Fall Season Safety Tips

As the air turns cooler and leaves drop from the trees, it's important to keep a few important fall safety tips in mind. With proper precautions and safety awareness, your family can enjoy that crisp autumn whether while avoiding some of the dangers that come with the season.

Fire Safety Tips for Fall

When the weather turns cold most people spend more time inside their homes using fireplaces, furnaces, and heaters to keep warm. There's nothing quite as cozy as a fire, but it presents some safety hazards. Keep these tips in mind.

Service Your Furnace

Before the cold autumn and winter weather sets in, be sure to call your heating and cooling company to service your furnace. A specialist should inspect the furnace to make sure everything is in working order and that there are no leaks.

Use Fireplaces Safely

Keep that fire in its proper place by using a fireplace screen to keep sparks from flying out of the fireplace. Never leave a burning fire unattended, and make sure a fire in a fireplace is completely out before going to bed.

Use Caution with Space Heaters

A space heater can be an effective way to warm up a chilly room, but it's essential that you read the instructions on the unit before you use it. If your space heater requires venting, make sure you have vented it to the outdoors. Never use your stove or oven to heat your home; only use space heaters that are approved for this purpose. Always allow at least three feet of empty area around space heaters.

Reconsider Leaf Burning

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that burning leaves produces dangerous and cancer-causing chemicals and urges homeowners to avoid disposing of leaves this way. If you decide to burn leaves, wear a protective mask. Burning leaves should only be attempted far away from a house or other structures on a homeowner's property. Always check the weather forecast before starting to burn leaves. This activity should not be attempted in windy conditions.

Exercise Candle Caution

Candles are a great way to give a room that warm glow, but they can also cause fires. According to theNational Candle Association, almost 10,000 home fires start with improper candle use. Never leave candles burning if you go out or go to sleep, and keep your candles away from pets and kids.

Change Smoke Alarm Batteries

Change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors when you turn back your clocks for Daylight Saving Time. Make sure to check the alarms with the new batteries installed. Check and replace any home fire extinguishers that have expired.

Safety Tips for Fall Driving

There's nothing more beautiful than a fall drive, but this season brings some unique hazards for drivers. Being aware of these potential dangers can help keep you and your family safe and prevent accidents.

Be Aware of Poor Visibility

Falling leaves, while beautiful, can obscure your vision, as can rain and fog. Shorter days are part of the fall season, making it more difficult to see children playing or people walking and riding bicycles. Be aware of limitations in your visibility, and slow down if you can't see well. Use your dimmed headlights in bad weather with decreased visibility. If possible, try not to be on the roads when it's hard to see.

Watch for Children

Children love to play in piles of leaves, so use extra caution where leaves are piled at curbside. In addition, the school bus will be making its rounds now that school is back in session. In addition to educating children about back-to-school safety, it's important to stay vigilant as a driver.

Slow Down on Wet Pavement

In many areas of the country, rain is common during the autumn. If it's raining, keep a safe distance from the car in front of you. Wet roads make it more difficult to stop. When wet leaves are on roadways, they make the pavement slippery, and it can be difficult for drivers to get good traction.

Be Prepared for Bright Sunlight

When sunrise occurs later in the morning, it can also present challenges for drivers. Have a pair of sunglasses in the vehicle to wear when the sun is bright is a good strategy. If it becomes too difficult to see because of bright sunlight or glare, a good strategy is for the driver to pull over until he or she can see again.

Watch Out for Ice

As the temperatures drop further at night, a driver will need to spend some extra time in the morning scraping frost off his or her vehicle. Shady spots on the roadway may be home to black ice, which a driver may not be aware of until his or her car starts to skid on it.

Safety Tips for Fall Boaters

According to a report from the US Coast Guard, autumn boating accidents are far more likely to be fatal than those that occur during the summer months. Although there are many more boating accidents in the summer season, boaters involved in accidents during the fall months are exposed to cold water and other weather hazards. Keep these tips in mind for safe autumn boating.

Be Prepared for Changing Weather

Since fall weather can change quickly, you should always be prepared for possible cold, windy, and wet weather even if the sun is shining. Stay closer to shore, so you can turn back if the weather changes. Bring appropriate clothing, such as warm coats, rain gear, and gloves.

