Workplace Safety

Earlier this year, OSHA issued a final rule to modernize injury data collection and reporting. While OSHA has required many employers to keep a record of workplace injuries and illnesses for the last 45 years, very little of that information has been made public. However, under the new rule—which goes into effect on January 1, 2017—employers in high-hazard industries will be required to send their injury and illness data to OSHA so it can be posted on the agency’s website. Personally identifiable information will, of course, be removed before the data is published online.

As a result of the new rule, workers and the public will be better informed about the more than three million workplace injuries and illnesses that occur each year—further incentivizing employers to improve workplace safety. Job seekers will be able to easily identify workplaces where the risk of injury is lowest. Employers can use the data to benchmark their safety performance and make necessary improvements.

“Our new reporting requirements will ‘nudge’ employers to prevent worker injuries and illnesses to demonstrate to investors, job seekers, customers and the public that they operate safe and well-managed facilities,” said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, in a statement. “Access to injury data will also help OSHA better target our compliance assistance and enforcement resources at establishments where workers are at the greatest risk, and enable ‘big data’ researchers to apply their skills to making workplaces safer.”

The new reporting rule applies to all establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation as well as establishments with 20-249 employees in certain industries including utilities, construction and manufacturing. Reporting requirements will be phased in beginning in 2017.

Additionally, the new rule further promotes an employee’s right to report workplace injuries and illnesses without fear of retaliation, targeting programs and policies that either directly or inadvertently discourage workers from doing so. Employers must inform employees of their rights and provide a clear and reasonable reporting process. These provisions become effective on August 10, 2016, though OSHA has stated they will not begin enforcing them until November.

For more information on the final rule, visit the OSHA website. And if you need assistance creating a workplace safety program or would like to review the provisions of your current program to ensure they comply with the new final rule, we’re here to help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Mosquito bites are downright annoying. Caused by a mild immune system reaction to proteins in the saliva of female mosquitos, the bites can be extremely itchy. Scratching any mosquito bite can lead to infection, but some bites result in more serious complications. If the mosquito has recently fed off an infected person or animal, they may transfer a virus or parasite along with that saliva. These include West Nile, encephalitis, Dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever and—most recently—the Zika virus.

Central and South America, Mexico and parts of the Caribbean have all recently experienced an outbreak of the Zika virus. While there have been no reports of mosquitos transmitting Zika in the U.S. as of yet, it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Zika can also be spread through exposure to the blood and bodily fluids of infected individuals.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently released interim guidance for employers who want to take steps to prevent or minimize the risk of Zika virus infection among their outdoor workers and other employees should a Zika outbreak occur in the States.

What is the Zika Virus?

Historically found in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, Zika virus infection began to emerge in the Americas and Caribbean in 2015. It’s generally transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes species. Aedes aegypti can be found in the southern U.S. and parts of the southwest. Aedes albopictus are found in the southern and eastern parts of the U.S.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only one in five infected individuals will develop symptoms of the Zika virus two to seven days after they are bitten by an infected mosquito. The symptoms—which include fever, joint pain, muscle pain, headache, rash and pink eyes—are generally mild and last no more than a week. However, serious neurological and autoimmune complications have recently been reported in Brazil. Pregnant women who contract the Zika virus may give birth to babies with microcephaly, a serious birth defect of the brain. Zika can also cause vision and hearing deficits as well as impair the growth of the fetus.

What does OSHA recommend for protection?

OSHA suggests employers educate their workers about Zika virus infection. This includes the modes of transmission (mosquitoes, blood and bodily fluids) and particular dangers for pregnant women.

Employers should provide their outdoor workers with insect repellents and encourage them to wear clothing that minimizes exposed skin. You may want to provide your workers hats with mosquito netting to protect their faces and necks as well.

Extra layers during warmer weather can lead to heat-related illness. As such, employers should always provide workers with plenty of water, shaded areas and rest. They should be taught to monitor and recognize the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke in themselves and others.

