HazMat Training

JSAs – Transition your safety plan into the ideal work plan

Andy Green — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 00:57:39 +0000

As most of you know I’ve been a Safety Consultant/Trainer for over 30 years. I have reviewed hundreds of safety plans during my tenure. I frequently review a “Standardized Safety Plan” that was mass produced for compliance purposes. Employers just add their name and logo to the cover page with a few phone numbers and VIOLA….Safety Program DONE!

I am a firm believer in saving money and not reinventing the wheel. These plans were never meant to be a total remedy for your safety woes and OSHA mandates. They were meant to be the foundation on which to build. These plans are a great start but can’t be your only attempt to sustain your operations and growth. Safety Plans need to be manifold in order to incorporate other needed components of your business plan. If every time you lose or add new employees you have to start over in training the new hires from scratch, you can create a bottleneck in your growth potential. If you can build in Standard Operating Procedures, (SOPs) for tasks that can be standardized and solid guidance techniques for the ones that can’t be, then training new employees can be streamlined and their operational knowledge will be synced with your expectations of quality and safety. Utilize the knowledge of your in-house professionals that you’ve invested a lot of resources and time into getting them to the summit of their job assignments, by having them develop JSAs (Job Safety Analysis) for the tasks that they have mastered. Repetition of great work practices is golden to most employers. It allows for safer and timelier operations that are predictable, more cost effective and reduces Worker’s Comp rates in the long term.

I believe that JSAs are a great tool that will assist you in accomplishing this task.

When properly executed, the JSA will list:

Step by step instruction of the task
Potential hazards of each step
Hazard mitigation procedures
Tool list
Safety equipment required for the task
Troubleshooting techniques
Key safety awareness points (task specific)
Approximate time to complete task (optional)*
* A time component can also be added to assist your schedulers in assigning task to maximize your work force.

Access to information is one key to safety and creating a more streamlined process is one key to longevity.

Once the JSA’s are developed, they should be stored in a database for easy accessibility. If anyone with an average knowledge level needed to perform a task that had a complete JSA available, the time to competency for that task would be greatly reduced and a high level of consistency and quality could be maintained.

Any component added to your safety plan that has the ability to reduce injuries is a time worthy investment, including your highly trained staff in its development is priceless.

Please use the “ACCIDENT CALCULATOR” to get an overview of what an accident really cost based on your margins. JSAs are also great training tool for OJT.

Don’t shortcut your safety efforts with online generic video training. Experience the difference with “LIVE” online training. It will make a difference!

High Voltage Arc Potential

Andy Green — Fri, 13 May 2016 20:25:50 +0000

This is a great video for those working with high voltage. Please pay attention to the portiion about Inspecting your gloves. It’s a huge insight of why it’s so important. Stay focused and stay safe.

Step and Touch Potential

Andy Green — Fri, 13 May 2016 18:53:50 +0000

This one is for all of you Heavy Equipment Operators and Construction Workers… This could save your life…

Heat Stress Symptoms

Andy Green — Fri, 13 May 2016 18:46:04 +0000

FYI: The 5 signs & symptoms of heat stress are:

prickly heat rash
nausea
stomach cramps
chills
headache

It takes 5 to 7 days to get used to hot or cold environments for fit people, which if you need to ask what fit is, you’re probably not in that category. For the rest of us, 50% longer, 7 to 10 days.
If you experience ANY of the S&S of illness, get out of direct sun, notify people you’re with and begin the rehab process.

Feel of your skin and assure that you are cool and wet. Get to a cooler place and start sipping cool (50 to 60 degree) water. Your fluid replacement can be assessed by weighing prior to starting work and at each break. Convert lost weight to oz and drink that much water in fluid oz. You should weigh the same at the end of your shift as when you began. It can take up to 6 hours to turn water into sweat, so you can get into a dangerous situation very quickly. Only you know if your in heat stress or not. OSHA states that you have the right of exit at will.

Alcohol intake within 24 hours of exposure to hot atmospheres is a potential disaster. Alcohol suppresses your anti-diuretic hormone. This allows your body to excrete your body fluid rapidly and places you in a dehydrated state very quickly. If you have ever drank enough to have a hangover, the headache is a result of dehydrating your brain. Your brain is smaller when it is properly hydrated and swells when it is not, hence the pulsating headache. Also, my liver doc told me that alcohol and acetaminophen can damage the liver and could cause death in just a couple of doses. Water is what will help prevent a hangover. Of course, not having excessive amounts is the best way. Especially the night before a hot day.

Well that’s a quick review of heat stress. Be careful not to hurt yourself. Work smart.