This Ongoing Operation Can Reduce Accidents and Hazards, and Improve Morale

With the changing times of the season there usually is some “safety” week dealing with any sort of safety issue.  Well there is one safety issue that we feel needs to be addressed all the time and that is Basic Housekeeping.

Effective housekeeping will eliminate some workplace hazards and help get a job done safely and properly.  Poor housekeeping can frequently contribute to accidents by hiding hazards. If the sight of debris, clutter and spills is accepted as normal, then other more serious health and safety hazards may be taken for granted.

Housekeeping is not just cleanliness.  It includes keeping work areas neat and orderly; maintaining halls and floors free of slip or trip hazards; and removing of waste materials (e.g., paper, cardboard) and other fire hazards from work areas.  It also requires paying attention to important details such as the layout of the whole workplace, aisle marking, the adequacy of storage facilities, and maintenance.  Good housekeeping is also a basic part of accident and fire prevention.

Effective housekeeping is an ongoing operation: it is not a hit-and-miss cleanup done occasionally.  Housekeeping order is “maintained” not “achieved.”  Cleaning and organization must be done regularly, not just at the end of the shift.  Integrating housekeeping into jobs can help ensure this is done regularly.

The final addition to any housekeeping program is inspection. It is the only way to check for deficiencies in the program so that changes can be made.  Consider documentation and using checklists for inspecting offices and manufacturing facilities to track progress.

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training Evergreen Safety Council

On or Off the Job–Vehicle Crashes Have Big Costs for Employers

Many individuals never realize the financial impact of vehicle crashes on employers. However, a report just released by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), shows the significant costs to employers that direct crash-related expenses have whether the crash happened on or off the job.

The report, Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes to Employers-2015™, details the costs to employers of traffic crashes occurring on and off the job, and shows an annual cost of nearly 47.5 billion dollars in crash-related expenses, including medical care, liability, lost productivity, and property damage.

Nearly half of this cost resulted from off-the-job vehicle crashes.

The report shows that more than 1.6 million work days were lost due to traffic crashes, with nearly 90 percent of those days attributed to crashes that occurred off the job, involving employees and/or their dependents.

• Speeding resulted in $8.4 billion in crash-related expenses,
• Distracted driving was close behind, at $8.2 billion,
• Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs resulted in $6.0 billion in losses, and
• Not wearing a seat belt added $4.9 billion to the total.

The good news? Developing a proactive traffic safety program is one of the best ways to control costs from workplace vehicle crashes. Besides keeping our roads safe, protecting employees from a motor vehicle crash injury can be a profitable investment of time and resources for any organization.

Proven success has been found in initiating “work-life” programs for all employees, especially programs that use workers as channels for getting traffic safety information to their family and community.

One easy, low cost campaign that has been around for some time is an employee wide seat-belt use campaign. (Get your free toolkit at 2seconds2click.org.) Other topics to consider are: trip planning, vehicle safety checks, defensive driving techniques, fatigue management, and driver’s behavior.

Evergreen Safety Council’s EverSafe Driving program addresses all of these topics, and more. The EverSafe Driving program can be presented by an experienced Evergreen Safety Council trainer at your location and customized to match your vehicles and driving situations, or you can send an employee through the Evergreen Safety Council Instructor Development course so they can become
qualified to conduct classes for your organization.

Help protect your most valuable resource (your employees) with defensive driving training through ESC’s EverSafe Driving Program. Contact us for more information.

Contributed by Tom Odegaard, President/Executive Director Evergreen Safety Council

Scholarships for Members and Their Families

Evergreen Safety Council views membership as a gateway to establishing a safety partnership with you and your employees. Member organizations and individuals have low-cost access to valuable information, resources, and training that will help protect you, your employees, and your business from dangerous situations, accidents, and costly mistakes.

But did you know that members and their families also have access to apply for several different scholarships?

Paid for with a percentage of membership fees, esc has the Monty C. Lish & Stanley O. McNaughton scholarship for safety and health careers. This scholarship was developed to encourage more college students to consider safety and health professions as viable and worthwhile careers. Deadline: February 15, 2016.

We are also proud to offer ESC members access to apply for a $1000 college scholarship from the American Association of Safety Councils (AASC). Deadline: March 1, 2016.

If the student is a resident of Washington State and meets other eligibility requirements, The Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Advisory Board, Construction Safety Planning Committee, is once again offering a $1,250 scholarship. Deadline: March 16, 2016.

Learn more about the requirements and applying on our website under Membership, then Scholarships and Awards.

Deadlines are coming up fast! Not a member? Learn more about membership and apply on our website at www.esc.org.

Contributed by Tom Odegaard, President/Executive Director Evergreen Safety Council

Updated CPR and First Aid Guidelines

On October 15, 2015 the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) released updated CPR and First Aid Guidelines. To comply with these new recommendations and ILCOR, First Aid instructors must complete an instructor update course by the end of 2016. instructors can continue to teach and certify using the 2010 materials until December 31, 2016.