Sources of standing water should be eliminated from the jobsite whenever possible to reduce or eliminate mosquito breeding areas. This includes removing tires, buckets, cans, bottles and barrels that may fill with rainwater.

If a Zika virus outbreak occurs in the U.S., consider reassigning female outdoor workers who indicate they are or may become pregnant as well as those who are male and have wives or partners who are or may become pregnant, to indoor tasks.

In 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) on-site consultation program helped 27,871 small and medium-sized businesses to identify and fix hazards. Most (87 percent) of the consultations took place at businesses with 100 or fewer employees, many of whom otherwise lacked the resources to employ their own on-site safety professional. More than 140,000 total hazards were addressed, and an estimated 3.5 million workers protected from possible injury, illness or death.

The consultation program is free to employers and separate from OSHA’s inspection efforts. Identified hazards are confidential and are not reported to OSHA inspection staff. Citations and penalties are not issued, though employers are obligated to correct serious safety and health hazards that are brought to their attention.

Should your business make use of this program? Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I want to learn more about workplace safety?

If you do, the OSHA on-site consultation program is for you. A well trained professional consultant will tour your workplace and assist you in recognizing and removing hazards that could cause injury or illness to your workers. He or she can also provide insight into how you can create a culture of safety within your workforce, encouraging your employees to take proactive responsibility for their own safety and that of the worksite as a whole.

Do I want to reduce accident and injury-related business costs?

A well thought out and executed workplace injury and illness prevention program will help you reduce your company’s illness and injury rates, decrease workers’ compensation costs and lost workdays, and limit associated equipment damage and production losses.

If you’re like most employers, you answered “yes” to both questions. When you’re ready to schedule an appointment with an OSHA on-site consultant, visit the Consultation Directory. Once you’re identified your state’s consultation project office, you can call or email to get the process started. Priority is given to companies in to high-hazard industries such as manufacturing and construction.

What to Expect from Your Consultation

During your consultation, the OSHA consultant will examine the conditions in your workplace and interact with your employees while looking for potential injury and illness hazards. He or she will help you understand applicable OSHA standards as well as other risks that may not be cited under OSHA standards but still pose a danger to employees. The consultant will also appraise your present injury and illness prevention program or advise you in the creation of one. You’ll receive a written report detailing recommendations and agreements and can request additional training and assistance to help you implement them.

Want to learn more about workplace safety? Our team can help you create a workplace safety plan or improve upon a program you already have in place. Give us a call today to request additional information or assistance.

According to some estimates, as many as 700,000 U.S. adults are transgender—meaning they identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Associated issues have been a hot topic lately—one even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is addressing.

OSHA recently released a best practices publication on restroom access for transgender workers. Within it, they explain that restroom access is a health and safety matter. When an employer requires an employee to use a restroom that is not consistent with his or her gender identity, or restricts the employee to a specific or gender-neutral restroom, it may make the worker fear for his or her physical safety at work. This can result in restroom avoidance and potentially serious physical injury or illness.

OSHA suggests that employers implement written policies that permit all employees to use the facilities that correspond with their gender identity as well as provide single-occupancy unisex facilities or multiple-occupant, gender-neutral facilities with lockable single occupant stalls. Any employee can then choose what he or she feels to be the most appropriate and safest option for him- or herself.

OSHA Requires Accessible and Sanitary Restrooms for All Employees

Transgender issues aside, OSHA regulations require employers to provide all workers with sanitary and accessible restrooms. Access to the facilities must be prompt and a minimum number of such facilities must be available. This means employers must:

• Consider the size of the workforce to ensure they’ve provided an adequate number of restrooms to prevent long lines. On construction sites, this means at least one toilet for 20 or fewer workers and one toilet plus one urinal for every 40 workers.
• Allow employees to use the restroom however often and for however long as needed.
• Avoid procedures (such as signing out bathroom keys) that cause extended delays.

If a restroom is not available on the jobsite, there must be one less than 10 minutes away. For farmworkers, the restroom facilities must be no more than a quarter mile away.

