Monthly Archives: January 2014

General Safety Issues

KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DIFFICULT WORK ENVIRONMENT AND A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Most of us at one time or another has worked with someone who makes part or all of the workday miserable.  There’s usually at least one employee who has a negative outlook on everything – can’t see the glass half-full, only half-empty.  Good supervisors should know how to turn this environment into a productive one, but it isn’t always easy.

Managers need to ensure that the person focuses on tasks or projects instead of negative personality traits.  Maybe they don’t understand exactly what their job responsibilities are, or threatened by the abilities of their co-workers.  Some of these employees are against management and won’t cooperate.  Bringing the problem to the attention of the supervisor may have to be done by other employees.  Everyone wants to get their job done, and doesn’t need a bad attitude from someone else to deter them. 

A “hostile work environment” is a different matter.  Here are some signs of hostile behavior: (which is against the law).

  • Harrassment –  Whether it is because of race, religion, origin, age, disability, military and veteran status, this behavior is discriminatory under federal law.
  • Unwelcome behavior – Intimidating, humiliating, offensive, or making threats to employees or a group of employees is also discrimination.
  • Verbal sexual advances – Bullying, telling cruel jokes, or sending negative emails or text messages – again, discrimination.
  • Hostile behavior is pervasive over time.  It should be reported to Human Resources , who can intervene in a timely fashion, because it must be addressed by the employer.
  •  Actions or communications being repeated over a period of time defines discrimination. 
  • If the work environment interferes with an employee’s career progress, resulting in failure to receive a job rotation or promotion, this is considered discrimination.

An employer can be liable for the creation of a hostile work environment if they knew about the behavior and did not sufficiently try to remedy the situation.  The hostility can be started by a boss or another workers whose actions or behavior make doing your job impossible.  If the unreasonable work situation can not be a comfortable work environment for others and is disciminatory, this is a situation that must be fixed.

In other words, if a coworker does annoying things to bother their coworkers, and demonstrates rude or obnoxious behavior, that is not considered being hostile, as much as being a distracting pest.  However, if that person tells untruths about a worker or tells sexual or racial jokes, makes fun of your background or age,  the person is creating a hostile environment.  If someone belittles you about your religion, gender or race, you are working in both a hostile work environment, and one that you are being discriminated against.  This should be reported to your supervisor. 

No matter where you work, something we all need to know, is that we do not harbor resentment against anyone.  Maybe you have a better education than others, but does that make you better than them?  Many persons have talents that far outweigh a formal education.  It takes workers with all types of skills to make a company successful.  Life is too short to make it miserable for others who want to do a good job and go home at the end of the day, feeling good about the work they have accomplished.

Let’s treat others as we want to be treated.  It takes the whole team to accomplish the goal of their employer.

Eye Protection, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection, Protective Clothing

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR THE MOST DANGEROUS JOBS (GUEST POST)

We all need to get jobs; that’s a reality we all face. And all jobs, no matter how mundane they may seem, carry with them a certain level of danger. Of course, these levels of danger vary from to another. Let’s say you make a living wrestling and catching wild bears, then there aren’t really many effective safety precautions you can take aside from not catching and wrestling those bears. Working in a typical job, like an office or so, still can be dangerous, and here are some of the dangerous “normal” jobs out there and the safety precautions you can take to avoid accidents. 

Construction and Related Fields 

        If you work in construction or some other job that requires you to be physically present in a construction site, the first step to staying safe is recognizing that the construction site is inherently a dangerous place. With all the dangerous materials, heavy equipment, and the work going around, the chances of an accident happening is extremely high, no matter the amount or quality of supervision. The common safety precaution for being in a construction site is to always wear a hard hat, as the primary risk is having something heavy land on your head. A hard hat is your friend. Keep it on your head at all times. 

