June is National Safety Month in the United States. Observed annually, the month focuses on bringing awareness to the leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road, and in our homes in an effort to reduce the amount of injuries sustained. To help you learn more about workplace injuries, take a look at the infographic below.
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February is American Heart Month, and if you don’t think heart disease affects your job or career, think again.
Cardiovascular disease and strokes create an economic burden for employers and employees alike. The American Heart Association (AHA) says that the total economic cost of heart disease in America in 2011 was $320 billion.
Medical costs of heart disease continue to grow, and by 2030 the costs associated with cardiovascular and stroke issues are expected top $918 billion.
What does this mean for you? In 2012, heart patients spent on average $4,349 on medical care due to heart-related issues, according to healthcare research organizations. The average hospital stay for a heart patient costs $20,758.
Staying Healthy
So how can you protect yourself from heart disease and prevent work loss or financial burden? According to the AHA, you can take several steps to improve your health and heart. Getting screened is important, and with health care so easily accessible, there’s no better time to get screened for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and more. Eating right also helps cut your risk of cardiovascular disease. Incorporate healthy additions to your meals, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and grill instead of frying when you can.
Cut Out the Stress
While these are steps you can take at home, what can you do at work to help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease? One of the biggest factors in heart disease is stress. Stress not only makes you feel miserable, but it can do incredible damage to your long-term health. Meditation, relaxation techniques, counseling, and 30 to 60 minutes of exercise at least three days a week are proven methods to reduce stress.
Although it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what is causing your stress, there are common elements in our daily lives that may be to blame. Maybe you can’t say no to someone, even if what they are asking is too much for you to take on. Or, perhaps there is someone in your office who is constantly bringing you down with negativity. Learn to spot these stressors and turn them around before they become too much. Know your limits, eliminate stressful relationships, and analyze your list of priorities to distinguish between tasks that are necessary and those that aren’t.
Need more advice or guidance on keeping your heart healthy? Visit the American Heart Association at www.aha.org or the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov.
What are some ways you protect your heart health and de-stress at work? Share your advice in the comments section below.
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During the holiday season, many products are being sorted and moved around facilities by conveyor belts. Because these machines can cause injury if used incorrectly, it’s a great time to be reminded about the hazards associated with conveyors and how you can stay safe on the job.
Know the Pinch Points
Although the tops of conveyor belts are flat and don’t appear to present extraordinary risks, the areas where the belt meets the rollers are serious pinch points. No matter how much slack a belt may appear to have, it’s always heavy and dangerous. In fact, thousands of hand and other body injuries are attributed to conveyor belts every year.
Dress Appropriately
If you work around conveyor belts, it’s vitally important that you avoid wearing loose clothing, jewelry, or accessories that dangle. Also, remember to keep long hair secured and away from any machinery. If hair or improper clothing items become caught between the rollers of a conveyor belt, the belt can drag the item along and potentially cause serious injury.
Stick to Your Job
Remember to perform the job you have been trained to do, and don’t step outside of those guidelines. Injuries often occur because someone sees a string or another part of the belt dangling and tries to pull the damaged piece off. In doing so, one’s hand can be pulled into the moving parts. Likewise, if a product or package gets caught on the belt, do not grab it to remove it. Instead, leave that to co-workers who are specifically trained in performing lockout and tagout procedures to avoid serious injury.
If you’re simply placing materials on the conveyor belt or removing items from it, your job should be relatively safe. But, taking a small step outside of your duties or wearing the wrong clothing can lead to serious injury.
While last minute shopping orders are going out and post-holiday sales begin, these machines will experience heavy use. Remember to dress safely, stick to your job, and keep yourself and your co-workers safe.
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During the holiday season, many retailers will see a sharp increase in staff, stock, and customers. And while the spike in store traffic is great for job seekers and business alike, it also means an increase in hazards and risks on the job.
To help keep yourself, your co-workers, and the customers safe during busy holiday shopping days, check out these tips!
Know the risks.
Some of the risks associated with the holiday shopping season are ones that exist in the workplace every day, regardless of the time of year. Such risks include ergonomic issues that lead to numbness and pain, like carpel tunnel syndrome or muscle and joint problems. During the holiday season, workers may experience an increased need to reach high places and work at a more frantic pace, increasing the risk of injuries.
Establish safety guidelines.
Your employers should have safety procedures in place to help protect you and other workers from injury. It’s your job to follow those procedures. Retail employers need to be sure the workplace is properly staffed, properly organized, and that employees are not so rushed to complete tasks that they overlook basic safety procedures. All employees should report any unsafe or hazardous conditions to their supervisors so they can respond to reports quickly and safely.
Protect yourself.
To protect yourself on the job, make sure you use proper lifting techniques, avoid twisting and reaching overhead as much as you can, and communicate any difficulties you experience to your supervisor.
Watch out for the customers.
A safety concern that is easily overlooked is the increased hazards to the public while shopping in the aisles of retail stores. Stocking activity can be much higher during hours customers are present, and many employees will be performing stocking tasks in close proximity to customers. Due to the high business volume of the season, customers are often exposed to more equipment and stock on the sales floor and activity above their heads and feet. To deal with this additional liability, employers can move merchandise and equipment through stores using an additional employee to direct traffic on the aisles, stock heavier items on lower shelves, and ensure everyone is trained and aware of the special hazards associated with customer interaction.
Understand the regulations.
