Tag Archives: parties

General Safety Issues

BEYOND STRANGER DANGER: SAFETY TIPS FOR ADULTS (GUEST POST)

At an age when many children still believe in monsters under the bed, we begin to teach them about real life monsters, and the concept of stranger danger. Stranger danger is a concept that extends into adulthood, and we can still feel uncomfortable when a car pulls over and asks for directions, no matter how harmless the driver appears to be (is this old lady going to try and kidnap me?). There are many aspects of personal safety that we can also take for granted as we reach our adult years, and there are many circumstances when we need to pay more attention than we probably do. So what are some instances when we’re not so cautious and perhaps need to be?

When You’re on Vacation

If you live in a larger city, or a place that has particularly unique attractions, you’re probably used to seeing tourists walking around, map in hand, with slightly puzzled expressions on their faces. Remember that you might be exactly the same when you travel, and all too often, tourists might as well have “rob me” written on their foreheads. While violent street crimes aren’t so frequent in most popular tourist cities across the US and Europe, you might be subtly targeted by a pickpocket or for a bag snatching, since tourists are more likely to have “goodies”- expensive cameras, a lot of cash, and even your passport, which can be sold. Certainly, enjoy your trip, but be discreet- check your route before you leave, and avoid obviously staring at your map and street signs when you’re out. Research some of the better known scams as well- like in certain European cities, when a person asks you to fill in a “survey,” which is always in English, despite the fact that you’re in Paris or Berlin, and has poorly photocopied logos of well-known organizations such as UNICEF or the Red Cross- while you’re distracted, the survey persons accomplice might be reaching into your bag or pocket.

When You’re Partying

As children become teenagers and start to test their limits, it’s almost inevitable that they will start to consume alcohol sooner than their parents would like, and in greater quantities than are safe. It’s important to make sure that young adults are educated in the dangers of alcohol, and you can do this at home if the information isn’t offered at school. When people are old enough to legally enjoy bars and nightclubs, there are a certain number of safety protocols that need to be followed. Never leave your drink unattended, as it increases the possibility of it being drugged, which is often done in order to rob or assault a person. The “buddy system” is also a great idea, as it lessens the chance of someone drinking too much and becoming disorientated. Be very wary of recreational drugs, and while we have all heard stories of people partaking and not experiencing any ill-effects, remember that illegal drugs are manufactured in home based laboratories with no quality control, usually mixed by hand, meaning that a pill or powder might in fact contain a lethal dose of the active ingredient. 

When You’re Shopping

You might not think that trying to find a bargain can be a dangerous activity, but on occasions, a shopping mall can become a battlefield, as people become violent in their efforts to grab the best possible deal. This can occur when shoppers are seemingly whipped into a frenzy by a particular sale, such as the Black Friday sale (the first Friday after Thanksgiving- the start of the festive shopping season). A female shopper at a Walmart actually pepper sprayed her fellow shoppers, as she tried to keep them away from the electronics devices she was attempting to grab from the shelves. There have even been deaths from stampeding crowds during these sales. If you don’t feel like facing the crowds, but still want a bargain, then shopping online can be a great way to do this, and many retailers offer their Black Friday bargains online, although this is often focussed around Cyber Monday (the Monday after Black Friday), which is strictly for online sales. Remember to be cautious when buying online, and ensure that the site you’re buying from is legitimate.

About the author: Anita, Higher Click’s writer, enjoys occasional guest blogging and maintains her personal blog as well. She loves to write about everyday topics that offer something interesting everyone. She also blogs on behalf of huge brands, like Macy’s.

Seriously, you may want to take along a first-aid kit, especially on trips, and a small one to keep in your car.  It’s better to be prepared, even if it’s a shopping extravaganza.! pb

 

General Safety Issues

DRINKING WITH COWORKERS: GETTING TO AND FROM WORK OUTINGS SAFELY (GUEST POST)

By Saam Banai

Meeting with coworkers after work is a common way to unwind after a hard day at the office. Sharing a few drinks with colleagues in the evening relieves stress, builds friendships, and facilitates interdepartmental communication. Some employees will meet for dinner and a couple of glasses of wine; others will hit the bars in a quest to forget the day’s troubles. Getting everyone home safely after the evening’s events can be a challenge for the unprepared, but it’s certainly worth it to save lives and prevent DUI.