Jobs Involving Chemicals and Toxic Materials 

        Working with chemicals tends to be dangerous for your general health. There have been a lot of cases wherein people suffered burns, inhaled harmful substances, and other complications that came about due to exposure to these materials. When you work in an environment where hazardous chemicals and materials abound, the common safety precaution is to wear protective gear like goggles (in case of splash back), gloves, aprons, boots, and masks all made with protective materials like rubber or latex. In more extreme cases, hazmat suits are a popular choice. 

Work Involving Animals and Fieldwork 

        Being amidst the natural elements has provided the world with officially the most dangerous jobs ever. Fishing, farming, ranching, and logging are considered to be jobs that have seen the most accidents. These accidents are hard to avoid, as most of them come from unpredictable elements like animal attacks. While there are a number of equipment that can be used to lessen work-related injuries in line with these trades, the number of these injuries can be reduced mostly by workers themselves. Working in pairs, taking extra care of themselves on and off the field (maintaining one’s self in tip top shape and getting enough rest does make one more focused and alert), along with other precautions, would be helpful. 

        At the end of the day, working is hard and dangerous as much as it is personally and financially rewarding. Whether you’re a nine to fiver working in an office, or out in the open ocean fishing, one small accident can alter your life forever. The best courses of action are watching out for yourself, getting yourself covered with a personal accident insurance plan, and hoping for the best. 

Author’s Bio

Ryan Del Villar is a writer and online marketing specialist at Money Max, Philippines’ leading online comparison portal. Ryan is also a freelance writer at Helm Word, an Online Reputation Management company. He worked as an online video editor before he started his writing career.

 

 

 

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

MORE SAFETY INFORMATION REGARDING CONCUSSIONS (GUEST POST)

Last December, we featured an article about safety concerns in sports: http://www.blog4safety.com/2013/12/football-isnt-just-fun-and-games/.  In response to that article, we received a very interesting graphic on head injuries involving children through teens.  Because we are all involved in keeping our youngsters and workers safe from traumatic brain injuries, please see the following graph on the various types of injuries, of both girls and boys.  Our thanks to http://www.bostonheadinjurylawyer.com/youth-head-injury-prevention/ for submitting this guest infographic. 

Consider the head injuries that young boys suffer before they start playing football.  We are seeing more and more professional football players claiming dementia and other disorders as the result of repeated hits to their heads.  It is important that young persons play by the rules, and protect their head at all costs.  Training them on how to do this is very important.  Ensure that their schools provide the safest helmets possible.

Fall Safety, General Safety Issues

HOW TO KEEP SENIORS SAFE AT HOME (GUEST POST)

Your mom is the best cook in the world. You could die for her bacon and eggs breakfast and chocolate cake for dessert! Even your friends come home for dinner sometimes because they simply love her cooking, and let’s face it, she loves to feed people too. Even though you think you’re a bit overweight and could do with some exercise, she thinks you look skinny and could do with some more food in your tummy! But all this aside, she’s a bit of a klutz and that scares you a little. She’s had some minor falls here and there—they didn’t hurt her too much but she’s still shook.

After some minor fractures, you realized that your house could do with some fixing. A little bit of adjustments could make your house safer for her. After all, at her age, you don’t want to be messing with physics! Because you never know when those frail bones of hers might fail her. You’d rather be prepared for the worst because klutziness might become her worst enemy! It’s not that difficult or expensive to make a home safer for seniors. Let me show you the ropes. Here are some things you could do:

1.       Make your house accident proof

Since older bones can be brittle, it’s important that the house does not have jutting corners or slippery surfaces which may cause untoward injury. You won’t realize but changing small things in your house may prevent your parents (or elderly people in general, or even kids for that matter) from being prone to small accidents. You need to be careful about small things like making sure that all electrical wires are placed along walls and no one can trip over them. The stairways also need to be in a good condition because a tumble down those steps may cause some serious hurt and you don’t want that, do you? It’s important for you to keep the smallest things in mind while you change things around in the house to make it safer. You should make sure that there is plenty of room to walk and there is no clutter (such as small pieces of furniture or your dog Max’s food bowl) to trip over. Clean up spills as soon as they happen!

