Tag Archives: safety meetings

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

APRIL IS INJURY PREVENTION MONTH, SO PLAY IT SAFE!

 Our parent company, Texas America Safety Company, is dedicated to providing the very best safety products for all types of business, from construction, office, manufacturing, healthcare, oil field, law enforcement, to the military.  Because April is Injury Prevention Month, we want to tell our readers that “Safety” is our middle name, and we are encouraging everyone to be as safe on the job, on the road, or at home or play as they can be. 

Safety is a keystone in every company’s foundation. Without a strong safety program, all other aspects of a company’s performance suffer.  Every company should have the goal of providing the best personal protective equipment and safety training for the entire work fleet.  Employees may become bored with the usual safety meeting presentations, so it is important that they are able to participate and be a part of the company’s plan in order to be in compliance with OSHA standards.  New employees should have the opportunity to understand what they are expected to do on their job – be trained the right way to do things, and have it explained in their home language in case they don’t comprehend English very well. 

There are many statistics on how many persons are injured or killed annually in car accidents, home accidents, sports, and work.  Our main objective is to help protect those who go to work every day with the plan of coming home safely at the end of their shift.  If you observe someone at your workplace who is “an accident waiting to happen,” tell your supervisor before it actually does!  We know there will always be someone who takes chances on the job, knowing they are at risk.  One false move may be their last.  Anyone who gets behind the wheel knows they are at risk of being in an accident.  The best advice is to pay attention to the other driver, and forget about the cell phone and other distractions.  Farmers know the best ways to operate equipment and how to handle animals.  They also know that an accident can happen at any time.  Construction workers are at the top of the list for injuries.  There are  many hazards for most jobs; we just can’t be too cautious about being injured. 

We ask that everyone uses a strategy to avoid becoming injured.  Taking your time and doing the job right, whether it is yard work, housework, playing sports, office work, or physical labor, do it right, and don’t risk having to go to the hospital.  Lost work time costs the employer; it may require hiring another person to replace someone temporarily while the worker recovers. 

Our EMT’s, firefighters, and law enforcement are to be commended, as they are the first responders in times of accidents; they treat the injured and rush them to hospitals for care.  Their jobs are not easy ones, and even they sometimes get injured on the job.  

Whether your job requires eye, head, hand, respiratory protection, or any other equipment, check out www.tasco-safety.com for your special needs.

Let’s all play it smart and stay safe.

 

 

 

 

General Safety Issues

TOP TEN FORKLIFT FAUX PAS – HOW COMPANIES ARE AVOIDING FATAL ACCIDENTS (GUEST POST)

No matter what industry you’re in; oil and gas, shipping and receiving, warehouse or construction, there is one common factor that business owners, including myself, have a difficult time dealing with… workplace accidents! In particular, forklift accidents. It’s easy to blame it on inadequate forklift maintenance or even a freak accident but in the world of business there shouldn’t be these types of errors. A typical forklift
accident is usually the fault of who’s operating it. Take a look below to find the most common operator errors!

Top 10 Common Forklift Faux Pas

• Traveling too fast – speeding
• Operating with elevated loads
• Erratic jerking while driving
• No communication with staff
• Hitching a ride or giving a ride
• Inadequate breaking, turning and backing
• Improper parking
• Blocking railway car/semi-trailer wheels
• Horseplay
• Intoxication

How to Lower These Risks

It’s important that you and your staff are on the same page.  If you have a few bad apples this can trickle down hurting your bottom line. To ensure proper safety and employee compliance, get rid the operators that are not following the safety guidelines and properly train a select few to carry on with business.

When I started to grow my online retail store I never thought it would blossom into what it has today. After 3 years I expanded largely and needed a warehouse where I can ship and receive goods. After one of my workers received a debilitating injury I vowed it would NEVER happen again! I decided to sit down with my staff and get down to the important stuff. My first question was “what can I do to make your job safer?” 

With a great deal of hands rising up I was shocked to see such an immediate and persistent response. The first answer I received was more training! I was a bit surprised since I had assumed that if I hired a package handler they knew how to handle packages and if I hired a forklift operator he knew how to operate a forklift! I also posted general safety guidelines throughout the warehouse assuming that would be enough. I was wrong! Since these men and women came from different situations I needed to gather them together and get everyone thinking about safety first! 

I set up mandatory weekly safety training meetings where we would discuss possible risks, watch forklift training videos and go over any areas of the warehouse that needed tending to. The overcrowded aisles became a hazard and dealing with those issues has helped tremendously! It’s important to properly train your employees the way you want them trained, never assume they know how you want your operation ran!

Author Bio – Sarah Shade is a research assistant for safetyvideos.com, she researches the latest in industrial news and brings her readers helpful information.

General Safety Issues

MAKE THEM LAUGH! (GUEST POST)

 It’s fair to say that workplace safety is no laughing matter. However, safety education tends to be overly boring and self-serious. Far too often, employees tune out when employers try to educate them about safety.  Have you ever experienced trying to teach someone about workplace safety, only to find that they tune you out?  

The Safety Education Problem
Ask yourself one question: why do employees blow off safety education? Is it because it’s boring? Is it because secretly they’re afraid? Are they trying to look macho? Is it because they think an accident could never happen to them? 
 
The Funny Solution
I think all of those reasons explain one of the major challenges with safety education. While there’s no such thing as a silver bullet, I believe that approaching safety with a humorous point of view can address many of the underlying causes of employee inattention. Funny safety materials, are less boring, they bypass fear and machismo by allowing self-deprecation, which helps employees realize that accidents can happen to anyone. In fact, there is an entire non-profit organization dedicated to expanding the role of humor in education!
 
