The holidays are fast approaching and so is the need to prepare and protect yourself during the hazardous winter driving ahead. Your car needs to be mechanically fit and you need to be mentally prepared for the travel ahead of you. Read more
With the arrival of Winter comes the possibility of snow and ice storms. We all know to dress warm and be careful on snowy, icy walkways. But when was the last time you thought about your emergency plan for when a snow storm hits? Read more
Falls from portable ladders (step, straight, combination and extension) are one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities and injuries. Take a few minutes to review ladder safety and to make a Safe Plan of Action before your next climb. Read more
Whether it’s at work, home, or the dinner table, only take on what you can handle. If we take on too much (at work or home) we have a higher chance of making mistakes. Read more
Recently, a worker lost his life on a job site, where SSOE is providing design services, when he was electrocuted while hooking up a welding machine. Safety policies and procedures are not suggestions. It is mandatory to follow all safety procedures at all times Read more
Daylight Saving Time has ended. Even after getting an extra hour of sleep, our internal body clocks can take up to a week to acclimate to this schedule shift. Read more
Whether it’s receiving information, opportunities, or gifts – make sure it comes from a trusted source. Read more
Most of us will go through our careers without a workplace incident, but it takes just one disaster to put your life in jeopardy. Companies should have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place to protect employees during a crisis. Read more
To avoid putting workers in danger, fire extinguishers should be located throughout the workplace and readily accessible in the event of a fire. You can usually find them in hallways, Read more
Inspection Certification
Fire extinguishers must be certified annually in accordance with local, state, and national codes and regulations. This is a thorough examination by a licensed Fire Extinguisher Inspector. The certification process requires inspectors to verify the extinguisher is fully pressurized, free from damage, and weighed appropriately. Annual inspections also require a pull test on the pin and seal replacement—this must be verified with a dated inspection tag. If the extinguisher fails to meet these requirements, it must be replaced.
Fire Extinguisher Testing
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends that extinguishers should be tested every six years or twelve years, depending on the type of extinguisher. Read more
To avoid putting workers in danger, fire extinguishers should be located throughout the workplace and readily accessible in the event of a fire. You can usually find them in hallways, meeting rooms, kitchens, mechanical /electrical rooms, and near exit doors. Read more
The effects of a lightning strike can be devastating.
In Wisconsin in 2007, a 75-year-old man was killed by a lightning strike while waiting out a storm under a pine tree during a morning golf game. The lightning struck his golf bag while he was holding on to one of his clubs, killing him instantly. Read more
Anyone who lives in or travels to an area where Zika virus is found and has not already been infected with Zika virus can get it from mosquito bites. Once a person has been infected Read more
In an ideal work team environment, we like to think that we all have each other’s backs. However, when it comes down to taking care of the physical health of our backs and spines, the responsibility falls onto the individual person. Statistics show that nearly 80% of Americans will suffer from back pain or back injury at some point during their lives. Back strains are second only to the common cold for lost work days. Read more
Part of a Safety Always culture is to be safe at work, home, and play. School is starting up and we want to remind everyone about taking extra precautions while traveling. Our kids need to be kept safe also! When driving behind a bus, allow a greater following distance than if driving behind a car. Read more
In the United States there are two regulatory agencies that can cite employers for not properly protecting employees. Both agencies fall under the United States Department of Labor; Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). These regulatory agencies are responsible for enforcing the safety and health laws to protect employees. Read more
Why Report ALL Injuries?
The most important reason to report all injuries is to allow the company to arrange for prompt medical treatment. Proper medical care will reduce the possibility of a minor injury becoming worse. Read more
The main hazard: electricity is difficult to assess because you cannot directly see it. The only way to identify electricity’s presence is to properly use the right tools; a meter, or proximity detector. Only qualified persons should work directly with electricity. Even working indirectly with electricity, or around electrical systems requires you to be competent.
Do you have the skills and abilities to work around electricity? What about directly? So, what does OSHA say? Read more
As a part of our Construction Safety Talk Series, we discussed how electrical hazards expose workers to burns, electrocution, shock, arc flash / arc blast, fire, or explosions. Accidents involving electricity can be fatal. To prevent electrical incidents, every time you enter a job site remember to: Read more
Stay Out – Stay Alive is a national public awareness campaign aimed at warning children and adults about the dangers of exploring and playing on active and abandoned mine sites. Each year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational accidents at abandoned quarries, mines, and pits while exploring on mine property.
The men and women employed in our nation’s mines and quarries are trained to work in a safe manner. Explorers do not have the same skills as the mine workers and are susceptible to dangerous situations. For trespassers, hazards are not always apparent: Read more
Over 2.5 million home intrusions are reported every year, and less than 20% of burglars are ever caught and arrested. Did you know that the highest percentage of burglaries occur in the summer months, and most occur during the day?