On January 1, 2017, any instructor or instructor trainer who has not yet completed the class covering these changes in treatment recommendations will not be authorized to issue ASHI First Aid certification cards.

Evergreen Safety Council has a couple of these classes already slated for February 11 and March 21, in Kirkland, WA.

Here is a brief overview of a few of these changes that have been incorporated in the ASHI/HSI training:

• In the area of education they found that the use of a CPR feedback device (like the Loop) is very effective for improving CPR skills and if one is not available, use a device such as a metronome to improve adherence to recommendations for chest compressions (which is now 100 to 120 per minute).
  
• Findings show that most CPR compressions are too shallow and it is more effective to compress deeper rather than shallower. The recommendation is a depth of at least 2 inches and not deeper than 2.4 inches.
  
• Pediatric CPR compression rates are also 100 to 120 per minute and they are recommending deeper compressions of at least 1/3 the anterior-posterior diameter of the chest for those aged one month to the onset of puberty.
  
• On burns it is now recommended that thermal burns are cooled with cool or cold potable water for at least 10 minutes. If water is not available a clean cool compress can be used to loosely cover the burn. (Care should be taken to monitor for hypothermia when cooling large burns.) Also with burns it is NOT recommended to use natural remedies, however if you are in a wilderness setting honey could be used on a burn.
  
• They are now recommending that following a dental avulsion, it is essential to seek rapid assistance with  re-implantation of the tooth. if you cannot get to a dentist soon put the tooth in milk or clean water if milk is not available.
  
• The anaphylaxis emergencies have been updated to state that if a person with anaphylaxis does not respond to the initial does of epinephrine and the arrival of EMS exceeds 5 to 10 minutes a repeat dose of epinephrine may be considered.
  
• There have been a couple of new additions to the concussion area which are if:
  
  
  • Any person with a head injury that has resulted in a change in level of consciousness or has progressive development of signs or symptoms of a concussion should be evaluated by a medical professional as soon as possible, and
    
  • Using any mechanical machinery, driving, cycling, or continuing to participate in sports after a head injury should be deferred until they are assessed by a medical professional.
    
  • Bleeding control has also been updated to include training in tourniquets. According to the guidelines because the rate of complications is low and the rate of hemostasis is high, first aid providers may consider the use of a tourniquet when standard first aid hemorrhage control does not control severe external limb bleeding. It is reasonable for first aid providers to be trained in the proper application of tourniquets, both manufactured and improvised. In addition, hemostatic dressings may be considered by first aid providers when standard bleeding control is not effective for severe or life threatening bleeding.

Remember that the new science and treatment recommendations do not imply that emergency care or instruction involving the use of earlier science and 2010 treatment recommendation is unsafe.

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training Evergreen Safety Council

National Teen Driver Safety Week Kicks off October 18

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 14-18 year olds in the uS. In 2013, there were 2,614 teen (15-19 year old) passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes and an estimated 130,000 were injured.

Join Evergreen Safety Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in recognizing Teen Driver Safety Week this October 18th - 24th.

This years' Teen Driver Safety week theme is “5 to drive” and addresses the five most dangerous and deadly behaviors for teen drivers. Those dangers include alcohol, seat belts, texting, speeding, and extra passengers.

Know a teen who is driving or getting ready to drive? Teen Driver Safety week is a great time to start a conversation about driving safety, but be sure to continue the conversation often.

Did you know? Evergreen Safety Council is proud to offer teen driving courses through our Evergreen Driving School.

We’ve put together a safety inspired, teen-centric training program that meets all of the washington State department of licensing requirements.

with over 80 years of training, the Evergreen Safety Council has helped thousands of students bring out their best while keeping safety in mind.

The “5 to Drive” rules are:

1. No Drinking and Driving. Almost one out of five (19 percent) of the young drivers (15 to 19 years old) involved in fatal crashes had been drinking, even though they were too young to legally buy or possess alcohol.
2. Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time. Front Seat and Back. 64 percent of all the young (13- to 19-year-old) passengers of teen (15- to 19-year-old) drivers who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2013 weren’t restrained.
3. Put It Down. One Text or Call Could Wreck It All. The age group of 15 to 19 years old has the highest percentage of drivers who were distracted by cell phone use and involved in a fatal crash. In 2013, 156 people were killed in crashes that involved a distracted teen driver.
4. Stop Speeding Before It Stops You. In 2013, almost one-third (29 percent) of teen drivers involved in a fatal crash were speeding.
5. No More Than One Passenger at a Time. The risk of a fatal crash goes up with each additional passenger.

By Tom Odegaard, President/Executive Director Evergreen Safety Council