Safety or Discrimination?

After being laid off from his previous mining job at LTV Steel Mining Co., James Edstrom applied for a job at Hibbing Taconite, another mining company. In his first year at LTV, Edstrom had a near-miss accident, but in the 8 years after that, he had no subsequent accidents. Edstrom was deaf in one ear and had no hearing in the other. When his wife inquired for a sign-language interpreter at his interview, Hibbing canceled the interview. Hibbing felt as if Edstrom's hearing disability would be a safety hazard to other workers, in addition to being a danger to Edstrom himself. Edstrom filed a lawsuit under the American Disability Act (ADA). Read the article below to see the outcome of the trial.

Company didn’t hire deaf man because of safety: Was it discrimination?

by Fred Hosier

A deaf man applied to a mining company for a job. It didn’t hire him, and the man filed a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Who won?

James Edstrom has a severe hearing impairment. Without a hearing aid, he can’t hear anything. He wears one in his left ear which allows him to hear sounds and some words. Edstrom doesn’t wear a hearing aid in his right ear because even with one, he can’t hear anything on that side.

He’d worked for nine years for LTV Steel Mining Co. During his first year at LTV, he was involved in a near-miss. Another employee operating a crane didn’t see Edstrom and almost collided with him. Edstrom was moved from working inside the mill to outside in the mining pit. He didn’t have any other incidents at LTV. He lost his job when the company closed.

LTV had accommodated Edstrom’s hearing limitation by allowing him to communicate through writing and hand signals.

Edstrom applied for five entry-level positions at Hibbing Taconite, another mining company. Three of the positions were in a plant and two were outdoors in a mining pit.

Hibbing scheduled an interview with Edstrom. His wife called the company to request a sign-language interpreter at the interview.

When Hibbing realized Edstrom was hearing impaired, it canceled the interview.

Edstrom filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Soon after the charge was filed, Edstrom had an interview with Hibbing.

At the interview, Edstrom said it would be unsafe for him to work in the plants. Hibbing didn’t ask how it could accommodate Edstrom’s hearing impairment other than inquiring how LTV had handled it.

The company’s interview team decided he couldn’t be hired.

The EEOC filed a lawsuit on Edstrom’s behalf.

Could he do the job safely with accommodations?

The question in Edstrom’s case came down to whether a reasonable accommodation would allow him to communicate at the job and not affect safety.

Hibbing asked the court to throw out the case.

The court refused to throw out the case, saying there was a genuine issue as to whether Edstrom could be reasonably accommodated for the mine pit positions at Hibbing since he had performed similar jobs at LTV. It also said it was better to leave the question to a jury.

At trial, Hibbing claimed that Edstrom admitted if he’d been hired he would have posted a threat to the safety of other workers.

A requirement that a person “not pose a direct threat to the health of safety of other individuals in the work place” is an acceptable legal defense to a charge of disability discrimination.

The jury deliberated less than two hours before finding that Hibbing didn’t discriminate against Edstrom.

Reposted from SafetyNewsAlert.

Another OSHA Citing for Chemical Exposure

OSHA doesn't joke around about hazardous workplace situations or violating health and safety regulations. Recently, OSHA has been cracking down on companies who knowingly violate OSHA regulations, putting their workers at risk for injury and even death. This specific violation was due to worker exposure to harmful chemicals, 1 willful violation and 12 other serious workplace safety violations.

Violations = $43,150*
Employee exposure to methylene chloride
Failure to:
-Provide emergency exits (free of obstruction and unlocked)
-Provide personal protective equipment
-Assess personal protective equipment
-Monitor for methylene chloride
-Conduct medical evaluations for respirators
-Provide eyewash
-Train employees on how to use fire extinguishers
-Establish a regulated area for employees exposed to methylene chloride
-Implement effective engineering controls
-Failure to properly record injuries and illnesses
-Provide a written respirator and hazard communications program
-Maintain required material safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical at the facility
-Ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals was properly identified and labeled

*Wouldn't a safety training program be cheaper? From Wumbus Corporation, yes!

US Labor Department's OSHA cites New Jersey clothing manufacturer
$43,150 for exposing workers to chemical and other workplace hazards

CAMDEN, N.J. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Miskeen Originals LLC for workplace safety and health violations, including employee exposure to methylene chloride. Proposed penalties total $43,150. Miskeen Originals LLC is a clothing manufacturer with 12 employees at the Camden location.

