Workplace Safety

Aggressive driving is defined as the operation of a motor vehicle in a fashion that endangers or is likely to endanger people or property. Here in the United States, each year thousands of traffic accidents and associated fatalities are caused in part by aggressive driving. Showing little regard for others, most aggressive drivers operate their vehicles as if they were the only drivers on the road. They are not; but they might be the most dangerous.

If you make the decision to speed, tailgate, or cut off another vehicle, you might be committing an act of aggressive driving. Other aggressive driving actions that should be avoided are blocking other drivers who wish to pass, and weaving in and out of traffic. Some acts of aggressive driving might not even be driving activities at all. Flashing your headlights, repeatedly honking your horn, improper hand gestures, and yelling are all examples of poor driving behavior. Your responsibility as a careful driver is to abstain from all of these behaviors, and to think about safety first.

Just as important as avoiding aggressive driving yourself, as a safe driver, you need to avoid contact with aggressive drivers whenever possible. If you do encounter an aggressive driver, the best plan of action is to get out of their way. Don’t ever retaliate. It could make the situation far worse for you and those around you. It is a good idea to create some space between you and an aggressive motorist and to avoid eye contact with the driver.

Another aspect of safe driving is to practice what you preach. Relax and enjoy the ride as you obey the speed limit and other rules of the road. Exercise courtesy and patience with other drivers, remembering that some of them could be new drivers still learning the ropes. Be realistic about your travel time and, if possible, allow yourself extra time to reach your destination. Avoid congested or construction areas whenever possible, and factor in delays that might be caused by inclement weather.

Driving is not a contest. It is a privilege that demands responsible actions. Choose to show other drivers, pedestrians, motorcyclists, and bicyclists the respect they deserve. Learn to share the road. Give other drivers the benefit of the doubt. They might be lost, in a hurry, or distracted by a problem they are facing. Learn to take the high road, make careful decisions, and arrive alive!

The science of ergonomics focuses on the interactions between work demands and worker capabilities. The goal is to achieve those interactions between the work and the worker that will not only preserve the safety and health of the workforce but also optimize productivity. Applying the science of ergonomics to pushing and pulling tasks produces a number of guidelines for the design of work involving those tasks.

In the first place, it helps to design work to control the amount of pushing or pulling an employee is expected to do. A good example is to set a limit on the number of shopping carts an employee is expected to collect from the parking lot in one trip. When possible, you can limit the need for pushing or pulling by using applicable mechanical aids. Depending on the environment these might include:

• Conveyer belts
• Powered trucks
• Lift tables
• Slides or chutes

The force required to push or pull can be lowered by reducing the size and/or weight of a load or using four-wheel trucks or dollies. Proper selection and maintenance of hand-trucks and dollies is very important. Wheels or casters should be maintained adequately and bearings should be lubricated periodically. Be sure that the equipment is sized properly to the task, such as with larger diameter wheels and casters for heavier loads.

Floors also affect the ergonomics of pushing and pulling. Floors that are not level increase the difficulty of pushing or pulling, as do floors that are rough. Maintaining floors and applying a surface treatment that reduces friction might be advisable.

Reducing the distance of the push or pull is an easy way to improve the ergonomics. Two examples would be moving receiving, storage, production, or shipping areas closer to work production areas and changing the production process to eliminate unnecessary materials handling steps.

Finally, the actions of pushing and pulling can be optimized by

• Providing variable-height handles so that both short and tall employees can maintain an elbow bend of 80 to 100 degrees.
• Replacing a pull with a push whenever possible.
• Using ramps with a slope of less than 10%.

Keep in mind that a number of factors influence the ergonomics of horizontal pushing and pulling. These include body weight, height of force application, distance of force application from body (amount of trunk flexion/extension), duration of force applied or distance moved, and the availability of a structure against which the feet or back can push to prevent slippage. For vertical pushing and pulling, the influential factors include grip strength and height of force application. The height determines which muscles will be used. Pulls from above head level allow for the greatest force because body weight can be used. Pulls from more than 10 inches above the floor also allow the greatest force because strong leg and trunk muscles can be used. Pushing across the front of the body involves weaker shoulder muscles so full arm extension leads to a marked decrease in maximum force.

