Workplace Safety

An average of 20 workers are killed each week on the job, making homicide the second leading cause of death at the workplace (after motor vehicle accidents). Additionally, an estimated million workers are non-fatally assaulted each year, according to data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the vast majority of workplace violence is related to robbery and perpetrated by individuals from outside a business, about nine percent involves co-workers or former employees.

Workplace violence committed by current or former employees has a devastating impact on a business and its employees. While the real and immediate injury to the victim(s) delivers the biggest blow, the business itself may suffer bad publicity and, likely, an expensive lawsuit. Regardless of whether or not workers who were not involved in the incident witnessed the event, many are likely to experience emotional after-effects.

What are the causes of workplace violence?

According to a guide published by the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry, workplace violence can occur at any business, because the business environment is not the only trigger of brutal incidents. Family stress, substance abuse issues, and an employee’s overall psychological status, can carry into the workplace and provoke an incident of violence. Other situations that can lead to tragedy include an employee developing an unrequited crush on a co-worker, being rejected for a promotion, or feeling they are treated unjustly by a supervisor. In some cases, an individual cannot appropriately handle the resulting feelings of rejection. The pressure to produce and/or fear of layoffs can also trigger violence in an unbalanced employee.

An analysis by USA Today of 224 incidents of workplace violence committed by employees concluded that, in eighty percent of cases, the employee had exhibited clear warning signs of possible violence, which were ignored or minimized by supervisors or co-workers. While some red flags of violence are clear-such as wielding a weapon or making verbal threats-others are less obvious. Experts in the field urge caution when the following behaviors are present –

• continuous complaints of unjust treatment;
• inability or unwillingness to be held accountable, as well as the need to place blame upon others;
• difficulty in accepting criticism;
• deterioration of job performance;
• mood swings or personality/behavioral changes; and
• emotional outbursts

Although workplace violence, unfortunately, cannot be completely eliminated, businesses can take action to lessen the chances that an incident will take place. Supervisors, managers and all other employees, should be made aware of actions and attitudes that can indicate potential violence. Companies need to make it perfectly clear that non-physical precursors to violence-such as bullying, intimidation, aggression, and threats-will not be tolerated. Policies should also encourage employees to report such red flags, with reasonable assurance of their personal safety. Managers and supervisors require training in how to effectively diffuse workplace tensions and deal with confrontations before they turn violent. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) or other counseling services can be helpful in taking these steps.

While people can and do change, many perpetrators of violence have a history of brutality, or of red flags for potential violence. For this reason, background checks, pre-employment screenings, thorough resume reviews, and pre-hire interviews can be beneficial tools in workplace violence prevention, according to information from the International Risk Management Institute. Other warning signs include frequent job changes that are not adequately explained; mysterious holes in an applicant’s work history; demeanor during a pre-hire interview that is unresponsive, uncooperative, or somehow unsettling; and, of course, any history of violent or threatening behavior.

With the right policies and preventive measures, a business can know that it has taken appropriate steps to deter workplace violence and protect their employees to the best of their ability.

Most workers roll their eyes at the mention of a safety meeting – but what they may not realize is that these meetings have a greater purpose than just lecturing workers with a “boring” speech. Proper safety training can spell the difference between life and death on the jobsite.

Safety meetings 101

In a safety meeting, the company’s management and safety experts have an opportunity to teach employees how to perform their jobs more safely. This crucial training could prevent countless accidents in the long-run.

Some studies show that 90% of all jobsite accidents are caused by “unsafe acts.” These types of accidents are often the result of a worker not making the safest choices on the job. However, if workers attend all safety meetings and pay attention to the information being presented, they’ll know how to steer clear of unsafe acts and avoid accidents on the jobsite.

Pay attention!

If you’ve been working on a particular jobsite for many years, you may assume you already know everything there is to know about safety in your workplace. As a result, you may tune out during safety meetings and let your mind wander.

However, it is crucial to pay attention in these meetings even if you think you’ve heard it all before. After all, you may just learn something new. For example, you could learn about the latest, cutting-edge protective equipment or a smarter, safer and more effective way to do your job. All workers should pay close attention and take safety meetings seriously because the lessons they learn could help save their own or another worker’s life.

