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. 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.

This Workplan sets out a four-step strategy you can implement over a 30-day period (and beyond) to help ready your workplace and your workforce for an emergency.

Step One: Conduct Hazard or Vulnerability Assessment (Day 1-5)

The primary hazards in an emergency such as a fire, chemical release, serious machine malfunction, workplace violence, or natural disaster are often only the beginning of the damage and destruction. You also must think about the secondary hazards that occur because of the initial event. A hazard assessment will shed light on all these possible hazards. Once identified you can prepare your response.

Implementation Strategy: If an EAP is required, the first step in developing it is to perform a hazard assessment to determine which physical or chemical hazards in your workplace could cause an emergency.

Step Two: Identification of Emergency Control Procedures and Written EAP (Day 6-15)

The next step is to use the findings of your hazard assessment to develop a written Emergency Action Plan (EAP). The EAP cannot be one-size-fits-all; each workplace must have its own EAP based on an assessment of its unique hazards and circumstances. The plan must include:

1. All possible emergencies, consequences, required actions, written procedures, and available resources.
2. A detailed list of personnel to contact in an emergency and their role in an emergency.
3. A list of external organizations to contact such as fire, rescue, and ambulance services; hospitals, police department and any government agencies; utility companies; and any industries in nearby that should be informed because of a potential safety risk to their workers and their operations.
4. Floor plans and large-scale maps showing excavation routes, emergency equipment, hazardous areas (i.e. chemical storage), as well as gas and water lines and other information as required by applicable safety regulations.

Implementation Strategy: An EAP should include personnel assignment, evacuation procedures, alarm and notification systems, and PPE/protective clothing.

1. Personnel Assignments: The EAP should establish a clear chain of command in which all personnel have clearly assigned roles in the event of an evacuation. The EAP should designate:

• A leader with authority to order an evacuation or shutdown.
• An appropriate number of evacuation wardens to help with the evacuation and ensure that everybody is accounted for before evacuating themselves.
• Individuals to remain behind to carry out or close-down vital plant operations before evacuating themselves.
• Individuals authorized to perform rescue or medical duties in the event of an evacuation.

The EAP must also list the name or job title of every employee who may be contacted by employees who need more information about the EAP or an explanation of their duties under it.

2. Evacuation Procedures: At a minimum, the EAP must incorporate the following procedures:

• Procedures for reporting fires and other emergencies.
• Emergency evacuation procedures, including evacuation type and identification of exit routes.
• Procedures to help disabled employees that require assistance to evacuate.
• Procedures for the employees who remain behind to operate critical plant operations before evacuating themselves.
• Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation.
• Procedures for the employees performing rescue or medical duties.

3. Alarm & Notification Systems: There are also certain engineering controls you must implement as part of the EAP, including:

• An alarm system that uses a distinctive signal that all employees recognize to communicate orders to evacuate or perform other actions under the EAP.
• A public address or other emergency communications system that’s available to use to notify employees of the emergency and contact local fire, police and other emergency respondents.
• An auxiliary power supply in case electricity is shut off.

4. PPE & Protective Clothing: Workers counted on to extinguish fires or who are otherwise exposed to risk of fire and explosion must be equipped with and use appropriate PPE and protective clothing. Workers who perform interior structural firefighting operations must be furnished, at no cost to themselves:

• Foot and leg protection;
• Protective footwear;
• Body protection;
• Gloves or glove systems;
• Head, eye and face protection; and
• Respiratory protective equipment.

Step Three: Training and Education (Day 16-20)

Workers must receive training and education needed to carry out their roles under the EAP (even if the role is to evacuate or shelter-in-place) and help in the safe and orderly evacuation of other workers.

Other items to educate workers on include:

• Threats, hazards and protective actions.
• Notification, communication and warning procedures.
• Means of locating family members in an emergency.
• Emergency response procedures.
• Evacuation, shelter and accountability procedures.
• Location and use of emergency equipment.
• Procedures for emergency shutdown.

Employees designated to use firefighting equipment under the EAP must also be trained in the appropriate use of the equipment upon initial assignment of that responsibility and at least once a year after that.

Implementation Strategy: Use training programs and resources (such as those provided by SafetyNow and SafeSupervisor), deliver effective and legally compliant fire and emergency response training.

Keep in mind that simply providing training isn’t enough. You must ensure workers understand and can apply their training on the job. Methods of verifying the effectiveness of training include:

• Quizzing workers on the lesson after you deliver it.
• Making workers demonstrate the procedures covered during the training.
• Making workers demonstrate proper use of the PPE covered during the training.
• Staging evacuation drills to verify that workers can carry out the EAP and evacuate safely in the event of a fire or other emergency.

Step Four: Inspect, Monitor, Reinforce, and Improve (Day 21-30 and forever after)

You must review the EAP with each worker the plan covers when:

• The EAP is first developed or the worker is first assigned to carry out a responsibility under the plan;
• The worker’s responsibilities under the EAP change; and
• Changes are made to the EAP itself.

The final step is to monitor your EAP. Monitoring must be carried out on an ongoing and continuous basis. So even though we “schedule” it as starting on Day 21 and ending on Day 30, the monitoring process never ends. Monitoring should be done on a regular basis, e.g., fire inspections should be part of monthly work inspections and scheduled safety audits, and in response to red flags like:

• Worker complaints.
• Incident and injuries.
• Significant changes to operations, equipment, personnel etc. that weren’t accounted for or anticipated in the previous hazard assessment.

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 the Questionnaire 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. Here’s part of her account of what happened after she, along with several other co-workers reached the locked door.

“I said, ‘Lord, what am I going to do? How can I get out of here?” Davis said. “And I heard a voice to my right that said, ‘Just sit down right here where you are.’ So, I said, ‘What in the world can I do from right here? I can’t see. If only I had some light I could get out.’ And that voice said, ‘You can pray.’”

Davis said she sat down on the floor and began to pray. She doesn’t remember how long she prayed or what she was praying.

“Then a hole opened up in the ceiling,” she said. “I remember feeling so peaceful and good, and then I just fell asleep.”

“I was told by the rescue squad people I was put in a bag and they were getting ready to zip me up,” she said. “But then I coughed once, and that’s the only thing that saved me.”

