MEMIC Safety Blog

Preventing Slips and Falls

 Posted by Peter Koch

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010 294,620 employees suffered injuries from slips, trips, or falls.  Of these, 221,100 were from falls to the same level or slip or trip events. 

The National Floor Safety Institute or NFSI  reports : 

• Slips and falls are the leading cause of workers' compensation claims and are the leading cause of occupational injury for people aged 15-24 years.
• Compensation & medical costs associated with employee slip/fall accidents is approximately $70 billion annually (National Safety Council Injury Facts 2003 edition).

All slips and falls are preventable with a little planning and forethought.  Since we may have little control of the surface we tread upon, slip and trip avoidance depend heavily on YOU.  Your attention to your surroundings, what you have on your feet, and what you’re doing in the moment are all critical.

Consider the following areas when planning for prevention or analyzing a slip/fall event:

1)  The surface,
2)  The awareness or behavior,
3)  The footwear,
4)  The environment.

It is usually awareness/behavior that contributes the most to a slip or fall occurrence, but the best attack on slip and fall hazards is a combined evaluation of these four areas.

The following is a checklist and mnemonic when evaluating slip and fall hazards and developing a plan for preventing them.

• Condition and lighting of the surface and pathway
• Condition of the Footwear
• Surface Encumbrances (obstacles, fluids)
• Pitch and Condition of Stairs
• Location and Condition of Handrails
• Relevance of Pathway
• Behavior/Condition of the Worker
• Pace of Work in/around Pathway

This is not necessarily a complete list of areas to evaluate, so don’t limit yourself when trying to develop a plan for prevention or in post incident analysis.

So Take a MEMIC Minute and remember, ALL slip and fall events are PREVENTABLE!

Hang Up and Drive

 _{^{Posted by Randy Klatt}}

On Tuesday December 13, 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended a nationwide ban on all portable electronic devices (PED’s) for all motorists.  The NTSB came to its recommendation after investigating a multi-vehicle crash in Gray Summit, MO that involved a driver who was texting. The crash, which occurred on Aug. 5, 2010, killed two people and injured 38 including children in two school buses.  The National Safety Council (NSC) made this recommendation many months ago and was quick to endorse this NTSB vote.

It is clear that drivers are frequently distracted by electronic devices.  Naturally this creates a safety concern not just for the distracted driver, but for everyone else on the road, in cross walks, and in construction work zones.  The NSC estimates 1.3 million crashes, or 23 percent of all crashes, involve distracted drivers using cell phones. “Quantifying crashes and fatalities involving cell phone use while driving is challenging due to several factors such as a driver’s unwillingness to admit the behavior and lack of witnesses. Additionally, cell phone use currently is not consistently captured on police reports. We are able to develop an estimate of crashes based on risk and exposure, but the problem could be much larger than we estimate,” says Janet Froetscher, NSC President and CEO. 

The links below offer the latest information concerning this topic.  If your employees drive as part of their work routine, then it is time to review your fleet plan and consider eliminating this risk.   

National Safety Council

National Transportation Safety Board Fact Sheet

Cellphone Driving Ban: Good Idea?

Is Sitting Good for Your Health?

 Posted by Allan Brown

Inactivity (like sitting) has a profound effect on our bodies.  Sitting increases disc pressure by as much as 50% and reduces cardiac output.  It also affects our bodies at the cellular level, changing the production of certain proteins that contribute to our overall wellness. 

Believe it or not, the simple act of getting up and moving around plays a huge role in our overall wellness.  Research done by Marc T. Hamilton, Deborah Hamilton, and Theodore Zderic at the University of Missouri-Columbia, show our bodies are changing because of a decrease in movement throughout the day.  This non-exercise activity (moving around an office) is being greatly reduced in our daily routines because of technology and jobs that involve sitting for an extended period of time.  Our risk of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and cardiovascular disease appears to be on the rise because of our sedentary work habits. 

