Housekeeping: It may seem simple, but a messy / dirty work area makes for an unsafe work environment.  Pallet banding lying on the ground spilled oil and obstructed walkways all result in thousands of injuries each year. Lockout / Tag out on equipment needing repair: Thousands of injuries are caused each year by the failure to lockout or tag out equipment and machinery needing repair.  Often...

This bulletin looks at equipment controls and the lack of consistency among the controls on different machines.  Operators who use different machines may need to deal with different control layouts for each machine.  Design differences between safety-critical features can present significant safety concerns. What happened?An experienced tractor operator was constructing a road using a downhill...

Electrical hazards can be found in all industries.  Avoiding electrical shocks both at home and at work requires awareness of the hazards and a respect for this “Silent Killer.”  The human body has a low resistance to electricity, making it a good conductor, like most metals.  Unlike metals however, the human body does not respond well when electricity passes through it....

A worker was struck and injured when the load line on an articulating boom crane broke and the crane’s load fell about 6 metres (20 feet) to the ground.The load line broke because the crane “two-blocked”, meaning that its travelling lower block (the hook block) and its stationary upper block (the tip sheave) came into contact.  This contact can put extreme stress on the load...

What if we were to start “infecting” everyone we work with, live with, meet, etc. with our positive safety attitude and behaviours?   Wouldn’t that make a significant difference to us and others? Well this is no far-fetched idea as we see outlined by one organization described in the following excerpt.  The Italian oil and gas company Saipem employs 40,000 people worldwide. The company...

The line separating safety from danger is sometimes quite small.  To avoid crossing that line, we must always be aware of the hazards around us understand the machines and operations in our work areas take the time to think about the possible consequences that may result from where we place our bodies or the actions we perform. When we do this, we can avoid suddenly finding ourselves in the...

Safe people always: Understand the risks of their jobs Perform jobs the way they are supposed to be done, without taking shortcuts Never become complacent about safety Get involved in efforts to improve safety Know what to do in an emergency A personal accident-prevention plan must consist of the following habits: Following safety rules and procedures Using assigned personal protective equipment...

A worker is changing out a commercial meter. As he completes this task, he should always vent the gas outside.  Everyone knows this, but we sometimes skip it because we’re trying to keep up with the production and maintenance schedule.  Well, the small room he was in filled with gas, that eventually was ignited by a nearby water heater.  The room blew up and the worker was trapped...

Working under the influence of alcohol is in most work places in most countries is strictly prohibited.  This means more than just not drinking on the job.  Tests have shown that alcohol can still have an effect on your body up to 18 hours after you have stopped drinking.  Alcohol use is a legitimate on-the-job safety issue – and not just an attempt to control off-the-clock lifestyles....

Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.), the father of medicine, thought depression was caused by an excess of black bile, a humor once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness or melancholy.  The Egyptians were first to recognize depression and treat it with the power of suggestion, known today as hypnosis.Doctors and psychologists of the 17th through 19th centuries used the word...

Many times within discussions following an injury incident one hears “He just hurried too much” or “She was in a hurry and got careless.”  In both of these statements, a single cause, being in a hurry, is identified.  The implication is that if that single cause were eliminated, the “accident” would not have happened. Unfortunately, as is the case with...

Driving is hazardous enough as it is being surrounded by massive pieces of metal moving at high rates of speed. You can’t afford to take your eyes off the road. Every day it seems as if there’s a new way of distracting yourself while driving however. When cars were first invented, they were bare bones vehicles designed for one thing – to get you rapidly from one place to another. It wasn’t long before...