Watch for Signs of Hypothermia

Small open boats combined with cold, wet weather can lead to possible hypothermia. According to theMayo Clinic, these are a few of the signs you should know:

• Shivering or trembling
• General lack of coordination, including stumbling and dropping things
• Drowsiness, confusion, and apathy
• Mumbling and slurring of words
• Weak pulse and shallow breathing

Tell Others About Your Trip

Make sure you tell a friend or family member your boating plan and your expected return time. There are fewer boaters in the fall to help in the case of an accident or emergency.

Always Wear Life Jackets

Wearing your life jacket, while always a smart move, is even more important in the fall. If you should accidentally fall overboard, the cold water will quickly drain away your strength.

Autumn Home Maintenance Safety Tips

Fall is the time for yard clean-ups and readying your house for the cold winter ahead. Keep these safety tips in mind as you work.

Look Up Before Pruning Trees

If you have decided that your yard needs to be spruced up by trimming your trees, be sure to look up and survey the area carefully before you start. Make careful note of where power lines are located before you set up your ladder so that it is positioned away from them.

Use Caution on Ladders

Wearing appropriate footwear is important when using a ladder; shoes or boots may be wet, causing you to slip as you climb the ladder. The ladder should be positioned on a flat surface before use. Be sure that the tools you are using are specifically designed for this purpose and are in good condition before starting work.

Clean Up Fallen Leaves

Keep your driveway and walkway clear of falling leaves. Wet leaves can create a hazard for pedestrians in the fall by making sidewalks slippery. Later in the season, snow may mix with leaves to increase the risk of falling. Homeowners should mulch or rake up fallen leaves and dispose of them according to local bylaws.

Safely Enjoy the Beauty of the Season

By keeping these important fall safety tips in mind, you can be sure you are doing everything you can to protect yourself and your family from seasonal dangers. This will leave your mind free to enjoy the beauty of this glorious season.

Do you have a plan for workplace disasters?

In the past few months, disasters have been prominent, from the Texas fertilizer plan explosion to the Boston bombings and the Oklahoma tornado. In light of those events, we present a 4-step disaster preparedness plan for the workplace.

Step 1: Establish a Planning Team

The size of the planning team depends on your facility's operations, requirements, and resources. A group is preferable to a single leader for several reasons. A team approach:

• Gets more people involved in the process
• Increases the amount of time and energy participants can give
• Enhances the visibility and stature of the planning process
• Provides a broader perspective on the issues

The team should include representatives from all functional areas—from upper management to line management, labor, HR, engineering and maintenance, safety/health/environmental affairs, public relations, security, sales and marketing, legal, and finance.

The team should be led by the chief executive or plant manager, who should issue a mission statement to demonstrate the company's commitment to the process.

An effective statement:

• Defines the purpose of the plan
• Indicates that it involves the whole organization
• Describes the authority and structure of the planning group

Other team basics include a schedule, and a budget for such things as research, printing, seminars, consulting services, and other likely expenses.

Step 2: Analyze

This step entails gathering information about current capabilities and possible hazards and emergencies your workplace may face, and then conducting a vulnerability analysis to determine how ready you are to handle them.

Capabilities and hazards. In order to determine where you are at the moment, review existing documents, including your evacuation plan, fire protection plan, safety and health program, security procedures, insurance programs, plant closing policy, employee manuals, hazardous materials plan, risk management plan, and agreements with other entities that could assist in emergency response.

Another excellent source of input is outside groups. Ask them about potential emergencies and about resources for responding. Consider contacting a local emergency planning committee, fire and police departments, the American Red Cross, emergency medical service organizations, the National Weather Service, electric utilities, and neighboring businesses, among others.

You'll also want to identify applicable federal, state, and local regulations, and assess internal resources and capabilities that could be needed in an emergency. For example:

• Personnel—fire brigade, hazmat response team, emergency medical responders, emergency management group, evacuation team, and public information officer. 
• Equipment—fire protection and suppression equipment, communications devices, first-aid supplies, warning systems, emergency power equipment, and decontamination equipment. 
• Facilities—emergency operating center, media briefing area, shelters, first-aid stations, and sanitation facilities. 
• Organizational capabilities—training, evacuation plan, and employee support system. 
• Backup systems—arrangements with other facilities to provide for payroll, communications, production, customer service, shipping and receiving, information systems, emergency power, and recovery support. It is also a good idea to conduct an insurance review to assess what policies are in place and precisely whom and what they cover.