OSHA initiated an inspection after receiving an employee complaint alleging workplace safety and health hazards. As a result of the inspection, Miskeen was cited for one willful violation with a penalty of $28,000, 12 serious violations with a $15,150 penalty, and seven other-than-serious violations, which carry no penalty.

"Employees exposed to methylene chloride are at increased risk of developing cancer; adverse effects on the heart, central nervous system and liver; and skin or eye irritation," said Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA's area office in Marlton, N.J. "These hazards need to be corrected immediately to protect the safety and health of workers at the plant."

The willful violation was due to the company's failure to provide emergency exits free of obstruction and unlocked. A willful violation is one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employees' safety and health.

The serious violations include employee overexposure to methylene, failing to provide personal protective equipment, conduct a personal protective equipment assessment, evaluate respiratory hazards, properly monitor for methylene chloride, conduct medical evaluations for respirators, provide eyewash, train employees on how to use fire extinguishers, establish a regulated area for employees exposed to methylene chloride and implement effective engineering controls. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

Some of the other-than-serious violations include failing to properly record injuries and illnesses, provide a written respirator and hazard communications program, maintain required material safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical at the facility, and failing to ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals was properly identified and labeled. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Reposted from OSHA website.

Machine Guarding Accident, Man Takes Legal Action

PRLog (Press Release) – Sep 22, 2010 – An engineer has launched a legal action against his employers after an accident at work left his right hand severely damaged.

Gary Finnigan of Colchester was attempting to clear a blockage in an engineering machine whilst working for Amtek Aluminium Castings in November 2008.

While investigating a coolant leak, his right hand was severely crushed by a moving part in the machine, which he claims the company failed to inform him about.

47-year-old Gary lost his fingers and part of his thumb in the accident, and despite several reconstructive operations, his right hand is now “virtually useless”.

As a result of his injuries, Gary still suffers phantom pains and sensations from his missing fingers, and has severe difficulty carrying out everyday tasks.

According to a writ lodged at the High Court in London, it is alleged that Amtek were negligent in that they failed to warn Gary of the existence of a moving part in the machinery, and as such they failed to adequately train him to use the machine, and failed to take appropriate measures to protect him.

Gary is now suing Amtek for around £300,000 in a compensation claim for his injuries.

With the proper training, this accident could have been avoided. Comprehensive machine guarding safety training from Wumbus Corporation.

Women's Safety and Health Issues At Work

Women have been an integral part of the workforce since World War I, acting as a significant crutch to the workforce while many men were off fighting wars. The workforce has changed significantly in the last 50 years.

The percent of women in the workforce has increased from 34% in the 1950s to 60% today, while the percent of men in the workforce has actually decreased from 84% in the 1950s to 73% today.

Nowadays, women are pursuing their education and a career, putting off marriage and childbirth until later in life than women in the past. Additionally, more women are balancing their work life with being a mother.

Women face different workplace health challenges than men, partly because women and men have different jobs. Overall, women have more work-related cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, respiratory disease, infectious and parasitic diseases and anxiety and stress disorders, compared to men. Other areas of concern are heavy workload demands, family balance issues and sexual harassment.


JOB AREAS

Agriculture - "In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 580,000 women were working in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. In agriculture alone, about 24% of farmers are women."¹

Construction - "In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 975,000 women were working in construction. NIOSH and its partners have done many studies to improve construction safety and health problems. Women working in construction may be concerned with musculoskeletal disorders, loud noise and hearing loss, fumes, and job stress."

Health Care - "In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated over 13 million women were working in health care and social assistance. In the U.S., 91% of the nurses and nursing aides are women.¹ Women working in health care may be worried about illnesses and injuries caused by long hours, shift changes, physical tasks, violence, and possible exposure to infectious diseases and hazardous chemicals."

Manufacturing - "Food, clothes, chemicals, furniture, oil and coal are just a few products processed by manufacturing workers. In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated over five million women were working in manufacturing - three million of these were production jobs. With the wide range of products processed, women working in manufacturing may be at risk for exposure to hazardous chemicals, physical demands, loud equipment, and long work hours."

Sales - "Women make up almost half of the workers in sales and management positions. In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 9.3 million women were working this industry. Women working in this industry may be concerned about work stress, workplace violence, musculoskeletal disorders, and long hours."

Services - "In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated over 29 million women were working in service jobs. This includes jobs such as finance, insurance, food service, education, entertainment, and public administration. In 2003, almost half of the job-related injuries and illnesses suffered by women happened in service jobs, yet only 20% of working women held these jobs.¹ Women working in service jobs may be concerned with musculoskeletal disorders, workplace violence and injuries from falls."

