Tag: Weekly Safety Message 05

Take a moment for Christmas safety

“Merry Christmas” everyone. Christmas is here in a few short days and there are lots of activities going on which can act as distractions to our work. “Did that present we order arrive on time?” “Did we forget to invite anyone to Christmas dinner?” “What was I supposed to bring to that Christmas party?”

It is a challenge to stay focused at work during this time of year. So, this is when it is especially important to take four seconds for safety. When you find yourself working away and your thoughts running wild with all the plans and activities of Christmas, STOP, take those four short seconds to look around and come back to the present moment. Look for a hazard in the middle of your activity. Are you standing on a ladder? Are you in an awkward position or about to trip on something lying on the floor? Hazards do not go away. Only our awareness of the hazards goes away. And when we ignore hazards, we tend to get injured.

Christmas injuries tend to put extra stress on everyone. Imagine yourself sitting around the Christmas table in a leg cast because you fell off a ladder or tripped over something. Unfortunately, these stories are more common that all of us might admit. Injuries at Christmas seem to magnify how many people are affected by an injury to one person. How many people count on you each day to come home safely? If you add them all up you might be surprised.

Taking four seconds for safety may seem unimportant to you yet it is the one activity you might take during a busy and distracting day which will have the most benefit in keeping you safe.

Think of it as your Christmas present to yourself. In fact, you can think of each of those people who would be affected by an injury to you every time you take four seconds to refocus.

Think about this when you are about to drive away to some gathering this Christmas. The noise, the excitement, the distraction! Take a moment, take a big breath, count slowly to four, then drive away. Chances are that you will arrive safely once you focus for those four seconds.

Again, everyone, Merry Christmas! May the Blessings of this season warm the hearts of you and your families.

https://safetytoolboxtopics.com/Seasonal/christmas-safety.html

Gravity never forgets. As soon as you set foot on the  ladder’s first rung and pull your body off the ground, gravity works to bring you back to earth. Therefore, it’s no surprise that ladder safety begins from the ground up.

Start with a good foundation
Proper ladder setup will help prevent slips and falls. Place the base on a firm, solid surface. Avoid slippery, wet or soft surfaces. If you must put the ladder on a soft surface, place a board under the ladder’s feet to provide firm footing. Make sure the top of the ladder has firm support as well.

Never lean a ladder against a windowpane or other unstable surface. If you’re using a straight or extension ladder, the angle of the ladder is the next critical safety factor. A straight or extension ladder should be placed 1 foot away from the surface it rests against for every 4 feet of ladder height. For example, if the ladder is 4 feet high, the bottom of the ladder should be 1 foot away from the support surface.

If you use a ladder to access a roof or platform, make sure the ladder extends at least 3 feet over the roof or platform edge. Be sure to securely fasten straight and extension  ladders to the upper support. If you have angled the ladder properly and still have doubts about its stability, have someone hold the ladder before climbing up.

If you’re using a step ladder, be sure to open it completely before you climb. If you have to use a step ladder near a doorway, lock or barricade the door and post signs so no one will open it and knock you off the ladder.

Climb with care
When you climb, always face the ladder and grip the rungs of the ladder to climb, not the side rails. Never get on or off a ladder from the side unless it has been secured to prevent movement.

Never climb with equipment in your hands. Use your pockets, equipment belt, or a tool pouch and raise heavy objects with a hand line. If you forget something, always climb down the ladder to retrieve it yourself; don’t have someone toss it up to you. And never ask someone to climb up your ladder to give you supplies. It is dangerous to exceed the weight limits that a specific ladder can handle.

When you descend a ladder, practice the same safety rules. Face the ladder, keep your body square and hold on to the rungs. Lastly, step off at the bottom rung of the ladder. Never jump off a ladder.

Think before you carry
Before you start to haul a ladder around, evaluate the area where you’ll be working.  Ladders can be heavy and unwieldy. You can strike another person or object or hit electrical power lines. Make the ladder as compact as possible before transporting it. Carry it horizontally while tilting it higher in front and lower in back. If the ladder is particularly long and heavy, get a coworker to help you carry it.

Follow the rules
Ladder safety may seem simple, but injuries occur every year. Below are some ladder safety dos and don’ts:

• Use the right ladder for the job.
• Inspect the ladder before and after work.
• Read all warning labels carefully and follow directions before you climb.
• Clean the ladder after each use to prevent dirt buildup.
• Wear clean, dry, slip-resistant shoes and use ladders with slip resistant feet.
• Don’t stand any higher than the third rung from the top of the ladder.
• Don’t lean too far or overreach. Reposition the ladder closer to the work instead.
• Don’t use a ladder as a bridge or scaffold.
• Don’t put a ladder on a box, barrel or other object to gain additional height.
• Don’t use a damaged or unsafe  ladder.