Vulnerability. Once this information has been amassed, the next step is to conduct a vulnerability analysis, which is a way to determine the probability and potential impact of each type of emergency.

In assessing what can happen, think broadly and ask questions like:

• What types of emergencies have occurred at this facility or in the community in the past? 
• What might happen as a result of the facility's geographic location (floods, hurricanes, and the like)? 
• What could result from a particular process or system failure? 
• What emergencies could be caused by employee error? 
• What types of emergencies could result from the design or construction of the facility? 
• What emergencies or hazards are you required to deal with by regulation?

This kind of assessment helps estimate the probability of each type of emergency, as well as the potential human toll, property losses, and business impact.

Step 3: Develop the Plan

With a team in place and capabilities, hazards, and vulnerabilities assessed, the next step is to actually develop the plan. It should include a number of basic components:

• The executive summary gives management a brief overview of the purpose, the facility's emergency management policy, authority and responsibilities of key players, the types of emergencies that could occur, and the site of response operations.
• Emergency management elements describe the facility's approach to managing emergencies. Included are direction and control, communications, property protection, and administration and logistics, among others.
• Emergency response procedures spell out how the facility will respond. These are best developed as checklists that can be accessed quickly. Specific procedures might be needed for particular situations such as bomb threats or tornadoes.
• Support documents are those that could be needed in an emergency. Examples are emergency call lists (wallet size if possible) and building and site maps.

Now it's time to write the plan. Each member of the planning team should be assigned a section to draft. Establish an aggressive timeline with specific goals.

Other plan development tasks include establishing a training schedule for the plan once it is finalized, and coordination with outside organizations. Make sure the plan provides for the needs of the disabled and of non-English-speaking employees.

After the plan is drafted, reviewed, and revised, seek final approval by the CEO and other senior managers.

Step 4: Implementation

Implementation means more than simply exercising the plan during an emergency. It also means:

• Acting on recommendations made during the vulnerability analysis
• Training employees
• Integrating the plan into company operations
• Evaluating and revising the document over time.

Look for opportunities to make emergency planning part of the corporate or plant culture. One way to test how well the plan has been integrated is to ask questions like these:

• How well does senior management support the responsibilities outlined in the plan? 
• Have emergency planning concepts been fully incorporated into the facility's accounting, personnel, and financial procedures? 
• Do all personnel know what they should do in an emergency? 
• Does management take advantage of opportunities for distributing emergency preparedness information through newsletters, employee manuals, or mailings?

Training

Your disaster plan is only as good as the employees who carry it out. And that means training. Everyone must know his or her role and how to perform it under difficult and often dangerous conditions.

Training can take a variety of forms—from explanations of the process during orientation sessions, through a full-scale exercise in which a real-life emergency situation is simulated as closely as possible.

General employee training should cover:

• Individual roles and responsibilities
• Information about threats and hazards
• Notification and warning procedures
• Emergency response and evacuation
• Location and use of common emergency equipment
• Emergency shutdown procedures

At least once a year, a formal audit of the plan should be undertaken. The goal is to determine problem areas, identify lessons learned from drills and actual events, and make sure the plan reflects changes in the physical layout of the facility and any new processes.

22 keys to safe forklift operation

Every year more than 20,000 forklift-related injuries occur in U.S. workplaces. According to OSHA, most forklift accidents can be attributed to lack of safe operating procedures, lack of safety rule enforcement, and insufficient or inadequate training.

Many employees are injured when forklifts are inadvertently driven off loading docks or fall between docks and an unsecured trailer. Other workers are hurt when they are struck by a forklift, or when they fall while standing on elevated pallets and tines (something that they shouldn't be doing).

Most incidents also involve property damage, including damage to overhead sprinklers, racking, pipes, walls, and machinery.

