All posts by Gary

Eye Protection, Fall Safety

Safety Tips for Workers Involved in High-Risk Jobs

Safety Tips for Workers Involved in High-Risk Jobs

Some people choose to work in a nice, safe office all day. Others choose a more dangerous line of work. If you are planning to work a high risk, dangerous job, you should follow proper safety tips. If you protect yourself on the job, you will be less likely to be in an accident that could cause injuries or even death.

Never Do a Job that You Aren’t Trained For

If you are considering working a high-risk job, you need to be properly trained and qualified. If you take up a job that you are not trained for, not only are you putting yourself in harms way, you are also putting your co-workers and the people around you in harms way as well.

Wear the Required Uniform

The reason that employers require you to wear a uniform is not so that you look silly, it is so that you remain protected. For example, if you are working in a factory or as a mechanic, you might be required to wear Dickies overalls to protect you from a burn or a chemical spill. Many kitchen jobs require you to wear non-slip shoes. This is to prevent a slip and fall accident on the job. If you are wearing the required uniform, you will be less likely to be injured.

Use Proper Safety Equipment

Certain jobs require that you use proper safety equipment in order to be safe on the job. For example, goggles should be worn by a chemist or a welder to prevent injury to the eyes. Construction workers should wear a hard hat to prevent a head injury on the job. While a doctor is not considered a dangerous job, safety precautions are taken there as well by wearing gloves. If your employer requires that you wear safety equipment, you should listen.

Fall Prevention

If you are working a job that takes you to great heights, such as repairing or installing a roof, you should make sure that you are using the proper safety equipment for fall prevention. First, you should make sure that you are attached to a safety harness at all time such that even if you lose your footing, you don’t fall off the roof. Also, if the roof is very high, you should consider using scaffolding. It will help you reach the heights that you need, safely. Finally, you should always wear a hard hat on the job to prevent a head injury if you were to fall or if something were to fall on you.

Listen and Participate in Safety Seminars

Employers who hire people to work dangerous jobs will often hold seminars to be sure that their employees are safe while they work. To ensure employees’ safety, you should partake in and listen during safety seminars. The more information that you have on being safe while working, the less chance there will be for injuries.

Always Be Alert on the Job

It is a good idea to be alert at any job, however, it is even more important to be alert if you are working a dangerous job. When you are alert, you will be able to recognize that an accident is about to happen, and you can get out of harms way before it is too late.

Some people choose a dangerous job because these jobs pay well. Others choose dangerous jobs simply because it is the line of work that they are interested in. Whatever the reason that you have chosen a high-risk job, you need to take the proper precautions so that you can be sure that you are safe on the job.

Man On Ladder

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

Choose the Best Steel Lockers for Your Office

Purchasing a locker for your office means you need to be well-informed before you make a buying decision. Depending on your requirements, you can customise your office’s locker system as well as select the accessories that will enhance it. The most important consideration you need to make is how many tiers you will need. This one variable will assist you in quickly determining what characteristics will work for your storage and security needs. Always double-check the dimensions and description for verification as well.

Handle Types
You also have to consider the handle type. Locker systems are featured with a lift handle, door pull or recessed handle design. Lift handles supply the user with fast and convenient access to the items or content within a locker. This kind of handle makes it easy to add a padlock for securing the handle and preventing any kind of access that is unauthorised.

Recessed handles are designed to keep vandals from striking the handle component in order to obtain access. Door pull handles, like lift handles, provide an easy way to affix a padlock. Most of the box lockers that are sold feature a door pull handle design. Now that you have become acquainted with the three main handle designs, you need to think how the locker will be used, the style of locker you will need and the size and colour options.

Compartment Storage Lockers
For instance, compartment storage lockers are ideal to choose when you need to store and safely secure personal items or equipment. These types of lockers come with either latch-fitted or key-operated locks. The lockers are good for storing equipment when you are not using it.
Niche Type Storage and Security
Other locker storage solutions for the office include the post locker, which is made to safely store snail mail. and the laptop, which enables an employee to store his laptop or laptop accessories. You can also use headset lockers that are available for storing headsets.

Laptop Storage
The laptop storage lockers that are used provide a cost-efficient way to store laptops. The lockers come fitted with either latch or key-operated locks. You can choose a separate frame and door colour or keep the frame and door color the same. Usually, the frame on this sort of locker is grey whilst the door may be grey, red or blue.