Winter driving is a completely different experience than driving during any other season. Luckily, many of the preventive measures you take for each type of driving condition are the same. Before you start your drive, be sure to check all of the following vehicle safety points.

Vehicle Safety

Brakes: Check both vehicle brakes and trailer brakes for effectiveness.

Tires: Before you drive in snow, ice, and slush, you need to make sure your tires have tread. Balanced, rotated, and aligned tires will help you reduce the possibility of bald spots. You should use special snow tires in the winter or put chains on. Since cold weather helps to decrease your tire pressure, make sure you have enough air in your tires.

Lights: Make sure your headlights, taillights, brake lights, reverse lights, and turn signals are all working properly. In heavy snow fall it is impossible to guess the intentions of other drivers, so any lights that indicate behaviors (like stopping and turning) are extra important.

Windshield: For winter weather and windshield visibility you need a properly functioning heater and defroster. Also, make sure to monitor the health of your windshield wipers. Ice and snow can make them hard and cracked, so be sure to test them before you begin driving.

Items to Carry

There are certain necessities you should carry when you drive in winter weather. These include:

• Scraper: Carry a scraper with you so that you can clean your windshield before driving. You should also carry de-icer fluid.
• Sand: Carrying sand or cat litter with you will give you something to throw on top of snow or ice to give you added traction if you get stuck.
• Chains: If you do not have snow tires, carry chains with you for your vehicle and trailer tires.
• Rags: If your defroster should stop working, you will need something with which to wipe your windows. Carry rags for this possibility.

Driving Methods

Follow at a safe distance: Ice and snow make for difficult braking and frequent skidding. Maintain adequate distance from the cars ahead of you so that you have an extra cushion of space in which to control your vehicle. Although you might normally follow the three-second rule in good weather, winter weather requires that you increase that to a six or nine-second rule.

Observe appropriate braking procedures: Remember, if you do not have anti-lock brakes you should pump when you need to stop but anti-lock brakes should never be pumped.

Never forget to wear your seatbelt: Your seatbelt can mean the difference between walking away from an accident with a few scratches and not walking away at all. You should wear your seatbelt no matter what the weather conditions are, but with the additional risk of accident in winter weather, seatbelt wearing becomes even more important.

Taking the time to learn and follow these guidelines will make winter weather easier to drive in and will lower your risk of having a preventable accident.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is apparatus worn by a worker to reduce or lessen exposure to certain occupational hazards.

Examples include gloves, aprons, helmets, all the way up to full body and survival suits.

It is the responsibility of the employer to determine if hazards exist and when PPE should be used to protect workers.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, hard hats are an important piece of safety equipment. Hard hats can protect workers from head impact, penetration injuries, and electrical injuries such as those caused by falling or flying objects, fixed objects, or contact with electrical conductors. Some examples of workers for whom hard hats should be considered are electricians, carpenters, linemen, mechanics, plumbers and pipe fitters, welders, freight handlers, timber cutters and loggers, stock handlers, and warehouse laborers.

In addition to hard hats, some work requires spectacles and goggles, special helmets or shields, spectacles with side shields, and/or faceshields. All of these items can help protect employees from the hazards of flying fragments.

Safety shoes, foot guards, and leggings can help workers avoid injuries by protecting them from hazards such as falling or rolling objects, sharp objects, wet and slippery surfaces, molten metals, hot surfaces, and electrical hazards.

It is critical to note that PPE is only one element of a safe and healthy workplace. Use of PPE does not guarantee total protection, but it does minimize exposure to hazards. PPE should only be used when a hazard cannot feasibly be prevented or eliminated altogether.

When an employer makes the important decision to implement a PPE program, they must take a number of steps. These steps include identifying potential hazards, selection of controls and appropriate PPE, as well as fitting and training for both employees and supervisors. The employer should also ensure ongoing support for the program as well as maintenance and auditing procedures.

All affected employees share the responsibility to identify and monitor the potential for workplace hazards on an ongoing basis. Each employee should make sure the PPE is utilized properly at all times, and provide feedback to supervisors and managers if any problems or discomfort with the PPE arises.

Employees should also make sure that management takes all of the proper steps to eliminate hazards before instituting a PPE program. Employees have a responsibility to raise any concerns they have, if they feel the PPE is not adequate to protect against the exposure to the risk.