Written by Melonie McLaurin of the Richmond County Daily Journal

Investigators determined two exits were locked from the outside and a loading dock was also blocked. 12 employees wound up in a cooler that had no exit. There bodies were found in the cooler and three more bodies were found just outside. The plant lacked automatic heat-detection sprinkler systems, the exits weren’t marked, fire doors didn’t meet national safety standards, and the large building only had ONE fire extinguisher. The plant also lacked an evacuation plan.

The fire was reported by the plant owner’s son – who came running into the fire department that the plant was on fire. The owner had ordered the doors be locked (from the outside) because he suspected workers were stealing chickens.

The loss of life and emotional and physical damage to the workers, their families, and the town itself, did not have to happen. It is obvious from the investigation findings the following factors contributed to the deaths:

• Blocked and locked exits
  • All exits must be unlocked whenever anyone is present in a building.
  • Aisle ways and exits must be clear of obstructions.
• No fire suppression systems
  • Check with local, state, and federal codes to determine fire suppression requirements.
  • This is generally something the building’s owner/facility management takes care of – but if you have any concerns get informed and ask questions!
• Insufficient number of fire extinguishers
  • Generally, extinguishers must be clearly located where they will be readily accessible and immediately available in the event of fire.
  • Preferably located along normal paths of travel, including exits from an area.
• Unmarked exits
  • Exits and exit paths must be clearly marked and visible.
• No evacuation plan
  • An emergency action plan is required for most buildings.
  • The plan must include, among other things, known hazards/risks, evacuation procedures, and who to contact in an emergency.

What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

Unnoticed workplace hazards can take your life in an instant or cause you a lifetime of suffering and disability. These same hazards can injure or kill co-workers, customers, and visitors to your site. Knowing the hazards in your workplace and communicating the danger to others is critical to everyone’s safety.

Examples

1. A spill that isn’t cleaned up leads to a slip and fall that causes irreparable trauma to the brain of a young worker who was already making a big impact in her field. But her future is drastically altered by the trauma she endured
2. A burned-out light in a stairwell that maintenance has put off replacing, sends a worker tumbling down the concrete stairs to the landing below. In addition to being bruised and sore from the fall, the worker spends several weeks in a cast and rehabilitation with two broken wrists.
3. A malfunctioning machine guard isn’t reported by the operator on the dayshift. The nightshift operator, unaware of the damaged guard, is pulled into the machine and crushed.

How to Protect Yourself

1. Learn all you can about workplace hazards and share information with your co-workers to keep everyone safe.
2. Participate in the training programs your employer provides. Remember, safety information and training are shared in several ways: it could be one-on-one or group training; online training; on the job or hands on training; live demonstrations; or learning by watching videos and reading manuals.
3. Expect your employer to provide you with the information you need to identify and avoid hazards. But, seek this information out on your own too and be continually alert to new dangers.
4. Visual cues to protect you from hazards are all around you. Use them. Notice the signs and posters that pass along safety information. They point out hazards such as the possibility of falling objects or the presence of flammable liquid vapors. These visual reminders tell you how to avoid injury— i.e., wear your hardhat, or don’t smoke. Signs also point the way to emergency exits and equipment to be used in case of an emergency, such as fire extinguishers and first aid kits.
5. Study the labels on chemical containers and read the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). The label will tell you the contents, hazards, and what to do in case of a spill or exposure. The SDS provides more safety information about the chemical and in greater detail than a label.
6. Finally, follow your company’s system of reporting hazards, injuries, incidents and near misses. Report hazards or concerns immediately. Reporting is an important link in correcting current workplace hazards and preventing future hazards. If you don’t report hazards you leave them lurking and waiting to injure or kill someone else.

Final Word

Remember, just because you escaped an accident or injury, doesn’t mean the next person will. If you have information about a safety hazard, share it. Keep the lines of communication open to defeat the enemy—the workplace hazard.

What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

Many injuries and deaths occur because workers are poorly trained and ill-informed about hydraulic power. Here are four examples of hydraulic hazards:

1. A hydraulic line can break and spray flammable liquid, resulting in fires and explosions.
2. A pressurized hose can whip around and strike someone.
3. If a line fails or is disconnected, the loss of fluid pressure can cause machine components to collapse, resulting in possible injuries or death if a worker is underneath the machine.
4. When someone uses a hand to check for a pinhole leak in a hydraulic line, the pressurized fluid can be injected under the skin. This injury can lead to infection and possibly require amputation of the infected hand.

How to Protect Yourself

Follow these guidelines procedure before doing all service or maintenance procedures.

Hydraulic Fluid

• The fluid used in hydraulic power tools must be an approved fire-resistant fluid.
• It also must be designed to retain its operating characteristics at the most extreme temperatures it will be exposed to.

Safe Operating Pressure

• Don’t exceed the manufacturer’s recommended safe operating pressure for hoses, valves, pipes, filters and other fittings.
• Make sure all fittings, hoses, valves, etc., are securely fastened before use.

Jacks

• All jacks – lever and ratchet jacks, screw jacks and hydraulic jacks – must have a device that stops them from jacking up too high.
• The manufacturer’s load limit must be permanently marked in an easy-to-see place on the jack. Never exceed this limit.
• Never use a jack to support a lifted load. Once the load has been lifted, it must immediately be blocked up.
• Fill hydraulic jacks exposed to freezing temperatures with an adequate antifreeze liquid to prevent freezing.

Blocking and Locking

• Hydraulic pressure must be relieved before work is done on any part the hydraulic system or when repairing or performing maintenance on equipment with hydraulics.
  • Even equipment that has been idle for a long time may still contain high pressure.
  • Your employer must instruct you how to do this safely and train you on how to lock and tag out all hydraulic power.
• Equipment parts supported by hydraulic systems must be mechanically blocked during maintenance and service.
  • Remember, when machines are turned off the hydraulic lines may still be under pressure.
  • If a line fails – or is disconnected during servicing – the loss of pressure can cause machine components to collapse.
• Lock and tag out all hydraulic power before adjusting any equipment.

Reporting

• Stop work and immediately report any problems you observe, such as leaks, missing locks, and other hazards.

Final Word

Don’t take chances with your safety and your life when working with hydraulic power. Follow proper protocol and procedures safely deenergizing, releasing fluid, blocking and lockout/tagout.