Transportation - "In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 1.7 million women were working in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, combined. Women working in transportation may be concerned about transportation accidents, injuries from falls, and respiratory illnesses."

Injuries and Illnesses
Bloodborne Diseases
Cancer
Ergonomics
Muscle and Bone Disorders
Heart Disease
Personal Protective Equipment (from lack of use)
Reproductive Health
Respiratory Disease
Serious Injury
Work Structure and Stress

Preventing the Risks and Hazards Associated with Winter Weather

Are You Prepared for the Upcoming Winter Months?



















Extra safety precautions are crucial for working in and around winter conditions. Hypothermia, slips and falls, risks from driving in bad weather and risks driving heavy equipment, such as snow plows, are all potential hazards that can be avoided with the proper attention and awareness.

Make sure that all of your employees are properly trained with the appropriate safety training for the situation!

Working Safely with Snow Plows and Other Snow Removal Vehicles

Working In Cold Weather

Driving Safely in the Hazards of Winter

Driving Safely in Winter Conditions

These winter safety training topics (and more!) are available from Wumbus Corporation!

Tainted Eggs - New Information

New information on the recent outbreak of salmonella caused by eggs from two Iowa farms: after the initial FDA inspection, the condition of the farms were found to be severely neglected and unsanitary.

From the Washington Post:

“[Inspectors] found dead maggots and live flies that crunched under foot at Wright County Egg, where the FDA also documented a hen house bulging from manure ... [they] made numerous observations about holes in buildings or gaps in structures, which can allow rodents, pigeons and other animals to enter hen houses. On several occasions, investigators saw live rodents running through hen houses at both farms.”

"The salmonella outbreak that led to the recall of 380 million eggs was preventable and will likely grow", CNN reported last month, when the salmonella outbreak began.

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), hundreds of Americans became ill from these tainted eggs. Notice the mention of the preventability of the salmonella outbreak.

"From May 1 to July 31, a total of 1,953 cases of Salmonella enteritidis were reported; the expected number of such cases ordinarily in that time would be about 700, stated Dr. Christopher Braden, the acting director of the CDC's division of food-borne, waterborne and environmental diseases," as reported by CNN.

The key conclusion that came out of the report by CNN is that this all could have been prevented if the proper testing and storage rules would have been followed.

"'The outbreak could have been prevented.' McGarry said. 'The egg safety rule is in a phase-in approach, but there are measures that would have been in place that could have prevented this if it been placed earlier than in July.'

FDA's new rules cover refrigeration of stored and transported eggs, pasteurization, rodent control, cleanliness and a required written Salmonella enteritidis prevention plan. The agency said 'implementing the preventive measures would reduce the number of Salmonella Enteritidis infections from eggs by nearly 60 percent.'

Producers with more than 50,000 laying hens, or about 80 percent of the market, were to comply by now. The regulations requires 'egg producers with fewer than 50,000 but at least 3,000 laying hens whose shell eggs are not processed with a treatment, such as pasteurization, to comply with the regulation by July 9, 2012.'"

Let's hope the FDA gets some new rules and procedures set in place for the sanitation of these farms producing the eggs that millions of Americans consume everyday.

Almost as bad as those documentaries they have about chicken farms...

Quotes pulled from The Consumerist and CNN

Safety and Starbucks

I used to work at Starbucks Coffee Company. Everyone knows at least one person who at some point in their life (most likely in high school or college) has worked at Starbucks. I was pondering this and thinking about my current job working in the safety training industry, and how, if at all, they related to one another.

Working for Starbucks was actually a great experience. Not only do they treat their employees well and offer benefits for part-time employment, but they train new employees very thoroughly. Although that first time being thrown into the insanity of working on bar was an intensely adrenaline-filled experience, I learned the many different ways of saying "I'm sorry" and "I'm new, I just started" (translation: I know you need you're caffeine, please don't kill me).

As for the safety aspects of the job, know that every morning, the packaged food and pastries are freshly delivered and checked throughout the day for freshness; anything that looks debatable is tossed. The thermometers (in the fridges and open fridge displays) are also checked multiple times throughout the day to make sure they are cold enough.

As I still visit my old Starbucks stomping ground, I find it less being for the coffee (although convenient and extremely tasty) and more for the atmosphere. I often set up my "home office" there and work, as I enjoy people watching at Starbucks while I'm working.