For example, the researchers compared energy expenditure and found brisk walking 5 days/week or running 35 miles/week produced less energy expenditure and fewer muscle contractions than high non-exercise activity, like standing and walking throughout the day.  Structured exercise does contribute to our overall wellness however non exercise activities like walking, standing and moving during daily activities collectively, contribute more to our overall wellness.  The energy expenditure :

• "Standing workers”: 1400 kcal/day
• Shop assistants or homemakers:  2300kcal/day
• Seated workers with limited movement : 700kcal/day. 

So, what can you do?  Get out of that chair and take stretch break.  Take a walk. Move the printer further from your desk. Consider standing for a portion of the workday.  Walk or bike to work.  Leave your office for lunch and take a walk after you eat.  Do not sit down when you go home.  Take a walk, stay upright against gravity, and increase your non-exercise activity. 

According to public health studies, we are awake on average of 16 hours per day.  How much of that day do spend sitting?  Decrease your hours in the chair and stay vertical.  It is okay to sit and lay down, but save it for after a good day of being upright!

 

Hiring Practices That Make Smart “Cents” for Safety

 Posted by Greg LaRochelle

As the sluggish economy begins to heat up rendering a more favorable business climate, cost conscious employers looking to grow their workforce need to be even more vigilant to their hiring practices.  The search for a suitable fit can be an exhaustive exercise for a small business owner as well as for an HR professional in a large corporation.  Finding and hiring the right person demands that safety be at the forefront of the decision-making process.  Here’s why:

According to the Business & Legal Reports safety website, workplace injury statistics reveal that new employees are 5 times more likely to experience a lost-time injury in the first month of employment compared to the experienced worker.  Additionally, studies show that 40 percent of all workers injured on the job have been at it less than a year.  

 Given these facts, ensuring the safety of the “newbie” is of utmost importance, particularly where a business’s greatest asset is its people.  Equally, smart hiring practices and new employee safety orientation translate to preservation of the bottom line.

Proactive loss control measures in hiring should include:

• Post-offer, pre-placement physical exams, especially for physically demanding job positions.
• Written job descriptions that detail the physical aspect of the work tasks. 
• New employee orientation and training on the equipment and tools associated with the job, emergency evacuation routes, location of first-aid kits, MSDSs, and items such as fire extinguishers. 

Most occupational health providers offer pre-placement physicals for a nominal fee. These are designed to determine the functional capacity of the individual.  The written job description stipulating physical demands can also be used in determining light duty activities for an injured employee with temporary work restrictions. 

Use of an orientation checklist while showing the new hire the safety features of the workplace can serve as documentation of the facility safety tour. 

As a timesaver, MEMIC has assembled a number of training checklists including an employee safety orientation form in the on-line MEMIC Safety Director resource library.  (Note: MEMIC Safety Director requires user registration and is exclusively for MEMIC customers.) For additional resources on hiring practices, click on the Human Resources link under the bold heading Action Plans on the Safety Director’s home page. 

Stay SAFE from the Winter Slip & Fall

 Posted by Peter Koch

It lurks around many a corner, on stairs, down drives, and walkways.  It does not discriminate, taking down men and women of all ages and occupations.  And it doesn’t care about an individual’s physical ability.  Feeding on snow and ice, its tendrils spread to entangle the unwary, putting them flat on their back.  What is this terrible scourge?  The Winter Slip and Fall.

According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, slip and falls are the third leading cause of workplace injuries and our recent winter weather has only served to increase the tally.   Even though slip and falls are frequent, they don’t have to be an inevitable result of winter weather. 

Generally, a lack of awareness (of slippery or icy conditions) and behavior, are the leading contributors to slips and falls, and the best prevention fits into four areas that can be recalled with the acronym SAFE:

• Surface – Maintain the surface for the weather and anticipated foot traffic.  Be sure the area is lit properly and that snow removal equipment and sand or salt are readily available.
• Awareness – Slow down, don’t be in a hurry.  Practice walking safely: shorten your stride and keep a larger portion of your footwear sole in contact with the surface during each step.
• Footwear – Wear proper footwear for the anticipated conditions.  Wear boots to work and change at the office.  Get traction enhancers like Stabil-Icers or YakTrax to slip over shoes.
• Environment - When the weather is inclement and temperatures are dropping below freezing, slow the pace of work to allow for better situational and hazard awareness.  Look for low spots or high-traffic areas – where ice can build up – especially when the ground is covered with that initial, light “dusting” of snow.