2.       Lighting is really important

Everyone knows that as you grow old, your eye sight gets weaker. So, it becomes really important for the house to be well lit for the seniors. Be it the kitchen, the bedroom or the bathroom. The lighting is absolutely necessary. Nowadays you have the option of lighting with something called proximity sensors. This simply means that when you walk into a room, the lights will automatically come on. The elderly people in your family will love this feature and it will come in handy especially during the night. It’s also quite energy efficient so it’s good for your pocket too! Good lighting on stairways is also really important.

 House light

Source: http://www.viahouse.com/2010/08/modern-concrete-house-inspiration-space-saving-house-interior/decorative-lighting-concrete-house-designs/ 

3.       Handrails are the way to go

Hand rails next to the stairs and the tub are an easy option. They should be securely attached to the wall and will come in handy (see what I did there?) when you want to prevent falls. And as I said earlier, it’s important to protect those brittle bones!

 Wall Handrails1

Source: http://www.shawstairs.com/images/Wall%20Handrails1.jpg

4.       It’s also about security

You must have come across so many news stories where the elderly were targets of thefts and violence. Keeping that in mind, security from burglars and your amateur Jack the ripper becomes an important aspect of making the home safe for your folks. Make sure that your entry door is (almost) bulletproof. I recently replaced my door with this one from Champion Window– comes with a lifetime warranty! Porches and balconies should also be protected with fences or gates that cannot be climbed over. It’s important to secure the outdoor area as much as the indoors. 

These are some steps that you can take if you’re looking to make your home safe for seniors. It’s all about the little things that may cause injury and replacing them is easy and quite inexpensive. Take a good look around your house because these things can be extremely subjective. Good luck! Your folks are going to be quite happy with your efforts. 

“All Rights Reserved. Michael Joseph is the original Author and Blog4safety.com is the authorized publisher of this content. Unauthorized republishing of this content will result into violation of Copyright laws. Doing the same may lead to initiation of legal proceedings by the Author and/or Publisher.

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Eye Protection, First Aid Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection, Hearing Protection

WAYS TO INSPIRE YOUR EMPLOYEES ABOUT THE NEED FOR WORK SAFETY (GUEST POST)

Work safety and sound precautions against health hazards is indeed a major aspect of all kinds of businesses, big or small. It is necessary that employers provide all kinds of safety dress, equipment and head/body gear in order not only to ensure avoidance of work related accidents but also ensure maximum safety, security and hazard free working environment for employees at all levels of work.

The equipment that may be needed are helmets and hardhats, ear plugs,  goggles and eye care, body wear, gloves and hand wear, safety belts, care of limbs and both lower and upper extremity, stockings and boots, and so on. It is the right and privilege of each and every worker to gain protection from any kind of accident and mishaps and it is obligatory for employers to provide it to them. 

Thus employees need to be provided a safe and hazard free work place, devoid of any kind of occupation or work related risks. However, despite best efforts, accidents do occur, and some of them may be lethal and dangerous, not only involving loss of limb but also that of life itself.  Each and every work site must have medical and First Aid personnel and supplies commiserating with type, extent and degree of potential harm. Medical first aid services are addressed in specific standards for general industry, employment, terminals and construction industry. All businesses must have at least one first aid kit in office room and at construction area sites.  The presence of an Automated External Defibrillator could indeed be life saving in event of heart attacks, as well as the need for first aid kit, bloodborne pathogen kit, with gown etc, CPR pack, disposable towels, plastic use and throw gloves, facial masks for mouth, eye shield and one way face shield.
 