Check Out the dynamic Food Service Safety Training from Wumbus Corporation!

Workplace Bullying Up to 34.4% in the U.S.

In August, 2010 the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) commissioned Zogby International to conduct a survey of adult Americans. The results showed that workplace bullying is still a problem for 53 million Americans. In the scientific, national poll, 34.4% of Americans report personally being bullied. By including those who only witness it, 49% of the population is aware of bullying at work, while 51% say that have neither experienced nor seen it.
This study is a follow-up to the frequently cited 2007 WBI-Zogby survey, the comparable prevalence was then 37%.

Workplace bullying was defined as “repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation or humiliation.”

In a separate survey, a representative sample of 4,210 respondents was asked about employer engagement in anti-bullying activities. The vast majority (79%) either were not sure or were certain that employers do little to nothing to address it. Remarkably, 21% believed that U.S. employers are currently addressing it through policies and enforcement.

Though the question specifically asked about an anti-bullying policy separate from harassment and violence policies, which most employers do have, one-fifth of respondents still believed that employers had additional procedures to stop bullying.

“This surprising result is probably wishful thinking by bullied individuals and their friends who want to believe that their employer cares about them,” says Dr. Gary Namie, WBI Director. “Similar studies in Scandinavian countries where anti-bullying laws began in the mid-1990′s find a much lower employer compliance rate.”

The positive attitude toward employers was further illustrated by 56% of respondents reporting confidence that American employers would voluntarily stop bullying without being mandated by law to do so. Only 32% disagreed, believing only a legal obligation would compel action.

Respondents were also asked whether they support or oppose workplace bullying laws like the ones that have been introduced in 17 states since 2003 by the Healthy Workplace Bill Campaign. In 2010, both the New York and Illinois Senates passed the bill. However it has not yet become law in any state.

Of the WBI-Zogby respondents, 64% supported having laws to protect workers from “malicious, health-harming abusive conduct” committed by bosses and co-workers (the specific language contained in the introduced bills). 23.8% opposed laws. Gary Namie concludes, “Clearly a majority of Americans want a law. This statistic will be given to lawmakers as proof of the popular appeal of such legislation.”

###

Contact:
Gary Namie, PhD
360-656-6630
info@workplacebullying.org

Why You Shouldn't Smoke Either...

Distracted driving due to grabbing a pack of cigarettes...maybe this is a sign that she shouldn't smoke either...

Charlotte, NC—A distracted driver was charged in connection with the Sunday morning, August 22, 2010 traffic crash that claimed the life of a nurse. The unfortunate pedestrian-involved accident occurred in Mecklenburg County and left another nurse with critical injuries as well, according to information provided by WBTV.com.

Reports stated 19-year-old Leah Ann Walton was traveling along Craig Avenue before 8 a.m. Sunday. However, it was when Walton took her eyes off the road to grab a pack of cigarettes out of her purse that something went wrong.

Walton’s vehicle veered off the road, jumped a curb and struck two nurses standing outside of the White Oak Manor Nursing Home. The two women reportedly work at the Charlotte-based nursing home.

One woman, identified as 33-year-old Susan Karabulut, was dragged across the road after the car hit her. Karabulut’s traumatic injuries seemingly proved fatal at the scene. She is survived by a husband and 11-year-old daughter.

“She was so close to my daughter, my daughter’s going to hurt, she’s going to hurt a lot,” Susan’s husband, Selim Karabulut said.

Authorities stated the other victim, identified as 47-year-old Lisa McIe, was listed in critical condition after the pedestrian-car collision.

Walton was charged with reckless driving, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police also reported she was driving on a revoked license and registration at the time.

Reposted from JusticeNewsFlash.com

Find great Distracted Driving Training from Wumbus Corporation!

Emergency Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness for Business

Management Planning Guides

A comprehensive plan for dealing with terrorism-related events should include specific instructions to building occupants, actions to be taken by facility management, and first responder notification procedures. The links below should assist in the development of these plans.

Emergency Management for Business and Industry
This web site provides information on how to protect your business from disasters and an emergency management guide for business and industry.

OSHA Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool
This eTool will help small, low-hazard service or retail businesses implement an emergency action plan, and comply with OSHA's emergency standards.

A Disaster Planning Toolkit for the Small to Mid-Sized Business Owner (From the Institute for Business and Home Safety)
This document is a disaster planning toolkit that enables small businesses to identify hazards, as well as plan for and reduce the impact of disasters. Also provides advice on insurance, disaster supplies and other things that make a small business more disaster resistant.