Understanding the risks

Are you still not convinced that safety meetings are necessary? Then you may want to consider the potential costs of having an accident on the jobsite. Here are a few ways a jobsite accident can directly affect you:

• You could lose your income: If you are seriously injured in a jobsite accident, you may not be able to work. If that’s the case, your paycheck may decrease or disappear altogether. Who will pay the bills if this happens? What if you are the sole breadwinner in your family? You and your family could be financially devastated.
• You could suffer from chronic pain: If you are injured on the jobsite, you may still be able to work – but you could suffer from severe aches and pains for the rest of your days. Think about how excruciating it would be to work through back aches, knee pain or splitting headaches every day.
• You could die: In the worst case scenario, a workplace accident could kill you. Think about how your loved ones would feel knowing that you died from an easily preventable accident at work. You could become disabled: Although you may survive a serious jobsite accident, you could become disabled. Imagine spending the rest of your life confined to a wheelchair.
• You could lose a co-worker: Because we spend so much time with our co-workers, they are often like family to us. How terrible would it be to watch your co-worker die because of a mistake you made on the jobsite? What if you could have prevented his death by stopping him from taking a misstep? Safety training teaches you how to look out not just for yourself but also for your fellow workers.

As you can see, there are many good reasons for safety meetings. Not only could you learn vital new safety methods, but these meetings also give you and your co-workers a chance to talk to your supervisors about any safety or health concerns. So as boring as safety training may seem, listen up and absorb all the information you receive. This information could save your life one day.

Sight is one of your most precious senses, especially when it comes to your ability to earn a living. Yet, eye injuries occur all too often in the workplace. A worker might be using a high speed tool that scatters tiny flying particles, and in the blink of an eye, the particles are in the workers’ eye. If the worker notices what happens, these particles can be removed by an ophthalmologist or emergency room doctor. Although the result can still be scarring or cause eye damage, there’s an even greater risk of permanent eye damage if the worker doesn’t notice the lodged particle. It might sound obvious, but the first step to protecting your eyes is to make sure that you have routine yearly eye exams. An uncorrected or under corrected vision problem can cause you to have an accident that affects you and/or others. Many workers might feel self-conscious in glasses, but is vanity really worth sacrificing your eyesight?

If you are a candidate, your ophthalmologist might be able to prescribe contact lenses. Either way, the corrective device should be worn as the doctor prescribes it.

In any job location where there might be a hazard to the eye, the worker should utilize personal protective eyewear that is designed for the specific task or hazard involved. This isn’t an optional way to protect your eyes; OSHA actually requires everyone on a work site to wear front and side protecting safety glasses when there is a hazard from any flying objects. The reason that OSHA requires everyone on site to wear safety glasses is because other workers might be working with a hazard, even if you aren’t.

Protective Eyewear

Your eyewear should fit properly and comfortably to best protect your eyes. They should be snug to maintain a proper position, but not so snug that they interfere with your natural movements. Many protective eyewear devices have adjustable features that can be fitted directly to the unique elements of your face.

When fitted properly, dust and chemical splash protecting eyewear will form a protecting seal. Leaving the eyewear loosely hanging on the face will not provide adequate protection.

Face shields and welding helmets must also be fitted properly, as they will do little good if they fall off while working.

Workers that must wear corrective glasses should ask for their own prescription safety eyewear. It is possible to wear certain types of personal protective eyewear over your corrective glasses, but it is often bulky, heavy and uncomfortable.

In the Event of an Eye Accident

If an eye injury does occur, the response time can often prevent serious and permanent injury. In order to respond quickly, workers should do the following before an incident occurs:

• Know safety protocols and first-aid response.
• Know the location of eyewash stations, operation, and how to quickly get to one.
• Report any problems with the eyewash station, personal protective equipment, or unaccounted hazards to the site supervisor.
• Accidents are inevitably going to occur. However, by supporting and complying with all elements of the eye protection program, you can greatly reduce the risk of injury and lessen the potential for permanent eye damage.

Regardless of the current weather forecast, driving conditions can change in a flash. By following some very basic guidelines, you can reduce the risk of an accident significantly, and ensure that you and your cargo get to your destination safely.

