Author: CIO

Clothing Safety Talk

An important but often overlooked aspect of safety is what we decide to wear each day on the job. Safety rules, weather, type of work, hazards of the work, and many other factors weigh in on what type of clothing is optimal for the tasks being completed that day. It is vital to consider the impact clothing can have on safety at work.

Weather and Choice of Clothing

Outside of safety rules and regulations, the weather conditions are the main deciding factor of what clothing someone is going to wear that day. The area where the jobsite is will decide many things about what a person should wear to work. Breathable thinner layers are more desirable in warmer temperatures. In colder temperatures,  thicker and warmer layers will obviously need to be worn to protect workers. In many climates, it may be necessary to wear warmer clothing in the morning and then wear fewer layers in the afternoon.

It is important to plan what you are going to wear after considering the weather and how long you will be exposed to it, depending on what work you are completing that day. Picking clothes that keep you comfortable as well as protects you from the elements is very important to allow you to focus fully on a work task. Not wearing the proper attire will take your focus off your work and put it on the fact that you are cold, hot, or wet since you were unprepared for the weather.

Other Important Clothing Considerations

• Make sure clothing fits properly. Loose clothing can interfere with being able to complete work safely. It can get caught in rotating equipment or on other objects.
• Do not wear clothing with big tears or holes. Tears or holes can also interfere with work. There have been incidents where a hole or tear in clothing has gotten caught on equipment controls. This can easily cause unintended movements, which lead to injuries and property damage.
• Bring extra clothing to work. Having extra clothes ensures you are able to change if you get a chemical on your clothing or they become wet. Whatever the problem may be, it is important to have the option to change. Being comfortable helps to allow you to focus on your work.
• Watch strings on hooded sweatshirts when working around rotating equipment or when working on equipment.  These parts can easily get caught up in rotating parts.
• Wear clothing that covers the skin when in areas where poison ivy or insects are a possibility. Covering your skin is the best way to protect yourself from these types of hazards.

Summary

Pay more attention to the clothing you choose to wear to work. Plan for what the weather will be or whatever the environment is if working indoors. Choose types of clothes that will protect you as well as fit comfortably. Proper clothing will allow you to focus on your work and work more efficiently.

Eye Injuries and Prevention Safety Talk

Our eyes are one of our greatest assets. They give us the ability to see the world around us. If we do not protect our eyes from injuries while at work, we could easily lose that ability. There are an estimated 2,000 eye injuries every single day on the job, according to the CDC. These incidents cost employers over $300 million dollars per year. It is important to eliminate or engineer out the hazards that could pose hazards to our eyes at work. Many hazards to our eyes on a worksite cannot be fully eliminated, so proper eye protection is also critical.

Common Hazards that Cause Eye Injuries on the Job

• Flying dust
• Flying debris
• Chemicals
• Blunt trauma to the eye
• Burns due to UV exposure, such as welder’s flash

Best Practices to Avoid Injuries to the Eyes

• Identify all of the potential eye hazards in your work area and for your specific work tasks. Ensure there are proper safeguards in place to prevent an eye injury. If there is a safeguard missing, stop the work task and correct the problem.
• Eliminate or lessen the chance of getting something into your eye by avoiding being in the line of fire. One quick example is standing upwind of debris or dust blowing around the work area.
• Always wear approved safety glasses, face shield, or goggles when needed. The type of PPE needed will depend on the work task. Three out of every five victims of eye injuries on the job were not wearing any eye protection.
• If there are welding activities going on, wear proper eye protection and ensure there is a protective barrier in place to protect other employees in the area from UV exposure.
• If you get something in your eye, do not rub or scratch it. Rubbing the eye can cause scratching of the cornea resulting in injury. Find an eyewash station or saline bottle to rinse out the object.
• If you get a chemical in your eyes, remove your contacts if there is any in and begin to rinse your eyes out.

Communicating Issues Safety Talk

Effective communication is critical to every aspect of a successful job. Being able to work safely especially relies on effective communication between everyone involved in a work task or on a jobsite. Effective communication requires having honest conversations, which includes bringing up and discussing issues as they arise.

Examples of Scenarios When You Should Speak Up

There are an endless amount of possible scenarios of when you should speak up and have an honest conversation to address an issue. Below are some general examples of when you need to stop and communicate an issue to get it resolved prior to continuing on.

• When you see someone working unsafely.
• When you do not have the proper training or knowledge to do the task at hand.
• When you do not have the right tools or personnel to complete the task correctly.
• When a safeguard is not implemented.
• When a hazard is present that could injure you or others.

How to Go About Communicating Issues

• Take the time to have the conversations that need to be had to correct the situation.
• Involve the right personnel in discussions.
• If someone is working unsafe, stop and have a respectful conversation about it. If you do not feel comfortable approaching them, approach a supervisor.
• Follow-up conversations, if necessary, to ensure the situation was resolved and measures are being taken, so it does not occur again.
• If necessary, ensure that others outside the immediate work group are informed of the issue and/or the corrective actions of the situation that occurred. For example, an investigation report or lessons learned report may be necessary to inform others in the company, so a similar incident does not occur again.