Experts also warn about ladder use in bad weather. Descend immediately if high winds, rain or other inclement weather begins. Wind force can blow you off the ladder. Rain can make the rungs and the ground slippery. Bitter cold can make metal ladders more brittle and can cause other structural damage. If you encounter bad weather while on a ladder, do not speed up to finish the job and risk injury. Wait to finish the job until conditions are once again safe.

Remember, don’t let gravity get you down. Practice ladder safety rules every time you climb to make your work easier, faster and safer.

https://safetytoolboxtopics.com/Ladders/gravity-always-wins.html

1. Get a grip. To have adequate snow traction, a  tire requires at least 6/32-inch deep tread, according to The  Tire Rack. (New passenger-car  tires usually have 10/32-inch of tread.) Ultrahigh-performance “summer” tires have little or no grip in snow. Even “all-season” tires don’t necessarily have great snow traction: Some do, some don’t. If you live where the roads are regularly covered with snow, use snow tires (sometimes called “winter tires” by tire makers). They have a “snowflake on the mountain” symbol on the sidewall, meaning they meet a tire-industry standard for snow traction.

2. Make sure you can see. Replace windshield wiper blades. Clean the inside of your windows thoroughly. Apply a water-shedding material (such as Rain-X) to the outside of all windows, including the mirrors. Make sure your windshield washer system works and is full of an anti-icing fluid. Drain older fluid by running the washers until new fluid appears: Switching fluid colors makes this easy.

3. Run the air-conditioner. To remove condensation and frost from the interior of windows, engage your air-conditioner and select the fresh air option: It’s fine to set the temperature on “hot.” Many cars automatically do this when you choose the defrost setting.

4. Check your lights. Use your headlights so that others will see you and, we hope, not pull out in front of you. Make sure your headlights and taillights are clear of snow. If you have an older car with sand-pitted headlights, get a new set of lenses. To prevent future pitting, cover the new lens with a clear tape like that used to protect the leading edge of helicopter rotor blades and racecar wings. It’s available from auto-racing supply sites.

5. Give yourself a brake. Learn how to get maximum efficiency from your brakes before an emergency. It’s easy to properly use antilock brakes: Stomp, stay and steer. Stomp on the pedal as if you were trying to snap it off. Stay hard on the pedal. Steer around the obstacle. (A warning: A little bit of steering goes a very long way in an emergency. See Tip 8.) If you drive on icy roads or roads that are covered with snow, modify your ABS technique: After you “Stomp” and the ABS begins cycling — you will feel pulses in the pedal or hear the system working — ease up slightly on the pedal until the pulsing happens only once a second.

For vehicles without ABS, you’ll have to rely on the old-fashioned system: You. For non-ABS on a mixed-surface road, push the brake pedal hard until the wheels stop rolling, then immediately release the brake enough to allow the wheels to begin turning again. Repeat this sequence rapidly. This is not the same as “pumping the brake.” Your goal is to have the tires producing maximum grip regardless of whether the surface is snow, ice or damp pavement.

6. Watch carefully for “black ice.” If the road looks slick, it probably is. This is especially true with one of winter’s worst hazards: “black ice.” Also called “glare ice,” this is nearly transparent ice that often looks like a harmless puddle or is overlooked entirely. Test the traction with a smooth brake application or slight turn of the wheel.

It is estimated at the end of 2008 there were 4 billion cell phone users worldwide. “Can you hear me now? The catchphrase used by Verizon, has become part of our culture.  Cell phone use has expanded into every activity in our lives, from emergency communication to picking products from a grocery shelf. It sometimes seems people have no idea what to do with a spare moment other than make a cell phone call.

Whether you are in the presence of a user or you use a cell phone personally, using the phone is a significant distraction. Being distracted while driving, while operating tools and equipment, when walking across the street, when in public or at work, increases the risk of injuries and crashes.

Researchers have compared the level of distraction to a blood alcohol level of 0.08. Research also has shown that a cell phone conversation while driving is a greater distraction than conversing with a passenger. Drivers reacted significantly slower to unexpected events in the first two minutes of the phone conversation and are, for a large part of the conversation, unaware of traffic movements around them. ”

Many states have banned the use of cell phones without a hands-free device. Although that may help a little, the distraction is still present. Your best bet is to pull over to the side of the road or pull into a parking lot if you must have the conversation.