In the beginning, new employees are eager to do things right.  In fact, during the first six months, an employee is more eager to learn and please than at any other time during his employment. Smart supervisors use this time to instill proper work procedures and safety rules.  This is the time to let new people know the key job procedures.

The best way to help a new employee learn the job is by having veteran employees work with the newcomer.  The seasoned worker can show the newcomer how to do the job safely.   Both the supervisor and senior worker should monitor the new worker, continuing to advise and train.

A common mistake is overloading new employees with too much information. 

Remember they need time to get used to new people, new tasks, and a new schedule.

For the first week, keep information general.  That way, there’s a better chance the information will be remembered.  Some general safety rules to be emphasized during the first week are:

• Do not do any job, unless you have been trained to do so.
• Do not use any equipment, unless you have been trained to do so.
• Follow all safety rules.
• Be alert to hazards.
• Keep your mind on your job.

·                     Watch for overhead obstructions and power lines.

·                     Never use a ladder in a strong wind.

·                     A ladder should not be placed in front of a door  (especially one that opens toward you) unless the door  is locked, blocked or guarded.

·                     When you use a ladder to reach a roof, make sure the ladder extends at least 3 feet (about 3 rungs) beyond the roof edge.

·                     Before positioning the ladder, check for insect or bird nests under the eaves; the top of a ladder is no place to discover a wasp nest.

·                     Keep the area around the ladder base free of clutter.

·                     Rest the ladder base on a solid, level surface.  Large flat wooden boards can be used to level the surface on uneven ground or to keep it from sinking into soft ground.

·                     To position the ladder properly, make sure the ladder is about 1 foot away from the vertical support for every 4 feet of ladder height between the base support and the top support.  This will produce an angle of about 75 degrees.

·                     When using an extension ladder, raise it to its desired height, being sure the locks engage properly on both sides of  the ladder.

·                     If possible, secure the ladder.  Tie a straight ladder as close as you can to the upper support point.

Stepladder

·                     Many of the safety tips for straight and extension ladders also apply to stepladders.

·                     Erect a stepladder on a flat, level surface.  Do not place it on a table or any similar platform for added height.

·                     Never use a stepladder as a straight ladder.

·                     Before climbing a stepladder, make sure the legs are fully extended and the spreader locked.

Ladder Inspection

·                     Are the steps firmly anchored to the side rails.

·                     Are the steps and other surfaces free of oil, grease, water, paint or dirt.

·                     Are the rungs, rails, braces, ropes, uprights or siderails loose or damaged.

·                     Are there knots or decayed areas on a wooden ladder.

·                     If the ladder has been dropped, inspect it thoroughly before using again.

·                     Tag and remove damaged ladders for repair or replacement.

·                     The location of all exits.

·                     Your evacuation route.

·                     Assembly point after evacuation.

·                     The location of the closest fire extinguisher. 

·                     The location of the closest medical emergency facility.

·                     Location of first aid materials.

In addition, make sure all emergency phone numbers are kept near the phones.

Know the risks involved in your work area: 

·                     Flammable liquids and the way in which they could catch fire.

·                     Electrical hazards that could cause fire.

·                     Toxic chemical vapors in the air.

·                     Reactive chemicals and what causes them to react.

·                     Explosive hazards and what causes them to explode.

If an emergency occurs, you must be ready to act quickly and properly.  OSHA requires the following basic components to be part of your emergency contingency plan:

·                     Know how to report a fire, spill or other incident.

·                     Recognize the sound of the emergency alarm.

·                     If you have emergency response responsibilities (for example, administer first aid), be ready to perform your duties.

·                     If you don’t have emergency response responsibilities, do not get in the way of people assigned to respond.

·                     Alert other people around you to evacuate.

·                     Follow your assigned evacuation route and meet at your assigned assembly point.

To keep an emergency from becoming a disaster, everyone must remain calm and follow emergency procedures.

Change your working position frequently throughout the day in the following ways:

·       Make small adjustments to your chair or backrest.

·       Stretch your fingers, hands, arms, and torso.

·       Stand up and walk around for a few minutes periodically.

·       20-20-20 Rule– Every 20 minutes, look away from your work at something about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

2 feet         Materials and equipment must be kept at least 2 feet from then edge.         

4 feet         An exit must be provided if the excavation is 4 feet deep or greater.

5 feet         A protective system is not needed if the excavation is less than 5 feet deep and the competent person determines there is no potential of a cave-in.