Headset Lockers
Another storage option – a headset locker – is usually divided equally among sixteen compartments. Typically, the lockers are offered in one size and each of the compartments feature a standard key-operated lock.

Quality Features
Any locker you choose should offer an air vent system on the door, a welded front frame, through frame locking, welded internal door strengthener and knuckle hinges. The locker should feature, as standard, an anti-bacterial powder coating as well. Using this type of coating prevents the spread of MRSA and E-coli bacteria at bay. MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which causes different infections in the body.
The office locker you choose should be quality engineered so it will supply a dependable and sturdy storage and locker system for many years. Any built-in security adds extra confidence that office electronics and personal items will not be stolen or seized. Make sure the office locker you select offers replacement keys or locks, if necessary too. Numbered cards that show locker numbers are usually available.

You can get a better idea of the various locker styles by visiting such sites as locker-selector.co.uk. When you have this kind of reference, you can better visualise how a locker system can be incorporated into your office environment.

First Aid Safety, General Safety Issues

The importance of Fire Safety Training

Fire safety training is essential to know especially when you review the recent statistics concerning fire.

Some Important Fire-related Statistics

Over the span of a year, from 2011 to 2012, local rescue services in Britain were called out to almost 585,000 fires or false alarms. Of these call-outs, approximately 272,000 were for actual fires whilst 312,000 were false alarms. Of the 70,000 building fires reported, approximately 44,000 took place in private dwellings. Of the primary fires recorded, around 6,000 took place in dwellings whilst 7,300 happened in other structures. About 14,000 of the fires involved a fire in a car.

When you review the above statistics, fire safety training is not the kind of knowledge you can blithely sweep under a rug or scan over randomly. In order to reduce any risk of liability and ensure the safety of household members or employees, you need to take fire safety training yourself or offer the a course or program to people in the workplace. By taking this approach, you not only reduce your costs for liability cover, you will also establish a safer working environment for your employees and yourself.

Fire Awareness Education

Fire safety trainers today feature courses that are highly interactive as they provide fire simulation equipment that mimics emergency occurrences. These hands-on courses give participants the confidence they need to handle certain fire-related events. Fire demos are featured by trainers that allow participants to hone their skills using a fire extinguisher as well.

Legally, employers are obligated under the Fire Safety Order or Regulatory Reform of 2005 to make sure that fire safety training requirements are met. To make scheduling easier, safety trainers can come to your work site. Therefore, there is no practical reason why you cannot provide fire safety training to your staff.

Types of Fire Safety Training for Employees

Staff members can take one of various fire-related courses, including –
• Fire extinguisher maintenance
• Fire extinguisher maintenance (refresher course)
• Practical fire extinguisher course work
• Fire warden training
• Fire safety awareness

A fire safety awareness course usually lasts about two hours and combines practical sessions with theoretical learning. This educational format permits staff members to learn how to respond efficiently in a fire emergency. Delegates taking the course normally receive a comprehensive manual and a certificate.

Class Participation/Interaction: What is Involved

Participants are given the chance to use a fire extinguisher to control a live fire using a fire-friendly simulation apparatus. Therefore, a fire safety awareness course is important as it not only assists employees in handling a fire emergency, it also ensures that your company remains compliant with the relevant and local health, fire and safety laws. In fact, the course includes a section that covers fire legislation. Not only that, students learn proper evacuation procedures, review the common causes of a fire, and learn about various fire extinguishers and their uses.

Some of the causes of a fire relate to flammable liquids, faulty wiring, lighting fixtures and heat sources. For instance, it is important to have the wiring in your business regularly checked. Double adaptors and power-boards can both overload power points. Make sure the correct fuses and safety switches are installed and used as well.

You can obtain the above-described fire safety training by contacting companies, such as ifast in the UK. Use a provider that will continually work with you to raise an awareness among your staff about the importance of safety and security. Stay safe and work safe by arranging for training today.

Health Issues, Protective Clothing, Weather Protection

Be Aware and Prepare to stop spread of Zika virus.

As Congress haggles over how many millions or billions of dollars to spend to help stop the spread of the Zika virus in the U.S. before summer, researchers at New Mexico State University are already testing wearable mosquito repellent devices to determine which ones can best help us protect ourselves against these insects.

“The goal is to find out what works and what doesn’t,” said Immo Hansen, an NMSU associate professor of biology involved in the investigation. “There are so many products on the market that simply don’t work, so I think it’s really important to test them in a scientific way.”

