BBQ Safety

Submitted by Eric Tofte, Director of Training, Evergreen Safety Council

Summer grilling season starts this weekend and a lot of us will be going out to the backyard to cook up some BBQ. Before you do, take a look at these safety tips:

• Before using your grill, check it thoroughly for any leakages or any type of damage. Avoid using a cracked grill. Carefully check for any wear and tear of the tubes connected to the burners. Always be prepared for any fires with a fire extinguisher. If possible, keep a person in charge for the fire at all times. Don't wear loose clothing which might catch fire.
• Never barbecue inside your house, garage, trailer, tents or any type of enclosed area: grills are designed for outdoor use only. The carbon monoxide fumes may accumulate and kill.
• Read the manual carefully and follow all the safety restrictions. Grills (gas or charcoal) and smokers all have very specific ranges of operation. You need to know these before you light up.
• Keep the grill stable to avoid tipping. Place your grill over a plain surface; not over steep or sloping surfaces.
• Be sure that all electrically-operated accessories are properly grounded. Electrical cords should be placed away from walkways or anywhere people can trip over them.
• Never start a propane grill with the lid closed. Gas can accumulate and when the grill is ignited may cause an explosion. Always shut off the propane fuel at the grill and at the bottle after you finished barbecuing. Otherwise, this will lead to fire hazards, such as leaks and faulty regulators.
• Due to the production of carbon monoxide when charcoal is burned, charcoal grills should not be used inside homes, vehicles, tents, or campers, even if ventilation is provided. Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless so you will not be alerted to the danger until it is too late.
• Only use a charcoal barbecue on a balcony or terrace if there is a ten foot clearance from the building and there is an immediate source of water.
• It is not advisable to use sauce at the beginning of your cooking. And always wait at least one minute before serving food to avoid burns.

Have a Safe Memorial Weekend everyone!

Situational Safety

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Wander back with me, for just a moment, to your years as a student. . . all of us can remember how tough it was to sit in the classroom, when the first warm days of early spring called to us through the prison bars we were sure we saw on the school room windows. How can we concentrate on split-infinitives, quadratic equations, or even coloring while staying between the lines, when spring time activities beckon? But wait; what’s this? The teacher is leaving the room . . . now is the time to entertain the class by demonstrating that you can stick your head in the opening between the chair seat and backrest. Everyone is laughing and enjoying your show, but now it’s time to get back in the seat, and the teacher will be none the wiser . . . . .

Now fast-forward to after the teacher has returned to the room to find you in this embarrassing situation. To add insult to the situation, let’s call the school nurse, and one or two of the school maintenance staff to saw the chair apart to extract your head. Wonder if my parents will get a bill for the damaged chair?

Kid-stuff prank, you say? Hopefully this boy grew up to be a productive citizen, but let’s face it, even adults do some pretty silly things at times, that cause us to only shake our heads and wonder what they were thinking. Ahh . . . maybe, just maybe, they weren’t thinking!

Accident prevention is every employees’ responsibility, and avoiding horseplay, on the job is just one area where what seemed innocent at the start, can otherwise turn quickly to a tragic event.

Evergreen Safety Council offers a certification series of training for Safety and Health Specialists, where accident prevention is a common thread through all of the training sessions. If you have an interest in obtaining this certification, contact ESC at (800) 521-0778 or via the links on this web-site to learn more about this, and all the workplace safety programs we offer.

Picture source: the Navy Safety Center

Training and Unsafe Workers

Contributed by Roger Hurst, Evergreen Safety Council
Unsafe workers are a chronic problem in some industries more than others. They might ignore cohort’s safety concerns while influencing others at the same time. You need to identify these individuals before everyone’s safety is jeopardized.

A safe working environment is not only more productive but is also more profitable. Your ROI will rise with a properly administered program. You must use the techniques OSHA recommends: Training/information, enforcement and rewards. This also must be repeated to become effective. You need to repeat safety training in a downward path from management with safety rules, training programs and internal communications. You must also repeat safety training in an upward motion to make sure your message is being received and understood.

The OSHA most cited standards for 2009 are:
1. Scaffolding
2. Fall Protection
3. Hazard communications
4. Respiratory protection
5. Lockout/tagout
6. Ladders
7. Powered industrial trucks
8. Electrical wiring
9. Electrical design
10. Fall Protection, training

These same infractions occur year-after-year. This is why repetition of training is so important for the safety of all your employees. As you know OR-OSHA, DOSH, AKOSH, OSHA and MSHA are all upping their fines for these infractions.

You can purchase all the safety equipment you want, but only safety training will assure your workers use and implement this equipment. We are the company who can provide this training for your companies. We have the all new Total Safety Compliance program which saves you time, money and the hassle of keeping records of your safety training. Please give us a call to get your program started today. 206-382-4090.

The Morning After

We survived the 2010 Washington Traffic Safety Confernce. Each year we grow the conference a little bit bigger. This year, there were over 70 people in attendance participating in 7 speaker presentations and visiting the 6 vendor booths.

The WSCJTC facilities were great, with the added benefit of a floor show. In the morning we watched the color guard raise the flag, march around and even do push ups. During lunch there was a K9 demonstration, and on one break we watched Seattle PD trainees practice entering a building with guns drawn.

Highlights of the Conference included Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Evergreen presenting Senator Eide with an award for her efforts in passing the cell phone and texting bill, as well as Syd Muzzy's interactive presentation, which is always well received.

What People are saying: "This (conference) will enhance my EverSafe Driving instructions... (This conference provided me with) resources and tools to use in my own presentations to staff and clients... I really enjoyed all the helpful & useful information... This was an extremely valuable presentation. If more people knew about how useful this information was, you would fill the auditorium 10 times!"

To see the pictures from the conference, come visit us on Facebook. Come join the conversation.

Yikes! The Traffic Safety Conference is Tomorrow

Evergreen staffers are working hard to prep for tomorrow's Traffic Safety Conference. Eight months of planning seems like a lot, and then suddenly its - tomorrow. We have the attendee packets ready to go, speakers and vendors are all set, the program agendas are printing as I type this, and most importantly...the food is ordered.

This afternoon we will be heading down to the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission to set-up. Sweaty work, but somebody's got to do it.

We hope to see you there tomorrow. In fact, mention you read this BLOG at the reception table and we will give you a prize.

If all else fails check out our Facebook page next week to see the pictures of what you missed.