Driving in Bright Sun

• Depending on the season, and the sun’s position in the sky, certain times of the day can present problems that impact your visibility while driving. Be sure to wear sunglasses and use your visor to attempt to combat the glare of the sun in your line of sight.
• Sometimes, the reflection of the sun off of another vehicle creates a visual disturbance while you’re driving. When this happens, it is a good idea to slow down to change the angle at which you see the other vehicle. Or consider changing lanes to reduce the glare. Sunglasses and a visor will also help.

Driving in Fog

• The first rule to observe in foggy conditions is never use your high beam headlights. If you did turn on your high beams, it would be counterproductive, because the light would reflect back at you, making it more difficult to see.
• Always use your low beams in fog. This way, other drivers can see you coming and you can see a bit more of the road.
• Reduce your speed. If you can see six or more car lengths in front of you then you can safely drive up to 30 miles per hour. If you can see fewer than six car lengths ahead, do not exceed 15 miles per hour.
• Use your windshield wiper to remove collecting condensation from your windshield. Even if you don’t realize it is collecting it could be reducing your visibility.

Driving During the Rain

• Slow Down! Rain impacts visibility and increases the chance of skidding, so a slower speed is necessary. Slowing down also reduces the chances that you will hydroplane—which is when your vehicle moves too quickly to clear water from the road and you end up driving on water instead of pavement.
•  Be especially careful at the beginning of a rainfall. Because oil and water on the road don’t mix, the roads will be especially slippery when the rain first begins.
• If you normally follow the three-second rule for keeping a safe distance from the car ahead of you, increase that to a six-second rule during rainy weather.

Driving in Snow

• Snow that is heavy and slushy can become packed together to create a slippery road surface. When encountering this kind of snow while driving, drive slowly and use extra caution.
• Be careful when accelerating. Cars often slip or skid when accelerating too quickly in snowy conditions. If you do begin to slip, take your foot off the gas pedal and then start accelerating again more slowly. Avoid braking, as this action may make skidding worse.
• Use your low beams when driving in snow and avoid the use of high beams. The bright light s would reflect off of the snow and reduce your visibility. Use low beams to see more of the road and make your car more visible to other drivers.

• Since snow decreases your visibility and reduces your stopping speed, it is important to maintain a safe distance behind other vehicles.

Driving on Icy Surfaces

Black ice, which often forms on roads and is undetectable by sight, can be extremely dangerous. If you notice that the spray from other vehicles on a wet road begins to stop or wane, it may indicate the development of black ice. When that happens, follow the instructions below. Also, remember that bridges and overpasses can be icy even when normal roads are not.

• Begin braking slowly and well before you need to stop. When a road is covered in ice, it may take up to ten times longer to come to a stop after braking.
• Make sure you have a good understanding of your vehicle’s brake system and the best way to use it. For example, anti-lock brakes should never be pumped.

Before you take to the road, think about the conditions you may encounter, and take precautions. A little extra care could prevent an accident, and even save a life

 

If your workers are frequently ill or they complain about symptoms such as headaches, itchy eyes, scratchy throats, stuffy and sneezy noses, coughs or nausea that clear up once they leave the office, then poor indoor air quality—or IAQ—may be to blame. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, poor indoor air quality costs U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars every year in lost productivity and added healthcare expenses.

What Constitutes an Indoor Air Hazard?

The air quality in your workplace is affected by a very large number of factors. The building itself—from its architectural design to its physical location—can play a part. Renovations produce excessive dust, while leaks allow the penetration of exterior moisture, leading to dampness and mold growth. Overcrowded offices and improperly operated and maintained HVAC systems can also cause a reduction in indoor air quality—as can the presence of contaminants founds in cleaning supplies, formaldehyde from carpeting, and ozone from copy machines.

Indoor air hazards typically fall into three categories. Biological pollutants include the mold mentioned earlier as well as animal dander, bacteria, viruses, fungi and pollen. Chemical pollutants include gases from products used within the building as well as chemical fumes that are drawn into the workplace from outside. Particle pollutants included dust—one of the biggest culprits in most offices—as well as dirt and other solid or liquid substances.