Employers must maintain the sanitary condition of their restrooms as well. This means there must be:

• Hot and cold running water or lukewarm water available
• Hand soap or similar cleansing product provided
• Access to warm air blowers or individual hand towels
• Trash cans for disposal of feminine hygiene products and hand towels

For more information on OSHA’s restroom and sanitation requirements, you can read the standards 29 CFR 1910.141, 29 CFR 1926.51 and 29 CFR 1928.110.

Does your team complain about neck or back pain? Do you often have employees out sick due to headaches? According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, desk workers who use computers regularly are in danger of nerve, tendon, ligament and muscle injuries that cause symptoms like these due to ergonomics issues.

There’s no doubt the reduced productivity, increased sick days and worker’s comp claims that result are bad for business. Fortunately, properly designed workstations and a little instruction in proper posture can eliminate ergonomics problems for the majority of desk workers.

Choose the Right Chair

Invest in chairs that adjust easily for both height and tilt. Workers should be able to sit comfortably with their feet resting on the ground and their thighs horizontal and at the level of their hips. The chair’s armrests should also be adjustable to keep your employee’s elbows near his or her waist.

Proper Desk Height is Essential

When your employee is sitting, the height of his or her desk (or pullout keyboard tray) should be at elbow level. The mouse should also be positioned at elbow level, or about one to two inches above the thighs. If the desk includes a pullout keyboard tray, the mouse should be placed here, not on the main desk surface. Whether typing, writing or using the mouse, your employee should be able to keep his or her arms nearly perpendicular to the floor.

Position Monitors Carefully

For the best ergonomics, position the computer monitor directly in front of your worker and about 20 to 26 inches away. The top of the screen should be at eye level to avoid neck strain caused by looking up or down.

Practice Good Posture

Sure, slouching can be comfortable—but only for a while. Proper posture takes a bit more effort but will keep your desk workers feeling and performing their best throughout the workday.  Encourage them to:

• Sit up straight while keeping their head centered over their body. Their ears should always be in line with their shoulders, which are in line with their hips.
• Keep their upper arms relaxed and loose. Allowing them to hang close to the body rather than reaching them forward will help prevent shoulder strain.
• Avoid wrist strain by aligning their hands with their lower arms. Try to type lightly; don’t pound the keyboard with excessive force.
• Take frequent breaks. They can rest their eyes periodically by looking at an object across the room or outside the window. They should also spend a few minutes standing and gently stretching each hour.

Poor ergonomics are a common cause of workplace injuries in office environments and should be addressed in your illness and injury prevention plan.  If you’d like assistance doing so, please give us a call.

Last September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the preliminary results of the 2014 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. The report revealed 4,679 fatal work injuries were recorded in the U.S. in 2014, an increase of 2 percent over 2013’s numbers. Nearly 750 of these workplace deaths were due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals. Among those classified as homicides, 32 percent involved relatives or domestic partners when female workers were the victims. Thirty-three percent of workplace homicides with male victims were robberies.

These figures do not include non-fatal incidents, as they are more difficult to track. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) more than 2 million American workers experience workplace violence each year—from harassment, intimidation and verbal abuse to threats of physical violence, physical assaults and homicide. Workplace violence may be perpetrated by other employees, clients, customers or workplace visitors—and it should be a major concern for employers nationwide.

Certain worksite factors may increase the risk of violence—such as exchanging money with the public, serving alcohol, or providing care for volatile individuals. High-risk professionals include delivery and taxi drivers, healthcare and public service workers, police officers and customer service agents, and anyone who works alone, late at night, or in a high-crime area.

Fortunately, there are steps all employers can take to reduce the risk of violence in their workplaces and protect the lives of their staff. We recommend that you engage the assistance of a workplace safety professional as you complete the following:

1. Create a zero-tolerance workplace violence policy. It should be clearly worded and detail how the employer defines workplace violence, the conduct the policy prohibits, methods for reporting violations, and how these reports will be investigated. It should also outline the disciplinary actions employees can expect if they engage in workplace violence. The Society for Human Resource Management has a template you can use as a starting place here.