You can prevent the accidents, injuries, and damage if you make sure forklift operators comply with these 22 keys to safe forklift operation.

1. Never drive trucks up to anyone standing in front of a bench or other fixed object. 
2. Don't let anyone stand or pass under the elevated portion of any truck, whether loaded or empty. 
3. Do not permit unauthorized personnel to ride on forklifts. A safe place to ride must be provided where riding of trucks is authorized. 
4. Never place arms or legs between the uprights of the mast or outside the running lines of the truck. 
5. When left unattended, lower the truck's forks, place controls in neutral, shut off power, and set the brakes. Block the wheels if the truck is parked on an incline. 
6. Maintain a safe distance from the edge of ramps or platforms while on any elevated dock, platform, or freight car. 
7. Make sure there is a sufficient amount of headroom under overhead installations, lights, pipes, or sprinkler systems. 
8. Use an overhead guard to protect against falling objects. 
9. Observe all traffic regulations. 
10. Yield to all emergency vehicles. 
11. Cross railroad tracks diagonally whenever possible.
12. Drivers must slow down and sound horn at cross-aisles where vision is obstructed. 
13. Ascend or descend grades slowly. 
14. When ascending or descending grades in excess of 10 percent, drive trucks with the load upgrade. 
15. Do not permit any stunt driving or horseplay. 
16. Require drivers to slow down for wet and slippery floors. 
17. Make sure dockboards and bridgeplates have been properly secured before they are driven over. 
18. Approach elevators slowly, and then enter them squarely after the elevator car is properly leveled. Once on the elevator, neutralize the controls, shut off the power, and set the brakes. 
19. With motorized hand trucks, enter elevators or other confined areas with the load-end forward. 
20. Only handle stable loads, and never exceed the loaded capacity of the truck. 
21. Take all defective or unsafe forklifts out of service. 
22. Never fill fuel tanks while the engine is running.

Seat Belts

Seat belts are another key to safe forklift operation. A significant number of forklift-related injuries and fatalities every year involve tipovers in which operators were not properly secured to their seat.

Although OSHA doesn't specifically require the use or installation of seat belts on forklifts, if a forklift is equipped with operator restraint devices, including seat belts, you must require operators to use them. Also note that 29 CFR 1910.178(q)(6) prohibits removing seat belts from powered industrial trucks.

Furthermore, OSHA says that if you have been notified by a forklift manufacturer, consensus standard, or industry association of forklift tipover hazards and made aware of an operator restraint system retrofit program, then the agency could cite you under Section 5(a)(1) if you haven't taken advantage of the program.

If you have forklifts that are not currently equipped with operator restraint systems, strongly consider contacting the manufacturer for advice on obtaining and installing such devices to prevent operator injuries in the event of a tipover.

Use near misses to create a safer workplace

British government researchers have found that for every lost-time injury more than 3 days in length, there were 189 noninjury cases. You just can't afford to ignore near misses.

Understanding the circumstances surrounding a near miss can be valuable to employers. But according to an article in the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) journal, Professional Safety, many organizations and employees resist reporting near misses.

Near-Miss Reporting: A Missing Link in Safety Culture looks at the reasons for this resistance and provides ways to overcome it. Author Mike Williamsen considers near misses to be an opportunity for personal risk assessment and adds, "We want to develop a culture that doesn’t wait until someone is injured, but identifies the risk before it happens."

How do you overcome hesitancy to reporting near misses? Williamsen offers the following tips:

• Clarify the expectation that employees report unsafe conditions or risks.
• Provide employees with safety training.
• Offer strategies to measure how near-miss reporting improves safety performance.
• Recognize and reward employees for proactive safety engagement.

According to Williamsen, near misses go unreported for a variety of reasons. These include fear of retaliation, peer pressure, concern about a safety record, complicated report forms, and lack of feedback.