If there is a danger in your workplace that cannot be eliminated and your employer has not offered you PPE, you need to ask for that protection. When you are provided with PPE, use it at all times when there might be a possibility of exposure to the hazard. PPE is only effective when designed and utilized properly.

Protect your well-being. Reduce your risk. And make the proper use of your Personal Protective Equipment a workplace priority.

A discussion regarding workplace safety doesn’t have to strike an anxiety chord. Although it is important for employers to formulate safety programs and oversee their enforcement, it isn’t as difficult a task as it might seem. Many workplace safety rules are not that different from the safety rules you learned as a child.

Basic housekeeping should be a top priority in preventing workplace accidents. Not only is a clean work environment far more inviting to work in, but it also allows you to be more productive than a messy one. Most importantly, keeping the workplace clean means keeping it safe. When housekeeping chores like clearing away oil, water, and refuse are handled in a timely fashion, you keep the workplace both pleasant to work in and accident-free. Another way to prevent accidents is to keep aisles and exits clear of obstacles at all times. During work hours exit doors should remain unlocked. Keeping up with equipment maintenance is another rule that needs to be observed to remain accident-free. All dangerous or unsafe equipment should be tagged and taken off the job floor until corrective maintenance has been completed.

Remember when you were in school, and the teacher told you to walk, and not run? This is another basic rule for the workplace as well. Running unnecessarily sets the stage for possible injuries from falls. Unless the situation warrants it, you should always avoid running in the workplace.

There is tremendous potential for workplace damage and injury where chemicals are concerned. Hazardous materials should be kept in appropriate containers; and each container must be accurately labeled to indicate what’s inside and any hazards associated with their use. Only employees who have completed special training should handle hazardous chemicals.

Flammable liquids are similar to hazardous chemicals in their potential for causing harm. All flammable liquids must be put in safety containers with appropriate labels. If a safety container becomes damaged, take it out of service as soon as possible and replace it with a new container. When not in use, containers holding flammable liquids should be kept in a proper storage area.

Fires don’t wait around until you are ready to deal with them; they just keep on burning until they rage out of control. Having a fire extinguisher available when a fire starts can make the difference between little damage and catastrophic harm. Always be certain that fire extinguishers are in good working order, and that they are accessible at all times, in any situation where they might be needed.

Finally, employees should never hesitate to report unsafe acts or conditions to their department manager as soon as possible. It is crucial to be observant in identifying any problem areas that could cause an accident. Your safety and the safety of your co-workers depend on everyone pulling together on a daily basis with safe behavior and practices at work.

Everyone knows that winter driving can be hazardous. In California and the southern states, you might face torrential rains and flooding conditions that make driving demanding and dangerous. Thick fog can appear seemingly out of nowhere, when cool air meets the warmer ground. As a driver, you might even have an occasional bout of hail, sleet, or snow to handle. If you live in a northern state, you can almost certainly look forward to times of intense cold, sleet, freezing rain, and lots of snow, all contributing to dangerous road conditions.

No matter where you live, you should be prepared for winter driving and the conditions that it can create in your area. Here are a few driving tips that will help you to arrive alive, even during difficult driving conditions.

In the case of extreme fog, it is best not to drive at all but if you have to, slow down. Driving too fast or following other vehicles too closely causes most of the accidents that occur in foggy conditions. Make sure to drive with your low beams on, and stay within the limits of your vision. If the fog gets too dense, pull completely off the road, stop, and turn on your hazard lights.

Even a simple rain shower can cause problems on the road. If it starts raining while you are driving, increase your braking distance and lower your speed on curves and during turns. If it begins to rain more heavily, slow down even more to avoid hydroplaning, which is when your tires ride on a layer of water and not on the pavement.

If snow has fallen before you begin driving, remove all snow and ice from your vehicle and especially your windows before you head out onto the roadway. Also, make certain that your vehicle is in good working condition and that you have plenty of windshield washer fluid.

If you will be driving in an area known for snowy conditions, consider using snow tires or chains for extra traction. Test your braking ability by gently applying pressure to the brake pedal and releasing. If the road is icy or frozen, reduce your speed accordingly.