Employee Fire and Life Safety: Developing a Preparedness Plan and Conducting Emergency Evacuation Drills
This document provides information about developing an emergency action plan, including fire prevention plans.

NFPA 1600: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs
This standard establishes a common set of criteria for disaster/emergency management and business continuity programs.

Shelter In Place Information Center (National Institute for Chemical Studies)
External Link: http://www.nicsinfo.org/SIP%20Center.htm
This web page provides links to National Institute for Chemical Studies (NICS) documents and other information related to establishing and implementing sheltering-in-place programs.

Facility Protection

There are steps that businesses can take to protect against and minimize the effects of a terrorist attack. The links below provide guidance on steps businesses can take to improve the protective features of their facilities.

Guidance for Filtration and Air-Cleaning Systems to Protect Building Environments from Airborne Chemical, Biological, or Radiological Attacks
DHHS (NIOSH) Pub No. 2003-136
This document provides preventive measures that building owners and managers can implement to protect building air environments from a terrorist release of chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants.

Guidance for Protecting Building Environments from Airborne Chemical, Biological, or Radiological Attacks
DHHS (NIOSH) Pub No. 2002-139
This document identifies actions that a building owner or manager can implement without undue delay to enhance occupant protection from an airborne chemical, biological, or radiological attack.

Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards
An interim final rule from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that imposes comprehensive federal security regulations for high-risk chemical facilities. This rule establishes risk-based performance standards for the security of our nation’s chemical facilities.

Other Resources for Business Emergency Preparation

NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
Source of general industrial hygiene information on several hundred chemicals/classes for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals.

International Chemical Safety Cards (WHO/IPCS/ILO)
IPCS cards summarize essential health and safety information on chemicals for their use at the "shop floor" level by workers and employers in factories, agriculture, construction and other work places.

Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (CDC)
Facts and resources about Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and other emergency situations.

Department of Homeland Security
Information on emergencies & disasters, threats, protection, etc.

Emergency Response Program (EPA)
Information on the National Response System, reporting triggers, community involvement, etc.

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention (EPA)
Includes risk management plans, emergency planning, laws and regulations, general chemical information, etc.

US National Response Team (NRT)
Describes the components of the National Response System, lessons learned from multi-agency federal exercises, national guidance and reports, relevant statutes and regulations, HAZMAT accident databases, more...

The Disaster Handbook (University of Florida)
These materials refer not just to disaster preparedness, but to surviving disaster situations and recovering from them.

Emergency Contacts

If you believe that someone has been exposed to a biological or chemical agent, or if you believe an intentional biological threat will occur or is occurring, please contact your local health department and/or your local police or other law enforcement agency.

CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response Contacts
Information on who to contact in an emergency. For use by state and local health officials and healthcare providers, emergency notification procedures, first responders information, more.

Disaster Offices (Small Business Administration)
This page contains links to various disaster offices that are created and maintained by other organizations. Includes state disaster assistance offices and agencies.

FBI Field Office Information
Alphabetical listing (by city) of FBI Field Offices.

National Response Center (NRC)
The NRC is the sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills. This web site features a On-Line Reporting Application that provides users the ability to easily submit incident reports to the NRC.

Poison Control Center Members – U. S. (American Association of Poison Control Centers)
Search engine for finding local poison control centers.

State Health Departments (CDC)
Search engine for finding state health departments contact information.

State Offices and Agencies of Emergency Management (FEMA)Alphabetical listing (by state) of emergency management agencies.

For in-depth Emergency Preparedness Training, check out Wumbus Corporation's training videos.

Workplace Violence: Identifying the Warning Signs

Unfortunately, no workplace is immune from violence. But, knowing the truth about workplace violence is the first step in handling it safely and in maintaining a safe and productive workplace.

What is workplace violence?

Most people think of violence as a physical assault. However, workplace violence is a much broader problem. It is any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in his or her employment.

Rumors, swearing, verbal abuse, pranks, arguments, property damage, vandalism, sabotage, pushing, theft, physical assaults, psychological trauma, anger-related incidents, rape, arson and murder are all examples of workplace violence.

What should I remember most when learning about warning signs?

You must remember that it can be very difficult to know when a person is going to be violent. While not all people will show the following signs, these types of behaviours and physical signs can serve as warning signs that a situation could turn violent. Always take these behaviors "in context". Look for multiple warning signs and for signs of escalation (the behaviors are getting worse).