Using a Designated Driver

Having a designated driver is the simplest and most highly recommended approach to ensuring that no one in the group drives home while intoxicated. Select a member of the group who will not drink for the evening and who will be responsible for driving home the rest of the partiers. If everyone in the group would like to drink, drawing straws is a classic approach to determining the designated driver. This approach usually requires a small group that carpools to the bar or restaurant due to the fact that the alternative consists of leaving vehicles at that location overnight.

This approach is not foolproof; it relies upon the designated driver to exercise fortitude and avoid drinking. Being the only sober person in a crowd of drunk people can involve substantial peer pressure to drink, regardless of whether the group has designated that person as sober. Additionally, the designated driver may have to shuttle different coworkers who live many miles apart. This takes time and effort on the part of the driver, and not all groups will have someone willing to do it.

There are professional services available for groups with too many cars to leave or too many people to realistically shuttle around all night. Some of these services are nonprofit services dedicated to making the roads a safer place; others are for-profit services that will charge a fee. These services will drop off a designated driver for the group who will shuttle everyone home. This method has the added benefit of getting everyone’s vehicles home; heading to work in the morning without a vehicle can be difficult. Some of these organizations will require the intoxicated parties to have a vehicle capable of holding a moped.

Taking a Taxi

Having a taxi shuttle everyone home is another option. Virtually any establishment that serves alcohol will have phone numbers for cab companies on hand. Especially in city areas like New York, New Jersy, and Boston, taxis are always available;  it’s good to call a NJ taxi service unless you want to have to call a  NJ DWI attorney. For coworkers who are intoxicated, who do not have a vehicle, and who need to leave separately, a taxicab can be the most efficient method to get home. Simply call a taxi, get in, and pay when getting home.

Using Public Transportation

Public transportation can be an option in urban areas. Taking a bus or train can be an economical way to get home safely. This approach requires public transportation services adjacent to the restaurant or bar that offer a destination adjacent to the traveler’s home. Additionally, anyone walking home intoxicated should beware of local laws prohibiting intoxicated pedestrians; while being drunk in public is not as serious as driving under the influence, it is still illegal in many jurisdictions.

Not all social gatherings will involve heavy drinking, but it is still important for people to think of staying off the roads after drinking. Driving home after a few drinks exposes the driver to the risk of being pulled over. If the officer smells alcohol, he or she will investigate the possibility that the motorist is intoxicated. Portable breathalyzers can malfunction and motorists who are sober can fail sobriety tests. Anyone who does take a chance on the drive home and who is accused of driving while intoxicated should consult an attorney as soon as possible. 

Saam Banai is a freelance writer, editor, and enjoys drinking with coworkers. His experience and knowledge of DWI law has made his firm nationally recognized and has led to the acquisition of multiple awards.

 

 

General Safety Issues

SAFETY EXPRESSIONS WE USED TO SAY – GUEST POST

We know that you will enjoy this guest article, written by Rob Loose.  There’s more about Rob at the end of the piece.  Also, we bet you can remember several of the sayings he describes!

Recently I had a conversation with an elderly man at a church gathering where he affectionately referred to his wife as a “dame.”  Dame…  That’s not a word you often hear these days except in old Popeye cartoon re-runs.  Here’s another old saying: My wife’s grandmother described a pain she recently suffered as “hurting like the dickens!”  I’ve heard that expression many times before but on that occasion I wondered what in the world is “dickens” anyway?  Charles Dickens perhaps…  What did that legendary author have to do with pain?  Remember Wally in Leave it to Beaver?  He used to use the word “swell” to describe things as being good.  Doesn’t swell mean the same thing as swollen?  Anyway, I digress.  Though baffling and bazaar as these old sayings may be to us newbies, we can’t ignore the fact that these sayings once held real meaning and were commonly used forms of expressions.  I feel the same way about these old expressions when I speak with my friends in industry that proudly tell me their business has gone (you pick the number) of days without an accident.  Why in Sam Hill (Sam Hill – what is it and where is it?) Is it “swell” to count the days that nobody gets hurt?  Here’s my two cents (thoughts) about that!

The truth is, I get why people brag about nobody getting hurt or not experiencing any accidents for a length of time.  However, this so-called metric is quickly becoming a nostalgic achievement to current-day safety professionals that doesn’t really mean safety is achieved.  Now, when someone tells me their plant has gone 300 days without an accident, I often wonder if I’m just receiving an earful of nonsense and there’s more to the story.

