MEMIC Safety Blog

Unconscious Behavior: An Obstacle to Change

 Posted by Allan Brown

 

Try brushing your teeth with your opposite hand, or sleeping on the opposite side of the bed, or place the mouse on the other side of the keyboard. Can’t do it, can you? All of these are unconscious behaviors that have established patterns, patterns that you repeat everyday, without consciously thinking.Changing these patterns and behaviors is difficult.   

 

Much of your work behaviors are repeated patterns. How you reach for the mouse, where you rest your elbows at your desk, how you sit in your chair are some of these unconscious events. 

 

What if you sit perched on your chair with a forward head posture reaching for your mouse. I see it everyday when I assess work stations. This posture usually results in neck, shoulder, back and/or head discomfort. Your solution often is to reach for the ibuprofen. 

 

How about addressing the problem and change your sitting posture? It’s typically not the choice because it’s difficult to change.  First, you have to ask yourself: How am I sitting? And, why do I sit like this? Am I sitting forward in the chair because the chair is too big or because the overhead lights are too bright and wash out my screen clarity? Are my eye glasses adjusted appropriately? Why am I reaching for my mouse? Is there no room to place it closer? Is my chair too low for my work space?  Is my knee space cluttered? Our bodies will adapt to the work space unconsciously, regardless if it creates good or bad posture.

 

If you are experiencing discomfort at your workstation, take a conscious moment and think about what hurts and what might be the cause. Make a change in your workstation and address the problem by changing your unconscious behavior. Use MEMIC’s  “10 Tips for A Perfect Fit” (available through MEMIC Safety Director) worksheet to guide you through creating a comfortable workstation.  It takes time to change old habits. 

A Clear Observation of Organizational Culture

 Posted by Donna Clendenning

 

Recently, I had the opportunity to provide back safety and core awareness training at two locations of the same healthcare organization.

 

The two locations were operated by two individual administrators and directors of nursing. The administrator of the first location has led her workforce for more than a decade. She is pleasant, open, positive, and an easy-going person.  Sixteen staff attended the training. They participated, and were generally vocal and engaged, and they had a lot of fun with the back safety quiz.  Team competition and a return demonstration of core muscle awareness and strengthening ended in a vivacious finale.  A basket of candies was passed around for the "winners" numerous times and everyone ended up with lots of positive reinforcement. The room was filled with cajoling, laughter, fun, and most importantly, learning. 

 

The second location had a similar number of staff attendees. This administrator is also a veteran of the organization whose leadership style is more business-like. While providing the same training content and style, the second group was quiet and more difficult to draw out.

 

What struck me most were the vast differences in communication and attitude between the locations, despite being one organization.  Among other things, in MEMIC's four-part leadership series workshop, we learn of the value of communication as it relates to performance.

 

Leadership is an activity, not a person.  Leadership comes not from titles, nor even necessarily from expertise, but from the relationships between those who choose to exercise leadership and those who choose to follow. These relationships may result from trust, shared visions or goals, sometimes shared pain, or mutual gifts of significance where leader and followers help each other feel an important part of something larger than them. Leadership draws its power from issues of the heart.

 

What I witnessed was the personal aspect of being a positive leader. The staff of the first location was clearly ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes for the good of a common goal. The paycheck, or a reward, or a raise was not what learning was about for this group!

 

What culture are you growing in your business? Are you a leader of authority or a leader who draws their power from issues of the heart?

 

Operator's Manuals - Instructions Worth Reading

 Posted By Greg LaRochelle

 

These days, due to the global market and cultural diversity, manufacturers produce operator's manuals in several languages that are often confusing. You either find a folded sheet at the bottom of the box that opens into a poster-size layout of seemingly disjointed instructions, or a virtual tome of information that ends up being cast aside as you begin to assemble the product.

 

Of course, just jumping in knee-deep, in a manner of speaking, can lead to confusion, frustration, spare parts, and sometimes, bodily injury.  I recall a number of years ago, finding a product shipped in a container with a VHS tape that offered instructions on properly opening the container.  Think about that one for a moment.

 

That said, though we may have to skip a few pages to continue with the instructions in our native language, it's always prudent to take the time to read the information, especially any safety precautions that are included.  Usually, this section is highlighted and appears at the front of the manual. 

 

I visited a jobsite for one of my abatement contractors recently and was pleased to see the operation and maintenance manual for the newly purchased infrared floor tile lifter in plain sight.  It was obvious the manual had been "flexed" and reviewed prior to the crew using the machine.  Electrical needs and other safety precautions were clearly defined in the manual. 

 

It turns out that temperature and dwell time over a square of tiles was really important for this machine. Otherwise, the vinyl asbestos flooring could overheat to the point of thermal decomposition, rendering noxious airborne by-products.  Not to mention the potential destruction of material. It paid to read these instructions.