5 Steps for More Effective Near Miss Reporting

• Establish oversight of process. A good task for a safety committee.
• Provide incident investigations training for all levels of staff. Even organizations that have a good process fail to train on the process. Provide mentoring help for new investigators.
• Investigate everything!! The time you spend investigating near misses will give rewards down the road that are better than investigating major injuries or property losses.
• Conduct comprehensive follow-up of corrective action plan. Ask who, what, and by when. Make sure the plan gets put in place. Many organizations fail to develop specific plans.
• Report out on all investigations. Make sure everyone knows about it. Everyone needs to hear about every near miss. Hearing about near misses helps the workforce think about other similar situations. It also encourages ongoing reporting of near misses as people see the value of the reports and understand that they help them do their work more safely.

HAZWOPER PPE Requirements - Levels of Protection

HAZWOPER rules (29 CFR 1910.120 Appendix) delineate four levels of PPE required to protect workers under various site conditions. Here's what you need to know.

Level A

Should be worn when the highest level of respiratory, skin, and eye protection is needed (i.e., for use with highly toxic releases, such as chlorine or ammonia). Level A protection includes:

• Fully encapsulated chemical-resistant suits
• Positive-pressure SCBA or positive-pressure supplied air respirator with escape SCBA
• Double layer of chemical-resistant gloves
• Airtight seals between suit and gloves and boots

Level B

Should be worn when the highest level of respiratory protection is needed, but a lesser degree of skin protection is needed (i.e., protects against splash hazards posed by acids or caustics). Level B protection includes:

• Positive-pressure SCBA or positive-pressure supplied air respirator with escape SCBA (NIOSH approved)
• Chemical-resistant clothing
• Double layer of chemical-resistant gloves
• Chemical-resistant boots, with steel toe and shank

Level C

Should be worn when the next highest level of respiratory protection is needed after Level B. Skin protection criteria are similar to Level B (i.e., protects against contaminants, such as asbestos and lead). Level C protection includes:

• Full-face or half-mask air purification respirator (NIOSH approved)
• Chemical-resistant clothing
• Double layer of chemical-resistant gloves
• Chemical-resistant boots, with steel toe and shank
• Eye protection if half-face respirator is worn

Level D

Should be worn only as a work uniform and not at any site with respiratory hazards. Provides no protection against chemical hazards. Level D protection includes essentially common work clothes, such as safety goggles, safety gloves, and protective shoes.

Plan, Provide and Train: 3 Simple Steps for Preventing Deadly Falls

Falls from heights are the leading cause of death in construction, and they cause many injuries and deaths in other industries as well.

OSHA says that falls from heights can be prevented and employee lives can be saved if you take three simple steps:

• Plan
• Provide
• Train

Plan

Plan ahead to get the job done safely. When your employees are working from heights, such as on ladders, scaffolds, and roofs, you must plan projects to ensure that the job is done safely. Begin by deciding how the job will be done, what tasks will be involved, and what safety equipment may be needed to complete each task. A little prior planning on your part makes every job safer for employees.

Provide

Provide the right equipment. Workers who are 6 feet or more above lower levels are at risk for serious injury or death if they should fall. To protect these workers, employers must provide personal fall protection and the right equipment for the job, including the right kinds of ladders, scaffolds, and safety gear.

Also remember that different ladders and scaffolds are appropriate for different jobs. Always provide workers with the kind they need to get the job done safely.

If workers use personal fall arrest systems, provide a harness for each worker who needs to tie off to the anchor. Make sure the equipment fits, and have a qualified supervisor regularly inspect all fall protection equipment to ensure it's still in good condition and safe to use (even though workers should inspect their equipment before each use).

Train

Train everyone to use the equipment safely. Falls can be prevented when workers understand proper set-up and safe use of equipment. But to develop that understanding they need training on the specific equipment they will use to complete the job and the hazards they may face. Workers should also be trained in the in the care and safe use ladders, scaffolds, fall protection systems, and other equipment they'll be using on the job.

Training Points

Here are some specific training points suggested by OSHA to prevent falls in different hazard situations.

To prevent falls from ladders:

• Choose the right ladder for the job.
• Maintain three points of contact.
• Secure the ladder.
• Always face the ladder.
• Don't stand on top or on the top step of a stepladder.
• Don't overreach.
• Don't place the ladder on an unlevel footing.

