Tag Archives: Safety standards

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

ARE HOSPITALS TRUE TO SAFETY STANDARDS? THE INSIDE SCOOP! (GUEST POST)

Hospitals are supposed to put rigorous safety measures in place to ensure that all of the patients, visitors and staff will be kept safe at all times, but this does not always happen. In fact, many hospitals are shockingly lax in certain areas. Sadly, the usage of safety measures is sometimes skipped because of time or money constraints, which in-turn directly affects the staff and has a big impact on how the hospital’s operations are run. 

Hospital Safety Issues – If you observe any of these safety issues at your local hospital, it is a good idea to consider reporting them to a high-level employee or compliance officer.
 
1. Lack of Visitor Screening – Hospitals are supposed to check visitors in and out so that they can control the level of access that is given to their floors and each individual patient. However, there are several hospitals that fail to put someone in place at the information desk, and this causes several people to wander in and out without any staff members being aware of it. Although visitors are usually harmless, it is possible that someone could enter the hospital with ill intentions, so there should always be a sign-in procedure to protect the patients.
 
2. Locking Down Waiting Areas – During flu season, the flu will impact millions of people, but young children and the elderly run a much higher risk of dying as a result of contracting the illness. Therefore, it is a good policy to prohibit children who are not sick from sitting in the waiting area at the hospital during flu season. By putting this simple safety measure in place, it is possible to greatly reduce the total number of flu cases that originate at the hospital.
 
3. Proper Labeling – Hospitals have a lot of dangerous items, and there are also tests being performed on patients on a regular basis. To keep everyone safe, it is necessary to ensure that everything in the hospital is properly labeled. After all, without labeling, it would be very easy for someone to be accidentally exposed to a virus.
 
4. Slip and Fall Hazards – It is necessary to keep a hospital as clean as possible, and this requires the janitorial staff to quickly clean up spills. However, this means that there will be areas of the floor that are wet, and it is essential to properly mark them with signs in order to prevent people from slipping and falling. 
 
5. Product Audits – In the medical world, equipment and medication recalls are often made. Although most people associate malpractice cases with physicians, it is not uncommon for injuries to occur due to medical device and equipment issues. A prominent personal injury attorney, West Palm Beach based, states this warning, “Medical malpractice happens more often than you think and the repercussions can be serious.” Therefore, it is important for hospitals to have an auditing procedure that ensures that all of the recalled products are removed immediately, and for patrons to be made aware of the risks.
 
Sadly, there are several staff members, visitors and patients who will end up with a personal injury claim each year as a result of the hospital’s negligence. However, if the staff becomes committed to following the necessary safety guidelines, they can easily reduce the hospital’s potential liability and protect everyone who enters the building.
 
Researcher and writer Nickey Williams contributes this article to those concerned with hospital safety standards. The personal injury attorney West Palm Beach based firm of Steinger, Iscoe & Greene is dependable and experienced in matters concerning negligence. They work hard to hold healthcare providers and hospitals responsible for negligence.
General Safety Issues

WHY SAFETY COMPLIANCE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN BUSINESS (GUEST POST)

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Compliance training and safety should are the priority of a conscientious business owner. Without meeting safety standards, you should not be running a business, because you are risking the welfare of your employees and your company too. You can consult with a company like Safetrac about training your employees to acceptable standards, and exactly what you should be doing in your industry to make sure you are running a safe business. Complying with these standards will make your company a friendly and hospitable (and safe!) company to work for, and will also make you seem legitimate and ‘above board’ to all of your clients and the rest of your industry.

As a business owner or manager, you have to think of things like safety training and safety equipment as an investment rather than as an expense, because using it promotes the longevity and legitimacy of your business and also prevents expensive distractions from business such as legal action from employees. If your company happens to undergo a government audit, failure to have complied with safety standards leaves you vulnerable to serious legal consequences as well as expensive fines. By complying with standards and training all of your employees in industry standards you give them all the tools to be responsible for their own safety, which takes the pressure off management.  To ensure compliance with the standards applicable to their risk assessments, companies must furnish the correct OSHA safety supplies to protect their workers.  This is another area that they must be trained on the use of such equipment, how to take care of it, and know when to replace it.

So what can safety compliance strategies do for you? The benefits of maintaining a safe work environment are many, safety is about what managers and employers can do to protect their workers. Employers should send their workers home in the same condition they came in. No one can argue with the fact that workplace safety is important, yet it’s often overlooked sometimes unintentionally leaving workers exposed to risk. 

Ivy Delfin is a copywriter working with Safetrac who offer compliance training programs providing businesses with an opportunity to improve employee performance and business operations. When Ivy’s not writing content she enjoys cooking, swimming and walking her Great Dane.

 

Eye Protection, General Safety Issues

PPE:ANSI Standards and Eye Protection

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The American National Standards Institute has been developing safety standards since the 1920’s, when they approved the first safety standards to protect the eyes and heads of industrial workers.

FYI:  The proper standards are listed below:

  • Eye and Face        ANSI 787.1 – 1989
  • Head            ANSI 789.1 – 1986
  • Foot            ANSI 741.1 – 1991

EYE AND FACE PROTECTION

Work-related eye injuries alone cost over $300 million dollars per year, in lost production time, worker compensation, and medical expenses.  Workers who are exposed to hazards such as molten metal, dust, dirt, wood chips, liquid chemical splashes, flying particles, gases or vapors, caustic liquids, infection-related materials, and light radiation must wear the appropriate eye and face protection.  Improper or poor-fitting eyewear will not ensure safety from eye injury.  If workers wear prescription lens, there are safety glasses that comfortably fit over the prescription glasses, or some safety eyewear can be made with the prescription in them.  Contact lens wearers must wear eye/face protection when working in hazardous settings.
Types of Eye/Face Protection:

  • Safety Spectacles – Impact resistant lenses; safety frames are usually made from metal             or plastic. Side shields may be added for further protection.
  • Welding Shields – Vulcanized fiber/fiberglass with filtered lens, protect from infrared burns, radiant light sparks, slag chips, and metal.  Shades on the shields are numbered, and the welder must use the correct shade number according to tasks being done to secure eyes from harmful light radiation.
  • Laser Safety Goggles –Protect from intense concentrations of laser light. These are special goggles.
  • Face Shields – Sheets of transparent plastic, (sometimes polarized), which goes from eyebrows to below chin and across width of head.  They do not absorb impacts; however, they work well with goggles or safety spectacles against impact hazards.  Protect face from splashes, dust, sprays, etc.

Source: OSHA