What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

You can turn to your health and safety committee members when you’re concerned about unsafe situations:

1. You don’t feel comfortable discussing with your supervisor.
2. You’ve discussed with your supervisor, but nothing has been done; or with suggestions you think…
3. Could benefit other workers, departments, or the organization.

Examples

Representatives of the safety committee are there to help when you’re concerned about the lack of a guardrail on the mezzanine storage level and you can’t get anyone to install one. When a fire exit is blocked, or the dock lights are always burned out and your complaints aren’t going anywhere, they can get help. Safety committee members come up with ideas to reduce hazards ranging from excessive noise to toxic solvents.

To do these things and more, they learn about hazardous conditions and practices – through reports, inspections, reviews of injury and illness case studies and incidents such as fires or acts of violence against workers.

How to Protect Yourself

Learn who your joint health and safety committee members are. They might be identified by hardhat decals, name tags, special colored safety headgear or other means.

Remember, the committee is a cooperative venture, not an “us versus them” arrangement. Labor and personnel issues don’t belong at the meetings. Committee members are not “safety cops,” nor should they take over the supervisor’s role in maintaining safe working conditions.

Continue reporting safety hazards and problems to your supervisor or the supervisor expected to take care of safety issues. Long-term safety issues go to the safety committee for discussion and a recommendation which is communicated to management.

Here’s what else you can do:

• Keep in mind that it’s your job to learn the safety policies and procedures for your workplace and to follow them.
• Actively participate in the safety process. Because you have experience in your area and expertise in the tasks you’re required to perform, you can make valuable suggestions, based on your work experience, to members of the safety committee.
• Become active in the committee so the way jobs are done in your workplace can be improved, made safer, and more efficient.

Final Word

Take an active role in your safety. Report concerns and share ideas with your safety committee representatives or consider joining yourself.

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What’s at Stake?

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?

What’s the Danger?

Parking areas are danger zones. You are vulnerable to theft, assault, and other violence when you travel from a workplace or shopping area to the relative safety of your vehicle. This is particularly true at night and off-shift hours when there are few, if any, people around.

How to Protect Yourself

Here are 14 safe parking strategies you can follow.

1. Park only in well-lit areas and avoid parking next to vans or thick shrubbery. Don’t walk near vans either. Within seconds the doors could slide open, someone could grab you and just as quickly close the doors and take off.
2. Park near building entrances, rather than in isolated areas of the parking lot or parking garage. Try and choose a parking space that is visible from the building lobby or from the street.
3. Use parking escort services or travel to and from your vehicle with co-workers.
4. Find your vehicle key before you leave the building for the parking area, so you’re not searching for them when you reach your vehicle. Carry your key in your hand in the position you would use to open your door. The key can be used as a weapon if you are threatened.
5. To discourage thieves, carry your wallet in an inside pocket. Hold your purse or briefcase securely but be prepared to use it as a weapon or let it go rather than risk injury by defending it.
6. Look around before you head for your car, watching for loiterers and observe other vehicles, particularly vehicles with someone in them. Stay clear of vehicles with darkly-tinted windows, which could conceal occupants.
7. As you approach your automobile, look under it and beside it to make sure there isn’t someone hiding. Before entering the vehicle, check in the back seat for a possible intruder.
8. If you have a two-door car, get into the habit of flipping the seats forward when you leave the car. If you return and find they have been moved back, you will know someone has been in your car and might still be there. Leave the area and call the police or parking lot security staff.
9. Be suspicious if you return to your vehicle and find a flat tire. This could be an attempt to catch you off guard, so you can be attacked.
10. Lock the doors as soon as you enter your vehicle. Keep them locked when you are driving and when you leave it parked.
11. In parking garages, avoid isolated areas such as stairwells. You might consider walking down the auto ramp instead, if you can do so without risk of being struck by a vehicle.
12. If you are staying later than you expected, move your vehicle to a less isolated spot before it gets dark.
13. Lock valuables in the trunk and don’t leave identifying documents such as insurance papers in the vehicle. Out of sight is safer.
14. While a personal parking space is a great job perk, don’t have your name on it. This information might make you a target.

Final Word

Parking lots can make you an easy target for crime. Stay safe by staying alert, observant, and ready to run or fight.

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What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

Night time driving is only one quarter of the time people spend on the road, yet more than half the vehicle fatalities occur after dark.

It has been reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety administration that people are three times more likely to be in a fatal crash at night than during the day and most vehicle/animal crashes occur at night.

How to Protect Yourself

There are things you can do and common-sense practices to make night time driving safer. The following is a good review of night time safety driving practices.

• Allow yourself more time to get to work. Besides the darkness, there may be the problem of frost, snow, or ice to remove from the windshield.
  • Frost on the road surfaces, especially when combined with the oil which seeped out of the blacktop in the hot weather, makes roads slippery. As does snow and ice.
• Check your driving lights regularly to make sure they are working.
  • Keep them clear of obstructions and clean.
• Turn your headlights on as soon as the lights begins to get dim.
• Use your low beams when you are following another vehicle or when a vehicle approaches from the opposite direction.
  • When you blind the other driver with your high beams, you are endangering yourself.
• Look beyond your own headlights.
  • Use streetlights and the lights of vehicles in front of you to get an idea of what is happening down the road.
• Leave an extra cushion of space around your vehicle at night, to allow more reaction time for yourself and other drivers.
• Impaired drivers are a danger to everyone on the road.
  • Statistics suggest one out of 13 drivers is drunk in the early morning hours.
  • Be alert and give other drivers plenty of space to maneuver.
  • If safe to do so, pull over and call 911/the police if you think another driver is driving under the influence.
• If you have vehicle trouble, pull as far off the road as you can.
  • Warn other drivers with your hazard lights or flashers, headlights, interior lights and flares if you have them.
  • Stay in your car until help arrives.
• Collisions with wildlife can be fatal and animals are more likely to be active in the early morning and early evening.
  • Observe signs warning of animal crossing, slow down if it’s safe to do so, and be extra alert.
  • Use your high beams if there aren’t other vehicles around to help with visibility, but honk instead of flashing your lights if you encounter an animal because the lights may cause the animal to freeze.
  • If an animal runs out in front of your vehicle:
    • Brake and slow down if it’s safe to do so – though it might not be the safest option.
    • Try not to swerve because swerving might send your vehicle out of control and the confused animal may jump in front of your vehicle anyway.