Keep SAFE-ty in mind, to stay on your feet this winter, and avoid the Winter Slip and Fall.

See more with less? Yes!

 Posted by Allan Brown

Office environments are usually well lighted, and believe it or not, this poses some problems for the computer operator.  Offices have been around for a long time but the world of computers is relatively new.  Most offices today are equipped with computer workstations, and lots of light from fixtures above.   These overhead lights are left over from the days of paper pushing.   

Today’s office routines pass in front of us electronically.  Less is done on paper and more from our computers.  Viewing a computer in an over-lighted office environment increases the strain on our eyes, necks and shoulders.   The computer is a screen in front of us that contains its own light source.  Adding more ambient light in the room from above or from windows does not make the viewing any easier.  As the ambient light increases the contrast on the computer screen decreases.  The words and images are actually more difficult to see.  A typical response to improve the contrast by the user is to squint or move closer to the screen usually with a forward head posture.  Either of these accommodations will eventually lead to a cumulative trauma disorder (CTD). 

Squinting is accomplished by contracting the muscle around your eyes.  Prolonged contracting can lead to fatigue and achiness around the face and eyes as well as red eye.  Leaning into the computer screen with a forward head posture can increase the forces on the neck and shoulders possibly leading to headaches and neck pain.  In both situations the root cause has not been addressed.  Until the overhead light is reduced the unconscious behaviors of squinting and leaning will continue. 

Reduce the lighting from above.  Look at your screen and have someone turn the overhead lights off and see if this improves the viewing experience.  Shade your eyes from lights from above and see if the screen contrast improves.  Complete darkness is not the solution.  A 3-to-1 relationship has been considered a comfort range for lighting.  In other words, the computer should be 3 times brighter than the room ambient lighting.  Try to balance the lighting to this ratio with shading or filtering the light from above.  Properly balanced light will improve the comfort at your computer work station. 

Of course, paperwork still needs light.  Get a document holder and a small task light to shed light on the paper and anything else below or away from the computer screen.  And, for those of us who hunt and peck at the keyboard, there's an added benefit to having it lighted, too. 

Does my company need a written safety and health program?

 
Posted by John Dodge

This week a business owner asked me if he needed a formal safety program. His business employed 10 people and has been successful in preventing workplace injuries for several years. However, he felt some level of uncertainty about his informal safety and health efforts.

Following a brief discussion and a work site tour, it was evident that his organization had elements of a formal safety and health program: An organized workplace, well maintained tools and equipment, elimination of hazardous tasks, and availability of personal protective equipment.

I suspect that many business owners find themselves in a similar situation. They feel that they are doing enough to provide a safe workplace and if they have few injuries, why have a formal program?

I also suspect that some businesses owners feel as if their luck has changed- the informal safety efforts that have worked in the past are no longer working.

If you wonder why you need a formal safety and health program, start by asking these questions:

1. How do my employees know that I expect them to work safely?
2. How do I address unsafe work conditions before an accident or near miss?
3. Does management understand that they are accountable for safe work conditions?
4. How are employees trained to perform their job?
5. Do my employees participate in the safety and health process?
6. Am I compliant with regulatory safety and health requirements?

If you don’t have answers to these questions, a written safety and health policy will provide a definite course of action and a schedule of activities. There are various guidance documents available, but most will have these basic program elements:

1. Management commitment and employee involvement
2. Worksite analysis
3. Hazard identification and control
4. Employee training

To get started, I recommend MEMIC’s Seven Steps to a Safer Workplace guide. This document and other safety support materials are available on MEMIC’s Safety Director website.  You will quickly build a formal safety and health program and will eliminate any uncertainty about the effectiveness and consistency of your future safety efforts.   

Young workers, old story: Too many injuries

The special health section in Monday's Boston Globe featured a cover story about an issue important to every parent and, hopefully, every employer: workplace safety for young workers, particularly teenagers.