Most safety minded and hazard avoiding companies would need to use a regular first aid kit that would have basic first aid treatment aids like splints, gauze, antiseptics, bandages, alcohol pads and also aspirin, burn cream or burn spray containers, eye wash kit, plastic gloves, compress for head and swollen injuries and also other needed first aid supplies.  Each work environment has different safety and hazard intervention needs and requirements due to diverse kinds of injury potential and possibilities.
 
However, if the injury requires more treatment than just first aid, it is important that hospital numbers are called; meanwhile, first aid is administered as it should be done. It is necessary to research the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website for gaining best data on accidents and how these could be prevented.
 
The main idea behind OSHA is to offer safe and healthy working environment for working men and women by approving enforcement of required standards developed under the OSHA and by assisting and encouraging states in their endeavors to offer safe, reliable and healthy working environment by allowing research, data, education and training in the domain of occupational safety and health and for other purposes too. All field employees need these work safety even the essay writing factory workers.
 
Sent to us by Julius Kelty 
 
Eye Protection, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection, Protective Clothing

PROTECTING BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITIES FROM INDUSTRIAL WASTE RISK (GUEST POST)

If you live in an industrial community, it is understandable for you to be concerned about chemical spills and industrial waste. You would want a guarantee that public health is not being affected by industrial businesses. The Environmental Protective Agency has encouraged partnerships with environmental contracting companies as a helpful solution to reduce the risk of industrial waste and hazardous spills. 

If you own a business, especially a business that deals with chemical waste, there are many extensive environmental regulations that you must meet in your daily operations. Keeping up with the complexities and changes of these industrial waste laws can be a cumbersome and laborious process. However, if you ignore environmental laws, you could end up paying lots of money in fines. 

Even with the necessary precautions, chemical and petroleum spills can still occur.  When these spills happen, the law requires that specific steps be taken to protect the environment from pollution. Environmental contracting companies help safeguard industrial businesses from waste accidents. 

With the already demanding operations of construction, it can be difficult for  businesses and contractors to arrange and facilitate clean up in the event of a spill. With every passing moment, your business could be fined at a greater level when they are in violation of the environmental codes. This is where you could benefit from environmental construction companies.  They give you the confidence and assurance to operate your business freely and handle industrial waste management for you. 

These environmental contracting services are available to provide around-the-clock support for companies to help keep the environment safe from pollution and your company safe from disaster. These environmental contracting companies are highly trained experts at construction oversight, groundwater and soil treatment systems, industrial waste management and emergency disaster response. 

How Environment Specialists Serve the Industrial Community

Environmental contractors provide many benefits to contractors and communities with the expertise to clean up chemical spills and other hazards that could cost your company a fortune. 

An environmental expert is at the forefront of emerging technologies and has the latest equipment to help you keep the environment safe and construction companies protected. They will assess your construction project and the chemicals that you use in your business. They devise a customized plan based on their extensive knowledge to help you clear hazardous materials and safely and discretely dispose them off. 

This special industry is able to partner with companies in planning future projects, providing valuable expertise that can help save money and time. All of the legal aspects are already handled for their customers, and they are with you throughout every step of your project. Having an environmental contracting service by your side can also improve your chances of your work being approved your state and local agencies. 

Working with an environmental specialist will help you remain in compliance with industrial waste laws and focus on what matters to your business the most. You can take advantage of an immediate response any hour of the day and receive emergency assistance. Environmental contracting companies are a team of experts that serve the environment by partnering with industrial businesses to do construction right.  

The FGS Group is a leader in the petroleum cleanup program and a full service environmental engineering, remediation, and waste management company serving businesses in Tampa, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando, Florida and the surrounding areas. 