This month, a group from Hansen’s Molecular Vector Physiology Lab, in the College of Arts and Sciences, began a series of tests to determine the effectiveness of a dozen commercially available wearable repellents, including clip-ons and wristbands. Though the study is ongoing, preliminary data revealed that citronella-based bracelets and wristbands have little effect on mosquitoes, whereas OFF Clip-On devices not only repel mosquitoes, they also kill them.

“Some people are really resistant to putting repellents on their skin, so they would rather choose a wearable device,” said Stacy Rodriguez, manager of NMSU’s Molecular Vector Physiology Lab and lead researcher on this project. “Right now, we are just trying to see if the wearable devices are as effective as the spray-on devices.”

The group plans to publish the results of this research by mid-summer.

This analysis is a follow-up to a study the group conducted last fall on 10 commercially available spray-on repellents. During this experiment, Rodriguez and her colleagues recognized the most reliable sprays as DEET products and lemon eucalyptus-based insect repellents.

For the current study, the group is testing the wearable devices using a 70-foot wind tunnel located in an NMSU research facility. After taking baseline readings, the researchers put on the repellent devices and position themselves upwind of a series of test cages. Depending on the product’s repellency, the caged mosquitoes either fly away from the test subjects or toward them.

The wearable devices are being tested against the same two species of mosquito used in the spray repellent study: the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti), both of which carry the Zika virus.

“These two mosquitoes have very different levels of attraction to even one certain individual,” Rodriguez said. “Since attraction varies, repellency is also going to vary, so it’s important to test multiple species when you’re looking at repellents and their efficacy.”

Thanks to body chemistry, mosquitoes are also more inclined to bite someone who “smells” good to them.

“Everybody has a different bacterial flora on his or her skin,” Hansen said. “The bacteria break down components of sweat and produce a different set of olfactory clues for the mosquitoes. Some people just smell better to mosquitoes than others, and there’s really nothing you can do about that except wear repellents. There’s nothing you can do to change the bacterial flora on your skin.”

Consequently, these chemical differences can impact which repellents work best for you.

“Something that might work for one person because of his or her body chemistry, might not work for somebody else because he or she has different chemistry,” Rodriguez said.

While the Asian tiger mosquito hasn’t established significant populations in New Mexico, Aedes aegypti – one of the primary vectors of dengue, Zika virus and yellow fever – can be found in your backyard in Las Cruces.

“Be aware; prepare,” Hansen said. “Get yourself a good repellent, wear long sleeves, long pants. Try to avoid getting bit.”

The mosquito that carries the Zika virus can breed in as little as one centimeter of standing water, Hansen explained. For those with ponds, his recommendation was to get Gambusia, or mosquito fish, from the Doña Ana County Vector Control to keep backyard mosquito populations at bay.

Next fall, Hansen and Rodriguez plan to investigate mosquito attractants for use in baits. Surprisingly, even though humans attract mosquitoes all the time, Rodriguez explained that creating a chemical to attract mosquitoes is actually harder than repelling them.

“We have such complex odors that it’s actually hard to emulate that in cream or a bait trap,” she said. “It’s actually much more complex than creating something that disguises your human smell.”

Article Provided by…

Molecular Vector Physiology Laboratory
New Mexico State University
Immo Hansen, biology professor
immoh@nmsu.edu (575) 646-7719

Eye Protection

Proven Ways to Safeguard your Vision at Work

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700,000 workers in the US suffer a job-related eye injury annually. A third of these injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments and more than a hundred of these injuries lead to loss of work and money. The majority of these injuries result from small particles or objects striking or abrading the eye. These injuries are the result of small particles or objects striking the eye.

Eye and face protection is mandatory for the general industry, shipyard employment, long shoring, and the construction industry where most eye-related injuries occur. Luckily for you, these injuries can be avoided with the tips provided in this article.

Causes of On- Job Eye Injuries
Eye hazards are found in all industries. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 40% injuries occur amongst craft workers (Mechanics, Carpenters and Plumbers). Labourers suffer 20% of eye injuries. Half the injured workers were employed in manufacturing as compared to the 20% in construction.

Causes of Eye Injuries
BLS found that 70% of all eye-related accidents were a result of flying particles, most of which were smaller than a pin head. These particles were said to be moving faster than a hand thrown object.
Contact with chemicals during work or chemical industries causes 20% of the eye related injuries. Other causes of eye injury were caused by swinging objects such as chains or ropes.