If you are concerned about a person who shows some or all of the identified characteristics, take action. Report your concern to your supervisor, or human resources department.

What are warning signs of a troubled person or employee?

Workplace violence can start as small incidents involving negative remarks and inappropriate behavior. It may escalate to physical or psychological violence.

It is much easier to prevent violence by stopping small incidents than trying to deal with the aftermath of a major crisis.

It is extremely important to understand that the following behaviors do not mean a person will become violent, but they may indicate that the person is experiencing high levels of stress. Each situation is unique and professional judgment or outside assistance may be necessary to determine if intervention is necessary.

Always take particular note if:

• There is a change in their behavior patterns.
• The frequency and intensity of the behaviors are disruptive to the work environment.
• The person is exhibiting many of these behaviors, rather than just a few.

Warning signs include:

• Crying, sulking or temper tantrums
• Excessive absenteeism or lateness
• Disregard for the health and safety of others
• Disrespect for authority
• Increased mistakes or errors, or unsatisfactory work quality
• Refusal to acknowledge job performance problems
• Faulty decision making
• Testing the limits to see what they can get away with
• Swearing or emotional language
• Overreacting to criticism
• Making inappropriate statements
• Forgetfulness, confusion and/or distraction
• Inability to focus
• Blaming others for mistakes
• Complaints of unfair treatment
• Talking about the same problems repeatedly without resolving them
• Insistence that he or she is always right
• Misinterpretation of communications from supervisors or co-workers
• Social isolation
• Personal hygiene is poor or ignored
• Sudden and/or unpredictable change in energy level
• Complaints of unusual and/or non-specific illnesses

Are there physical signs that a person may be becoming violent?

Sometimes it is not what a person says, but what their body is "doing". Use caution if you see someone who shows one or more of the following "non-verbal" signs or body language.

• Red-faced or white-faced
• Sweating
• Pacing, restless, or repetitive movements
• Trembling or shaking
• Clenched jaws or fists
• Exaggerated or violent gestures
• Change in voice
• Loud talking or chanting
• Shallow, rapid breathing
• Scowling, sneering or use of abusive language
• Glaring or avoiding eye contact
• Violating your personal space (they get too close)

What are other warning signs of a potentially violent person?

In some cases, there has been a clear pattern of warning signs before a violent incident. When you can, take note of:

History of violence

• Fascination with weapons, acts of violence, or both
• Demonstrated violence towards inanimate objects
• Evidence of earlier violent behavior

Threatening behavior

• States intention to hurt someone (can be verbal or written)
• Holds grudges
• Excessive behavior (e.g. phone calls, gift giving)
• Escalating threats that appear well-planned
• Preoccupation with violence

Intimidating behavior

• Argumentative
• Displays unwarranted anger
• Uncooperative, impulsive, easily frustrated
• Challenges peers and authority figures

Increase in personal stress

• An unreciprocated romantic obsession
• Serious family or financial problems
• Recent job loss

Negative personality characteristics

• Suspicious of others
• Believes he/she is entitled to something
• Cannot take criticism
• Feels victimized
• Shows a lack of concern for the safety or well-being of others
• Blames others for his problems or mistakes
• Low self-esteem

Marked changes in mood or behavior

• Extreme or bizarre behavior
• Irrational beliefs and ideas
• Appears depressed or expresses hopelessness or heightened anxiety
• Marked decline in work performance

Socially isolated

• History of negative interpersonal relationships
• Few family or friends
• Sees the company as a "family"
• Has an obsessive involvement with his or her job
• Abuses drugs or alcohol

What can I do if I am concerned?

Take action.

If you are an employee, you can report your concerns to your supervisor, or human resources department. You can also get advice from your employee assistance program (EAP) if you have one. Find out if you have a violence prevention program in your workplace and what you should do -- if not, encourage your employer to develop one.

If you are an employer, you should know that many organizations are developing workplace violence prevention policies and programs. In fact, programs are required in many jurisdictions. A program is the best way to prevent workplace violence because it takes a very structured, well thought out approach to identifying hazards and reducing the risks for your organization. If your organization has a program, great! You should be fully aware of the policy and procedures developed to help keep your workplace safe. If you do not have a program, you should consider developing one. Remember, employers have a legal obligation to provide employees with a safe workplace. This obligation includes providing a workplace free from workplace violence.

You can find excellent workplace violence training here from Wumbus Corporation.

9 Avoidable Workplace Safety Hazards

Highly effective safety training found HERE.