Shaded areas, bridges, and overpasses are often icier than other places on the road. Be careful and be prepared. Make sure that your cell phone is fully charged in case you need to make an emergency call. Consider carrying food and a winter survival kit in your car:

• Ice scraper
• Small Snow Shovel
• Tire Chains
• Small bag of abrasive materials (sand, salt or kitty litter)
• Cloth or roll of material
• Jumper cables
• Blanket
• Snow brush
• Warning devices (flares or triangles)
• Traction mats
• Flashlight

Finally, check local weather reports before traveling into a winter storm area. If possible, enjoy the winter wonderland from the comfort of your home. If you must drive, follow these tips to prevent the mishaps of winter driving. Arrive alive.

If you simply refused to perform your duties on the jobsite, what would happen? More than likely, your boss would tell you to hit the road. However, there are a few rare cases when you not only have the right to refuse to work, but you’re actually protected by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to do so.

Refusing unsafe work. You have the right to refuse to perform unsafe work if you believe that you are at risk of being injured or killed. However, as with any other work issue, it’s important to follow the proper procedures. According to OSHA, “If a health or safety hazard at your workplace puts you in imminent danger of death or a serious injury including situations immediately dangerous to life and health, tell your supervisor immediately. Ask that the condition be corrected and that no workers be exposed to the danger until it is eliminated or controlled.” In other words, the first step you should take is to ask your supervisor to correct the dangerous situation. If your employer fails to fix the problem, call the nearest OSHA office immediately. Give them all the specific details of your situation. If you report the problem as one of “imminent danger,” OSHA will give it the highest priority and send an inspector to your jobsite within one day.

What if your employer threatens to fire you? Of course, if you refuse to work, your employer might decide to fire or discipline you before the OSHA inspector arrives on the jobsite. Fortunately, OSHA covers workers who are disciplined for refusing to perform unsafe work. According to OSHA law, “OSHA can protect you if you are discharged or otherwise disciplined for refusing to perform a task that would expose you to imminent danger of death or serious injury, providing you have sought and been unable to obtain a remedy from your supervisor and there is insufficient time to have the condition corrected through filing a complaint with OSHA.”

If you refuse the dangerous work on behalf of your fellow workers, you might also be protected by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). OSHA and the NLRB often work jointly on refusal-to-work cases involving dangerous situations. If you are punished for refusing to perform an unsafe job, contact one of these agencies as soon as possible.

Danger must be imminent. However, before you refuse to work, you must be certain that the work poses imminent danger to you and your co-workers. In other words, you have to be able to prove that the problem could cause immediate and serious harm to you or other employees. For example, let’s say you’ve been working with a damaged piece of machinery for three weeks. Although you haven’t gotten injured, you have asked your supervisor multiple times to repair the machine. One day, you get tired of asking and refuse to work.

Unfortunately, in this case, OSHA might not be able to protect you. After all, you’ve been working with this piece of machinery for many weeks without getting hurt. This will make it difficult for you to prove that danger is imminent. However, if you had refused to work as soon as the machine was damaged, it might be a different story.

On the other hand, let’s say someone spills hazardous chemicals in your work area. You report the spill to your supervisor immediately and ask him to call in professionals to clean it up. He says he’ll get to it later and tells you to get back to work. Because this puts you and your co-workers in immediate, serious danger, you can refuse to work near the hazardous chemicals. In this scenario, OSHA would likely protect you if your employer tried to punish you for not working.

Team up with other workers. If you feel that you and your fellow workers face imminent danger on the jobsite, don’t go at it alone. Try to get your co-workers on board and approach your supervisor together. OSHA points out that acting as a group is safer when it comes to refusing unsafe work.

Too many employees work long hours for several days in a row without sufficient sleep — and that’s a recipe for disaster. When you haven’t had enough sleep, you’re more likely to feel tired, depressed, keyed up, or irritable. That’s why a jobsite staffed with fatigued workers creates a hazardous work environment.

The problem with sleep debt. Experts say that the average adult requires seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every day. When you don’t catch enough ZZZs each night, you build up a dangerous sleep debt that adds up over time.