Protecting Against Eye Hazards
• Projectiles
70% of all eye-related accidents are a result of flying particles. These projectiles are made up of dust, concrete, metal, wood and other particles. This may infect the eyes as well as causing abrasion to sensitive areas that are unreachable, and rubbing only makes it worse. Some particles may penetrate the eye ball resulting in a permanent loss of vision.

• Chemicals
These largely occur in chemical industries or working with cleaning products. Splashes of chemicals results in chemical burns to the eyes which is extremely painful as well as stressful to the eyeball and the nerves.

• Radiation
Thermal burns to the eyes are prominent among welders, their assistants and nearby workers which routinely damages their eyes and surrounding tissues.

• Blood borne Pathogens (Hepatitis Or HIV) From Blood And Body Fluids
Lab staff, janitorial workers and animal handlers are at the highest risk of getting infected by diseases through ocular exposure. Direct exposure to blood, bodily fluids and from touching the eyes with contaminated fingers. This leads to minor reddening or soreness in the eyes which may lead to life threatening diseases such as HIV or B Virus.

Defence Against An Eye Injury

The best defence against eye injury is wearing eye protection regularly. 90% of eye injuries can be prevented by using proper protective eyewear.

Non Prescription and Prescription of Safety Glasses
Safety glasses are specially designed for general working conditions to protect the eyes against dust, chips and flying particles. They are made of strengthened glass which must match the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), be sure to look for the Z87 mark on the lens or frame.

Goggles
Safety goggles are impact resistant and provide protection from dust and chemical splashes. Goggles create a secure shield around your eyes.

Face Shields and Helmets
Full face shield protect workers who are regularly exposed to chemicals, heat and pathogens. Helmets are used for welding and working with molten materials. Face shields and helmets should be used with safety glasses or goggles to get maximum protection.

Special Protection
Helmets or goggles with special filters to protect the eyes from optical radiation exposure should be used for welding or working with lasers.

How to Handle Eye Emergencies

You should seek medical attention at an Eye Care Centre as soon as possible if you are experiencing pain in your eye, blurred or loss of vision.

About the Author: Aaron Barriga aspired to become an Eye Doctor when he was younger, but his fantastic knack for understanding people and his outgoing personality led him into the field of Marketing. Working at Insight Vision Centre as their Online Marketing Manager, he has the best of both worlds. He blogs with a mission of informing readers about the latest eye care technology and topics related to eye care and eye health. He loves collecting coasters from the different bars and restaurants he visits during his travels.

safety glass girl pic

General Safety Issues, Respiratory Issues, Respiratory Safety

Is Asbestos Eradication Realistic?

At the tail end of last year, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health called for urgent action to be taken to tackle the legacy of asbestos in Britain’s workplaces. Building occupants may be exposed to asbestos, but those most at risk are persons who purposely disturb materials and they become airborne such as maintenance or construction workers. This often leads to mesothelioma – an incurable disease of the lungs which is fatal.

With an estimated 5000 people dying as a result of asbestosis and mesothelioma every year, and a vast majority of these deaths coming as a result of exposure just decades ago, the All-Party Parliamentary Group argued that it is wrongly seen as an issue of the past as the use of the material has been banned since 1999. However, they believe the time has come to put regulations in place that will lead to the safe removal of all asbestos that is still in use in buildings throughout the UK. This is to ensure that future generations do not suffer the same asbestos-related deaths which have blighted the workforce of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

But is this proposed asbestos eradication realistic? While asbestos is still around us and can be found across both domestic and non-domestic premises, people are still knowingly being exposed to asbestos whether they’re working in maintenance, refurbishment or demolition. In their report, the group have called for:

• Commercial, public, and rented domestic premises should have to conduct a survey to indicate whether asbestos is present in the building, registering the results with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
• If asbestos is identified, any refurbishment or repair to the building should include its removal.
• The HSE must develop a programme of workplace inspections to ensure asbestos material is identified, marked and managed and that eradication plans are in place with a projected timetable.

Ian Lavery, chair of the all-party group said: “We believe that the Government needs to start now on developing a programme to ensure that asbestos is safely removed from every workplace and public place so that we can end, once and for all this dreadful legacy which has killed so many people, and will continue to kill until asbestos is eradicated.”