Workplace health and safety hazards can be costly (to lives and the bottom line), but the good news is that they are largely preventable if you take the right precautions.

You don’t need to work surrounded by combustible materials to face serious health and safety risks, but the recent mine explosion in West Virginia, which killed nearly 30 workers, has called regulatory attention to that extreme end of the workplace hazard spectrum. Whether it’s a failure to protect your workers against carbon monoxide, the silent killer, or a sleep-deprived employee getting into a fatal car accident on the drive to work, every job comes with potential hazards.

Common workplace health and safety hazards include: communicable disease, transportation accidents, workplace violence, slipping and falling, toxic events, particularly chemical and gas exposure, getting struck by objects, electrocution or explosion, repetitive motion and ergonomic injuries, and hearing loss. Although some hazards are less likely to happen in some work spaces than others, it's important to assess which hazards are most damaging to your business and your employees. Some may disrupt your continuity more than others, some may pose more serious threats to employee welfare, and still others will result in the most time lost or be the most costly. What all these setbacks have in common is that thorough planning can forestall many of them.

The go-to resource for the legal requirements in your particular industry or state is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the arm of the federal government that enforces health and safety laws. "It's becoming a much more aggressive organization right now," says Jerry Laws, the editor of Occupational Health & Safety, a Dallas, Texas-based magazine. This crackdown is partly due to a string of recent, highly-publicized disasters including the West Virginia coal mine explosion, an oil rig south of Louisiana that blew up, and a fire at a Washington State oil refinery.

But ultimately, staying on OSHA's good side and protecting your employees isn't so challenging. "What they're asking employers to do, among other things, is look at your risk factors and see where your problems are," says Nellie Brown, the director of Workplace Health & Safety Programs at Cornell University's school of Industrial Labor Relations. While they aren't usually budget-breakers, many precautions against hazards obviously have a higher initial cost, but as the old saying goes, "It's better to be safe than sorry."


How to Avoid 9 Common Workplace Health and Safety Hazards:
Maintaining Continuity

"Things that affect large portions of the [employee] population really affect small- and medium-sized businesses more than large businesses," says Al Berman, executive director of DRII, The Institute for Continuity Management, a New York City-based organization that certifies businesses in contingency planning.

The most prominent hazard in this category is communicable diseases such as colds and the flu, and the reason they can knock out such large portions of your workforce depends partly on our society's working culture. "We don't discourage people from coming to work when they're ill," Berman says, "there is almost an encouragement [to come in] because we limit the number of sick days" employees have.

Aside from giving employees more flexible sick leave, small businesses can also prepare for epidemics by testing whether employees have the infrastructure to work remotely if they are ambulatory but contagious. This can include ensuring that employees have access to VoIP and work e-mail accounts from home, though this won't work in fields such as manufacturing where employees need to be on site to accomplish their jobs.

Finally, Berman suggests that it's important to cross train employees "so that no one person becomes critical to your operation." These types of preparations can cost employers some additional effort and money but Berman echoes Brown when he advises that, "it behooves employers to look at the long term on these things rather than the short term."

How to Avoid 9 Common Workplace Health and Safety Hazards:
Be Prepared

There are two prominent types of general preparation employers can take against health and safety hazards in the workplace: job hazard analysis and risk mapping. These approaches share an element of stepping back and examining your procedures and facilities with new eyes unclouded by routine and alert to potential danger. "It's sort of the Sherlock Holmes idea: you've seen but you've not observed," Brown says.

She goes on to explain that job hazard analysis is "when you look at how a job is done and what sorts of equipment people are interacting with. These are not real mysteries, they tend to be things that you can look at very objectively and see where your protection and prevention needs to be."

Risk mapping is a similar process but it involves examining liabilities by examining your physical workplace and facilities rather than considering the habits and duties of your employees. Combining both of these tools can prevent many accidents at work. For example, if you have an area of your facility where liquids might spill, you would want to include handrails to prevent slips and falls if and when that occurs.

How to Avoid 9 Common Workplace Health and Safety Hazards:
Preventing Fatalities

The biggest threat to your employees' lives is tied to your workplace environment, though the deaths do not occur at work but rather en route. Driving fatalities are "the biggest thing that gets people killed in this country and it's been so for a while," says Laws.

Often overwork, sleep deprivation, and cell phone usage are behind these deadly accidents. "Anything you can do to make people's work hours predictable and regular is really helpful," says Brown. "After that the most helpful thing you can do is take other steps to help your employees with their work-family balance. "One of the things that gets people really concerned is how they can manage childcare, how they can manage elder care, how they can get off time to just live some life besides work," Brown adds. Policies dictating safe cell phone use can also help reduce crashes.

