Construction workers generally work outside and are exposed to heat and the sun. Too much heat or cold, especially if combined with high humidity or high winds, can harm your health and interfere with work. Hot, humid conditions can cause heat exhaustion, cramps, and even fainting. Employers have a responsibility to protect workers from extreme temperatures.
At times, workers may be required to work in hot environments for long periods. When the human body’s unable to maintain a normal temperature, heat-related illnesses can occur and may result in death.
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Sunday, July 27, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Giving Effective Toolbox Talks
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By Scott Schneider
What makes a toolbox talk effective?
*Relevance: To be effective, a toolbox talk must be relevant.
*Site-specific: It is best to take a walk through the site first so any topic discussed can be related to real conditions on the job.
*Interactive: Nobody likes to be lectured, and toolbox talks provide no exception. Talks can be made much more effective by making them interactive with a question and answer format.
*Problem Posing: Posing safety problems or concerns and asking for input or solutions will result in a collaborative approach to safety that increases the effectiveness of your program.
*Storytelling: Most people have a hard time relating to statistics. Often, telling a story has a much bigger impact.
*Risk Perception: Most people underestimate the risks they take on the job each day.
*Concrete: Like safety posters, toolbox talks are often vague or general, telling workers this or that is dangerous so be careful if you do not want to get hurt.
*Demonstrations/Hands-On: Construction workers like to see things for themselves or try things out.
*No Victim Blaming: One thing to avoid is blaming the victim.
*Given by Peers: Construction workers are the experts on their jobs.
*Handouts: Toolbox talks are usually about ten minutes long. You cannot cover everything you want to say in ten minutes, but you can distribute a short handout for workers to read on break or at lunchtime.
*Setting: Sometimes, the setting can interfere with the message.
*Language: Toolbox talks need to be in the language most workers understand and speak.
By Scott Schneider
What makes a toolbox talk effective?
*Relevance: To be effective, a toolbox talk must be relevant.
*Site-specific: It is best to take a walk through the site first so any topic discussed can be related to real conditions on the job.
*Interactive: Nobody likes to be lectured, and toolbox talks provide no exception. Talks can be made much more effective by making them interactive with a question and answer format.
*Problem Posing: Posing safety problems or concerns and asking for input or solutions will result in a collaborative approach to safety that increases the effectiveness of your program.
*Storytelling: Most people have a hard time relating to statistics. Often, telling a story has a much bigger impact.
*Risk Perception: Most people underestimate the risks they take on the job each day.
*Concrete: Like safety posters, toolbox talks are often vague or general, telling workers this or that is dangerous so be careful if you do not want to get hurt.
*Demonstrations/Hands-On: Construction workers like to see things for themselves or try things out.
*No Victim Blaming: One thing to avoid is blaming the victim.
*Given by Peers: Construction workers are the experts on their jobs.
*Handouts: Toolbox talks are usually about ten minutes long. You cannot cover everything you want to say in ten minutes, but you can distribute a short handout for workers to read on break or at lunchtime.
*Setting: Sometimes, the setting can interfere with the message.
*Language: Toolbox talks need to be in the language most workers understand and speak.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Heat Stress-On the Job Tool Box Safety Talks
Download the full article.
Heat
The combination of heat and humidity can be a serious health threat during the summer
months. So, take precautions. Here’s how:
• Drink plenty of water before you get thirsty.
• Wear light, loose-fitting, breathable clothing—cotton is good.
• Take frequent short breaks in cool shade.
• Eat smaller meals before work activity.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol or large amounts of sugar.
• Find out from your health-care provider if your medications and heat don’t mix.
• Know that equipment such as respirators or work suits can increase heat stress.
Sun
Sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which causes premature aging of the skin, wrinkles, cataracts, and skin cancer. There are no safe UV rays or safe suntans. Be especially careful in the sun if you burn easily,spend a lot of time outdoors, or have any of the following physical features: numerous, irregular, or large moles; freckles; fair skin; or blond, red, or light brown hair. Here’s how to block those harmful rays:
• Cover up. Wear tightly woven clothing that you can’t see through.
• Use sunscreen.A sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 blocks 93percent of UV rays. Be sure to follow application directions on the bottle or tube.
• Wear UV-absorbent shades.Sunglasses don’t have to be expensive, but they should block 99 to 100percent of UVA and UVB radiation. Before you buy, read the product tag or label.
Limit exposure.
UV rays are most intense between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Recognizing the symptoms of heat
stress is very important, particularly since the victim may not realize what is happening. If you work alone in a hot environment, develop a "buddy system" so someone will check in on you periodically to look for signs of heat stress.