What Steps Can You Take to Eliminate Indoor Air Hazards?

Fortunately, poor IAQ is a solvable problem for most workplaces. Assessing the situation is the first step you must take. This may include surveying your employees on their symptoms as well as reviewing your workplace illness and injury records. The information you gather should help you ascertain the size of the issue. From there, consider the following actions to improve the indoor air quality in your workplace.

1. Identify pollutant sources – Take a look at the products used within your workplace, from cleaning supplies to printer ink and bathroom tissue. If you find any that contain contaminants known to cause the symptoms your employees are experiencing, replace those products with healthier alternatives. Professional air monitoring tests may be helpful in the identification of potential contaminants.

2. Keep your workplace clean – Dust surfaces—including walls—regularly and vacuum floors as frequently as possible. Avoided piles of clutter and office supplies as these only serve to collect more dust. If you cannot afford professional custodial services, require your employees to tidy their area daily.

3. Evaluate air circulation – “Stale air” contains higher levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. It may be created when indoor air is excessively re-circulated or when the office ventilation is not sufficient to account for the number of workers within a given space. Opening windows may help, as will adjustments to your building’s ventilation system. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers—or ASHRAE—recommends a ventilation system provide your office with 20 cubic feet of fresh outside air per minute per person.

4. Control for temperature and humidity – To optimize indoor air quality, experts recommend keeping the interior temperature of your workplace between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit as well as maintaining humidity between 30 and 60 percent. This adjustment alone can dramatically reduce the incidence of upper respiratory symptoms in the workplace.

5. Maintain your HVAC system – A properly functioning heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is essential to the elimination of dangerous indoor air hazards. At minimum, you should schedule professional servicing of your HVAC system at least once a year. Even better, invest in maintenance every spring and fall. File copies of maintenance records so they may be analyzed in the event that poor indoor air quality problems pop up again.

 

Most employers are aware of their legal requirement to provide a safe working environment where staff can perform duties—from reception to construction, research to hospitality—free from recognized health and safety hazards. However, some forget that the Occupational Safety and Health Act also prohibits employers from discriminating against their workers for reporting potentially dangerous situations, illnesses or injuries incurred on the job.

In 2014 the U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against The Ohio Bell Telephone Company—operating under the name AT&T—after the company suspended 13 workers without pay for reporting workplace injuries. While AT&T’s actions blatantly violated the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act of 1970, discriminatory workplace injury policies are often much more subtle—so much so in fact that you may not even be aware that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would deem your company’s practice unlawful.

Consider these very common yet potentially discriminatory policies that could discourage employee reporting of illnesses and injuries. If you recognize any from your own company practices, you may want to contact a workplace safety consultant or OSHA’s Office of Whistleblower Protection Programs for guidance on appropriate changes.

Disciplinary Action as a Result of Injury – If a workplace injury policy requires an employer to take disciplinary action against an employee who is injured on the job—regardless of the circumstances surrounding the injury—OSHA may consider it discriminatory. Such a policy aggressively discourages workers from reporting injuries or illnesses (always a protected action under the OSH Act) and is in conflict with the employer’s obligation to establish a method for such reporting.

Disciplinary Action for Violating Reporting Procedure – As an employer, you want your workers to follow established procedures for reporting illnesses and injuries. However, if you take disciplinary action against an employee who reports an injury because he or she did not follow the proper procedure when making the report, OSHA may consider your policy discriminatory—especially if your procedural rules are unreasonable, make compliance difficult, or are accompanied by unjustifiably harsh sanctions.

Disciplinary Action Post-Injury for Violation of Safety Rule – Establishing and communicating the consequences of violating workplace safety rules are important steps in the construction and management of any workplace safety program. However, if your company has a policy to discipline injured workers for their violation of safety rules, OSHA may find it discriminatory—especially if you have never imposed equivalent discipline against uninjured employees for rule violation.

Incentivizing Employees to Avoid Reporting Injuries – If you award bonuses to employees or enter them in drawings for prizes if they are accident-free, you may be unintentionally encouraging your workers to refrain from reporting injuries and illnesses sustained on the job. OSHA suggests you avoid this potentially discriminatory workplace policy by incentivizing your employees’ consistent participation in safety-related activities—such as workshops and safety training—rather than compensating them for an absence of injury.