Final Word

Adjust your driving to accommodate traveling at when it’s dark. Leave yourself more time to travel and be alert to dangers on the road.

What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

The risk of making mistakes at work increases dramatically if workers sleep for less than seven to eight hours or are awake for more than 17 consecutive hours.

• Fatigue reduces your ability to make decisions and to do complex planning.
• Communication skills and your ability to respond to and remember directions and recall details also suffer.
• Fatigue slows your reaction time, and your ability to respond to changes in surroundings or information provided.
• It also shortens your attention span, especially during boring or mundane tasks.
• Fatigue lowers your productivity and performance and your ability to handle stress.
• It makes it hard to stay awake, increases forgetfulness and increases errors in judgment.

Experiencing one or more of these factors can make you dangerous to work with, because it increases the chances for incidents and injuries. 

How to Protect Yourself

One of the most important ways to protect against fatigue is to get enough rest. For most people that means seven to eight hours of sleep per night.

Try these tips for getting a good night’s sleep:

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
2. Don’t eat too close to bedtime, as doing so can cause heartburn and just generally make it hard to fall asleep. Do eat a balanced diet of fruits, veggies, healthy fats, proteins and whole grains.
3. Turn off your cell phone or tablet at least one hour before you go to sleep and don’t watch TV in bed.
4. Exercise regularly, but not too close to bed time. Exercising an hour or so before bed can make it hard to fall asleep.
5. Avoid caffeine, tobacco and alcohol before bed as well. Stay away from foods and drinks that contain caffeine for at least five hours before bedtime.
6. Keep your room dark and cool. Most of us sleep better in a cooler room.
7. If you can’t sleep, get up and go into another room and read or perform some other quiet activity that doesn’t involve staring at a screen until you feel sleepy.

At work, remember these fatigue-triggering factors and try to avoid them:

1. Dim lighting.
2. High temperatures, high noise, and high comfort, such as sitting for long periods in a very comfortable chair.
3. Repetitive, long, boring and monotonous tasks.

Try these tips for staying alert:

1. If you can, take breaks or break up tasks and keep the lights bright.
2. On longer breaks or lunch time go for a run, bicycle ride or brisk walk in every kind of weather.
3. Perform the most boring tasks at the start of your shift if permitted.
4. Eat light, healthy snacks throughout your shift instead of heavy, fatty snacks.
5. If you’re driving, be sure to take breaks at least every few hours and change drivers if you can.

Final Word

Fatigue at work doesn’t have to turn into a nightmare of injuries and accidents. Take care of yourself by getting enough sleep, eating right and knowing the factors that trigger fatigue.

What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

We have all suffered from the “common cold” or had the “flu bug” and taken medication for both. Many of these drugs affect your ability to drive and operate equipment; just read the warning labels:

May cause dizziness, drowsiness, or impair your ability to operate vehicles, vessels, or machines.

These medications, along with being sick can slow your reaction time, diminish your ability to make snap decisions (sometimes life or death decisions), cause you to fall asleep at the wheel of whatever you’re operating or driving, make you more likely to fall because of dizziness, and make careless mistakes.

How to Protect Yourself

The first step to protect yourself is to do what you can to stay healthy. Here are some ways you can avoid colds and other illnesses that might be going around your workplace.

1. As unsociable as it may sound, try to avoid people with colds. Colds are spread from one person to the other – through droplets in the air and on their hands.
2. Wash your hands frequently, especially when you have had contact with someone with a cold.
3. If you have a cold, cover your sneezes and coughs by sneezing or coughing into a tissue or into the crook of your elbow.
   • The idea is to keep your hands as clean as possible, so you aren’t spreading germs.
   • Dispose of tissues right after use and away from others. Nobody wants to look at a pile of used and germ laden tissues.
   • Wash your hands as soon as possible if you sneezed or coughed into them.
   • Handwashing is mentioned twice because it is one of the best ways you can avoid spreading your germs and catching someone else’s.
4. Sorry to say, but Mom and Dad were wrong – you don’t catch a cold from going outdoors without your coat. However, it does appear that your resistance to colds may have something to do with general good health. So, follow some of their advice and:
   • Get enough rest and sleep.
   • Exercise regularly.
   • Eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet.

The second step to protecting yourself and others is to not show up to work if:

• You are sick; or
• You’re taking medication that can impair your ability to:
  • Drive to and from work safely.
  • Perform your work safely – including operating machines, driving a forklift, going out on a sales call, loading and unloading materials, operating a crane, driving a truck, and other activities.

Final Word

Give yourself a break and keep yourself and others safe. Stay home if you’re sick and never try to drive or operate machines or equipment if you’re under the influence of medication that impairs your ability to make decisions or makes you sleepy. It’s not worth it.

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.

HOW TO USE THE TOOL

Use this form to help enforce forklift travel safety. Adapt to meet your specific requirements.

WHEN TRAVELLING WITH LOADS

• All traffic regulations must be observed, including authorized plant speed limits.
• You must slow down and sound the horn at cross aisles and other locations where vision is obstructed.
• If the load being carried obstructs forward view, you must travel with the load trailing.
• Stay at least one foot away from the edge of elevated platform or dock.
• Railroad tracks are to be crossed diagonally whenever possible.
• Parking closer than 8 feet from the center of railroad tracks is prohibited.
• When ascending or descending grades more than 1%, loaded trucks must be driven with the load upgrade.
• Dock boards or bridge plates must be properly secured before they are driven
• Dock boards or bridge plates must be driven over carefully and slowly, and their rated capacity never exceeded.
• Always drive at a safe speed.
• Slow down when taking corners.
• Watch for blind spots. Visibility is greatly reduced when traveling with a load.