Whether asbestos eradication is realistic or not, it always helps to be fully informed on an issue that remains prominent in the public conscience. If you’re unsure of the impact asbestos may have on your property or business, Praxis42 are available to offer eLearning and consultancy to suit your needs. Our Asbestos Condition Surveys are provided as part of an estate and facilities risk management service, whereas our Asbestos Awareness eLearning course aims to help organisations meet their legal obligation to train employees whose work could lead to exposure to asbestos containing materials.

Asbestos

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

All visitors to a site may require protection, not just the workers.

It goes without saying that construction companies need to look for enough safety gear to cover their workforce. While crews should be provided the proper work vests, boots and helmets, there are other concerns that businesses may overlook. In a recent article for Construction Citizen, Jim Kollaer of Kollaer Advisors describes a possible problem he witnessed in a construction team in Houston, Texas.

Kollaer said that he saw a team heading to a hot mix job. Though the workers were all wearing the right protective gear, the driver—possibly an owner of the company—didn’t have a helmet on and seemed unprepared. When Kollaer told the crew about this, his concerns were dismissed. All the same, it shows the possible safety gaps that can arise on a work site, even if companies are trying to keep everyone wearing the right equipment.

Following OSHA guidelines can help companies keep everyone protected at the same degree. A fact sheet from the organization notes that employers should go beyond simply acquiring the right equipment, and also train workers to wear and maintain this gear correctly.

According to this source, hard hats are useful for protecting against penetration and electrical injuries as well as dangers from falling objects. It’s also the employer’s responsibility to communicate with workers and let them know which equipment is necessary.

This includes not just headwear but other forms of protection, such as hand, foot and face guards. By creating a strong safety culture, companies could also train their workers to respond when they see bad behavior.

Purchasing team hard hats all at once is the first step to a safer workplace, but it’s also a point where some companies make mistakes. Cover everyone who will be on site with the equipment available from Texas America Safety Company

CATEGORIES

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

Will hard hats with new technology appear in the near future?

As more and more devices become “wired,” it seems that every profession is set to accommodate more data access. Google Glass was one example of a data interface with possible worksite applications, and Sourceable recently commented on another way that this could come to the construction industry: “smart” hard hats. This would involve putting sensors inside a worker’s helmet to address potential safety concerns.

One way this could work is by transmitting health information live from a worker to others, encouraging proper treatment and response when something bad threatens a worker. Eventually, this information could help predictive analytics foresee possible trends and work around them as well.

Dr. Rod Shepard of Laing O’Rourke said that his company’s plan for a more predictive approach to injury prevention “looks more at big data collecting information over a period of time” before working that into future plans. “It may be that we have a couple of alert scenarios over several months, but really the huge advantage can be gained long term in guiding how we do things day to day,” he added.

In an article for City A.M., Alastair Sorbie of IFS examined the ways that “disruptive technology” have already entered into construction. These include digital modeling tools that can help construction efforts avoid problems and ensure a safer work site.

Sorbie does note that implementing more technology in this sector will require workers with the skills to use it, which will be especially important in attracting future employees. In this way, the issue of using tech to encourage safety touches on other important trends impacting construction, at least in the U.K.

For more about hardhats and other necessary construction safety gear, contact Texas America Safety Company. We have supplies for many different work situations and weather conditions.

CATEGORIES

Head Protective Gear

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

The Top 5 Reasons to Talk to Your Employees about Workplace Safety

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Workplace safety is constantly on the mind of business leaders and companies. This is because there is no way to guarantee complete safety, but there are a lot of things you can do to prevent major accidents.

While many companies put up signs, give a safety talk when on boarding employees, and review once a year, this is not an effective strategy to maintaining a safe workplace. Consistently talking to your employees about safety is one of the best ways to ensure a safe workplace for everyone.

Why should you consistently talk to your employees about workplace safety?

1. Keeps safety top of mind

When you talk to your employees about safety regularly, it keeps safety top of mind. It shows that workplace safety is a series topic in the organization and one that is not to be joked about. It also ensures that there are no mental lapses of safety procedures. Whether employees are tired, or have other things on their mind (which everyone does), it makes sure that when they walk into the workplace they are paying attention and understand the importance of safety.

2. Holds everyone accountable

Talking to your employees about safety makes sure that everyone is held accountable. Not just the employees, but also the managers, CEO, and company as a whole. Talking about workplace safety shows that everyone is in it together and it’s not just one person taking the lead. It opens the conversation for questions to be asked and clarified. It enables everyone to feel like they have a role in keeping the workplace safe, which they do.