To prevent falls from scaffolds:

• Use fully planked scaffolds.
• Ensure proper access to scaffold.
• Plumb and level.
• Complete ALL guardrails.
• Ensure stable footing.
• Inspect before use (by competent person).
• Don't stand on guardrails.
• Don't use a ladder on top of a scaffold.
• Don't climb on the cross-braces.

To prevent falls from roofs:

• Wear a harness and always stay connected.
• Make sure your harness fits.
• Use guardrails or lifelines.
• Inspect all fall protection equipment before use.
• Guard or cover all holes, openings, and skylights.
• Don't disconnect from lifeline.
• Don't work around unprotected openings or skylights.
• Don't use defective equipment.

OSHA Regulatory Agenda for 2013 and Beyond

Annual Survey of Illnesses and Injuries, Electronic Submission—OSHA's proposed rule will require the roughly 80,000 organizations that respond to the Agency’s annual survey of injuries and illnesses to submit their OSHA 300 Log and Summary data for the survey in electronic format.

Backover Injuries and Fatalities—Workers across many industries face a serious hazard when vehicles perform backing maneuvers, especially vehicles with an obstructed view to the rear. OSHA is collecting information on this hazard and researching emerging technologies that may help to reduce this risk and may consider rulemaking as an appropriate measure to address this source of employee risk.

Bloodborne Pathogens—OSHA will review the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard to consider the continued need for the rule, whether the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with other federal, state, or local regulations, and the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors may have changed since the rule was evaluated.

Confined Spaces in Construction—OSHA has proposed a rule to protect employees from the hazards resulting from exposure to confined spaces in the construction industry. Under the proposed rule, employers would first determine whether there is a confined space at a jobsite.

Cranes and Derricks in Construction, Revision to Digger Derricks' Requirements—OSHA agreed to publish a direct final rule expanding the scope of a partial exemption for work by digger derricks. In the direct final rule, OSHA will revise the scope provision on digger derricks as an exemption for all work done by digger derricks covered by Subpart V of 29 CFR 1926.

Electric Power Transmission and Distribution, Electrical Protective Equipment—OSHA has a final rule awaiting action by the President’s Office of Management and Budget (OM that will update the electrical protective equipment requirements for foot protection and aerial lift fall protection for electrical installations.

Infectious Disease—Review the need for regulatory action to address the risk to workers exposed to infectious diseases in healthcare and other related high-risk environments.

Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) —OSHA is still shaping a proposed rule that would require employers to develop a formal program to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses through a systematic process that proactively addresses workplace safety and health hazards.

OSHA Standards Based on National Consensus Standards–Signage—OSHA's consensus standard update project is part of a multiyear project to update OSHA standards that are based on consensus standards. OSHA has published a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning a consensus standard addressing signage.

Reinforced Concrete in Construction—OSHA has published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking information about the hazards associated with the reinforcing operation in construction. OSHA believes current rules regarding reinforcing steel and post-tensioning activities may not adequately address worker hazards in work related to post-tensioning and reinforcing steel.

Silica Exposure—OSHA has initiated proposed rulemaking to make the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica stricter and to require medical surveillance and training for employees.

Slips and Falls, Personal Fall Protective Systems—OSHA has a final rule awaiting action by the OMB that will incorporate personal fall protection systems into the existing general industry rule for Walking and Working Surfaces (29 CFR 1910.23) that reflect new technologies.

Standard Improvement Project, Phase IV (SIP IV)—OSHA's Standards Improvement Projects (SIPs) are intended to remove or revise duplicative, unnecessary, and inconsistent safety and health standards. The agency initiated a fourth rulemaking effort to identify unnecessary or duplicative provisions or paperwork requirements that is focused primarily on revisions to its construction standards in 29 CFR 1926.

Review–Lookback of OSHA Chemical Permissible Exposure Limits—OSHA is developing a Request for Information seeking input from the public to help the Agency identify effective ways to address occupational exposure to chemicals. OSHA believes many of the existing permissible exposure limits (PELs) are outdated and need revising.

Whistleblower Protection Regulations—OSHA proposes to issue procedural rules that will establish consistent and transparent procedures for the filing of whistleblower complaints.

Note on Combustible Dust—This issue was not included in the agenda. There has been no proposed rule drafted, so no new regulation is expected soon.