NEWS ITEMS

Connecting the Safety DOTS Blog posted - April 11, 2011
One of the skills that takes a significant amount of time to develop and hone, is the skill of drawing correlations. Simply put it is the art and science of putting data, observations, gut feelings and expertise altogether, to arrive at a conclusion about a safety or health issue or challenge we are facing.  While the context of this post relates to workplace health and safety, many of the principles can be applied broadly to our personal lives and situations.  In my safety practice, I often see situations where a hazard or risk is overlooked simply because there is no “hard data” to warrant fixing or correcting the issue at hand. This most often occurs with exposures to chemicals and substances, where sometimes there are no legal exposure limits or the legal limits are outdated.

Following are some items to consider when connecting the Safety DOTS:

D for Data- What does the data show? Is the data reliable? Do you have enough or the correct data points to draw a conclusion? What if I do nothing, what is the worst thing that could happen?

O for Observations- What are your observations and how do they correlate with the data?

T for Trends- Is this something that is typical to the operation, or to one’s lifestyle? Are there trends in behavior, operations, etc.?

S for Safety- Safety is not common sense. Building a culture of safety takes work, knowledge and expertise. It is also not just something we do in our workplace but should be a part of our everyday lives.

Consider how you can connect your Safety DOTS today!

Dangers of distracted driving
OSHA's new distracted driving brochure explains to employers and supervisors the importance of preventing texting by their workers while driving. Texting while driving dramatically increases the risk of motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of worker fatalities. Distracted driving crashes killed more than 5,400 people and injured nearly 500,000 in 2009. OSHA encourages trade associations to share this brochure with their members. It can be downloaded or ordered from the Publications page of OSHA's Web site.

Blasting materials manufacturer fined more than $80,000 for failing to protect workers from unsafe equipment and other hazards
OSHA fined U.S. Minerals LLC $83,000 and issued the company seven citations for risking the safety of workers at its Baldwin, Ill., facility. Inspectors found that the manufacturer of abrasive blasting and roofing materials willfully exposed workers to possible injury or death by failing to ensure that machines were isolated from their energy source and rendered inoperative before workers serviced them. The company was also issued repeat citations for failing to install safety features such as machine guards, lockout/tagout hardware and guardrails on a nearly 20-foot-high platform.

OSHA cites hospital for failing to protect staff from workplace violence
OSHA cited Franklin Hospital Medical Center in Valley Stream, N.Y., and fined the facility $4,500 after a nurse at the hospital was attacked and severely injured while performing normal duties that included providing group therapy sessions to psychiatric patients. OSHA inspectors found that her employers had failed to implement adequate measures to protect employees from assault in the workplace. Measures that could be taken to abate this hazard include screening for potential weapons at the facility, screening patients for potential violence before admittance to the hospital and providing extensive training to ensure that all affected staff are aware of the hospital's workplace violence plan.

SSCI chosen to provide safety auditing at New World Trade Center VSC Project
Safety Solution Consultants, Inc. has been chosen to work on a multi- discipline team to audit safety activities at the World Trade Center VSC project in New York City.  The teams services are on-going and will run through 2014. 

WORKER PROTECTIONS
According to the AFL-CIO annual report, "Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect", more workers were killed on the job in 2006 than in 2005. Employers who were found in violation of federal safety laws in fatality cases are paying as little as $750 in penalties for each death. According to the report, each day in 2006, 16 workers were fatally injured on the job and more than 11,200 were hurt or made sick.

-Courtesy of Professional Safety, Journal of American Society of Safety Engineers, June 2008 edition.

OSHA DIRECTIVES
OSHA is expanding its inspection program to three categories in the general industry sector-landscaping and horticultural services, oil and gas field services and logging. Enforcement officers will focus on the following in each category:

• In the landscape and horticultural industry, 24.6% of injuries are caused by struck-by hazards from overhead work such as tree trimming, hardscape construction and flying objects from materials such as brick and stone.
• In the oil and gas drilling and services industry, the predominant hazards are falls from elevation and struck-by hazards from objects such as falling or moving pipes, spinning chains, and tools or debris dropped from elevated locations.
• In logging, 38.6% of injuries are caused by falling trees and limbs, rolling logs and spring poles.

-Courtesy of Professional Safety, Journal of American Society of Safety Engineers, June 2008 edition.

AIR QUALITY/LEAD

EPA has issued a proposal that would strengthen air quality standards for lead in the US. According to the EPA, about 1,300 tons of lead are emitted in the air each year from sources such as smelters, iron and steel foundaries and general aviation gasoline.

-Courtesy of Professional Safety, Journal of American Society of Safety Engineers, June 2008 edition.

CONSUMER NEWS

CPSC Urges Consumers to Spring Forward with Safety in Mind
Replace Smoke & CO Alarm Batteries This Sunday for Daylight Saving Time

On Sunday, March 13, consumers across the country will change their clocks for daylight saving time. With this week being National Consumer Protection Week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to use this opportunity also to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.

"Smoke and CO alarms add layers of lifesaving protection for families and homes from the dangers posed by fire and carbon monoxide," said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "Changing the batteries and testing your smoke and CO alarms to ensure they are working, when you change your clocks, is a great way to ensure alarms are operable and families are fully protected in the event of an emergency."

An estimated annual average of 385,100 fires, 2,470 deaths, 12,600 injuries and $6.43 billion in property losses associated with residential fires was reported by fire departments from 2005 through 2007. Of the reported incidents, common household products, such as cooking, heating, and cooling equipment accounted for the largest percentage of fires.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas that consumers cannot see or smell. On average, there were an estimated 184 unintentional, non-fire CO poisoning deaths annually associated with consumer products from 2004 through 2007. Carbon monoxide associated with generators and home heating systems accounted for the largest percentage of reported fatalities.

CO and smoke alarms should be tested monthly. CPSC recommends that consumers replace the batteries in their smoke and CO alarms every year. Smoke alarms should be located on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas, and inside each bedroom. Each home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector in the area outside individual bedrooms. CO alarms should not be installed in attics or basements unless they include a sleeping area. Combination smoke and CO alarms are available to consumers.

CPSC recommends consumers follow these safety tips to prevent fires and CO poisoning from occurring in the home:

FIRES

• Never leave cooking equipment unattended.
• Use caution with candles, lighters, matches and smoking materials near upholstered furniture, mattresses, and bedding. Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children.
• Have a fire escape plan and practice it, so that family members know what to do and where to meet if there is a fire in the home. Children and the elderly may sleep through or not react to the sound of a smoke alarm; therefore, parents and caregivers should adjust their fire escape plan to help children and the elderly escape from the house in the event of a fire.

CO POISONING

• Have a professional inspect home heating, cooling, and water-heating appliances annually. Improperly operating appliances can produce fatal CO concentrations in the home.
• Never ignore a CO alarm signal. It is warning you of a potentially deadly hazard. If the alarm signal sounds, do NOT try to find the source of the CO. Immediately move outside to fresh air. Call your emergency services, fire department, or 911.
• Never use a portable generator indoors-including in garages, basements, crawlspaces and sheds. Opening doors and windows or using fans will NOT prevent CO build up in the home.
• When using portable generators, keep them outdoors and far away from open doors, windows, and vents to avoid toxic levels of CO from building up indoors.
• If you start to feel sick, dizzy, or weak while using a generator, get to fresh air right away. The CO from generators can quickly lead to full incapacitation and death.
• Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal in an enclosed space can produce lethal levels of carbon monoxide.