 

So, frustrating though they may be, take the time to read the manual – even if you already know how to open the box.

Splish, Splash

 Posted By Randy Klatt

It was one of those moments when I kept thinking, “How stupid can you be?  You’re a safety consultant!”  Fortunately, such thoughts don’t occur very often, but there I was in my driveway…

I was filling my lawnmower using a full 5 gallon gasoline container.  Since the plastic can was full it weighed about 35 lbs and the gasoline poured out of the plastic spout very quickly.  As I was trying to keep the gas flowing without spilling it the lawnmower tank filled quickly.  I was crouching over the lawnmower as I pulled the spout out of the tank.  The spout had been bent over in order to keep the pour going into the tank and when I pulled it out it flipped upward, splashing gas back towards my face.  The “how stupid…” thought that I mentioned earlier now came flooding over me as my right eye began to burn. 

I ran inside and flushed my eye with water for the next several minutes.  The burn subsided somewhat, but the eye was uncomfortable for the next several hours.  Now the question is “what did I learn from this and what can the readers take away from this story?”  

• Keep your face away from any pouring operation.
• Wear safety glasses when handling gasoline or any other hazardous chemical.

 

Additional safety tips for handling gasoline:

• Never fill gas cans while in the bed of a truck or in a trunk; always fill cans on the ground.
• Don’t get in and out of your car when pumping gas; the static buildup can discharge igniting the gas vapors. Remember, the flash point of gasoline is -40 degrees F; it is always extremely flammable!
• Always wash your hands after handling gasoline, especially before eating or drinking.
• Store gasoline in proper containers.

 

Nearly everyone handles gasoline; just remember it is a toxic substance that is extremely flammable.  Give it the respect it deserves.  I always wear safety glasses when mowing the lawn, but will now ensure I have them on before I ever start the engine.  I recommend you do the same.  For some sobering reading on what is in gasoline and its potential hazards, download a gasoline Material Safety Data Sheet using the BLR MSDS Search feature available through the Safety Director at MEMIC.com.

Lifting: You Can Measure the Risk

  Posted by Bill O’Connor

If you have manual handling tasks at your place of work, don’t keep your workers safe by accident.  All manual handling tasks should be evaluated for risk of injury by considering the force of exertion, frequency, body mechanics, type of load and hand grip, as well as the duration that workers are lifting. 

 

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has devised a simple tool for making just that assessment.  By taking a few simple measurements of a lifting task, you can identify if the task is within recommended limits or not.

 

A lift analysis tool (in an Excel spreadsheet) can be downloaded from a website posted by Dr. Tom Bernard of the University of South Florida.  To use the tool, you follow these simple steps:

 

• Identify the horizontal distance of an object from the body at the origin and destination of the lift (Distance of hands from the ankle bones)
• Identify the distance of the hands from the floor at the origin and destination of the lift
• Identify the weight of the object lifted
• Identify the asymmetry of the torso (how much the shoulders are turned from the straight ahead position)
• Identify how many times the object is lifted per minute
• Identify how good the hand grip is
• Identify how much time per day is occupied with this task

 

To complete your analysis, enter your assessment results into the spreadsheet.  The macros in the tool will identify the recommended weight limit (RWL) and lifting index (LI – how much the task is above or below the RWL).  “What if?” scenarios can be evaluated for possible modifications to the task, in order to identify the best method of keeping the task at the RWL.

 

 

Time to Set a SMART Goal

As we approach the end of yet another year, it's time to get prepared for the next one.  One thing most safety-conscious companies do is set employee health and safety goals.  By doing so, companies are forced to review their current situation and increase awareness. Just doing this can greatly improve the possibility of reducing the frequency and severity of injuries. 

How you set your goals can vary by the number of people involved in the process.  While it can be cumbersome to include everyone, the truth is you have a better chance of succeeding if everyone is pulling on the rope.  The more owners, managers and especially front-line supervisors participating in any goal-setting process, the better the buy-in and the better chance you’ll succeed as an organization.  Let's face it, if owners, managers and front-line supervisors aren’t buying in, you are not going to meet the goal.

Some companies are small enough so that the decision-makers can knock out a set of goals in about an hour.  Larger businesses may need to get more creative and/or invest more time.  In either case, there are some basic things you should consider about setting a goal. We call them SMART goals.  Here is what comprises such a goal:

SMART Goal:
    Specific
    Measurable/Verifiable
    Agreed Upon
    Realistic
    Time-Framed

This approach is not new. MEMIC has been using SMART Goals for many years in our Leadership Training classes.  By touching on all five of these items you will be improving on the accuracy and overall ability to hit your target.  Incidentally, this same process can be used in the areas of productivity and quality as well. And with 2009 fast approaching, now is the time to set your goals.

Make sure you communicate the goals to everyone in the organization- not just at the beginning of the year, but repeatedly throughout the year.