A few years back, I visited a plant where one of my employees was struck by another employee driving a forklift.  The MAU employee was injured badly and I wanted to see the scene of the collision.  To be clear, the pedestrian in this incident was an MAU employee and the person driving the forklift was employed by my client.  As I entered the facility I noticed a sign on the wall boasting 197 safe days.  Didn’t this pedestrian/forklift incident just happen yesterday I wondered to myself?   Are they still counting safe days despite the fact a forklift hit a pedestrian?  I quickly learned they were!  I asked the warehouse manager why they were still counting safe days despite the incident and he literally smiled and said, “Oh yeah, our guy didn’t get hurt.”  To make matters worse, that same manager asked me a few days later to contribute to their safety celebration for achieving 200 safe days.  I didn’t contribute, if you’re wondering. 

There were so many things wrong with this situation but I want to focus on the idea that this plant used safe days as a metric and attached a celebration for achieving them.  All the while, they really didn’t achieve 200 safe days.  Management at this plant chose to ignore a very visible injury that took place under their own roof because their employee didn’t get injured in the incident.  Yet paramedics carried a person out of the facility on a stretcher and drove away in an ambulance.  I wonder how many other incidents occurred in which “their guy” didn’t get hurt or how many near hits/misses they experienced in which they got lucky.  How many people stuck a bloody hand in their pocket to hide their injury because they didn’t want to be the one that prevented the 200-safe-days party?  What kind of a message did their employees receive at the celebration when just four days previous a forklift seriously injured someone in the plant?  I venture (why would you “venture” to say anything? Just say it!) to say some in the room were confused and thought the steak dinner they were served tasted quite processed.  Hogwash (another confusing, old expression meaning who knows what)!

Ever hear the saying that “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions?”  Employer safety metrics and incentive programs are typically designed with good intentions not necessary leading to Hell but, again, an old confusing expression…  OSHA is paying very close attention to employer safety incentive programs and cracking down on employers they catch that still practice them in a way that employees may be encouraged to not report injuries.  Not too long ago I often would see jet skis, bass boats and even automobiles in plant lobbies that enticed employees to not get hurt because after a year without an injury they may be the lucky person to win this big prize in a drawing.  These bass-boat programs get on OSHA’s last nerve (last nerve? I didn’t know nerves were ordered)!  OSHA views this type of scenario as a disincentive to report an injury and possible whistleblower retaliation if injured employees are disqualified from employer safety programs as a result of a workplace accident.  A memorandum written by OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary, Richard Fairfax, on March 12, 2012 says as much:http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/whistleblowermemo.html .  I say that a safety incentive program based entirely on achieving safe days or a certain OSHA injury illness rate falls knee high to a grasshopper (meaning short) and may not properly motivate employees to be safe. 

If you’re reading this and thinking this stuff is all a bunch of hullabaloo (huh?), you may need to rethink your idea of what truly is safety success.  What safety metrics do you pay attention to monthly?  What safety achievement triggers your organization to celebrate?  Are you focused on lagging indicators of safety or what happened that you no longer control or are you focused on leading indicators or things you do that create/control safety?  If you’re more focused on lagging, consider revising your program to reward employees for completing safety audits or participating in safety activities or for coming up with an idea that makes everyone safer.  I bet you dollars to donuts (strange expression but I do like donuts) a revision to your metrics/incentive program toward leading indicators will make a big difference.  It’ll be a real dandy (what’s a dandy – dandy lion is a weed?)!  So what are you waiting for?   Get a move on and shake a leg (hurry up)!  Make safety happen and focus on leading indicators of safety.  Its 2012, time to get the right program that really encourages safety.    

Good luck and remember: never kiss a gift horse in the mouth!  Whatever that means??? 

  About the Author, Rob Loose, MAU Workforce Solutions Safety Manager:Safety Professional with Manufacturing, HR and Health Care management experience, Rob has worked for MAU since 2006 supporting both HR and operations functions. A 1998 graduate of Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, Rob now calls North Augusta, SC home where he lives with his wife, two kids and dog.  He is proud to work for a company that values the health and safety of clients and employees alike.

      To put in my two cents’ worth, that was a very refreshing wake up article about safety incentives.  Thank you, Rob.  One of my past employers would reward their employees with a pizza party each month, if there were no lost-time  accidents.  Yet, some people didn’t want to bring attention to an injury they may have received because they didn’t want to knock the others out of the pizza party.  Forget about small rewards – Remember, when you gamble with safety, “you bet your life!”  (Anyone remember Groucho Marx?)