Halloween Safety Tips

Safety Tips for Motorists
All motorists need to be especially alert and cautious when driving on Halloween because of
the high number of pedestrians walking the streets.

• Watch for children darting out from between parked cars.
• Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully.
• At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing.
• Never use your cell phone while driving.
• Discourage teens from driving on Halloween. There are too many hazards and distractions for inexperienced drivers.

Trick-or-Treating
Most importantly, all children under the age of 12 should be accompanied by a parent or
responsible adult, but before trick-or-treating, parents should:

• Instruct your children to travel only in familiar, well-lit areas and avoid trick-or-treating alone.
• Tell your children not to eat any treats until they return home.
• Teach your children to never enter a stranger’s home.
• Agree on a specific time for your children to come home.
• Give your children flashlights with fresh batteries to help them see and for others to see them.
• Make sure your child or a responsible adult with them carries a cell phone for quick communication.
• Review all appropriate pedestrian and traffic safety rules with your children.
• Look both ways before crossing the street and use established crosswalks whenever possible.
• Walk, do not run, from house to house. 
• Do not cross yards and lawns where unseen objects or the uneven terrain can present tripping hazards and never walk near lit candles or luminaries.
• Walk on sidewalks, not in the street. If there are no sidewalks, walk on the far edge of the road facing traffic.
• Children will be anxious to stuff themselves with treats, but parents need to take these necessary precautions first:
• Insist that treats be brought home for inspection before anything is eaten, then examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before your children eat them.
• Give children an early meal before going out to prevent them from filling up on 
• Halloween treats or eating anything before you can inspect it.
• Only let your children eat factory-wrapped treats. Avoid homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
• When in doubt, throw it out.

Safety Slogans for the Workplace

Safety slogans for the workplace help to reduce work related accidents and injuries by reinforcing safety rules.

Slogans in the Workplace

Workplace safety is a major concern in all types of industry. One method used by companies to bring the issue of safety to employees is the use of safety slogans. In just a few words most safety slogans:

• Identify a specific negative workplace behavior
• Point out the dangers of the negative behavior
• Explain how to change the negative behavior to a positive one

Workplace safety slogans are written to make a point. They are posted to remind everyone of the importance of safe work practices and the dangers that exist when safety rules and procedures are not followed.

Types of Safety Slogans for the Workplace

Many workplace safety slogans are catchy phrases that are easy to remember. Others are written as a simple statement or use an acronym to make their point. Some slogans rhyme, while others do not.

Often safety slogans use humor to draw the attention of those in the workplace. If humorous slogans are used, it is important to make sure they are appropriate. There are some people that perceive many of the humorous safety slogans as being sarcastic or cynical.

There are a number of websites that offer free safety slogans that you can download and print. Other websites offer safety slogans for sale on posters and signs.

Where to Find Free Workplace Safety Slogans

The following are several of the websites offering free workplace safety slogans.

• OSHAX: The Unofficial Guide to the OSHA provides a large list of free slogans to use in the workplace. In addition to listing the top 10 safety slogans, OSHAX also provides listings of slogans in the following categories:
• • Workplace Safety Slogans
  • Free safety slogans
  • Catchy safety slogans
  • Funny safety slogans
  • Safety slogans in the workplace
  • Hand safety slogans
  • Eye safety slogans
  • Hearing protection slogans
  • Forklift safety slogans
  • Lifting safety slogans
  • Electrical safety slogans
  • Fire safety slogans
• Safety Slogans.org provides work related safety slogans by job category. The following are a sampling of the more than 30 work related categories.
• • Computer programers
  • Accountant
  • Appliance repairman
  • Mailman
  • Day care provider
  • Sewer inspector
  • Surgical technologist
  • Math teacher
  • Policeman
• quotations.me provides 99 free, catchy, workplace safety slogans. Accompanying each slogan is a detailed explanation of its meaning.
• Dozens of work related safety slogans are provided by Consultnet.
• A nice collection of safety slogans are provided at Safety Slogans. If you have a safety slogan that is not included on this website, you can submit it to them for inclusion.

• Where to Purchase Workplace Safety Slogans

  If you are looking for a different way to display workplace safety slogans, there are websites that offer a variety of options from giant posters to carpet mats.
  • A company that provides health and safety products, Seton offers safety slogan carpet mats. The red and black mats are available with four different safety slogans each complete with an illustration:
  • • Safety starts here
    • Stop think safety
    • Watch your step
    • No smoking
  • For more than sixty years the Harkins Safety company has been providing products to keep people safe in their workplace. Their product line includes a giant banner that measures 10 feet by 4.2 feet. The banner can be printed with a choice of many different workplace safety slogans along with a choice of backgrounds, pictures or graphics. Harkins Safety also offers safety slogans on many of their other products such as:
  • • Posters
    • Stickers
    • Junior banners measuring 5 feet by 2.1 feet
    • Vertical banners measuring 3 feet by 6 feet
  • My Safety Sign offers a line of safety slogan signs in bright bold colors that stand out and reinforce safety policies.

