THE LATEST AND GREATEST IN THE WORLD OF SAFETY
Per your committee peers 😊
The Safety Sense email being sent out to all active employees for the month of September is about the two most common pieces of PPE; Safety glasses and steel toed shoes/boots.
Eyeglasses are not rated the same as safety glasses. Just because someone is wearing eyeglasses does not necessarily mean they are properly protected from getting debris in the eyes or an eye injury. There are many levels of testing that are completed for glasses to be OSHA certified. Steel-toed shoes and boots need to properly fit to also prevent injury. We never want an employee to wear an improper size shoe or boot. Often those who are not used to wearing such durable footwear find some discomfort and the end of their shift. It was suggested by Laura from the Lakeshore to purchase sole inserts at a local drug store for steel toe shoes and boots to make them more comfortable when wearing the proper size for longer periods of time.
Looking back at August: the top injury for the month was contusions. Remind SA’s to make sure they are securely holding products, have a strong grip and work slower. Many parts are falling out of the hands of our SA’s and they are being struck by them. We also had a lot of eye injuries. This goes back to proper PPE. Please make sure those who need safety glasses are given them and wear them properly.
September brings a mix of weather. Continue to stress heat protection and remind SA’s that are layering for cooler mornings that as the day warms up multiple layers may not be necessary. Also continue to drink water, even if they are not feeling thirsty. With early morning cooler temperatures, moving into warmer afternoons, Adrian from Grand Rapids West reminds us that there is often fog on the road. This is a great reminder for us and SA’s to be aware of weather that might require us to drive more slowly or leave earlier for work. Safety getting to the job is also important.
Remember with each incident it is our responsibility to find the root cause of the problem and figure out what needs to change or how to fix the problem to ensure the safety for our employees! Even if the SA declines treatment for the injury we still want to investigate what happened so we can prevent it from happening again. Need help finding the root cause to complete your injury file, more importantly, the Post Accident/Injury Questionnaire? Remember the following:
What happened;
How did it happen;
Why it happened;
What needs to be corrected.
Work with your clients to make sure our SA’s are safe, and we are providing them with a safe space and environment to work in. Safety is a team effort!