Humorous safety materials have this effect, because people tend to be disarmed and relaxed when they’re laughing. For example, if you post a cartoon in your break room, most people will read it and grasp its meaning before realizing that it had anything to do with safety!  Would you have the same effect if you posted a warning poster? I think not.
 
Or imagine passing out photos of workers undertaking absurdly dangerous risks. Your employees will look at the idiots in these pictures and laugh. And that laughter reminds them of right from wrong, safe from unsafe, without you having to nag them constantly.
 
How to Implement Humor
I am not suggesting that educators should abandon the old methods lock, stock, and barrel. But I think there is a strong place for integrating humorous safety materials in the regular course of business. The internet is full of a of free or cheap safety education tools that are also funny.  You can find safety cartoons addressing any workplace safety topic imaginable . The are entire websites devoted to cataloging funny safety videos. Because I think this is such an important tool, but couldn’t find all the information I wanted in one place, I myself put together a collection of some great humorous safety materials.
 
When teaching safety, it is easy to just check off the box for each requirement. However, implmenting a real culture of safety requires getting through to your employees on many different levels. While humor can’t solve every problem, it adds an entirely new tool to your safety education toolbox.
 
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Ivan Oakthorn blogs about safety at 10safetytips.com.
General Safety Issues

DO SAFETY MEETINGS HAVE TO BE SO SERIOUS?

This sounds like a silly question, because there’s nothing we should be more serious about than safety!  I think the correct descriptive word regarding safety meetings is dull, rather than serious.  If the committee is bored, nothing good is going to come from that meeting.  Having served as a secretary to record safety meeting minutes, I know first-hand: those meetings were regularly scheduled monthly required meetings, and usually, some of the members had an excuse for not being present, with the resulting time being spent going over a short and sweet agenda.  

The best way to inject new life into these safety committee meetings is to have a good leader.  Many times, management will place someone in charge of the safety committee or a “Safety Officer” that possibly is a department manager over, for example, maintenance.  They do periodic inspections of the building, and know what its’ needs are.  A Safety Officer should be someone that is interested in the security of the employees, foremost.  Let the employees elect their leader.  They will choose someone they like and respect, and someone who is fun to be around, committed to the job, and an excellent motivator.  Co-leaders, one from management and one from the employees, could work together well, also. 

Having a little fun is the key.  Why not make a safety meeting special?  If you are going to spend an hour or two really getting down to the safety issues where you work, give the members a few minutes to relax by having a quick snack, and open discussion about things that they have observed that relate to on-the-job safety.  Another idea is to gather for lunch together, then get down to business and follow the agenda that has been sent to committee members prior to the meeting.  Being organized is always the best plan.  If your committee members feel more connected to their peers, they will become a more cohesive and effective team.  Remember, because they work in different departments, this may be the only chance they have to get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. 

Any kind of meeting is much more interesting if it has a slightly different format.  Each month, invite a couple of non-members to the meeting so they can observe.  They may have valid points to raise, and see that it’s not some “secret society.”  If you are a member, ask if you may attend a meeting at another workplace to see how they do things.  Invite them to come to your workplace and offer an outside perspective regarding your safety meetings. 

You may consider term limits for the committee, so others can do their part to promote safety at work.  Don’t replace the entire committee at one time, as you need safety leaders with experience at all times.  Also, if your committee is enjoying serving in this capacity, others will be encouraged to do so.  Meetings that offer important safety information sharing in a relaxed situation can be more productive than boring, routine ones.  An end-of-the-year celebration held for all employees to express gratitude for their safe work and cooperation could give your safety curriculum that extra pizzazz!   Sharing ideas about safety should be fun as well as informative. 

P.S.  Keep those workplace safety posters up to keep everyone reminded of the importance of working safely!

Source: safetyrisk.com.au

General Safety Issues

SUCCESSFUL SAFETY MEETINGS

Are you among the multitudes of workers who dread attending the next regular safety meeting?  Holding successful safety meetings is essential to the success of any business.  Encounters that create workers’ enthusiasm about recognizing and preventing every day hazards can be conducted in such a way that will change their behavior toward safety, thereby making it fun to think about working safely!

The person in charge of the program should make a good first impression.  His/her opening presentation plays a big part in how well they listen.  If their attention is captured from the beginning, the speaker then has a better feeling of self-confidence, as well.

Let us share these suggestions toward spicing up your safety meetings:

  • Relate to your listeners.  Talk about the experiences you have had that are familiar to your coworkers.  Stay on track with a near-accident or accident that happened in your past that are common hazards to their work environment.  Ask them to comment.

If you are talking about money, life, or limb, they will pay attention.  Stay on topic, as the importance of working safely applies to potential loss of the above mentioned.

  • Display objects: everyone enjoys visuals.  If you are talking about fire safety, let them put out an actual fire (wastebasket, etc.)
  • Pass out index cards and let them give their opinion/experience on the topic you are discussing. (Do not make them sign the cards!) Read them out loud and discuss.
  • Ask them the question: what would you do if? For example, your topic is fall prevention, and “you see a coworker fall, and you are the only one with him?”
  • Make it fun!  It’s all right to give statistics on injuries; however, if you harp too long on facts and figures, you will lose your audience.
  • Praise those who: offer safety suggestions, attend meetings regularly, acquire safety contacts, and improve housekeeping in the workplace.
  • Safety Awards are always appreciated.  Free pizza is a small way to reward employees for going one month without any lost-time on-the-job injuries.

All workers will look forward to attending the next safety meeting if it is customized and designed toward common goals for a safe work environment.  If your company has a successful safety program, reward your employees!  A pat on the back and word of praise go a long way.