We know that inexperienced workers are twice as likely to be hurt at work as experienced employees. And, of course, by their very nature, teenagers are inexperienced. Couple that with the fact that they are often hired to do jobs with inherent danger and you have a potential tragedy.

What's the answer? Well, in part, it's training and supervision. And yet, this is reported in Elizabeth Cooney's story from the Globe:

When researchers from the Teens at Work Project interviewed 208 teens under age 18 who had been injured at work from 2003 through 2007, about half said they had no safety training. About 15 percent said there was no supervisor on site when they were hurt. Almost a quarter said they had no work permit.

This is inexcusable. If you have teen workers, make sure they get the training they need. And if you're a parent of a teen worker, ask them about safety. Have they been trained? Is someone supervising them when they are engaged in potentially dangerous tasks?

Work teaches lots of valuable lessons, but if the lesson comes from a workplace injury, its price is too high.

Is a Sit/Stand Workstation Right for You?

 Submitted by Allan Brown

Sit/stand workstations are becoming more popular in the office environment as they allow the user to change position throughout the day.  The primary benefit of a sit/stand station is to reduce worker fatigue through frequent postural change.  Sitting at a conventional office workstation increases the forces on the low back and standing, while reducing these forces, can also place the worker in a prolonged static posture.   While “off-the-shelf” sit/stand stations can be purchased in models that are electric, pneumatic, or manual, simply modifying an existing workstation can achieve the desired benefit.  There are several considerations when creating this type of workstation.

10 steps to a sit/stand workstation

1. First determine the worker’s neutral standing elbow height.  Have the worker stand comfortably erect and bend their arm at the elbow to 90 degrees.  Measure the distance from the floor to the elbow. 
2. Measure the worker’s eye height from the floor. 
3. Measure the thickness of the keyboard.
4. The worker’s elbow height minus the thickness of the keyboard will be the recommended height of the work surface.   Many cubicle workstations have adjustable height work surfaces with support brackets mounted in partition tracks.  
5. Ensure there is ample room on the work surface for the mouse and keyboard.
6. If the worker has normal vision, the top of the monitor screen should be equal to the eye height measurement.
7. If the worker wears corrective lenses, adjust the screen according to the prescription, i.e., bifocal wearers will need the screen lower than eye height to comfortably view the screen without craning their head back.
8. A document holder should be included to support documents at the same level as the monitor screen.
9. For intervals of seated work, provide a chair with enough seat pan height adjustment so as to maintain the worker’s elbow height in the same position as if they were standing.  Typically a drafting stool/chair will provide enough height.
10. A sturdy box or other platform device should be provided as a foot support to provide lower extremity support while maintaining the thighs parallel to the floor.  The stool/chair should have an adjustable base foot-ring adjusted to the same height as the box.  The box should be positioned approximately 5 inches inward (recessed) from the front edge of the work surface to allow for proper positioning of the chair when the worker is seated.

Micro Breaks = Macro Benefit

 Posted by Bill O’Connor

Ergonomics is the science of the interaction between people and their work. The ergonomic concerns in the workplace are not limited to computer workstations, assembly operations, or lifting tasks.  Risk factors like excessive force, repetitive tasks, and awkward posture can surely stress the human body to the point where injury occurs. A combination of ergonomic risk factors is the real concern, however.

One of the primary reasons that workers sustain injury involves overload of work without enough recovery time. Whether a worker is performing extremely repetitive tasks, such as assembly or typing, or is exposed to prolonged static tasks, such as sitting or working overhead, the human body will fatigue after period of time.

When fatigue sets in, muscles become stiff and cramped, flexibility decreases significantly, and blood flow to the affected body area is reduced.  The end result is a significant increase of risk of physical injury.

How can you counteract these forces: Do your bodys a favor—take a micro break: 30 – 40 seconds of light movement and stretching (especially for affected body parts) will help keep the muscles limber, squeeze out metabolic waste products from muscles and bring in fresh, nutrient-rich blood to maintain joints with a good range of motion. If you haven’t already, you should consider speaking to the benefits of micro breaks in your Employee Handbook. They may be micro but they do big things!