Common Cold Safety Talk

The common cold is just that- it is common, especially when the weather begins to change and get colder. There is no true vaccine or medicine that completely relieves you from having a cold. However, there are ways that you can lower your chances of getting a cold in the first place or minimize the effects if you happen to get one. It is important to realize the effects a cold can have on your work.

Common Cold Prevention

Preventing the spread of the common cold comes down to a few basic principles, however, it can be hard to avoid if enough people around you are spreading the germs. A few quick tips from the CDC:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water.
• Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
• Stay away from individuals who are sick.
• Disinfect commonly touched surfaces.

If you happen to get a cold, help prevent spreading it by practicing the same good hygiene tips as above.

Negative Effects of Having a Cold

Obviously, no one desires to have a cold, much less having to deal with its effects while at work. Outside of just plain feeling bad, there can be many different ways your work is affected. Some ways a cold can affect you:

• Lower energy- One of the biggest effects the common cold has is robbing you of your energy. Your body is working overtime to fight the cold, along with trying to sustain all the regular bodily functions, so naturally, you will not be at a normal energy level.
• Decreased focus- When you are not feeling your best, you cannot fully focus on the task at hand. Whether you are thinking about how you do not feel well or sneezing nonstop, your focus on a work task will be negatively affected.
• Lower morale- Morale goes a long way in working productively and safely, especially as part of a team. When you or others are sick around you, everyone’s mood can be affected. With low energy levels, peoples’ moods and attitudes towards one another while at work will most likely not be at all-time positive levels.

Unsafe Conditions Safety Talk

Unsafe conditions will always exist in the world around us. That being said, it is possible to eliminate the majority of the hazards found in our workplaces in order to prevent injuries on the job. It is necessary not only to recognize that these kinds of conditions exist around you but also to take action to eliminate or mitigate them. This safety talk discusses common unsafe conditions and mitigation actions to address the conditions.

Two Common Types of Unsafe Conditions

There is an endless list of possible unsafe conditions found on the job. Two types that can be found in almost any workplace are slip, trip, and fall hazards and pinch point hazards.

1. Slips, trips, and falls are responsible for many injuries on the job year after year. Many of these incidents are a direct result of an unsafe condition. Objects on the ground are a common example. Other unsafe conditions that lead to slips, trips and fall injuries nclude slippery floors, unmarked changes in elevations in walking surfaces, cluttered work areas, unprotected edges, open holes, etc.
2. Pinch points are also commonly found in workplaces. Pinch points are defined as any point where it is possible for a body part to be caught between moving and stationary portions of equipment. Pinch points can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A couple of examples of unsafe conditions relating to pinch points are points of operation on machinery, unguarded moving equipment, and rotating parts.

Addressing Unsafe Conditions

Depending on what the unsafe condition is, it will determine what action is needed to correct it. A basic overview of addressing any hazard in the workplace:

• Stop and take the time to evaluate your work area and work task.
• Recognize unsafe conditions or what can possibly turn into one.
• Take action to immediately correct the condition if possible.
• Stop work and involve other personnel to have the condition corrected if the situation requires you to do so.
• Follow through to ensure any hazards you identified are properly mitigated.
• Continue to evaluate your work area throughout the workday for possible new hazards.

Battling Complacency Safety Talk

Complacency is often a focal point when discussing workplace safety at many companies. For the most part, we understand what complacency is and what areas of work or life it affects us in. However, even though we may acknowledge it, we may not fully grasp the consequences it can have or what we need to do to overcome it.

Defining Complacency

How is complacency defined? Dictionary.com defines it as, “a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like.” Applying this definition to workers completing tasks, however, leaves out a large sector of the workforce who are complacent in their work.

Many of the workers who are in fact complacent with the hazards of a task are experienced and are well aware that they exist. The workers are not unaware of the risk but are more likely to accept the risks without taking the proper time or energy to address the hazards because they have been doing the work for so long. For workers who are experienced in their jobs and have become complacent with certain aspects or hazards of their job, it is important to take steps to avoid this error trap.

Battling Complacency on the Job

• Recognize work tasks that you may be so used to doing that you no longer take the same precautions when performing them. Think back to when you first got this job or the first time you did a specific task; were you more cautious, or did you follow more safety procedures?
• Audit yourself or even have a coworker audit your work to see what your shortcomings may be when completing work tasks. Having someone else give you constructive feedback can help give you an honest look at where you can improve.
• Fight the urge to take the easy way out or make the easier decision when it comes to following safety rules or procedures. Rationalizing why you should allow yourself to cut corners leaves you open to more risk. Hold yourself and others around you accountable to do what needs to be done.
• Once you realize what risks you are leaving yourself exposed to begin to make it a habit to take the steps that mitigate or eliminate that hazard. Once an action is repeated over and over and has become a habit, it becomes automatic, and it is much less likely you will have to face complacency to get yourself to do it.