Here is some advice to avoid becoming a part of these statistics. Read more
Any worker exposed to hot and humid conditions is at risk of heat illness, especially those doing heavy work tasks or using bulky protective clothing and equipment. Some workers might be at greater risk than others if they have not built up a tolerance to hot conditions, including new workers, temporary workers, or those returning to work after a week or more off. All workers are at risk during a heat wave.
It is very important to watch out for each other during extreme heat. Read more
During thunderstorms no place outside is safe. If you can hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike. Some workers are at greater risk than others. People who work outdoors in open spaces, on or near tall objects, with explosives, or with conductive materials such as metal have a greater exposure to lightning risks. Read more
Summer’s Here! It’s finally here at last! The season for warm weather, grilling and picnics, water activities, travel, and outdoor fun! Practicing common sense and safety will keep you looking good, feeling good, and you won’t miss out on any of the fun. Read more
Have you ever wondered how to communicate quickly with a worker that is too far away? What about a language barrier that prohibits you from communicating with them? A worker that is not easily accessible?
Many times it is not always possible to provide face to face communication or one on one feedback for safety observations. The SOS card allows for immediate visual feedback to a worker depending on the color of the card being displayed. Read more
Housekeeping at a construction site, office, or home can often provide an indicator for the level of safety culture and expectations for that project or facility. When housekeeping is highly maintained, injuries are typically quite low. When housekeeping is low, you can expect injuries will increase. Why?
Poor housekeeping provides more safety hazards in the work and home environments, causing more chances for injuries to occur. The most obvious hazards of poor housekeeping are slips, trips, and falls from cluttered and dirty walkway areas. Read more
According to OSHA, Fall Hazards are defined as: Anything at your work site that could cause you to lose your balance or lose bodily support and result in a fall. Fall Hazards led to 349 construction worker deaths in 2014 (40% of construction site fatalities).
By identifying these hazards, and understanding how they happen, we can take steps to protect ourselves. Read more
According to OSHA, Struck-By Hazards are defined as: Injuries produced by forcible contact or impact between the injured person and an object or piece of equipment. By identifying these hazards, and understanding how they happen, we can take steps to protect ourselves. Read more
According to OSHA, Caught-In or -Between Hazards are defined as: Injuries resulting from a person being squeezed, caught, crushed, pinched, or compressed between two or more objects, or between parts of an object. By identifying caught-in or -between hazards, and understanding how they happen, we can take steps to protect ourselves. Read more
So many different activities occur in the construction industry, and with those activities come risk; at times, high risk. In 2014, 20% of workplace fatalities occurred in the construction industry, totaling 874 deaths. The Bureau of Labor Statistics identified four causes of death that were responsible for over half of those construction worker fatalities. Read more
Daylight Savings Time will begin for most of the U.S. at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 13th. As you go around the house to set the clocks ahead one hour, use the check list below to perform a few additional tasks that will help to keep your family and home safe as well as prepared. Read more
This is Scott Goodwin bringing you highlights of yesterday’s game between The Employees and The Injuries. The Employees have been winning all season, and last night was no different as they took an early lead to dominate the entire game. “We run the plays on the field just like we practice them; no exceptions,” explained The Employees coach. “Each player used all the right moves to avoid strains, sprains, and back injuries.”
Defensive Strategy for Avoiding Sprains and Strains Read more
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign” is a great song from Five Man Electrical Band that puts into perspective our attitude about the overabundance of signage everywhere we go. Today we really do have signs for everything; signs that tell us what do and how to do it, where to go and how to get there, where we can’t go, what we have to wear, what will harm us and where to go if we get harmed…
But do we really pay attention to them?
This clutter of cultural communication is a direct result of our need for it, and we do need to pay attention. Read more
Are you trained in First Aid? CPR? Do you know what to do in an emergency? First Aid is defined as emergency care provided for injury or sudden illness before emergency medical treatment is available. The first-aid provider (YOU) is someone who is trained in the delivery of initial medical emergency procedures using a limited amount of equipment to perform a primary assessment and intervention while awaiting arrival of emergency medical service personnel. Read more
2016 brings the final implementation of OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to become fully compliant with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Read more
Now that January is here, it is time to review past injury and near miss reports. Analyzing these trends can improve workplace safety for the entire company by showing us possible safety concerns, and making us aware of the need for hazard prevention. A very important way to help predict incidents is to use the new SSOE Group “For Safety’s Sake – Do Something” Safety Observation Cards. Read more
It was the guy we’ve all heard about who cut off two of his fingers after he removed the guard on a saw. He was helped by the machinist who didn’t have the time to go back to the lunch room for safety glasses and lost an eye when the bit broke in the drill press. They both got advice from a co-worker who had his head split open by a falling hammer because he “just plain didn’t like to wear hard hats.” Read more
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