Is Your Company A Safe One? Yes or no, someone is WATCHING you!

MAKE-IT-SAFE MONDAY

In honor of Veterans Day, not only do we respect the vets here at Ergologistics, we rallied our own troops to each contribute a few points on workplace safety.  

First, I would like to point you to a great webinar from the National Safety Council. This weeks blog title should resonate and take deep root with everyone in charge of keeping records for workplace safety initiatives and programs.  When inspected, a company's attitude towards safety is ONLY as good as its records. Like it, or be forced to liked it, somebody is watching your company.  My advice is to be prepared and PROUD when this happens, because your motivation should be to show off how excellently compliant your company is to safety standards.  

The following webinar is worth your time and resources.  Click on the following for full registration:

OSHA Recordkeeping: Maintain Records that Pass Inspection

Live Webinar: November 29, 2012, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET

Course Description:
Recordkeeping is now on OSHA’s enforcement radar as more employers face penalties for incomplete or incorrect safety records. Are your records in order? More importantly, are they OSHA compliant and ready to be presented should OSHA drop by for a surprise inspection? Don’t get caught off guard! Attend this Webinar, where you’ll receive proven and practical strategies for maintaining safety records that can pass OSHA’s tough recordkeeping standards.

By the end of this Webinar, participants will learn:

• Key elements of the OSHA recordkeeping regulation, including OSHA Recordkeeping Regulation 29 CFR 1904, Subparts- A-G

• Records you must keep for statutory compliance, including injury/illness records, training certifications, maintenance and inspection records, MSDSs, and more

• Key OSHA reporting requirements for workplace injuries, hospitalizations, and fatalities

• How to use the OSHA forms correctly, including OSHA forms 300 and 301

• How to record workplace injuries without error

• How to maintain records that will pass inspection

• Risks and exposures you face by not having complete and accurate records

Presenter: Robert Lewis, JD, Senior Safety Consultant, National Safety Council

Take advantage of this educational opportunity to improve your ground game of preparedness when safety overseers come a-knocking.  

Enjoy the next contributions by a couple of Ergologistic's own 'boots-on-the-ground':

Dale Bromenshenkel

Demand Generation Specialist:

Lifting heavy and bulky objects can overtime cause serious damage to your body and specifically your back.   The Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety did a study and found that three out of every four workers whose job involves manual material handling (MMH) suffers from back pain due to working at some time.  The back injuries due to MMH account for one third of all lost work and one third of all compensation costs.  Financial costs and loss of work are bad, but worse is the human suffering.  Several thousands of workers each year are permanently disabled by back injuries, and many others are unable to return to their previous jobs due to back injury.  

Many people have to find new jobs due to work related injury.  All these facts and more are reasons why MMH should be limited in the work place by using automated machinery to lift heavy or bulky items.  The initial cost of buying the machinery will be high, but the long run costs of saving labor and workers compensation is much lower and not to mention saving some people some pain and suffering.

Joe Wheatley

Demand Generation Specialist:

7 Steps to Workplace Safety

The Workers Safety Corporation puts out a list of ways to minimize workplace safety. It is important to note these are relevant for any kind of business from manufacturing to shipping and are vital to worker safety. As we view each step it is evident that each category is as significant and the next and only when a company succeeds in all aspects can they truly minimize injuries to workers and the cost of that compensation. An OSHA study noted that occupational injuries make up 77 percent of workers compensation costs (OSHA). In order to minimize those injuries and costs to business, Make-It-Safe Monday will focus on the 7 steps you and your company can take to make the workplace a safer place.

Health and Safety Policy

Develop a statement of the employers commitment to the health and safety program, including the aims of the program and the responsibilities of the employer, supervisors and workers. This statement really unites employer and employee and states the main focuses to ensure safety in the workplace.

Regular Inspection

Regularly monitor work procedures, equipment and machinery to ensure hazards to workers are eliminated and controlled.

Education and Training

Make sure workers know about all pertinent hazards in the workplace; are familiar with health and safety regulations that apply and ensure and that workers demonstrate competency at the tasks they are required to perform. It is important to note education/training is not a one-time event but an continuous fluid program to ensure safety.

Monthly Meetings

Discuss health and safety matters, identify any unsafe condition or practice and implement solutions to any health or safety concerns. Communication at this monthly meeting between employer and employee is vital to safety. The employees are the ones experiences everyday challenges and risks while the employers are the keys to implementing safety corrections.

Accident Investigation

Determine the causes of accidents and near misses so that corrective actions can be taken to prevent similar incidents.

Records and Statistics

Maintain a first aid treatment record book, inspection and accident investigation reports, and records of program activities and training. These will allow you to identify trends of unsafe conditions or work procedures.

Maintaining an Effective Program

Review the program annually to identify the extent of effectiveness and deficiencies of the existing health and safety activities. Examine the potential for future injury and the progress of the organizations current safety effort. Maintain a strong commitment to safety policies and procedures and the interest and involvement of the workers. A strong annual evaluation is vital to future injury prevention. In some cases major safety overhaul may be needed while at other times only minor adjustments necessary.

For the full article or more information on workplace safety similar to this, visit www.worksafebc.com.

Just remember nothing is more important in the workplace than safety so everyone has the opportunity and right of a safe, injury free week.

Thank you for your time and attention.  Let's make it safe this Monday.

Aaron M. Lamb
President, Ergologistics