FORKLIFT RULES OF THE ROAD

• Always watch where you are going.
• Keep to the right.
• Obey speed limits.
• Keep 3 vehicle lengths away from other vehicles.
• Slow down at intersections.
• The pedestrian always has the right of way.
• No horseplay is allowed.
• No riders are allowed – not on the forks, not on the seat, and not on the back.
• Always keep arms and legs inside the vehicle.
• Face the direction of travel.
• When you leave the forklift but remain within 25 feet of the truck, completely lower the load engaging means unless it supports an elevated platform, put controls in neutral and set the brakes to prevent movement.
• When you leave a vehicle unattended, shut-off the power, set the brakes, bring the mast to the vertical position, and completely lower the load engaging means, and put the controls in neutral.
• When you leave the vehicle on an incline, chock the wheels.
• Check the maximum load capacity on the forklift nameplate.
• Do not load trucks in excess of their capacity.
• Do not move a loaded forklift until the load is safe and secure.
• Carry the load low enough to avoid hitting overhead obstructions such as doorways, pipes, electrical conduits, or sprinklers.
• Do not operate a forklift with a leak in the fuel system.
• Always know the position of your forks.
• Be aware of overhead clearances.
• Always chock the wheels of a truck being loaded or unloaded.
• Stop completely before raising or lowering a load.
• Never travel with a load raised high.

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.

HOW TO USE THE TOOL

Use this form to help enforce forklift loading and unloading safety. Adapt to meet your specific requirements.

• Only stable or safely arranged loads must be handled.
• Exercise caution shall be exercised when handling off-center loads which cannot be centered.
• Only loads within the rated capacity of the truck may be handled.
• The long or high (including multiple-tiered) loads which may affect capacity must be adjusted.
•  Trucks equipped with attachments must be operated as partially loaded trucks when they’re not handling a load.
• A load engaging means must be placed under the load as far as possible.
• The mast must be carefully tilted backward to stabilize the load.
•  Extreme care must be used when tilting the load forward or backward, particularly when high tiering.
• Tilting forward with load engaging means elevated is prohibited except to pick up a load.
• An elevated load may not be tilted forward except when the load is in a deposit position over a rack or stack.
• When stacking or tiering, only enough backward tilt to stabilize the load may be used.

1. SET THE AGENDA

It may seem like an obvious requirement, but a lot of meetings start with no clear sense of purpose. The meeting’s agenda can be summarized on a handout, written on a whiteboard or discussed explicitly at the outset, but everyone should know why they’ve gathered and what they’re supposed to be accomplishing. The agenda provides a compass for the conversation, so the meeting can get back on track if the discussion wanders off course.

2. START ON TIME. END ON TIME.

Nothing can drain the energy from a room quite like waiting for the person in charge to show up.

Time is money, of course, and all that sitting around and trying to guess when the boss may arrive is a waste of a precious resource. When establishing the informal rules of an organization, employees take their cues from the person in the corner office. If that person wants meetings to start on time, meetings will start on time.

Just as important as starting on time is ending on time. A definitive end time will help ensure that you accomplish what’s on your agenda and get people back to their work promptly.

3. END WITH AN ACTION PLAN

Leave the last few minutes of every meeting to discuss the next steps. This discussion should include deciding who is responsible for what, and what the deadlines are. Otherwise, all the time you spent on the meeting will be for naught.

By Adam Bryant – New York Times

What’s at Stake?

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.”

What’s the Danger?

1. Getting caught in a pinch point can cause death, a disabling injury such as a hand mangled beyond repair, or permanent head trauma.
2. If your hand, gloves, clothes, hair, or jewelry gets caught in moving machinery, your entire body can be pulled into and through the machinery. If you survive it’s quite possible you could be stuck in the machinery for hours while rescuers attempt to free you.
3. You can also suffer fatal crushing injuries if you are caught between a moving object and a stationary object.
4. Caught-between injuries can occur in any kind of workplace but are particularly prevalent in manufacturing where machines are used to move, press, stamp and cut materials.
5. Construction sites where heavy equipment is operated are also a common place for crushing injuries.
6. Materials-moving work has its share of pinch point injuries too, such as when a worker’s hand is caught in an overhead sling or crushed by the heavy object she is setting down.
7. In mechanical repair, workers have been crushed by vehicles traveling across the shop floor or falling off jacks.

How to Protect Yourself

Here are five easy ways to protect yourself.

1. Ensure all machine guards are in place to prevent contact with moving parts such as gears and rollers.
2. Don’t wear loose clothing or jewelry around moving equipment because these can catch on the rotating machine parts and pull you in.
3. Carefully follow lockout procedures so equipment cannot be started accidentally when you are doing adjustments or maintenance. Always test the equipment once it’s locked out to ensure your lockout has worked.
4. Never assume a forklift, heavy equipment, or any other equipment operator can see you. Stay out of the way of moving equipment and be alert and aware of backup alarms, horns, and other warning signals.
5. Make sure cargo being loaded, unloaded, and transported and vehicles or heavy equipment raised up for repair or maintenance are safely blocked and chocked. If you’re driving a vehicle or equipment watch out for pedestrians, set your brake/s and chock the wheels when parked.

Final Word

Caught-between hazards come in many different forms. Some are traps which can crush a finger, hand, toes or feet. Others can cause fatal compression injuries to the head or chest. Stay alert to these hazards.

What’s at Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

Driving on wet, icy, or snowy roads increases your odds of losing control of your vehicle. These conditions also increase how long it will take to stop your vehicle.  Depending on conditions and the type of vehicle (i.e. car or semi-truck) it can take 10 times the normal stopping distance or more when road conditions are dicey.

Other dangers include:

• Black ice happens when transparent ice covers the road. Your vehicle can slip out of control suddenly because the ice is hard to see.
• Blowing snow causes limited visibility. Then it can be very difficult to see the road at all.
• Devil’s strip is the narrow strip of ice and snow which divides lanes of traffic. It can affect your vehicle’s grip in unexpected ways.
• Slush grab happens when your vehicle’s tires track the slush on the shoulder of the road or in ruts of the road. It can be a serious issue when you’re driving and it’s very different from driving in snow and ice. Slush is “grabby”, and it can suddenly and significantly slow your car way down. Use caution when changing lanes and wherever slush is present.

How to Protect Yourself

You can’t control the weather, but there are actions you can take to be prepared. First, make sure your vehicle is maintained and equipped for cold weather. Items to check include:

• Antifreeze and windshield wiper fluid levels.
• Tire pressure and chains; and the
• Heating and defrosting systems.

Next, have a winter survival kit on hand. You’ll be glad you have it should you have to spend a night on the side of the road. Suggested supplies include:

• A shovel, sand, and road flares.
• Extra warm clothing and footwear and a blanket.
• Pack non-perishable food and water;
• Matches and a survival candle in a can.

You should also keep an ice scraper, a snow brush, a flashlight, and first aid kit in the vehicle. Additionally, a paper map is also a good idea, as phones can fail.