Telling the truth when it can cost a company some of its profit has never been a popular choice. Yet that is the position that safety officers find themselves in if they wish to do their job. While they will not typically contact the local media for an expose, they are expected to let higher-ups know when the company is in violation of OSHA regulations – even when fixing the problem can cost thousands of dollars.

Most people would not covet such a job. And whether or not your company has a safe work environment is highly dependent not only on the safety officer doing his job, but the ability of supervisors to listen to his input, even when it goes against a company’s financial efforts or traditional manner of conducting business.

The April 2013 ASSE journal, “Professional Safety,” has published an article that lends validity to this uncomfortable truth. In “The Dissenting Voice – Key Factors, Professional Risks and Value Add,” author Dave Rebbitt, CRSP, CHSC explains the link between an organization’s structure and its commitment to worker safety.

Top-down authoritarian structures do not tend to tolerate the type of dissent that needs to occur for organizational change to happen. This is particularly applicable in the area of safety.  When an organization rewards compliance and conformity, it will be difficult for safety officers and other employees to speak up about unsafe conditions and advocate for change.

Organizations with dual-authority matrix structures or other less hierarchal power structures, however, tend to tolerate greater dissent or even embrace it.  In such companies, employees often feel a greater sense of empowerment and are better able to bring safety issues to the attention of management without fear of retaliation. According to the article, this type of organization tends to have better safety records.

Professional safety officers should consider the structure of the organization before taking on a new position, keeping in mind that they are likely to be far more effective working for a company that finds value in dissent.

Those in positions of power should consider if the organizational structure is putting their workers at risk — and act to remedy the situation.

Don’t wait until you actually have a fire on-site to start your fight against fire. Use the following tips  help keep construction sites free from the threat of fire:

• No smoking – have and enforce a no smoking policy on the construction site.
• Loss control plan – the written loss control plan should comprehensively address the risks of fire exposure and include specific objectives to be enforced by management on the job site, general safety measures, and a named person to be in charge of on-site safety coordination.
• Inspections and logs – project managers should do daily on-site inspections of all materials and equipment, the work area, and any other nearby location with potential hazards. A running log should be kept of these daily inspections.
• Hot works – cutting, brazing, welding, and other hot works operations should have a person designated to observe the working area, as well as areas adjacent to it. The person should maintain a line of sight and watch combustible products, sparks, and slag. The surrounding areas should be inspected for a minimum of 30 minutes after the hot works operation ceases.
• Portable heating equipment – place all portable heating equipment on non-combustive platforms or flooring. Use recognized standards and/or the manufacturer’s specifications for ensuring the appropriate maintenance, fueling, and clearance.
• Enclosures – construct temporary enclosures with designated paths for transporting materials. For the best results, only construct the temporary enclosure with non-combustible approved materials and locate it away from overhead exposures.
• Flammable materials – the labeling and identification requirements of gas and flammable liquid containers should be reviewed carefully before they’re brought on the construction site. Make sure that safe storage areas for flammables have been clearly designated and that the area includes surrounding barriers and signs.
• Firefighting equipment – keep firefighting equipment on-site and easily available at all times. The project manager should ensure that there is always a reliable water supply available for the equipment to connect to and that the equipment will adapt to local fire department equipment if necessary.
• Rooftops – roof vents should be adequately cleaned to decrease sources of ignition like lint. Additionally, a minimum of one portable fire extinguisher should be located at-level during rooftop operations. Make sure the extinguisher has sufficient capacity for the fire risk.

When a receptionist trips over a power cord in an office and sprains a wrist, who pays the price? When a construction worker falls off a scaffold and suffers a debilitating back injury, who shoulders the burden? When an ICU nurse develops chronic pain as a result of years of moving patients without proper assistive equipment, who weathers the financial blow? According a recent report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the answer may not be what you imagine.

