“Accidents happen” is a good dictum when applied to minor slip-ups, but in the world of construction, manufacturing, and industry, accidents can have deadly results. Back in 2019, 5,033 workers died on the job; that’s around 15 deaths a day. You need to invest time into work safety at heights if you want to keep your workers safe.
One of the best ways to encourage worker safety is by introducing safety topics for work. Safety topics are points of dialogue you can your workers can develop, to ensure that they work safely. This article will walk you through some of the most important safety topics.
Heat Exhaustion
In light of some of the more obvious problems workers can face, like slippage and falling equipment, heat exhaustion can often be forgotten about. Start a dialogue, so your workers can take heat exhaustion into account.
Tell them the statistic that 50-70 percent of heat-related fatalities happen on the first few days of the job, because the body needs to get used to working in high temperatures. Encourage them to drink cool water, even when they aren’t thirsty, to prevent dehydration. While productivity is extremely important, even more important is safety; encourage them to take breaks.
Provide them with a shady or cool location where they can cool down, and replenish their powers.
Falls
If you’re working up high, the number one concern of your workers is falling. However, falls are preventable. Make sure you discuss the job being done with your workers and ensure that they have all of the equipment they need.
Encourage them to set up their equipment on level ground. Make sure that they know how to operate all equipment so that they don’t slip up. If a newer worker is on the job, make sure there’s someone more experienced showing them around.
Encourage them to think about ladder safety. Tell them to never reach on a ladder, and to always have someone supporting the base.
Machine Guarding
If you’re working with dangerous machinery, your workers are at risk of laceration, amputation, and crushing injuries. Make sure that your machines all have the proper barriers, light curtains, and two-hand trips.
One of the biggest reasons why machinery injures so many people is the lack of safeguards in standard equipment. To remedy this, make sure your employees become fluent in every safety protocol that needs to be taken when operating these machines.
Check out this article to learn more about behavior based safety.
Safety Topics For Work That Matter
If you want to keep your employees safe, make sure you introduce these safety topics for work. Often, injuries happen as a result of people lacking awareness. By creating a dialogue between workers, you create a culture where safety is a priority.
Heat safety falls, and machine guarding are some of the most important topics to address.
For more articles like this, check out our “business” section.
How To Help Employees Avoid Heat Exhaustion And Heat Exhaustion
Schedule physical demanding activities for workers in the morning or evening when the temperature drops. To prevent heat exhaustion when employees need strenuous physical activity, employees should wear loose clothing, drink plenty of water, and avoid dehydrated beverages (for example: caffeine). With drinks).
Encourage employees to drink 5 to 7 ounces of water every 15-20 minutes while working outdoors. During a day’s work, a maximum of two to three gallons of sweat can be produced in the body. Due to the loss of these fluids should be replaced at about the same rate. Cold, clean, flexible drinking water should be readily available.
Employees should not rely on thirst to indicate how much water to drink from thirst since thirst is a poor indication of the actual need for fluids.
Implement a work rest cycle program for overseas jobs. Less work cycles are required for more strenuous physical work and warmer work environments. Periods of work should be followed by intervals in a cool environment (approximately 76 degrees Fahrenheit).
The American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) describes methods of measuring heat and humidity and identifies resting work cycles for different workloads in hot / humid environments.
Encourage employees to add extra salt to their diet if they need to change their salt. Salt tablets should not be used.
How Employees Should Protect Themselves From Excessive Sun Exposure
Wear Sunscreen.
Wear sunglasses with UV protection. When purchasing sunglasses, the darkness of the lens should not be used to assess protection from UV rays. Tint is designed to reduce glare.
Learn when to stop and take a break. Outdoor workers should look for shaded or covered areas to take a break.
Wear the right clothes. It is recommended to cover a tight-fitting hat or neck that can be added to a tight-fitting hat.
Slip, Tour, And Waterfall
Some of the slips, trips, and falls are frequently reported injuries, which claim about 25 percent of workers’ annual compensation claims. In 2014 alone, 34,860 workplace slips and falls were injured, including in snow, sleet or ice. As a result, one or more days were left to recover
Snowy conditions are a big factor when it comes to winter. An important way to prevent icy, wet conditions from the outside is to be out of work right after a winter storm, whether at work or at home. Other precautions to reduce your risk of falling while working out include:
Take extra time to plan your actions. If it is snowy and icy, follow the path that provides the best destination.
the Wearing appropriate shoes. Rough or heavy walking shoes are good for walking in the snow.
black watch for black snow. After snow or ice melts, black snow often forms on roadways and sidewalks. Familiarize yourself with black snow conditions and be prepared.
Once inside, walk carefully inside the house. Entry can be very slippery with people walking in icy shoes.
Cold Pressure
When your skin temperature drops, cold pressure builds up, resulting in a drop in your internal body temperature. The factors that cause heat leave the body faster. Cold pressures include trench feet, frostbite, and hypothermia.
Trench foot – foot injury due to prolonged exposure to wet and cold conditions. Symptoms of tetanus include redness, tingling sensation, pain, swelling, leg pain, numbness and blisters.
Frostbite – Injury caused by freezing of skin and tissues, which can cause permanent damage to the body. Symptoms of a coldbite include redness, pain, or numbness of the skin with an unusually strong, waxy, or a grayish-yellow color.
Hypothermia – Occurs when the body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit after prolonged exposure to cold or freezing temperatures. Symptoms of hypothermia include tremors, fatigue, memory loss, blurred vision, rapid hands or sleep.
Here are some precautions you can take to minimize your risk of cold sores:
Cover exposed skin before stepping outside. When the air gets cold, the exposed meat freezes quickly, causing frostbite and hypothermia.
This includes wearing several layers of suitable material. EHS today recommends the following three layers:
Layer 1 (closest to the skin) – a polypropylene or similar contrasting substance. This helps to remove sweat from the body to keep the skin dry.
Layer 2 (middle layer) – an insulating layer of wool or polar fleece type material.
Layer 3 (outer layer) – nylon or similar material to prevent wind.
Remember to wear gloves, a hat, a face mask and appropriate socks. Wear waterproof, thermal gloves if your work permits. It is important to keep your hands safe and dry. The hat reduces the amount of body heat from your head, while helping to avoid covering the face.