3. Employees take ownership

When we say, “talk to your employees” we really mean have a conversation. It is well known that people take ownership in things when they feel they’ve had a voice in the conversation/been a part of the decision process. So talking to your employees and giving them a voice in the conversation about workplace safety will help them feel valued and truly take ownership of it. It will allow them to become leaders and hold themselves, as well as everyone around them, accountable.

4. Becomes a part of the culture

When you stay consistent with something in a business for an extended period of time, sooner or later, it becomes a part of the culture. This is obviously the end goal with workplace safety. Having a culture of safety ensures that everyone is holding each other accountable from the top down. If you don’t consistently talk to your employees about safety it will quickly become something that is not often thought about. Having conversations often about safety will ensure that it becomes engraved in the culture of your organization.

5. Creates new ideas

Talking with your employees about workplace safety is good for them and also good for the company. By opening up the conversation you open up a platform for new and innovative ideas. Employees are the ones working on the ground floor everyday and seeing the safety procedures in action. They know the good ones, and the not so good. They will be able to bring new and innovative ideas of how to continue to keep the company a safe place to work.

As you can see there are a lot of benefits that come from consistently communicating with your employees about workplace safety. It is the most effective way to prevent major accidents and keep employees safe.

Author Bio:
August works at HUMAN Healthy Vending, a healthier for you vending company, and the owners of the complete guide on how to start a vending machine business.

General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Protective Clothing, Weather Protection

3 tips for handling power lines after bad weather

Tornadoes have caused damage in multiple states across the country this year. As the Insurance Journal reports, Arkansas saw several possible tornadoes appear on March 13, with thousands of power outages lasting on into the next day. Illinois experienced a possible tornado the same week, and similar storms may have been spotted in Iowa as well. This last storm brought funnel clouds around the Quad Cities, as WQAD8 reported.

With all of this activity, companies are likely considering the implications of sending crews to respond to tornado damage. Power outages in particular can add to worker risk, since they could result from fallen lines that need to be carefully restored. Dealing with the cables safely can force crew members to rely on their protective clothing as well as any training or best practices they have.

The storm may have passed, but workers could still be facing some urgent dangers. Here are three tips to help crew stay safe while they do their job. In some cases, these are not only good pieces of advice but recommended by government agencies.

#1: Choose the right footwear
Before arriving at the site, workers can ask themselves whether or not they are ready to step out on potentially dangerous ground. After a tornado, simply walking from one spot to another can leave a crew member exposed to sharp edges. Foot protection should match the guidelines set out by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which listed foot and leg protection in its Personal Protective Equipment booklet.

Footwear is also important around the electrical source itself. The same booklet examined two types of shoes that can provide protection against electrical current: conductive shoes and electrical hazard, safety toe shoes. The latter “can protect against open circuits of up to 600 volts in dry conditions and should be used in conjunction with other insulating equipment and additional precautions to reduce the risk of a worker becoming a path for hazardous electrical energy.”

#2: Err on the side of caution
A separate fact sheet from OSHA also specifically addresses the dangers of working around fallen cables. The source noted how difficult it is to determine whether or not a cable is “on.” Instead, it recommended that workers should assume all cables they see are energized, which means avoiding any contact, even from inside a vehicle. Anything touching a downed wire is potentially dangerous.

Wearing sufficient hand protection, such as insulating rubber gloves, may let crews stay consistent with the other protective gear they’re wearing. It also helps to be mindful of overhead lines: the OSHA Contact With Power Lines etool advised staying ten feet away from these lines. Warning signs should clearly alert all crew to wires that aren’t very apparent.

#3: Keep a safe distance
A wire lying on the ground could seem harmless enough while the area around it provides the real trap. The same booklet states that some large objects, including buildings and fences, can carry current. The ground itself may also pose a hazard, as “electricity can spread outward through the ground in a circular shape” starting at the edge of the wire.

As an extra precaution, crews need to make sure none of their additional equipment will conduct a charge. Relying on material that doesn’t conduct electricity at all makes this less of a likelihood: One example could be a ladder that isn’t made of metal. Keeping lines grounded or insulated also gives crews possible protection and reduced danger levels at the worksite.

Contact Texas America Safety Company for more information on protective gear. Stay ready for anything in the stormy season and keep your workers safe.