Most of the costs of workplace injuries are borne by the injured workers, their families and the social safety net (funded by taxpayer dollars). Employee’s out of pocket costs average 50 percent, while worker’s compensation generally only covers about 21 percent. Private health insurance (13 percent), federal government (11 percent) and state and local government (5) have to pick up the rest.

With little incentive—other than avoiding negative press and OSHA fines—for maintaining a safe workplace, some employers do little to protect their workers. Despite the Occupational Safety and Health Act—now more than 40 years old—more than three million workers are seriously injured each year. Thousands of others are killed while on the job. And the employees—and their families—may be left to face financial devastation.

“What about worker’s compensation?” you ask.

According to the OSHA report, while workers’ comp insurance was designed to cover lost wages, some medical expense, and the rehab costs associated with work-related injuries, it rarely provides adequate protection. One study cited by OSHA found that injured employees who received workers’ compensation benefits for wage loss caused by workplace accidents in New Mexico lost an average of 15 percent of the wages they would have earned over the decade following their injury. Despite benefits, their incomes were, on average, nearly $31,000 less over those ten years.

Adding insult to injury, other studies cited by OSHA in the report found that only a fraction of injured workers receive any workers’ compensation benefits at all. They estimate fewer than 40 percent of eligible workers actually apply for benefits—perhaps because they do not realize they are entitled or because they are afraid of the hassle. Some file for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits instead.

A tax-payer funded program, the number of Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries and the amount of benefits paid has increased dramatically in recent years according to the OSHA report. They postulate that at least part of the growth is attributable to the program’s subsidy for work injuries and illnesses, citing a study that found 36 percent of disabled individuals who had to limit or modify the kind or amount of work they do said they became disabled because of an accident, injury or illness at work.

So what can you do as an employer to reduce the societal costs—paid by your employees and other taxpayers—of unsafe workplaces? The answer is simple: increase your efforts to prevent workplace illnesses and injuries. Not only are you required by law to do so, but providing your employees with a safe workplace spares them the financial hardship and loss of future income associated with job-related accidents.

Whether you need to create a workplace safety program or would like a review of your current policies and procedures, we’re here to help. Give us a call for assistance or answers to any workplace safety questions.

Water, rest and shade—these are three essential ingredients for keeping outdoor workers safe during the summer months. And now there’s a fourth: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Heat Safety Tool. A new smartphone application created with the assistance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS), the app was designed to help prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths.

Every year, thousands of workers become ill from heat exposure—and some even die. When hot weather combines with high humidity, body temperatures can rise to dangerous levels. If precautions are not taken—such as plenty of water and breaks to rest in the shade or an air conditioned area—minor heat illness symptoms can quickly progress to heat exhaustion and stroke. Heat stroke is life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention.

While outdoor workers in industries including construction, utilities, agriculture, grounds maintenance, landscaping and oil and gas support operations are often the most affected by heat-related illness, any worker exposed to hot and humid conditions is at risk—especially if they must wear bulking protective clothing or equipment or are performing prolonged strenuous work. New workers, temporary workers and those returning to work after a vacation are at greater risk until they build up a tolerance to the conditions. According to OSHA, most work-related heat deaths occur within the first few days of working in the heat.

The Heat Safety Tool calculates the heat index for the worksite based on temperature and humidity data. The higher the heat index, the hotter the conditions feel. It’s a better indicator than air temperature alone for gauging heat illness dangers, or the “risk level” displayed by the app. Risk levels are:

• Heat index less than 91°F = low
• Heat index 91°F to 103°F = moderate
• Heat index 103°F to 115°F = high
• Heat index above 115°F = extreme

Supervisors can subsequently use the tool to get reminders about protective measures they should be taking to reduce their workers’ heat illness risks. These protective measures include:

• Requiring workers to drink fluids
• Requiring workers to take scheduled rest breaks
• Planning for heat-related illness emergencies
• Adjusting operations
• Gradually building new employees’ workloads
• Training workers to recognize heat illness symptoms
• Requiring workers to monitor each other for signs of heat-related illness

While OSHA does not have specific safety standards in place for workers exposed to hot and humid environments, regulations require employers to protect their employees from recognized serious workplace hazards, which include heat-related illnesses.

You can download the Heat Safety Tool for Android and iPhone on the OSHA website.