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  Safety slogans for the workplace are excellent ways to remind people to follow safe work practices and procedures.

Back Safety at Work

Chronic back pain affects eight out of ten people, and practicing back safety at work prevents issues from becoming worse. Planning ahead, getting help, and working "smart" prevent back injuries from occurring on the job. Workers' Compensation and health insurance claims add expenses to the company budget.

Practicing Back Safety at Work

Plan Ahead

Your body is most vulnerable when you have not moved for extended periods of time, such as when you get to your work site. Plan ahead for your workday by sleeping for eight hours and waking up refreshed. Take frequent breaks throughout the day, moving around the office to prevent fatigue. Your body is vulnerable when your system is malnourished, which includes lack of sleep. Practice a healthy lifestyle by eating healthful foods regularly; drinking lots of water, and getting one hour of moderate exercise per day.

Consider stretching and exercising before you go to work to reduce the strain on your back muscles. Minimize the amount of time you are on the floor carrying items, have the items delivered to your workspace or utilize a handcart or dolly, even for seemingly lightweight items. While the weight of the object is a factor, bending over excessively can cause back problems.

Consider adjusting your office so that everything is waist level, including your desk and computer. These are the items you use most, reducing the amount of time your back extends in either direction. Practice good posture and ensure your chair adjusts properly when using computer equipment or sitting in a meeting. Ergonomic equipment is desirable, but few employers are able to spend the extra money. Consider buying your own back-friendly chair at work if you sit for hours at a time. Prevent work-related back injuries by ensuring your working conditions are free of debris and slippery spots. Slips and fall injuries cause most back pain problems in America.

se Assistive Equipment

Chances are your workplace has assistive equipment available for you to use, such as forklifts, handcarts, dollies, hoists, furniture pads, shoulder straps, and wheelbarrows. Use the equipment you have to reduce the strain on your back and hip muscles. If you do not have assistive equipment available and you perform the job often, ask your employer to buy the equipment for your office. Ask a colleague, coworker, or someone from the warehouse to help you move heavy office appliances or equipment. Get help move the materials if they weigh over 50 pounds.

Work Intelligently

When you are, lifting or moving objects, keep them as close to your body as possible, creating a low center of gravity. Do not twist your extremities when you lift or put down materials, turn your entire body at once. Improve back safety at work by lifting materials smoothly and using your legs rather than back muscles for strength. Rough jerking motions irritate your upper and lower disks, causing soreness the next day. If you need support when lifting, lean on a sturdy object and do not bend over. If the item is too heavy, kneel down and support the object on your knee before you lift it. Ask someone to help you if the item is too heavy.

Get Help

There is a difference between being lazy and working smart. Everyone is afraid of appearing weak in front of their employers, but practicing proper back prevention techniques is an intelligent move. If you miss work for one or two days, your employer may incur additional costs, such as hiring a temp worker or paying sick leave. If you have existed back conditions, abide by the restrictions posted by your doctor. An employer cannot legally require you to perform labor you are incapable of doing. By law, they must adjust your regimen or reassign your duties until you receive clearance.

If you encounter back problems on the job seek immediate medical attention and follow your company's policy on work-related injuries. When joining an employer, file a form with the company's Workers' Compensation Liaison requesting to see your private physician in case of work injuries. If you must see a "company approved" medical practitioner, seek a second opinion if the ruling is on the company's behalf.

Follow the signs to a safer workplace

Workplace safety signs and tags prevent accidents. Select and place them with care.

Your employees should be familiar with the hazards associated with their own work areas. But as they go about the facility, they may come into casual contact with risks they don't know about.

Outsiders who come into your facility may also be unaware of the hazards they face.

This is why safety signs and tags are so important. Another important reason is to remind workers daily of the hazards in their own work areas so that they don't become complacent about hazards.

Yet another reason for safety signs and tags is to warn of hazards that are out of the ordinary, unexpected, or not readily apparent.

Selecting the appropriate safety signs and tags and placing them carefully around your facility to attract the most attention are important elements of your safety program.