Once you get moving, keep the following in mind:

• Before leaving the parking lot, tap your brakes at a slow speed to see how your vehicle reacts.
• Then as you first start out, drive slowly and get the feel of the road.
• Remember, stopping distances on ice or snow can increase from four to 10 times normal stopping distances! That’s why it’s important to increase your following distance to four to six seconds behind any vehicles you are following. That could go up to 8-10 seconds or more – depending on conditions.
• Take it slow and easy reduce your speed well before a curve so you can maintain control of your vehicle.

Final Word

Driving on slick and snowy roads offers plenty of challenges. Be prepared to meet them safely.

Safety Talk

What’s at Stake?

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.

Blocking is the act of using lumber to keep cargo in place. Blocking stabilizes cargo to prevent shifting and trailer overturns. Blocking also creates a physical barrier on equipment to prevent unintentional activation during maintenance.

What’s the Danger?

A worker was repairing a front-end loader with the bucket raised but without following LOTO procedures and without putting blocking on the hydraulic arms of the bucket. The hydraulics start to lose pressure and the bucket falls to the ground and fatally crushes the worker.

A by-stander is struck and receives disabling injuries after a delivery driver failed to properly chock the wheels on her truck.

These are just two examples of how dangerous it can be when you don’t practice chocking and blocking.

How to Protect Yourself

Chocking

• If you drive a truck, tractor, or other mobile equipment, use special caution when exiting the vehicle.
  • Ensure the brakes are set, the vehicle is at a complete standstill, and that it will not roll forward or backward before you exit.
• To chock a freestanding vehicle place chocks on the left and right rear axle wheels.
  • It is safest to chock both the front and back wheels on both sides of a vehicle.
  • Some vehicle wheels may also need to be chocked at the front and back of each tire.
• To secure vehicles at loading dock, first make sure the trailer is backed up against the loading dock edges and place chocks on the left and right wheels that are closest to the loading dock.
  • This placement allows a forklift to push down on the trailer wheels and seat them more firmly against the chock.
  • When only the front axle is chocked, the forward motion of a forklift entering the trailer can loosen the chock, allowing the vehicle to creep forward or jump the chock.
  • The safest bet is to chock both the front and back wheels on both sides of a vehicle.
• Only use chocks designed to be used with trucks, vehicles and equipment. Stay away from lumber, cement blocks, rocks, or other homemade items.
  • Store chocks inside trailers so they are easy to find and readily available.
  • Chain chocks to loading docks to keep them from being misplaced.

Blocking

• Block cargo to prevent loads from shifting during transport and unloading. If you don’t, a sudden shift in the center of gravity can overturn a trailer and unstable loads can strike, crush, or engulf workers when the materials are unloaded.
• Get in the practice of blocking all cargo – not just wheeled or round items.
• Items should be blocked separately and on all four sides with lumber and nails or spikes thick enough and long enough to keep the cargo in place.
  • Drive nails or spikes into the lumber at opposing angles.
• Never use other cargo for blocking— it doesn’t prevent movement in the same way a block can and may cause your cargo to overturn.
• Keep your hands, fingers, and the rest of your body out of dangerous pinch points.

Final Word

Chocking and blocking are good practices to prevent heavy loads and vehicles from unintentionally moving. If you are loading or unloading, hitching or unhitching, or performing maintenance on a vehicle, you must take time to chock and block the equipment to protect you and others from unintended movement of the equipment and/or cargo.

What’s a Stake?

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.

What’s the Danger?

Whether a worker is text-messaging someone while driving or listening to music through their headphones while working, he or she is dangerously distracted and at risk for causing injury to his or herself and others. We are inundated by information and it’s left many of us unable to focus and be present in what we are doing. This loss of focus at work, in your vehicle, and even while walking (head down not watching where you are going) can be deadly.

Many people brag that they could do their jobs in their sleep or they’re good at multi-tasking, but the reality is our brains can’t fully and safely do two or more things at once. It’s tempting to think you’re different and able to handle it, but to put it bluntly – you’re not.

EXAMPLE

A commuter train engineer who was sending and receiving multiple text messages while operating a train failed to notice a red signal and crashed the crowded train into a freight train, killing 25 people. He had sent a text message just 22 seconds before the trains collided.

In addition to the dangers, psychologist Larry Rosen points out that every time you stop to check your phone it takes roughly 20 minutes to get back to what you were working on. Your brain then must reactivate all the areas you were using. Projects end up taking longer and the constant interruptions cause more stress and anxiety.

How to Protect Yourself

Here are some ways to keep you and those around you safe.

• Turn off or put your phone and other devices in the trunk, glove compartment or the backseat so you won’t be tempted to use it or check it if a text or call comes in. Let people you regularly communicate with that you aren’t going to use your phone while driving – period.
• Texting while behind the wheel is more dangerous because your eyes are off the road for several seconds and your hand or hands are off the steering wheel!
• While you are texting or talking (even hands free) you can travel the length of a football field and have no idea what’s going on beyond the device in your hand.
• Wearing earbuds and listening to music at work should be saved for break time or your time off.
  • Not only can you damage your hearing, you’re likely tuning out everything else around you.
  • Depending on how loud it is, it’s also possible you won’t hear warning sounds, such as back-up alarms on forklifts, fire alarms, instructions, or warning shouts from co-workers.

Final Word

Many work places now have policies regarding the use of cell phones and other devices. Ask your supervisor if your workplace has such a policy. Even if a policy isn’t in place, it’s up to you to use these devices responsibly. A freeway is no place for texting and a busy shop floor is not the place to zone out to music when you need to be paying attention to your job and your personal safety.

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.

Record of Fuel Added

SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL CHECKS (PRIOR TO EACH SHIFT)
*Have a qualified mechanic correct all problems.

Record of Fluid Added

SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL CHECKS (PRIOR TO EACH SHIFT)
*Have a qualified mechanic correct all problems.

*ALL OPERATORS MUST BE TRAINED AND EVALUATED ON THE TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS    AND ATTACHMENTS THEY WILL BE OPERATING.

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.