2. Identify your workplace’s risk factors. Do you have employees who work alone? Does your business require early morning or late night shifts? Can you control who enters the building or jobsite? Do your employees work with money or prescription medications? Are their areas of poor lighting on your premises? Do your employees deal with volatile customers regularly? Take a close look at the day-to-day operations of your business and talk to your employees about their experience.

3. Create a workplace violence prevention program. This can be a standalone program or you can integrate it into your general injury and illness prevention program. Regardless, you should schedule periodic training sessions with your employees to ensure they understand the role they play in successfully preventing workplace violence including reporting and logging all incidents or suspected incidents and avoiding potentially dangerous situations whenever possible.

If you’re ready to address the threat of violence in your workplace, we can help. Contact us today for a review of your safety program.

You obviously don’t want your employees consuming alcohol or using mind-altering substances while they’re on the clock. However, have you ever considered what after hours binge drinking, alcoholism or abuse of prescription drugs might be doing to your company’s bottom line? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimates the total costs of drug abuse and addiction are $524 billion a year. Illegal drug use alone accounts for $181 billion in healthcare, productivity loss, crime, incarceration and drug enforcement.

My Employees Would Never Use Drugs!

If you don’t think any of your employees are drug misusers or abusers, you could be wrong. According to the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, 8.5 percent of Americans have alcohol-use disorders. Millions more abuse illegal or prescription drugs. They may work within any type of business and within any industry. They may hold positions at any level within an organization—from entry level to c-suite executives. And because of the side effects of substance abuse—from reduced coordination and slow reflexes to overconfidence and reckless behavior—they are more likely to make devastating mistakes or cause accidents in the workplace.

Yikes! What Are the Warning Signs?

Employees who abuse or misuse alcohol and other drugs often exhibit performance or behavioral problems. While the presence of one or more of these issues does not necessarily mean a particular worker is an abuser, they may warrant closer observation. Extreme stress due to life events such as divorce, death or health problems may also cause these symptoms.

• Inconsistent quality of work
• An increase in mistakes
• Inability to concentrate
• Faltering productivity
• Chronic absenteeism or tardiness
• Extended lunch hours
• Early departures
• Unexplained disappearances
• Errors in judgment
• Risk-taking behaviors
• Avoidance of colleagues
• Blame throwing
• Frequent complaints
• Lack of personal hygiene or deterioration in appearance

All of these issues may cause your business to lose money through the deterioration of workplace morale (which can increase turnover), reduction in employee productivity, and increase in accident risks. When workplace injuries increase, workers compensation insurance rates follow.

So What Can I Do?

It’s essential that you create a company substance abuse policy, document it in writing, and communicate it to your employees. The best policies clearly define what constitutes substance abuse and misuse in your workplace, outline the disciplinary actions that you will take if an issue is identified, and tie into your organization’s drug and alcohol testing program.

Additionally, you should train managers and supervisors to recognize the symptoms of possible drug and alcohol abuse and misuse and communicate with the employees in question in a caring, confidential and effective fashion. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that includes education on substance abuse and misuse as well as short-term counseling for employees with personal problems that are impacting their work performance can also be a valuable investment.

If you’re concerned about substance abuse and misuse within your workplace, contact your insurance professional for assistance and insight into appropriate policies, protective and preventative measures.

Learning first aid is something touted by everyone from safety experts to nurses and doctors as being of the utmost importance. Many of us say we will do it later or wonder how important it could really be to learn something as seemingly simple as first aid. However, knowing how to properly administer first aid to an injured individual can decrease the severity of their injuries and even potentially save their life.

A small cut, burn, bump to the head, or other minor injury may seem like a trivial event, but even the most minor injury can turn into a serious medical problem without the appropriate first aid measures. For example, a small cut can become infected, fester, and become very painful unless properly attended. Such injuries can even cause the person to miss work, which causes both employer and employee to lose valuable money and time.

Although usually done with the best intentions, individuals that haven’t received first aid training often make multiple mistakes as they try to help someone with an injury. Such mistakes can make the injury worse or even have deadly consequences for the injured person.