If you only sleep four hours one night, your work performance might not be affected right away. However, repeated nights of insufficient or disrupted sleep over a period of days or weeks will eventually wear you down. Over time, this growing sleep debt will not only make you feel tired and irritable, but it could ultimately lead to depression, loss of appetite and digestive problems. Insufficient sleep can also increase your risk of getting sick.

Fatigued Workers = Dangerous Jobsite. If you and/or your co-workers are sleep deprived on the worksite, you’re more likely to make mistakes or miss potentially dangerous situations. Sleepy workers often react more slowly than usual, show poor judgment, and are unable to stay focused on the job at hand. When you’re tired, you could also lose motivation, become forgetful, and take greater risks. This could lead to serious accidents and injuries on the jobsite. It all adds up to an unsafe work environment for yourself and your fellow workers.

This is why it’s so important to ensure that you get at least seven hours of sleep every night. If you are planning to work an extended shift, make sure that you make time for a good night’s sleep as soon as your shift is over. Although it might be tempting to run out after work and socialize with your friends, it’s more important to your safety and overall health to go home and get plenty of sleep.

Employers can help. Employers can pitch in and help make the workplace safer by ensuring their workers get plenty of sleep. Some employers require a certain number of mandatory off-duty hours. This increases the likelihood that workers will go home and get enough sleep before they return to the jobsite.

If workers are taking on extended shifts, employers can help by offering prepared meals and a quiet place where workers can rest during their breaks. Supervisors should also be aware of the dangers workers face when they are exposed to loud noise, chemicals, and extreme temperatures for extended periods of time.

If you are planning on asking employees to work lengthy hours, make sure that you consult with an occupational hygiene specialist first. This type of expert can evaluate the situation and determine whether or not it’s safe to increase a worker’s exposure to these potentially dangerous factors.

Whether you work a job that requires a lot of heavy lifting or sitting at a desk all day, you’ve probably heard plenty about back pain — and you might have experienced it first-hand. About 80% of all adults in the U.S. have experienced back pain at some point, according to the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.

In 2009, the Center surveyed more than 14,000 subscribers who experienced lower back pain in the past year but never had surgery. More than half said the pain limited their daily routine severely for a week or longer and 88% said the pain recurred throughout the year.

Unfortunately, misconceptions and myths about back pain abound. Read on to learn the truth about back pain and the best ways to treat it.

Surgery isn’t always the best solution. Many people falsely believe that surgery is the only solution for a slipped disk (also known as a herniated or ruptured disk). However, this is not necessarily the case. First of all, most back pain is not caused by a herniated disk. Oftentimes, it’s simply a pulled muscle or another problem that will heal on its own. Back pain is extremely complex, and each case is unique. As a matter of fact, doctors cannot make a specific diagnosis for more than 70% of patients with chronic back pain.

Therefore, you shouldn’t assume that you need surgery as soon as your back starts aching. Your doctor will have to put you through some extensive testing to determine if your pain is coming from a damaged disk. Even if the doctor does confirm that you have a slipped disk, you might be able to recover without surgery.

Some studies show that about 90% of patients with a herniated disk gradually improve within six weeks. If your pain persists longer, then you might be a good candidate for surgery. However, because back surgery can be extremely invasive and require lengthy amounts of recovery time, you should view it as a last resort.

You might not need to take it easy. Another common misconception is if your back hurts, you should take it easy and get plenty of rest until the pain subsides. However, many medical experts say exactly the opposite. If your back hurts, you should try to continue your every day activities. People who stay active tend to heal more quickly than those who banish themselves to bed rest.

Of course, if you are experiencing severe pain, you might need to take some time off from work, especially if you have a physically demanding job. However, you might consider coming to the jobsite for some light work until you recover fully. This will give you an opportunity to stretch your back and remain somewhat active while your back heals.

Not all back pain is caused by an accident or heavy lifting. Although you might be quick to assume that your back pain was caused by lifting something heavy, that might not be the case. Of course, people with physically demanding jobs that involve a lot of lifting and carrying of heavy materials are more likely to experience lower back pain. However, there are many other causes for back pain.

As a matter of fact, people who sit still at a desk all day long are actually at higher risk for a disk injury than those who do moderate amounts of physical work. That’s because these desk workers remain sedentary for much of the day, sitting in unnatural positions in front of a computer and placing constant pressure on their spine.