Crowd safety has become an important topic during peak holiday hours like Black Friday. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a website dedicated to helping retail employees manage crowds on special shopping days. They encourage employers and their employees to plan, communicate, and have an emergency response procedure in place. Check out OSHA’s website for more information.
As with other days of the year, it’s very important to maintain safe working conditions during the busy season. Making sure you’re following proper procedures can ensure that you go home healthy and happy to enjoy the holidays with friends and family.
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We use our hands for so many tasks that we often take them for granted. Imagine how difficult it would be to brush your teeth, put on shoes, drive, work or do a million other things because of an injury or loss of a hand.
Unfortunately, hand injuries occur in the workplace every 32 seconds according to Telecom Insurance Group. Every year 16 million people seek emergency care for hand injuries
Most of these accidents are preventable, so it’s very important to know and understand prevention tips.
Sources for Hand Injury Prevention
WebMD offers valuable tips for preventing finger, hand, and wrist injuries. You can also find prevention tips from Canada’s Labour Program. And, a new website, www.choosehandsafety.org, was launched this spring to help teach workers how to protect their hands, including what to look for when choosing and using hand tools and gloves.
The National Safety Council and the Labour Program also have resources you can share with your employers and co-workers.
Leave Mechanical Maintenance to the Professionals
Although generally cautious about burns or cuts while handling objects, workers often do not think of the dangers associated with reaching into a machine to fix a jam or remove material. But, reaching into a machine can be very dangerous. Think about how much you use your hands before you put them at risk by reaching into a machine.
For more information on machine safety, read this article.
It’s important to take some time to know the risks and prevention tips associated with hand injuries. And, of all the prevention tips, remember to think safety first!
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National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 5-11. The week commemorates The Great Chicago Fire of Oct. 9, 1871, which destroyed 17,400 structures, left more than 100,000 people homeless, and tragically killed more than 250 people.
Since that devastating fire, great advancements in fire prevention have been made in not only preventing fires, but stopping them from spreading. As a result, National Fire Prevention Week was created. In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed.
This important week is meant to remind you about the importance of fire prevention. So, here are a few tips to ensure you stay safe on the job.
Know Your Surroundings
It’s vitally important that you always know where emergency exits are in your workplace so you can get to them quickly and safely in the event of a fire. If you don’t know the location of your emergency exits, there should be evacuation route maps located in the office. If not, ask your manager about the exits and find out if they can post evacuation routes. It’s also important to make sure you know the emergency and safety procedures at your workplace.
Check Your Exit Paths
Ensure your exits at work are not locked or blocked by any materials in their path. Sometimes, materials will be stacked outside exits that are seldom used, blocking them in an emergency. If the exit doors are blocked by any out-of-place material, tell someone who has the authority to move the materials to a safer location.
Act on Your Exit Strategy
In the event that a fire does occur, exit the building quickly. Though you may not want to leave your personal belongings behind, it’s not worth taking the risk to gather everything up – just exit the building. And, help those around you do the same.
How You Can Observe National Fire Prevention Week
While you may not have the authority at work to perform some of the following tasks, it doesn’t hurt to ask around to ensure someone is doing them.
The most important factor in saving lives in a fire is early detection and response. It’s recommended that smoke alarms are checked every month. To make sure these tests are being done, you can ask if anyone at your workplace is in charge of testing the alarms. And if your facility hasn’t had a fire drill in a while, it’s a great time to practice. Fire safety is just as important at home as it is in the workplace, so take this Fire Prevention Week as a reminder to test the batteries in your smoke alarms at home, too.
Fire extinguishers should also be checked once a month, and it helps to designate a specific person to perform the check. All fire extinguishers in your workplace should be checked so they stay properly pressurized, easily accessible, unobstructed, and appear to be in good working order.
Whether at work or at home, take time to focus on fire prevention during National Fire Prevention Week this year. Not only will it help keep you and your co-workers safe, but your preparations can help protect your community as well.
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It’s the time of year when most people have returned from summer vacation and kids are back in school. Due to the start of the school year, roads will be more crowded during your daily commute, and school zone rules will be strictly enforced. So, it’s especially important to focus on the safety of children, yourself, and other drivers as traffic increases. Here are three tips to help you stay safe on the roads.
Adjust your commute time.
If school has already started in your area, your commute time has likely become longer. Now is the time of year to reevaluate the time it takes you to get to work and make sure you adjust your schedule to reflect any changes. Choosing an appropriate time to leave your home not only gets you out the door before traffic reaches its heaviest point, but it also helps you avoid the pressure to drive faster than you should in order to make it to work on time.
Be aware of school zones.
You should always be aware of school zones and drive under the designated speed limit when you’re traveling through one. But now that school is back in session, your school zone awareness needs to be elevated. When you’re driving through a school zone, make sure you’re especially aware of your surroundings. After coming to a complete stop at stop signs and lights, accelerate slowly and carefully scan the area while maintaining a slow speed to lessen the chances of an accident involving pedestrians.
Remember to watch for new drivers.
As the school year starts, many new drivers will also be hitting the roads on their way to school. Teens almost always have less driving experience than other drivers, so use a little extra focus and slower speeds in areas near high schools to avoid driving-related issues. Remember to account for after-school activities that may affect rush hour traffic as well.
Leaving early, being aware of specific areas, and reducing your speed during increased traffic can help all of us on the road get to work and back safely every day.
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