This information provided by Assurance Agency
Monday, July 7, 2014
Healthy Safety Attitude-On the Job Tool Box Safety Talks
This information provided by Assurance Agency
Download the full article
You know your job. You have the ability to do it well. But do you have the attitude required to do the job both well and safely?
There’s no hiding attitude from others. If you have a poor attitude about safety, you may be able to hide it from yourself, but it will show up in everything you say and everything you do. Some workers seem to have the attitude that safety rules were made to be broken—especially when no one is looking. Even those who are hard-working, exacting, and conscientious about every other aspect of their jobs can have a poor safety attitude. They take shortcuts not because they are lazy, but because they want to get the work done more quickly.
Other workers think that not complying with the rules won’t cause too much of a problem if they perceive that a risk is small. They take chances, and this leads to accidents. These individuals don’t take safety seriously— until it is too late. These are the people who say, "Don’t worry. I’ve done it this way lots of times” —right before they fall flat on their faces.
Most of us don’t intend to walk around with a bad safety attitude—or even realize it when we have one. We think that our last couple of accidents simply "happened" to us
Luckily, attitudes are not permanent states of mind—they can be changed. Here’s how you can carry through with a good—even great—attitude concerning safety:
• Keep your mind focused on the job at hand. Put aside for the moment any personal problems that have been bothering you so that you can watch for hazards and accomplish what you have set out to do.
• Tell yourself that you will not let nearby noises or conversations bother your concentration and prevent you from doing the job safely.
• Don’t give in to pressure from your co-workers to be unsafe. You don’t have to join in horseplay, take shortcuts, or participate in cover-ups. Instead, take the lead in behaving in an adult and responsible manner.
• Report all accidents and near accidents—even though they may seem unimportant at the time.
• Try to understand why an accident occurred, to help you avoid making the same mistake twice.
• Practice the techniques you have learned for lifting and other methods of doing the job in a safe fashion.
• Practice good housekeeping. Keep your work area free of clutter. Clean up spills.
• Be considerate of your co-workers. Don’t do anything that would endanger them. In fact, go a step farther and remind co-workers about safety. Say something when they forget to put on equipment to protect themselves or when they ignore the rules.
• Take the time to remind your family about staying safe at their jobs, in school, or in the home.
After following all these suggestions for a short while, you will have developed a proper safety attitude, one that others can and will respect and even try to imitate. But even better than that, you’ll feel good about yourself and will be able to do productive work and stay safe at the same time.
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Download the full article
You know your job. You have the ability to do it well. But do you have the attitude required to do the job both well and safely?
There’s no hiding attitude from others. If you have a poor attitude about safety, you may be able to hide it from yourself, but it will show up in everything you say and everything you do. Some workers seem to have the attitude that safety rules were made to be broken—especially when no one is looking. Even those who are hard-working, exacting, and conscientious about every other aspect of their jobs can have a poor safety attitude. They take shortcuts not because they are lazy, but because they want to get the work done more quickly.
Other workers think that not complying with the rules won’t cause too much of a problem if they perceive that a risk is small. They take chances, and this leads to accidents. These individuals don’t take safety seriously— until it is too late. These are the people who say, "Don’t worry. I’ve done it this way lots of times” —right before they fall flat on their faces.
Most of us don’t intend to walk around with a bad safety attitude—or even realize it when we have one. We think that our last couple of accidents simply "happened" to us
Luckily, attitudes are not permanent states of mind—they can be changed. Here’s how you can carry through with a good—even great—attitude concerning safety:
• Keep your mind focused on the job at hand. Put aside for the moment any personal problems that have been bothering you so that you can watch for hazards and accomplish what you have set out to do.
• Tell yourself that you will not let nearby noises or conversations bother your concentration and prevent you from doing the job safely.
• Don’t give in to pressure from your co-workers to be unsafe. You don’t have to join in horseplay, take shortcuts, or participate in cover-ups. Instead, take the lead in behaving in an adult and responsible manner.
• Report all accidents and near accidents—even though they may seem unimportant at the time.
• Try to understand why an accident occurred, to help you avoid making the same mistake twice.
• Practice the techniques you have learned for lifting and other methods of doing the job in a safe fashion.
• Practice good housekeeping. Keep your work area free of clutter. Clean up spills.
• Be considerate of your co-workers. Don’t do anything that would endanger them. In fact, go a step farther and remind co-workers about safety. Say something when they forget to put on equipment to protect themselves or when they ignore the rules.
• Take the time to remind your family about staying safe at their jobs, in school, or in the home.
After following all these suggestions for a short while, you will have developed a proper safety attitude, one that others can and will respect and even try to imitate. But even better than that, you’ll feel good about yourself and will be able to do productive work and stay safe at the same time.
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