There are many other factors that contribute to back pain. For example, your age can play a role, as well as your gender. Men are more likely to injure their back when they’re around 40 years old, while women generally suffer from back pain between the ages of 50 and 60. Your lifestyle can also affect back pain. Smoking, obesity, and stress are often linked to lower back pain.

A back injury doesn’t mean the end of your career. In the past, many workers assumed that if they injured their back, they would never be the same again and would be unable to return to their job. However, most people who experience back pain eventually get better — with or without treatment.

Studies show that most people who take time off from work due to back pain return to the job within six weeks. Only a small percentage of people never return to work again after a back injury. Unfortunately, once you’ve suffered from back pain, you’re most likely going to experience it again at some point. Luckily, even these recurring incidences of back pain will generally go away on their own.

There are many treatment options. If you’re suffering from severe back pain, don’t feel like you’re alone. You can turn to many different types of experts to help you manage the pain and recover.

First and foremost, visit a trusted family physician. He or she can rule out a serious health problem and may be able to refer you to a specialist. Many back pain sufferers turn to chiropractors, physical therapists, pain management doctors, and other specialists. Although back pain usually resolves on its own with time, these experts can help you through the pain, give you valuable advice, and offer you some relief.

On average, 20 workers are killed each week on the job, making homicide the second leading cause of death at the workplace (after motor vehicle accidents). Additionally, an estimated million workers are non-fatally assaulted each year, according to data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the vast majority of workplace violence is related to robbery and perpetrated by individuals from outside a business, about 9% involves co-workers or former employees.

Workplace violence committed by current or former employees has a devastating impact on a business and its employees. Although the real and immediate injury to the victim(s) delivers the biggest blow, the business itself can suffer bad publicity and, likely, an expensive lawsuit. Regardless of whether or not workers who were not involved in the incident witnessed the event, many are likely to experience emotional after-effects.

What are the causes of workplace violence? According to a guide published by the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry, workplace violence can occur at any business, because the business environment is not the only trigger of brutal incidents. Family stress, substance abuse issues, and an employee’s overall psychological status, can carry into the workplace and provoke an incident of violence. Other situations that can lead to tragedy include an employee developing an unrequited crush on a co-worker, being rejected for a promotion, or feeling they are treated unjustly by a supervisor. In some cases, an individual cannot handle the resulting feelings of rejection appropriately. The pressure to produce and/or fear of layoffs can also trigger violence in an unbalanced employee.

An analysis by USA Today of 224 incidents of workplace violence committed by employees concluded that, in 80% of cases, the employee had exhibited clear warning signs of possible violence, which were ignored or minimized by supervisors or co-workers. Although some red flags of violence are clear — such as wielding a weapon or making verbal threats — others are less obvious. Experts in the field urge caution when the following behaviors are present:

• Continuous complaints of unjust treatment
• Inability or unwillingness to be held accountable, as well as the need to place blame on others
• Difficulty in accepting criticism
• Deterioration of job performance
• Mood swings or personality/behavioral changes
• Emotional outbursts

Although workplace violence cannot be eliminated completely, businesses can take action to lessen the chances that an incident will take place. Supervisors, managers, and all other employees should be made aware of actions and attitudes that can indicate potential violence. Companies need to make it perfectly clear that non-physical precursors to violence — such as bullying, intimidation, aggression, and threats — will not be tolerated. Policies should also encourage employees to report such red flags, with reasonable assurance of their personal safety. Managers and supervisors require training in how to diffuse workplace tensions effectively and deal with confrontations before they turn violent. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) or other counseling services can be helpful in taking these steps.

Although people can and do change, many perpetrators of violence have a history of brutality, or of red flags for potential violence. For this reason, background checks, pre-employment screenings, thorough resume reviews, and pre-hire interviews can be beneficial tools in workplace violence prevention, according to information from the International Risk Management Institute. Other warning signs include frequent job changes that are not explained adequately; mysterious holes in an applicant’s work history; demeanor during a pre-hire interview that is unresponsive, uncooperative, or somehow unsettling; and, of course, any history of violent or threatening behavior.

With the right policies and preventive measures, a business can know that it has taken appropriate steps to deter workplace violence and protect their employees to the best of their ability.