Let’s look at some of the most commonly offered bad advice and mistakes made by those untrained to deliver first aid:

1. Tilt your head back to stop your nose bleed.

A person with a bleeding nose should never lean or tilt their head back, as this can cause the blood to run into their throat and potentially cause them to choke on their own blood. Instead, the person should take a seated position, lean forward, and pinch their nose just underneath the sides of the nasal bone. This position should be held for five to ten minutes. The person shouldn’t blow or pick at their nose and they shouldn’t bend over for several hours after the nose bleed subsides. Nosebleeds that continue over 20 minutes require medical attention.

2. Failing to act quickly in emergency situations.

This is by far one of the most common first aid mistakes people make. Your response time to a co-worker suffering a laceration over an artery could mean the difference between him bleeding to death in a matter of minutes and having a story to tell his family about his co-worker saving his life.

You should act quickly and calmly to elevate the area above the person’s heart (if possible) and apply direct pressure over the wound. Keep in mind that even injuries not of such direness should have a speedy reaction. For example, an untreated minor scratch on a piece of rusty metal can cause some serious complications, such as tetanus or sepsis. You should wash minor scratches, scrapes, and cuts with either clean running water or an antiseptic solution, apply an antibiotic ointment, and cover the area with a sterile gauze dressing.

3. Move that badly injured person to safety.

Unless an injured person is in an immediate and severely life threatening situation, they should never be moved. And, severely life threatening means circumstances like being moments from being burned alive within their wrecked car. Otherwise, you should immediately dial 911 and wait for the paramedics to arrive.

4. Put ice/butter on your burn.

Neither of these are appropriate treatments for a skin burn. Ice can cause the skin to get frostbitten, which only exacerbates burn damage. Butter can actually prevent the skin from healing as it should. It’s also worth mentioning that blisters from a burn should never be popped, as this increases the chances of the area becoming infected. Ointments should also be avoided initially because they can hold in heat. Instead, minor burns should be washed under cool water for about ten minutes and then have a sterile gauze bandage applied over it.

As you can see, the proper first aid training is essential to knowing what to do when injuries occur. It’s too late to get the training after an injury occurs; sign up for a first aid course before it’s needed. Do make sure that the first aid course you sign up for has a qualified instructor.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses was full of good news. Despite the fact that private American companies reported nearly 3 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses, the incidence rate declined with 3.2 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers in 2014. The rate reported for 2014 continues a pattern of declines that, with the exception of 2012, occurred annually for the last 12 years.

 

Among Total Reportable Cases, No Category Increased

 

Most Injuries Occurred in Service-Providing Industries

 

The Incidence Rate for Occupational Illnesses was Highest in Manufacturing

 

Additional Information is Available

If you’re interested in reading the entire BLS report, complete with 28-pages of charts and graphs, you can download it in PDF form at www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh.pdf. Before you do, consider the following simple steps you can take to reduce your own company’s incidence of workplace injury and illness regardless of your industry.

 

1. Involve your employees in safety program planning – No one knows more about potential dangers in your workplace than the employees who spend a significant portion of each week on your factory floor, at your jobsite, or in your office space. Solicit their suggestions and gather their feedback on proposed measures before implementing any safety program.

2. Encourage your employees to bring safety concerns to management’s attention – Create an environment in which your workers will feel comfortable voicing concerns about safety deficiencies, observed violations, and unreported accidents. It’s cheaper to fix safety problems than to ignore them, but you may need to gain your employees’ trust first.

3. Provide your employees with clear work instructions – Deliver all safety training verbally, visually (with a demonstration), and in written form. Employees may have different learning styles, so covering all the bases will ensure everyone understands what is expected. Make sure you have each employee read and sign a document acknowledging this as well.
4. Revisit your safety program at least once a year – Change is constant in most workplaces, whether you work in an office or on a construction site. For example, you may hire new staff, replace equipment or add new processes. Each alteration has the potential to render your safety guidelines obsolete, so review and modify them regularly. If you’re unsure how to adjust your program to your company’s changing needs, consult a workplace safety professional.