Note: These professional companies are trained and equipped with all the proper personal protective equipment (i.e., gloves, protective clothing, eye protection, and hazardous waste protection.) pb

 
 
 
General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, High Visibility Safety

HOW TO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE SAFELY (GUEST POST)

One thing is for sure that those who have ridden the bike once have become the fan of two wheelers forever because the fun and joy they get in riding a motorcycle is hard to get in any other type of vehicle. Therefore, it is often said that bikes are meant for people who do not like to go around in a steel cage, as they love to enjoy the thrill in the wind and embrace the natural beauty around them. However, let’s just face it -when it comes to safety, motorcycles do not offer the same protection that a four wheeler does. Moreover, a bike can go as fast as a car, but it doesn’t offer seat belts to the riders. On top of it, bikes do not have exterior frames like cars, so they cannot absorb the forces in case of a crash. 

Nevertheless, this does not mean that one should never ever ride a bike because today modern protective equipments and certain precautionary measures have made it possible to ride a motorcycle without endangering your life. The most important thing in this regard is wearing a helmet as it protects the most delicate part of the body, our head. For the reason that how dense our skull is, it still cannot protect our brain from getting damaged when it strikes against a footpath or concrete wall during a crash. Therefore, use of helmet for riders is a must, but alone it would not be enough to guarantee the safety of a rider. So professionals also advise people to wear right motorcycle gear that incorporates protective armours in it. 

In addition to  gear, motorcycle riders also need to wear proper gloves and boots for two wheels, which they can easily get from MotorcycleMegaStore.  They keep the skin of a rider from getting scratched and also save them from getting any serious injuries if a bike skids on the road. Apart from having all the personal protective equipment, a rider should also know about his or her riding skills, as it will define their limits. A riding skill is a thing which one cannot develop overnight because it evolves with the passage of time only. Therefore, riders should drive within their skills and do not test their luck by weaving in and out of the traffic or going through curves and turns at high speed. However, an advance riding course would definitely prove quite helpful in developing your riding skills.  

Besides improving riding skills a biker should also take care of the fact that they must look where they want to go otherwise they would either end up in a wrong lane or crash into a car or bike coming from the opposite side. One solution to avoid such a collision is that a rider must drop the speed before making a turn or leaning down because it will give them more control over the bike. Another big mistake that riders often make is that they do not leave enough space between their bike and the vehicle in front of them. As a result of that we often get to see bikers slamming into a vehicle from behind when the car or bike in front of them applies emergency brakes. 

For safe riding, bikers also need to look twice before switching the lane because cars can be easily spotted, but motorcycles are not that easy to spot. Therefore, a biker must keep his or her eyes open at all times, so they do not bump into another biker on the road. In this scenario, side mirrors on the bike would remain quite helpful, as they will give them a good view of any car or bike that is coming a from behind them at a high speed. Aside from taking these precautions, a rider should also take care of two more things, one – he should not drink and ride the bike; secondly, avoid all distractions. For instance, do not get lost in your little world, dream about tomorrow’s party or get busy on the cell phone with your friends or loved ones.

Hopefully, if a rider follows the aforementioned tips he or she would not only remain safe on the road, but they will also enjoy the ride more than anything.

Thanks to Gary Ardill for this information.  Many people prefer to ride their motorcycles to and from work, because they are more economic, as well as just getting the pleasure of being outdoors.  We highly recommend that if they do so, they add a high visibility vest over their regular safety gear and work clothes in order to be seen by drivers. pb

 
General Safety Issues

SEVEN REASONS WHY YOUR SAFETY COMMUNICATION GETS IGNORED (GUEST POST)

By Marie-Claire Ross

Your workforce will give you less than one minute to convince them to work safely.  Do you know what to say, or write, in those first 60 seconds? 

Employees quickly tune out when they hear bland, irrelevant safety messages.  Too often, they’ve heard boring safety communication that demands compliance.  What’s often missing in most safety communication is the human element.  The needs of what individuals prefer to hear are ignored, in preference for what the safety professional believes they need to be told.  Yet, this is key to getting buy-in. 