Summary

We all have to face and fight off complacency from time to time. It is important to monitor yourself when it comes to complacency on the job. What corners are you cutting? Why are you cutting those corners? What do you need to address in order to resist complacency with the hazards of your work?

As of September 1st 2017, in Texas, you can only use a cell phone while driving if you have a hands free device.

It is against XPAT policy to send or receive phone calls or texts while the vehicle is moving.

Be honest.  When was the last time you texted while driving?  Just like all the other bad things that can get us in trouble, we all do it, and we know it’s wrong!

Texting while driving facts:

• You keep your eyes OFF the road for 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds.  At 55 mph, you just covered more than a football field without looking at the road.
• You have a reaction time WORSE than someone with a 0.08 blood alcohol content.  That means a drunk has a better reaction time than you do.
• 9 people a day, (over 3,200 a year), DIE from injuries due to texting while driving and over 1,000 people a day, (over 365,000 a year), are injured.
• Texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than non-texting drivers.
• Texting while driving is 6 times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated.
• Texting while driving is the leading cause of death among teenagers.

No one is advocating driving while intoxicated, in fact we all know it’s wrong and do everything in our power to prevent it.  But as a passenger in a vehicle, why do we allow the driver to text and/or be distracted with phone calls?

If you need help breaking the habit of texting while driving, there is an app to help you.

DriveSafe.ly is an app for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone.  There is both a free version and a paid version for personal use.

XPAT Fleet Safety Policy is “No texting while driving”.  If you need to text, pull the vehicle safely off the road and then text.  Same goes for talking on your cell phone.  Distracted driving is just that …..DISTRACTED DRIVING.  People think that using “hands free” devices keeps them from being distracted, when in truth it does not.  This is why companies like Conoco Phillips have banned “hands free” devices on all their locations.

Conclusion:

Texting while driving is dangerous and is against XPAT company policy.  Save your life, your passengers lives, and the lives of the other folks on the road and DON’T TEXT & DRIVE.

Hand Safety and Injury Prevention Safety Talk

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 gloves are the most common form of PPE found in the workplace, hand injuries are still the second leading type of injury on the job.

Hand Injury Statistics

• 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 injuries. 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 any tool 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 in 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.

Safe Work Practices

• 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.
• Always wear the proper gloves for whatever work 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 unintentional start-up while you are working on the equipment.

Auditing Ourselves

When the word audit is mentioned, people generally think of a negative experience, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax audit or of a confrontation. However, it is possible for audits to be positive.

First, let’s consider the definition of audit.
Audit: A systematic or methodical review; to examine with intent to verify.

Contrary to an IRS audit which evaluates what we did not record, our job audit should evaluate what we did record. If we take the time to at least mentally think out the steps that we go through to perform a task, we can audit it to ensure we are safe.

Auditing ourselves

Look at these things prior to starting a task:

• PPE, do we have the correct eye protection? The correct gloves? Protective footwear?
• Do we need any special PPE such as a chemical apron or a harness?
• Is our PPE in good condition?
• Do we have the correct tools and are they in good shape?
• Do we know how to operate the tools or equipment?
• Do we know how to accomplish the task safely?
• Do we know the harmful energy sources around the area and have we isolated them?

These are a just a few of the questions we should ask. However, they include some of the most important ones. Ensure you do a quick audit, prior to starting a task. A more thorough one should be done if we’re doing something for the first time or for the first time in a long time.

Common Sense Guidelines for Safety

• Be Alert.  Most accidents occur because you or someone around you is not paying attention to what they are doing.
• Watch out for the other guy.  Note what your fellow employees are doing around you.  Ensure that people are not acting irresponsibly or putting you or them in a potentially dangerous situation.
• Dress for safety.  Do not wear loose fitting clothes.  Tie your shoes.
• Wear all appropriate PPE.  Never take short cuts and always take the time to wear your PPE no matter how inconvenient it may seem at the time.
• Read and follow the manufacturer’s label directions or SDS on safe use, handling, and storage of chemicals.
• Do not operate any equipment on which you have not received adequate training.
• Constantly inspect your work area for hazards.
• Observe good housekeeping and keep your area clean and hazard free.
• Observe proper lifting techniques.  Do not attempt to lift or move objects which are too heavy to safely lift alone or without the aid of equipment.
• Take safety seriously.  Get involved with our safety program.  Point out work site hazards to supervisors and provide feedback and input at safety meetings.
• Constantly inspect all of your tools and equipment for defects.  Do not operate unsafe tools or equipment.
• Brush up on your first aid skills and inspect the supplies in your first aid kit.
• Ask questions.  If you are unsure of the safe way to perform a task, or you simply need assistance, ask questions.
• Ask for help.  Never be afraid to ask supervisors or fellow employees for assistance.

Conclusion:

Common sense safety is often simply thinking before doing.  What might, or will happen if I do it this way?  Is the way I’m planning to do this safe?  Following common sense safety guidelines and working responsibly is everyone’s job.