In their article 8 Ways to Revitalize Your Team’s Morale and Productivity, Karin Hurt and David Dye offer this advice:

“You don’t have to choose between results and relationships. In fact, the most effective leaders ground themselves in internal values of confidence and humility while focused on both results and relationships. The key to what we call “winning well”—that is, sustaining excellent results over time—is to combine a focus on achieving results with building healthy professional relationships.”

The following is a summary of their eight ways to boost morale AND productivity.

1 Rock Your Role

Your team’s morale and performance begin with you. Can they look at you and see the excellence you’re asking of them? It’s hard to bring your A game 100 percent of the time, but the most effective leaders show up to play every day.

If you want to rock your role, don’t keep doing what you’ve always done. It’s about progress, not perfection. Hone your craft. Read what the experts are saying about the future in your field. Find a mentor or two who have skills you admire. Invest in a leadership development program for you and your team.

2 Mind the M.I.T.

In our experience, the number one cause of poor ­morale, performance problems and subpar results is a lack of clarity. You can boost morale and productivity by communicating clear, shared expectations. This is where your Toastmasters training can pay off.

One way to make sure everyone is on the same page is to “Mind the M.I.T.” (Most Important Thing). Be sure to prioritize. What is the most important thing your team can achieve this year? This quarter? This week? What is the most important thing they can do today? Does everyone on the team know what “winning” looks like?

3 Ditch the Diaper Drama

Your team needs direct feedback that will help them know what to continue and what to change. However, most leaders struggle to give direct feedback. Gallup recently reported that less than one in four employees said their manager provides meaningful feedback. We’ve observed many leaders who struggle to give direct feedback in a way that helps their employees. Like stinky diapers wrapped with plastic in the modern-day diaper pail, they wrap their feedback in layers of self-protection, so it doesn’t offend anyone.

When giving speech evaluations, Toastmasters learn to strike the balance between positive feedback and constructive criticism. They encourage the speaker, but they also point out what needs to be improved. Effective leaders speak the truth. Improve your team’s morale and productivity by having the tough conversations using the INSPIRE feedback model (see sidebar) and speak truth with compassion.

4 Channel Challengers

“No one listens around here, they don’t know what I do, and they don’t care what I think.” These are the signature words of ineffective leaders. In contrast, effective leaders recognize the value every person on their team contributes. They deliberately surround themselves with people who will challenge their thinking.

It’s not enough to have an “open door policy” and passively wait for people to tell you what you need to hear. Instead, seek out feedback. Ask your team, “What is working to help you be productive?” Then ask, “As your leader, what is one thing I could do that would help you be more productive at your work?” Listen, respond and watch your team’s morale and performance soar.

5 Own the Ugly

Many leaders won’t take responsibility for their mistakes. They fear that apologizing makes them look weak or lose credibility. In fact, the opposite is true.

When you make a mistake or hurt someone, it’s not a secret. Your team knows and they’re watching to see what you do. Can they trust you to own it? Apologize, make it right and move on. Your people will trust you, they’ll more likely take responsibility themselves and morale will improve.

6 Play the Game, Don’t Game the Score

To maximize your team’s morale and productivity, keep them focused on what matters most. Your customer doesn’t care what you get on your “scorecard.” They care about the value you deliver. Isolate the key behaviors that truly drive the value you contribute to your clients, customers and members.

Reinforce these critical actions every day and the score will take care of itself. Above all else, don’t let your team ‘game the score’—that is, don’t waste time trying to artificially adjust measurements.

7 Put People Before Projects

Productive teams enjoy high levels of trust, connection and collaboration. Collaboration is more than simply working together; it’s an attitude that communicates you are in it with your people, not apart from them.

A great employee experience, or a rewarding member experience in Toastmasters, starts as you recognize the unique strengths and perspectives each person brings to the team. Take the time to look at a person’s potential to perform beyond her current role. Build trust with, and between, your people. Listen to what is important to them and encourage their success.

8 Trust the Trenches

In your employees and volunteers, you have a tremendous source of product knowledge, insights into customers and performance improvements. Listen to what they have to say. They may not know how valuable their observations can be. Help them learn how to recognize the opportunities, cele­brate their success and give them the credit when their ideas work.

Your people are your number one competitive advantage. When you consistently practice these eight behaviors, you’ll see your team’s morale improve and their productivity increase. That’s not just winning—that’s winning well.

Karin Hurt and David Dye are authors of Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your Soul and the CEO and president of Let’s Grow Leaders. David was a featured speaker at the 2017 Toastmasters International Convention in Vancouver, Canada.

This Hazard Assessment Checklist organizes the factors an ergonomics hazard assessment should cover into 8 groups:

1. Manual Materials Handling considers lifting and handling of loads.
2. Physical Energy Demands addresses the risks involved with exertion applied by workers to perform tasks.
3. Other Musculoskeletal Demands considers potential hazards from things like work posture, bending and twisting, changes of position and contraction of limbs.
4. Environment addresses the physical conditions of the workplace, including lighting, noise levels, vibration and circulation of air.
5. General Workplace considers the state of housekeeping as well as the presence of obstructions, fall risks and clearance.
6. Tools looks at tool weight, grip, vibration, kickback, etc.
7. Gloves factors weigh the protective benefits as well as whether gloves require the worker to exert more force and/or subject him/her to additional hazards such as snagging on catch points.
8. Administration looks at the organization of work tasks, including time pressures, margins for error and the adequacy of breaks.

How to Do an Ergonomics Hazards Assessment

Adapt and use this Hazards Assessment to determine areas of potential and existing ergonomic and materials handling concerns.

EMPLOYEE MSD SYMPTOMS SURVEY

Please answer all questions truthfully and to the best of your ability.

1. Date: _____ / _____ / _____ 2. Name: ______________________________________
2. Job Title:______________________________________________________________
3. Department: _____________________ 5. Shift:_______________________________
4. Describe the type of work you perform in this job and the amount of time each day spent on these activities.

Task                                                                                  Time
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________
__________________________________________________      _______________________________________

Height: _____ feet and inches, or ____ cm

Personal Information

7. Birth date: _______ (year)
8. Gender: [ ] female [ ] male
9. Which hand is your dominant hand? (please check one): [ ] left [ ] right [  ] either
10. How long have you worked in your current position?