6 feet         Guardrails must be provided on walkways 6 feet or more above the bottom of the excavation.

25 feet       Exits must be within 25 feet of worker horizontally.

Most times we know the right thing to do, but we are tripped up by those pesky gray areas.  That’s why I enjoy being around young teens.  They see the world in black and white and they have very few gray areas. 

This is how navigation through the gray areas happens.

I know the right thing to do, but if I do it, this job will lose money. 

I have a responsibility to shareholders.

I probably won’t get caught. 

Everybody else is doing it. 

I’ll take this shortcut just this one time.

Lately, there has been a lot of news where companies and people have messed up by doing the wrong thing.

BP, Jesse James and Tiger Woods come to mind.  I bet the head of BP, Tony Hayward would like to go to rehab for 30 days right about now.  Some sort of inhouse program for people who make bad decisions in industry  (along with Bernie Madoff and Enron execs).

Do you always follow safety rules or sometimes  skip safety when the job’s so small that it takes longer to set up safely than to actually do the work? 

If you are responsible for worker safety do you always do the right thing?

When we start chipping away at our values—looking the other way when it comes to safety, it’s easy to put them away when they get in the way and pull them out when someone is looking. 

I want to be the kind of person that always has the same values and morals—not just when the cameras rolling.

This isn’t the first time that BP has made headlines with disasterous safety news.

In March 2005, a fire and explosion occurred at BP’s Texas City Refinery killing 15 and injuring 170 workers.

According to the Center for Public Integrity an analysis of OSHA data shows that BP recieved 97% of all serious violations written against refineries  or a total of 872 violations since 2007.  Most of the violations are due to BP’s cavalier disregard to safety and their failure to fix the problems uncovered after the 2005 blast.

This is what BP had to say about their safety program in their 2008 Annual Review, “We continue to work to establish a strong safety culture, developing deep knowledge within every employee and sharing learning. This approach has been successful in building a world-class safety culture.”

 Their actions over the last few years contradict their words.  My dad gave me this advice, “Watch how a man walks, not how he talks”.  You can put fancy words in an annual review, but that doesn’t make it true.

I agree with the deputy assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, Jordan Barab when he said,  “The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company.”

There are 220,000 victims of sudden cardiac arrest per year in the United States; about 10,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur at work.

Waiting for the arrival of emergency medical system personnel results in only 5-7% survival.

Studies with immediate defibrillation have shown up to 60% survival one year after sudden cardiac arrest.

Automated external defibrillators

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a medical device designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to victims of ventricular fibrillation to restore the heart rhythm to normal.  Ventricular fibrillation is the uncoordinated heart rhythm most often responsible for sudden cardiac arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest

Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when ventricular fibrillation takes place or when the heart stops beating altogether. Without medical attention, the victim collapses, loses consciousness, becomes

unresponsive, and dies. Many victims have no prior history of heart disease and are stricken without warning.

Causes of sudden cardiac arrest

·       Heart attack

·       Electrocution

·       Asphyxiation (loss of consciousness and death caused by inadequate oxygen in the work environment, such as in a confined space).

Reasons for AEDs in the workplace

·       Workers may suffer sudden cardiac arrest while on the job.

·       Onsite AEDs save precious treatment time, and can improve survival odds because they can be used before emergency medical service (EMS) personnel arrive.

·       A heart rhythm in ventricular fibrillation may only be restored to normal by an electric shock.

·       The AED is compact, lightweight, portable, battery operated, safe, and easy to use.

AEDS SAVE LIVES!

These devices have a proven track record of saving lives in public places as well as in the workplace.  Please consider installing AEDs in your workplace.

This is an innovative way for OSHA to intervene and monitor Nevada’s state plan performance without revoking the state plan.

In 2008 in the United States, 5214 people went to work and didn’t come home, that’s a little over 100 people every week or 17 people every day.

How many families are still grieving over the loss of their loved ones? Safety isn’t just a word.  Safety is real.  When it's not there, it can be disasterous.  Just ask any wife, husband, mom, dad, son or daughter who wishes that safety had been at work with their loved one that last day.

This week, let’s make safety a priority.  Just this week, follow every safety rule.  Do it one day at a time.  Pay attention to what you do.  If you’re not sure if you are doing something right, ask.  Then follow up NAOSH week, with another week of being safe, and then another.

Our goal is for everyone to come home safely at the end of the day.  17 people dying daily to provide for their families is unacceptable to me.  I hope it’s unacceptable to you, too.