To get people to listen, you really need to know the psychology behind why people tune out to information.  Here are 7 safety communication techniques that will help you to get people to pay attention: 

1.      It’s not personal – Self-interest is one of the biggest human motivators of all time.  Tap into this by getting into the mindset of your target audience.  While writing, keep asking yourself all the time: “So what?  What’s in it for me?”  Let people know how the new safety information will help them.  Don’t assume they will know.  Give them a “why.” 

2.      It’s not interesting – Our brains have been designed to stop information overload, by constantly scanning the horizon for items that are different than normal.  Anything unusual or unpredictable causes us to stop and listen.  Some of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time include fear or surprise to get attention.  Ask yourself “What can I use in this information that people won’t expect?” 

3.      They’ve heard it before – Three of the most dangerous words in the human language are “I know that.”  These words almost guarantee that the brain will shutdown and block any new information.  Avoid this by asking people questions about what they do not know (but think they do).  Make sure they publicly announce their answer.  Humans hate to be wrong, so we’re more likely to learn something if we have been publicly exposed as being incorrect.  Again, this involves working out an unusual angle that is counter-intuitive to what everyone expects.  

4.      They’re preoccupied – Everyday we are bombarded with around 150 – 5,000 advertising messages.  And then there are messages from home that you have to battle with such as family issues, social networking sites and money problems.  Your communication messages also compete with messages from the production manager pushing for better productivity, the human resources manager needing forms filled out more accurately, and co-workers distracting each other.  Never assume people will listen to you, when their heads are filled with so many other things to deal with. 

5.      They haven’t seen it – In advertising, marketers recognise that people need to be exposed to a television ad 4-7 times before they will absorb the message.  This is why frequency of message equals success in advertising. 

To ensure that your workers remember your safety message, you need to get into their head – a lot.  This means planning on placing messages in multiple places (such as posters, screensavers, email newsletters, toolbox talks etc) to ensure exposure to your safety communication around 4-7 times minimum. 

6.      They don’t understand you – As humans, we have a tendency to provide people with lots of information.  But that literally hurts the brain.  Providing lots of data or lots of text contributes to people switching off.  Essentially, you need to focus on one clear message and remove redundant information.  Supply just enough information to grab attention and then provide a little more and then, a little more. 

7.      They don’t know what to do – Any safety communication is all about getting people to think about a safety issue, in order to make changes to their behaviour.  Getting the viewer to act and expend some sort of energy on the message is crucial.  Always end with a call to action that makes it clear what you want people to do. 

Being able to create clear, easy to understand and attention grabbing safety communication is a vital skill for any safety leader.  It’s also important that communication is easy for people to remember and motivates workers to change how they think and act, when it comes to safety. 

If you want comprehensive safety communication training, in order to improve your safety communication techniques, refer to the book “Transform Your Safety Communication.”  This highly acclaimed book provides five easy to use templates and frameworks to easily update your safety communication.  Get access to the safety communication secrets that hundreds of safety professional across the globe are successfully applying.  Find out more about the book and get your free sample chapter at: http://www.safetycommunicationbook.com 

Marie-Claire Ross is the author of Transform Your Safety Communication and the Workplace Communicator blog which reaches around 10,000 people per month.  Over the last 12 years she has helped over 30 medium and large sized companies improve their workplace safety communication, in her role as the Principal Consultant at Digicast Productions.

 

 

Eye Protection, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection

BEST SELF-DEFENSE COMBATS FOR PERSONAL SECURITY AT WORK (GUEST POST)

 

Violence, whether it happens within the workplace or outside of it, can cause considerable harm to employee morale, increase work-related stress, and decrease the overall level of workplace harmony, not to mention the potential human resources and compensation issues.

Employers should provide their employees with a safe work environment, and indeed, some provide pepper spray, automatic locking doors, or other devices to deter attacks. Most companies have taken at least some steps to ensure that their employees remain safe. Some even provide self defense programs to teach you how they would like you to handle such incidents. Apart from the primary benefits of educating a company’s employees in a practical, effective, rapid-learning self defense program which goes far beyond just teaching “techniques”, and includes Legal and Moral Rights and Responsibilities, and Physical Tools of Self Protection – there are many other very important and beneficial reasons why every company should offer such a program. Just as with most other types of insurance, one of the benefits found is in the peace of mind and knowledge that you are protected if something should ever go wrong.  