Key Issues

In order to use safety signs and tags effectively in your facility and remain in compliance with the OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1910.145), you need to:

• Identify all hazards. The first step, of course, is to identify all the potential hazards in all parts of your facility. This includes office and industrial areas as well as public areas and locations outside the facility. And, in addition to the more obvious hazards, you must identify those that are out of the ordinary, unexpected, or not readily apparent.
• Select or design appropriate safety signs and tags. Once you have identified the hazards, you can select appropriate ready-made safety signs and tags or design your own. Whichever option you choose, make sure all signs and tags conform to the requirements of the OSHA regulations. Your signs and tags should also be consistent in format throughout your facility. The regulations also note that all signs should have "rounded or blunt corners and shall be free from sharp edges, burrs, splinters, or other sharp projections."
• Use proper wording. According to the regulations, "the wording of any sign should be easily read and concise. The sign should contain sufficient information to be easily understood. The wording should make a positive, rather than negative, suggestion and should be accurate in fact."
• Position signs carefully. Signs should be positioned so that they are easily visible and legible from a distance. They must be placed to draw maximum attention to the existing hazards. This means you need to give careful thought to where you locate signs around your facility, and you may need to relocate signs from time to time when you make changes or alterations that affect the visibility or usefulness of existing signs or when the equipment or materials that pose the hazard are moved. In addition, the regulations require that "the ends or heads of bolts or other fastening devices must be located in such a way that they do not constitute a hazard."
• Identify safety equipment and fire protection equipment. Make sure that safety equipment such as eyewash stations and safety showers are clearly identified with appropriate signs. Also be sure that all fire equipment is identified with proper signs.
• Use tags properly and effectively. The regulations also say that "tags shall be used as a means to prevent accidental injury or illness to employees who are exposed to hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions, equipment, or operations which are out of the ordinary, unexpected, or not readily apparent. Tags shall be used until such time as the identified hazard is eliminated or the hazardous operation is completed. Tags need not be used where signs, guarding, or other positive means of protection are being used." The regulations also require that the signal word on a tag (DANGER, CAUTION, etc.) is legible at a minimum distance of 5 feet or “such greater distance as warranted by the hazard."
• Review your sign and tag program whenever new hazards are introduced.Your facility will likely not be in compliance with the regulations if you just put up signs and forget about them. You must review your sign and tag program frequently to make sure it is still performing the task it was designed to do. For example, whenever new hazards are introduced into the workplace, new signs need to be put up right away. And when temporary hazards arise, tags need to be attached to warn employees until the hazard no longer exists.

Yard Work Safety

Yard work safety is important to know or a day working outside could result in sore aching muscles or a trip to the hospital Emergency Room.

Yard Work

Every year the changing of the seasons brings millions of Americans outside to do seasonal yard work. As winter turns into spring, homeowners head outdoors to clean up their yards and remove debris from their gutters as they get ready to spend more time outdoors during the warm summer months.

As summer comes to an end and the weather turns crisp and cold as autumn begins. Many of the same homeowners find themselves raking piles of leaves, clearing away dead plants and foliage and once again cleaning their gutters.

The hot summer months in between spring and fall are a time of outdoor fun and relaxation but they are also is a time of more outdoor yard work. Gardens need to be planted and cared for, lawns need mowing and weeds need to be wacked.

For many people yard work is a form of fun and enjoyment. Sadly, it is also a time of aches, pains and injuries. Know how to keep yourself safe while you are working outside by taking safety precautions and being aware of safety tips for working in the yard.

Yard Work Safety

The following safety precautions and tips will help keep you safe and injury free while you are working in your yard.

• Take 5 to 10 minutes to warm up your muscles by doing light exercises or stretching before starting your yard work.
• Dress properly for working outside in the yard by wearing long pants, a long sleeved shirt and sturdy comfortable shoes.
• Keep children and pets away from the area when you are doing yard work.
• Have the right tools for the job you are doing.
• Rakes should be comfortable and the right size for your height and strength.
• Wear gloves while you are doing any type of yard work to help prevent your hands from blistering.
• Yard work such as raking involves repetitive motions. Changing your position often helps to prevent muscle pains and cramps from occurring.
• Always watch for low branches, large rocks and tree stumps.
• Be aware of uneven ground surfaces and slopes.
• When you pick up leaves, do not bend over from the waist. Bend from the knees.
• Do not overfill leaf bags.
• Do not carry full bags of leaves over your shoulder.
• When you are weeding, a half kneeling position is safer than bending forward.
• Wet leaves are very slippery. Make sure to wear boots or shoes with soles that are slip resistant
• When you are using a ladder make certain it is firmly on the ground. Never climb to the top of a ladder.
• When you are pruning hedges, hold the pruning shears close to your body.