[  ] Less than 3 month
[  ] 3 months to 1 year
[  ] 1 year to 5 years
[  ] 5 years to 10 years
[  ]  Greater than 10 years

12. How often are you mentally exhausted after work?

[  ] Never [  ] Occasionally [  ] Often [  ] Always

13. How often are you physically exhausted after work?

[  ] Never [  ] Occasionally [  ] Often [  ] Always

14. Have you ever had any pain or discomfort during the last year that you believe is related to your work?

 Yes  No (if NO, stop here)

15. If YES, for each body part described in the boxes on the reverse side of this page, please indicate:

[  ] How often you have discomfort in each body part

[  ] The severity of discomfort

[  ] Whether the pain interferes with your ability to do your job

[  ] On which side of the body the discomfort is felt

For each area with ‘Pain’ or ‘Severe Pain’, or in which ‘Discomfort’ is felt ‘Always’, please indicate what you think may have caused the problem, and check either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, to indicate whether you have suffered a previous injury to this body part.

PHYSICAL DISCOMFORT SURVEY

Please note: “pain” may include aches, stiffness, numbness, tingling or burning sensations

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.

HOW TO USE THIS TOOL

Use and adapt this form to use at your workplace to perform an effective records review or ergonomic injuries.

A. REVIEWER IDENTIFICATION

Team Leader: __________________________________________________
Tel. No.: ______________________________________________________
Record Reviewer: _______________________________________________
Tel. No.: ______________________________________________________
Department: ____________________________________________________
Review Date: ___________________________________________________

B. RECORD IDENTIFICATION

Employee Name (or Record ID number if confidential): ______________________
Employee Job Title: ___________________________________________________
Record Reviewed: _____________________________________________________ 

[  ] OSHA or OHS form (specify) ________________________________

[  ] Incident report

[  ] Workers’ comp claim

[  ] Other (specify) ____________________________________

Record Date: _______________________________________________

C. INJURY IDENTIFICATION

Injury Date: _______________________________________________________

Injury Type (specify body part(s) affected): _____________________________

Workplace Location of Injury: ________________________________________

Activity Employee Was Performing When Injured: __________________________

Type of Device, Supply, Equipment or Workstation Involved (include serial number if applicable): ­­­­­­­________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reviewer’s Signature: _________________

Date: ______________

HOW TO USE THIS TOOL

Once you gather ergonomic injury records and analyze the data, you must translate your findings into corrective actions. This tool will help you do this. This a Model Form that summarizes data collected on all the Ergonomic Injury Record Review Forms that were completed.

Fill out a summary form for each type of ergonomically-related injury suffered by your workers.

Using this form will enable you to organize your injury data, determine appropriate corrective action, and establish priorities.

Instructions: Please fill out a separate version of this form for each ergonomically-related injury type identified by the records review.

TYPE OF INJURY: ___________________

Total Occurrences: ___________________

Occurrences by Department/Operation

Dept.: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Dept.: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Dept.: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Dept.: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Occurrences by Job Title

Title: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Title: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Title: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Title: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Occurrences by Equipment, Device, Workstation, etc.

Equip. (include serial no.): ___________________ Incidents: _________

Equip: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Equip: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Equip: ___________________ Incidents: _________

Recommended Corrective Actions (list in order of priority)

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Prepared By: ___________________

Signature: ___________________

Date: ___________________

What’s at Stake?

Most offices have few hazardous chemicals and no heavy or moving machinery. If the worst that can happen is a paper cut, why do we need to talk about safety training? Because a paper cut isn’t the worst that can happen.

Office employees still need to know what to do in case of an emergency, and accidents are surprisingly common. Also, people who sit down and use computers most of the day need to watch out for ergonomic issues.

What’s the Danger?

Common risks in offices include:

• Fire
• Slips, trips, and falls
• Eye-strain and back-strain from long periods of sitting and computer use
• Breathing problems from faulty heating or air conditioning systems
• Burns from office kitchens

How to Protect Yourself

Here’s a top ten list for safe offices.

1. Practice Good Housekeeping
   Office safety starts with proper handling and storage of materials and supplies. This includes trash removal, destruction of discarded, sensitive company information, and maintaining the premises, including removing ice and snow. Keep office supplies and stationery where they are easily reached, with a step-stool for high-up items.
2. Prevent Back Injury
   Bankers boxes and desks can both be heavy! Safe lifting means knowing your limitations, getting help if an item is too heavy, lifting with the legs instead of the back, keeping items close, and not twisting when lifting and lowering.
3. Prevent Slips, Trips, and Falls
   Practice safe cord management and keep cords out of walkways. Cover them with appropriate cord cover strips if that’s not possible. This includes cords and wires under desks. Keep traffic areas clear of debris and clean up floor spills immediately. Use rugs with a non-slip backing.
4. Keep File Cabinets Orderly
   Don’t have drawers from file cabinets opening into high-traffic areas. Distribute cabinet contents evenly to avoid top-heavy cabinets that could tip over. Drawers should be closed immediately to prevent tripping injuries.
5. Be Prepared for Fire
   Know where the nearest fire extinguishers, emergency exits, and the escape route are in your work area.
6. Keep from Getting Zapped
   Make sure you have approved surge protectors and enough electrical outlets in your work area. Plug power strips directly into wall outlets and not into other power strips or extension cords. Always unplug the equipment before attempting adjustments or repairs.
7. Maintain Air Quality
   Air that is too hot or cold, or fouled by cigarette smoke and other pollutants, can cause physical and psychological stress. Air quality problems arise in new energy-efficient buildings as well as older ones.
8. Be Ergonomically Correct
   Work-stations should be designed to minimize stress placed on the body. Correct placement of computer screens and keyboards is a particular issue for eyes, necks, backs and wrists. Getting everybody’s work-station right will reduce all the reaching, bending, and repetitive hand-wrist movements that lead to fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders.
9. Be Ready with First Aid
   Know the location of first aid kits in your work area and throughout the office. Let your office manager or supervisor know when supplies are low. Know who your first responders are and how to contact them.
10. Emergency Action Plan
    Your company should have an emergency action plan that includes: how to get out, where to meet and how to check everyone is safe; who notifies the emergency services; how to deal with any injuries or property damage; and protecting company information. They must hold emergency drills for fire, severe weather, and other potential hazards and natural disasters such as, earthquakes and floods.

Final Word

Office safety may seem like simple common sense. But it’s easy to get sloppy. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do just about everything. Make sure you’re doing everything to ensure yours is the right way.