Here are three more sources of potentially fatal accidents your employees could get into and how to prevent them.

* Workplace Violence – Non-employees perpetrate most instances of fatal workplace. The disgruntled gun-toting recent fire resides more in the newspaper headlines than in the category of statistically significant concerns. "If you look at the data on workplace violence easily three quarters or more are robbery," says Brown. Consequently, she advises examining where employees are exchanging or guarding money, interacting with the public, or working alone or in small groups in the late or early hours of the day. You can also make sure the area around your workplace is well-lit, install security cameras, or consider scaling back your business hours if late or early operation comes to necessitate hefty security and insurance costs.

* Falls – The falls that result in fatalities tend to be in industries such as construction or landscaping. This is a case where training your employees in safety procedures and periodically evaluating their understanding and execution of those procedures is the most useful course of action. Additionally providing equipment precautions such as guardrails and rope and pulley supports when possible is also a good idea.

* Toxic Events – Gas and chemical leaks are the most common problems though asbestos continues to plague businesses moving into older facilities. "You're going to see probably a big push on carbon monoxide detectors" in the near future, Berman says. It is now mandated that natural gas have some sort of odor but preventing ventilation problems and carbon monoxide leaks is the next frontier for OSHA.

Getting struck by objects or electrocuted are two other common and preventable ways employees die.

How to Avoid 9 Common Workplace Health and Safety Hazards:
Non-fatal Injuries

When it comes to non-fatal workplace injuries, the clear leaders are incidents of ergonomic problems and overexertion. They affect people in manufacturing, service, and office settings and regulatory bodies are increasingly cracking down on employers who ignore their employees' ergonomic needs. Furthermore, because these injuries can give rise to chronic conditions, they result in one of the higher rates of lost work time.

Brown advises that employees at computer workstations sit at a height that allows their legs to reach the ground, they should have a wrist rest, and not need to crane their neck, eyes, or back in the extreme. She adds that it's important to have lumbar support and if your office chairs don't have this built in, you or your employees can purchase cushions that will provide that extra lower back support.

Ergonomic injuries don't only take place when there is older office equipment with fewer adjustable parts. They can also happen simply from sitting at your desk for too long.

In addition to the wear and tear of the workplace itself on employees' bodies, lifting heavy objects such as boxes of files can result in accidents. Good lifting technique is often ignored when there is insufficient space or time to get a job done properly, but Brown says a good general rule is rather than "lifting, lowering, or carrying, you want to push, pull, or slide."

In a manufacturing setting, hearing loss is a common problem that can creep up on you and your employees but that is easily preventable. In a manufacturing setting, hearing loss is a common problem that can creep up on you and your employees but that is easily preventable. Simply provide headphones or earplugs that cancel out high decibel levels, depending on what volume of noise the equipment in your office environment produce. But providing the equipment is not enough, you need to enforce the policy and make sure your employees are using all the protective gear.

However, whether an injury is fatal or more glancing, one of the biggest mistakes employers make is improper documentation. Laws says, "the most cited OSHA standard seems to be failing to log your injuries correctly or not logging them at all. It's not something you're required to hand over to OSHA unless they knock on your door," but if they do, you'd better have it.

How to Avoid 9 Common Workplace Health and Safety Hazards:
Employee Education and Awareness

A businesses human resources department can do a lot to reduce workplace accidents simply by educating employees. Making sure your employees are "current on what the local and seasonal threats are and passing out information doesn't cost a lot, it could be a monthly e-mail, says Berman.
But you need to go beyond informing employees. Laws explains that, "a lot of the standards that are in place do require training of one sort or another or some sort of documentation that the person was trained." Following up with employees to make sure the training sank in and is being incorporated into their daily responsibilities is also crucial.

How to Avoid 9 Common Workplace Health and Safety Hazards:
Resources

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides free evaluations of whether your workplace may contain health hazards.

OSHA provides lists of the most common workplace health and safety violations by industry. Look your industry up here.

Berman also advises that business owners reach out to industry experts or associations in their field, but most of all to their local board of health. He says, "a small- or medium-sized business should actually go to their local board of health or commissioner of health and have these discussions periodically as to what they should be looking for."

By Josh Spiro | May 14, 2010
Reposted from http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/9-avoidable-workplace-health-safety-hazards_pagen_2.html