In this article you will find the list of the 5 best martial arts techniques that can be used for self defense in the workplace. 

1.      AIKIDO

Aikido’s followers learn how to use an assailant’s strength and energy against them. Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. Further, if thrown to the ground, aikido practitioners are experts at falling. Thus, they are good at avoiding injuries as a result. Once on the ground, or sometimes while still standing, aikido practices joint locks and choke holds to varying extents. Thus, practitioners are capable of fighting where the majority of self defense situations go. Weapon training is common in aikido, and followers are taught to defend themselves against staffs, swords and knives.

2.      KARATE

Karate is primarily a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands and ridge-hands. In most styles grappling, locks, restraints, throws and vital point strikes are taught. This martial art is supremely valuable because of not only its health benefits, but also its role as a self defense tool. According to the precepts, it can also be used, “… as a way of avoiding a fight should one be confronted by a villain or ruffian.” However, the karate based martial arts types are highly limited in their takedown defense instruction and grappling, so practitioners need to keep some level of distance in an altercation. On the flip side, since karate is a striking style that focuses on incapacitating strikes, it can be used against multiple attackers with a level of confidence.

3.      BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU

Like traditional jujutsu and judo, the Brazilian form emphasizes throws and groundwork, making it a popular tool for today’s mixed martial artists. With more than 60% of any street fight ending up on the ground, Brazilian jiu-jitsu allows size and strength of the attacker to be taken out of the equation. Brazilian jiu-jitsu does not teach a fighter how to be a good stand up fighter. It does, however, teach people to avoid being hurt on their feet, take others to the ground, and then apply a submission. Further, through the use of leverage, it also teaches practitioners to take on bigger opponents and fight from their back via the use of the guard position.

4.      KUNG FU

 In martial arts circles, kung fu refers to a ton of Chinese martial arts substyles. Kung fu is primarily about striking. Thus, the majority of styles within this realm teach incapacitating strikes to vital areas. This is a good thing in a self defense situation, as speed is the key. What’s more, kung fu does teach a lot about distance control and moving in and out of harm’s way effectively, which limits the damage that can be done to you, the practitioner. Striking tends to be diverse; lots of kicks and punches, including unorthodox ones. As is the case with most martial arts, kung fu’s worth lies in both health benefits and self defense knowledge. 

5.      TAEKWONDO

In self defense, one wants to move in and out of harm’s way quickly, incapacitating an opponent along the way. This is especially true when up against more than one opponent. One also wants to inflict damage and not be hurt; taking chances isn’t always a good thing. Taekwondo teaches its followers to do just these things. Further, it teaches very powerful strikes designed to incapacitate. Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws and joint locks. Taekwondo practitioners are skilled in strength, stamina, speed, balance, and flexibility.

Self defense training has been shown to improve employee discipline, morale, and critical thinking; it can help to dissuade workplace violence before it starts; it improves creative problem solving skills and is excellent for building workplace unity and enhancing teamwork. Smart companies know that taking steps to keep their employees safe and healthy by implementing things like health and dental insurance, wellness programs, and on-the-job safety training is not only the right thing to do for their employees, but it’s in the best interest of the company’s own fiscal health, longevity, and success.  Furnishing them the proper personal protective equipment (i.e., safety glasses, gloves, hardhats, etc.) for their particular job is the front line of their defense. 

Author Bio: 

This article was submitted by UMA, Melbourne based Ultimate Martial Arts & Fitness school.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UltimateMartialArts

We appreciate this version of safety at work; it would pay if there were some employees on site that could be trained in any one of these martial arts. pb