equipment characteristics, differences between a forklift and a car, environmental hazards, operator maintenance, hazardous locations, surface operating conditions, site-specific operations, potential hazards, and other pertinent information. This video does just that and is a great training aid for training new operators or as refresher training for experienced operators.
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