Tag: Weekly Safety Message 18

We use our hands for virtually every task we do at work, and because of this fact, they are commonly injured on the job. Keeping our hands and fingers out of harm’s way at work is critical. A serious injury to an individual’s hands or fingers results in a huge negative impact on their ability to work and overall quality of life. While safety gloves are the most common form of personal protective equipment (PPE) found in the workplace, hand injuries are still the second leading type of injury on the job.

Hand Injury Statistics
(source: www.bls.gov)

• There are 110,000 lost time cases due to hand injuries annually.
• 1 million workers are treated in an ER for hand injuries annually.
• 70% of workers who experienced a hand injury were not wearing gloves.
• Another 30% of victims had gloves on, but they were damaged or inadequate for the work task.

Three Common Types of Hand Injuries

1. Lacerations are the most common type of hand injury. Lacerations are due to sharp objects or tools. Often, inadequate gloves are used during an activity that involves a sharp tool. A glove with Kevlar is effective in protecting the hand against a cutting or slicing motion. A straight stab motion can still easily penetrate these gloves. Caution needs to be used when using sharp objects and any tools that can easily penetrate the skin.
2. Crush injuries are usually due to employees placing their hands in the line of fire between two objects or on a rotating piece of equipment. Pinch points on equipment or tools also commonly lead to crush injuries.
3. Fractures occur when there is a sudden blow to the bones in the fingers or hands. Motor vehicle accidents often cause fractures to the hands. Another common cause of fractures is an individual extending out their hands to catch themselves from a fall.

Hand Safety Work Practices and Safety Procedures

• Use tools to remove your hands from the line of fire when doing a work task that could result in injury to your hands or fingers. Using tools such as push sticks when using a table saw is an example that removes your hands from the line of fire.
• Avoid using fixed open-blade knives. There are safety knives that limit the length of the blade exposed. They also have a safety feature that retracts the blade when pressure is let off the handle or switch that controls the blade.
• Never put your hand in an area where you cannot see it.
• Wear gloves and hand protection. But not just any gloves. Always wear the appropriate work gloves for whatever task you are doing. Understand the limitations of your gloves and what work tasks they are appropriate for.
• Never work on an energized piece of equipment. Lock and tag out the equipment to ensure there will not be an unintentional start-up while you are working on it.

Discussion points:

• What are some of the biggest hazards to our hands onsite?
• Next time you are doing a simple task at home, such as setting the table for dinner, getting ready in the morning, or cleaning, try doing the task with one or two less fingers. It sounds like silly exercise, but this can help put into perspective how hard it would be to complete tasks without some of our fingers. It is easy to take for granted our health and abilities when we have had them for so long.

Hand Safety

Every day before our work begins, we should go through some type of process to evaluate the work for the day as well as the associated hazards. This process can include a self-check as well as a work area inspection and inspection of tools or equipment. During this process, a main objective should be identifying hazards so that you can take steps to eliminate or mitigate the hazards found. One useful question to ask yourself before a work task begins is: “What can hurt me?”.

Asking this Question as a Tool

Sure, it may seem very dark and negative to ask yourself this right as your workday is starting or when starting a new work task, but it can be the difference in recognizing the hazard that could injure you or someone else that day. Asking this question should trigger you to stop and really look around your work area and consider what dangers you are dealing with. Identifying uncontrolled hazards should be a top priority before starting any work task. Taking ownership of these hazards and seeing them through to get corrected is necessary for a safe workplace.

Taking Ownership of Mitigating Hazards

Identifying hazards is not worth much if you do not see it through that they are properly addressed. Even if you spot something and make a mental note to avoid that hazard, it could seriously injure someone else in the area. Take the time and energy to properly mitigate the hazard so not only will you not be affected by it, but also your coworkers will not be either.

Summary

While a positive mindset and attitude are important for success in the workplace, asking yourself critical questions such as “what can hurt me today?” can trigger you to take the extra time to really evaluate a work task. Take ownership of hazards in your work area and see them through so that they get fixed. After all, you never know what safeguard or action may make the difference in preventing an injury.

Discussion point:

-What other questions are helpful to ask yourself before a work task begins?

What Can Hurt Me Today?

Dropped objects are a serious hazard at many worksites. In 2017, there were 237 workplace fatalities due to falling objects (the most recent statistics available) in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, OSHA estimates that over 50,000 “struck-by a falling object” incidents occur each year on construction sites alone.

Objects as small as a bolt can cause serious injury or even death when dropped from a higher level and striking an employee working on the ground. Outside of injuries and deaths, dropped objects are responsible for a large cost to employers due to property damage incidents as well.

Safe Work Practices to Prevent Dropped Object Incidents

Eliminate the hazard: Remove objects and tools from higher levels, scaffolding, or aerial lifts that do not need to be there. Removing objects that can pose a hazard to people working below is the best option to prevent a dropped object incident.

Engineering controls: Barricade zones below higher work levels to prevent personnel from walking into the line of fire of a dropped object. Install toe boards on higher work levels to make sure objects and tools cannot easily slide off an edge to a lower level. Place nets or some type of protective barrier above ground-level workers if there is continuous work being performed above a work area. Another engineering control is the use of tethers or anchors for tools and objects that are being used on a higher work level. This limits the object from falling.

