SAFETY BLOG

Frostbite Emergencies

Working outside in the winter weather can be a very hazardous undertaking.  Extreme cold can pose many threats to our personal safety.  Frostbite should always be taken very seriously.  Please review the following safety huddle with employees that may be exposed to cold temperatures.

Frost Bite Emergencies

• Occurs when skin tissues freeze
• Two causes of frostbite:
1. Cellular death at exposure
2. Narrowing of blood vessels in extremities due to the shunting of blood from the extremities to the core of the body, thus leaving less oxygenated warm blood for the areas farthest from the core
• Most commonly affected areas of the body are nose, cheeks, ears, fingers & toes
• There are three degrees of frostbite:
• 1st Degree: irritates the skin
• burning, numbness, tingling, itching & cold sensations
• appears white in color and feels frozen but retains resistance in the skin
• 2nd Degree:  blisters with no major damage
• decrease in sensation
• swelling and blood filled blisters over white or yellowish skin that looks waxy
• turns purplish-blue when rewarmed
• significant pain with rewarming
• ache and throbbing in 2-3 days
• 3rd Degree (deep frostbite):  all layers of skin affected, permanent tissue damage
• sensation is completely lost
• no resistance, hard to the touch
• only time will reveal the final amount of permanent tissue damage
• Treatment:
• call for professional medical help
• keep affected area elevated to reduce swelling
• move to a warm area to prevent further heat loss
• always look for symptoms of hypothermia to accompany frostbite
• remove all constrictive jewelry and clothes which may further constrict blood flow
• provide warm, nonalcoholic, noncaffeinated fluids
• apply dry, sterile dressings or bandages
• place cotton between fingers and toes to prevent friction damage
• do not rewarm if the affected area may refreeze
• avoid gradual thaws
• rewarm area quickly
• rapid transport to a hospital is critical

 Stay safe out there!

Medical & First Aid Preparedness 

Ensuring a safe workplace takes diligence and commitment.  Unfortunately, even with the best planning accidents do occur in the workplace.  Employers must establish emergency protocols so that all accident victims receive timely and qualified first aid and medical treatment.  OSHA sets standards for medical and first aid preparedness in the workplace for construction and general industries.  Conforming to government compliance in this area, such as providing OSHA approved first aid kits, is something all employers must do, but there are also behind-the-scenes issues that must be taken into consideration to provide employees with the most efficient post-accident care.

First and most importantly, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the workplace and on job sites saves lives!  OSHA only mandates that construction and general industry employers have certified first aid specialists on site when there are no hospitals, clinics or reasonable medical care nearby.  The standards make no mention of CPR or AED training.  Heroic Safety Solutions recommends that all employers have at least two employees on any work site that are certified in first aid, CPR, and AEDs, and equipping each work site with the appropriate calibrated equipment.  The immediate availability of these resources to severely injured employees may be the difference between life and death.

Second, employers should designate emergency contact personnel to meet responding safety forces.  The faster emergency medical treatment arrives to treat an accident victim, the greater the chances of a successful recovery for that victim.  Responders often arrive to very large work complexes to realize that they are no where near the patient and cannot find anyone who has knowledge of the incident location.  This will delay urgent care.  Employers should designate personnel to meet responders in specific locations.  The location, nature of the accident and number of victims should be relayed to the emergency dispatcher during the initial 911 call.  Choose contact locations that can be easily identified from the street.  The contact personnel should be knowledgeable of the site layout and accident details.  The more information the paramedics can gather before arriving to the patient the less time the patient will have in receiving difinitive care.

It is always recommended that employers keep emergency data sheets on every employee in case of a workplace emergency.  These files should be managed by a human resource manager and must be kept confidential (by law) to protect the employees privacy, but access should be available in a timely manner.  Employers cannot mandate employees submit such information, but should stress the importance of this resource to paramedics and ask that employees volunteer to take part in data submittal.  One way to improve employee confidence in this program is to have employees seal their report in a tamper-proof envelope before submittal.  Ask employees to update their records annually.  During emergencies, these data sheets can supply paramedics with essential information that will lessen the responders' on-scene time.  Recommended information for these sheets is as follows:

• Employee name, birth date and address
• Name and phone number of employee's emergency contact
• Any chronic illnesses or medical conditions
• Any medications the employee takes
• Any and all allergies the employee has (including latex allergies)
• Blood type if known
• The name of the employee's physician and hospital of choice if applicable
• Any other pertinent information that the employee thinks is relevant to the report

Lastly, employers can develop an emergency incident form for the contact personnel to complete while waiting for emergency services.  This should be a standardized form that is readily available in a moments notice.  A fill-in-the-blank template is recommended and the form should be concise enough to be completed in under three minutes.  The emergency incident form and the employee's sealed emergency data envelope should be relayed to the paramedics by the contact person.  Recommended information for this form is as follows:

