News articles
Time to tune up your safety program
First, look back over the previous year and review the activities you carried out. Then, to keep your safety program effective, review the past year to make sure that your program includes best practices and then see what you might need to add.
Were new employees:
- Given a safety orientation?
- Informed of reporting requirements for injuries and illness?
- Told what to do in emergencies and how to report hazardous conditions?
What about your safety committee or safety meetings? Did you document the issues your employees brought up and track them to resolution? Were minutes of the meetings prepared and attendance taken? Each of these activities demonstrates management’s involvement and support for safety.
Does your safety program need changes? Based on research on distracted driving, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently banned texting while driving a truck or bus. Does your company have a policy on this and other forms of distracted driving? If not, perhaps now is the time to draft one and implement it. Ask your drivers to give you feedback on the policy to make it better.
You could just continue with the status quo for your safety program, but then your program falters and becomes harder to maintain. Just like keeping your fleet in tune for best performance, a tune up of your safety program keeps it effective.
TRUE STORY
The right equipment could have kept this driver out of a tight spot
A 40-year-old less-than-truckload driver was delivering a 450 lb. cooler. When he arrived at the customer site, he realized that the truck did not have the lift-gate necessary for delivery. Additionally, the cooler was sitting on a damaged crate.
The customer had paid for a truck with a lift-gate and wanted the cooler delivered as promised. The driver called his manager and was told to “get it done,” so he tried to unload the cooler by himself. When he manually lifted the cooler off the truck, the damaged crate caused it to fall forward. The cooler landed on his shoulder, pinning him to the ground in the squat position. He managed to gently slide the cooler off of himself so that it wasn’t damaged, but his back was hurt.
The driver continued to work for 5 days after the injury until the pain in his back was so intense that he could not move. When he finally went to the doctor, he was diagnosed with 2 ruptured discs and 1 that was torn. He’s been off of work for 6 months and his workers’ comp claim has cost more than $20,000. Good planning and the right equipment could have saved him and his company a lot of pain and expense.
Dealing with stress at work
Stress affects all of us. It can be caused by the guy who cut you off in traffic or by long-term concerns, such as a serious illness in the family or financial strain. Fortunately you have many ways to manage stress. Fit in exercise by walking or stretching while waiting for your truck to be loaded. Bring healthy snacks with you on the road — they’re hard to find once you get started. Also, make time to socialize with your friends and family. Your doctor can help you deal with symptoms of stress.
Companies can also help their workers deal with life’s stressors. Support for flexible work schedules can decrease conflicts in work/life balance. When possible, allow employees to control their schedule, both the time spent at work and how they allocate their time while working. Encourage frequent exercise breaks for those with sedentary jobs and rest breaks for those who do physical labor.
Co-workers can add to stress or help one another cope. Recognize that your team member may be under stress and do what you can to help.
As corny as it sounds — smiles are contagious. Pass them around.
Are injury investigations necessary?
Investigate all incidents/accidents to prevent a reoccurrence
Guest author: Herb Maxey, CSP, Sr. Loss Control Consultant, Farmers Business Insurance
As we go through everyday business we can experience what is called an incident/accident event. This is an unintended occurrence that may result in injury or death to workers and usually results in time lost from production. Usually, after an incident has occurred management will do whatever is necessary to return the business back to normal operations. This can include a refocus of employee attention, replacement of damaged material and equipment, treatment of any injuries or arrangement of medical care for employees. What doesn’t occur in most cases is an effective investigation into how it happened (Root Cause Analysis) and most importantly what can be done to prevent the incident from reoccurring. A Physicians Report of Injury that documents that the accident happened and a brief description of what happened, e.g., employee slipped and fell, is not an effective investigation.
It is management’s responsibility and legal obligation to investigate all injury incidents and it is a sound business practice to investigate non-injury occurrences. This means to determine what failed in an incident, not just that the employee slipped but what caused the employee to slip. The investigation needs to be carried out to the point that management can identify action(s) that will prevent a similar occurrence.
Management needs to learn from an unintended event. If they don’t learn then it is likely that the unintended event will happen again perhaps with greater consequence such as major property loss or injury that results in death. Not only do we not want to see an employee injured but unintended events are costly. In today’s business world, the survival of a business requires that your business activity be conducted in the most cost-effective manner. Safety is cost effective.
Most informal investigations will conclude that the employee needs additional training. This may be a valid conclusion to an investigation but not a complete one. Has the training been reviewed to make sure it is current or is it ten years old and based on equipment and processes that are outdated? If it is determined that the employee needs retraining or counseling then that should occur but this is not the most effective means of incident prevention. Can the job hazard be eliminated? Can less-hazardous chemicals be used? Does management support safety over production? An effective investigation cannot conclude that the occurrence was simply an employee error. Management’s role in all incidents is to identify and institute measures to prevent another occurrence. Management is required by regulations to identify hazards within the work place and then it is management’s responsibility to remove the hazard, engineer the hazard out of the operation, or protect the employee from the hazard.
For additional assistance on incident/accident investigation contact Labor and Industries Consultation or your insurance representative.
Would you like to share your company's safety success story? Contact us at TruckingNews@KeepTruckingSafe.org.
Changes coming to 2010 OSHA 300 log
By February 1 of each year, your OSHA 300 log should be posted for the previous year. The OSHA 300 log is the summary of all the injuries and illnesses that your company has had during the year.
Beginning in 2010, your OSHA 300 log will contain a column for tracking musculoskeletal disorders. Now is the time to start documenting these injuries on your Log of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses so you will be ready when it is time to complete the summary.
Questions on any of this information may be directed to the consultation staff at your regional DOSH office. Go to http://www.Lni.wa.gov/Safety/Basics/Assistance/ to locate your regional office.