PPE: Anytime there are overhead hazards present on a job site, hardhats need to be worn. PPE is always a last line of defense. Wearing a hardhat will only limit the damage a dropped object does, not prevent it from happening. Rely on eliminating the hazard or installing engineering controls to reduce the chance of objects striking ground personnel instead of PPE to lessen the blow.

Summary

Look at all work areas where a dropped object incident can happen. Situations such as using aerial lifts and working on scaffolds pose obvious hazards, but try to identify less obvious hazards. An example could be a large wrench sitting on the edge of a piece of equipment that has a mechanic working underneath or even a hot cup of coffee on top of a file cabinet. Paying attention to the smaller hazards translates to safety improvement at your work site.

Discussion points:

1. How can we prevent dropped object incidents on our site?
2. When working in your job area today, look for hazards associated with dropped objects and report them to your supervisor or the safety department to get them corrected.

Dropped Objects

There is a common saying that safety is everyone’s responsibility. What about culture? What is culture, and how does it affect safety and the work environment as a whole?

What is Culture?

Culture can be defined in many ways. A basic definition is “culture is the character and personality of an organization.” An interesting definition is provided by the CEO of AirBnb, Brian Chesky, in a letter about culture to his employees and why it is important to a company. He defined culture as: “a shared way of doing something with passion.”

Combining these two definitions together may make for an even better explanation. Culture is how what you do and how you do it, and the effects it has on the character and personality of the organization as a whole and vice versa.

Building the Culture

In Chesky’s letter, he goes on to discuss that building culture is done through living the core values of an organization. He states: “We have the power, by living the (core) values, to build the culture. We also have the power, by breaking the values, to mess up the culture. Each one of us has this opportunity, this burden.”

To further explain himself, he discusses why culture is so important to a business. He states: “Why is culture so important to a business? Here is a simple way to frame it. The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing. People can be independent and autonomous… Ever notice how families or tribes don’t require much process? That is because there are such strong trust and culture that it supersedes any process. In organizations (or even in a society) where culture is weak, you need an abundance of heavy, precise rules and processes.”

Culture and Workplace Safety

Using the words written in this letter about building culture and its benefits of it, we can apply them to workplace safety. A company that truly takes action to ensure the safety of its employees, in turn, makes caring about employees’ well-being one of its core values.

Everyone plays a part in the culture on their job and in building the culture (or breaking it). When it comes to safety, the value of caring about your own well-being as well as those around you builds the culture. Actions such as following safety rules, safe work practices, and stopping work to address hazards are some basic examples of living the core value of caring about everyone’s well-being on the job. When employees do not want to follow the rules, put others at risk for injury, or take shortcuts, then the culture is weakened.

You, as an individual worker, play a part in the larger culture of the company. If a large part of the workforce on a job is taking shortcuts and ignoring basic safety rules, what can be said about the culture there?

The Benefit of Building the Culture

There is a benefit to everyone at a work site when the culture is built on positive core values. Referring back to the letter, where the CEO states: “The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing. People can be independent and autonomous.”

When the individuals of the workforce demonstrate that they are committed to living the value of caring for each other’s well-being (safety), then there are much more autonomy and trust that is built. Meaning, rules and discipline are not needed to enforce safety; it becomes what is done. This allows the entire workforce to be able to enjoy a work environment that is more relaxed, respectful, and overall enjoyable to work at compared to working in a place where there is no trust, no autonomy, and where heavy rules and processes are relied on to attempt to force employees to take certain actions.

Summary

Culture is closely connected to safety on the job. When individuals choose to work safely and care about the well-being of each other, the culture can be strengthened. When a strong culture is in place through living the core values set by the company, everyone reaps the benefit of working in a safer and more enjoyable workplace.

Everyone is Responsible for the Culture

While staying safe on the road must be a high priority for New Year’s Eve revelers, it’s certainly not the only safety issue that you may confront as you ring in the New Year. However, with a little care and foresight, you can protect yourself from some of the more common New Year’s risks. Follow the tips below, and your biggest challenge on New Year’s Eve may be remembering all the words to “Auld Lang Syne.”

Partying – Ensure you have a designated driver for the night . . . even better, plan to stay where you are celebrating New Year’s Eve. You may be in fine condition, but you don’t know about the driver next to you or around the corner.

Champagne Corks – You can avoid eye injuries and broken windows, if you follow the advice of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and remember the number 45. That is, you should chill your champagne to at least 45°F, as this will make the cork less likely to pop out unexpectedly, and you should hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle, pointing it away from yourself and others. Then, after removing the wire hood, place a towel over the top of the bottle and grasp the cork. With the bottle in one hand, slowly twist the cork, applying gentle upward pressure. When you feel the cork about to pop out, reverse pressure to a slight downward tilt. If all goes well, you’ll have a cork in one hand, a full bottle in the other, and no injuries in sight.

Fireworks – When it comes to explosives, follow the same rules on New Year’s Eve that you would any other time of the year: Leave it to the experts. The best way to enjoy fireworks is to watch a public exhibition from a safe distance. If you feel you must light your own fireworks never allow children to handle or light any kind of fireworks.

Firearms – It is a tradition for some to shoot firearms up in the air. This is a very bad idea, especially in populated areas; as what goes up, must come down.

Have a Safe New Year!

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