• How many victims are there?
• Is this incident a result of a traumatic event?
• If so, how did the accident occur?
• i.e., fall
• Brief but pertinent accident details
• i.e., fell from an 8 foot ladder and hit head on concrete
• Are there any hazards still surrounding the victim?
• i.e., energized equipment or toxic chemicals
• If not a traumatic event, what was employee doing prior to incident?
• Briefly describe events, signs and symptoms
• i.e., loading a truck then began complaining of chest pain
• If a chemical related incident, are MSDS sheets available to responders?

These three accident preparedness techniques can save lives in your workplace.  Remember, your employees are your most valuable asset.  Their safety is always the first priority!

Be safe out there!

Heat Emergencies in the Workplace

It is almost time for summer.  Whether working indoors or outdoors, summer means longer days and increased temperatures in the workplace.  Now is a good time for employers and employees to review heat related emergencies and become fluent in ways to decrease the chances of heat-related accidents and injuries.

Heat Related Stressors:

• Direct sunlight
• Poor physical condition of employee
• Lack of ventilation or air movement inside structures
• High-heat operations or processes
• Lack of hydration
• Heavy work clothing or PPE
• Some medicines increase risks
• Lack of experience or tolerance to increased temperatures

Heat Related Emergencies

1. Heat Rashes
• Most common symptom experienced by employees in hot work environments.
• Occurs as a result of skin that stays wet from unevaporated sweat.
• areas commonly affected is the neck, groin, upper chest and back, under breasts, knees and elbows
• Mitigation
• continually seek rest and shelter in a cooler, less humid environment
• keep all affected areas dry
• use dusting powders to decrease wetness and increase comfort, but avoid creams and ointments
2. Heat Cramps
• An early indicator that the employee's core temperature is rising and not compensating properly.
• Symptoms include muscle aches and soreness throughout the body.
• Caused by electrolyte imbalances from perfuse sweating and lack of hydration to replenish nutrients.
• Associated with hard physical labor in hot environments.
• Mitigation
• drink one cup of cool water every 15 to 20 minutes
• consume electrolyte/carbohydrate based sports drinks at regular intervals throughout the day
• implement regular rest breaks in cool shaded environments
3. Heat Exhaustion
• A progressed indicator of more serious heat related injuries.
• Caused by a combination of excessive heat and prolonged dehydration.
• Signs and symptoms are weakness, dizziness, nausea and severe headaches.
• fainting and collapse are severe symptoms that can pose serious injury risks to employees
• Mitigation
• shelter in cool shaded areas
• provide fluid hydration
• apply cold packs to back of neck, groin and armpits
• employees exhibiting symptoms of heat exhaustion should be removed from service and must rest for the remainder of the day
4. Heat Stroke
• A life-threatening disorder!
• Occurs as a result of the body's inability to continually regulate temperature and the body temperature rising to critical levels.
• Early symptoms
• irrational behavior, lack of sweating, extreme confusion, hot and dry skin
• Late symptoms
• seizures or convulsions, loss of consciousness
• death
• Mitigation
• call paramedics immediately
• shelter employee in cool shaded environment
• remove clothing
• wet employee's body with cool water
• apply cold packs to neck, groin, and armpits
• hydrate conscious employee with cool water
• employee must be seen by medical professionals

Best Work Practices

• Provide cool beverages to employees and encourage employees to hydrate every 15 to 20 minutes.
• In extreme temperatures, work in shifts that alternate one group resting in the shade while another group works in the heat.  Continue to alternate at tolerable working levels.
• Expose workers to higher temperatures gradually.  Steadily acclimate employees to higher and higher temperatures and at longer periods of time.  This will increase their tolerance to working conditions.
• Encourage employees to wear light fabrics that wick moisture away from skin and ventilate well.
• Provide rest and recovery in cool shaded areas that may contain fans, misting devices, and hydration services.
• Always monitor employees with chronic and acute health conditions.  Consider reassignment for higher risk employees.
• Reschedule hot work for days when lower atmospheric temperatures will compliment high heat processes and operations.
• Have employees trained in first aid and CPR assigned to every job site or workplace.

Stay cool and be safe out there!

-Heroic Safety

Hazard assessment cannot be stressed enough.  Every time we set foot into the workplace we must evaluate our surroundings and work operations for threats to our safety.

On Thursday April 23, two painters in Akron, Ohio were dropped off at a vacant house under renovation at 10 p.m.  The painting job was fairly straight forward, they were to paint all of the floors on the inside of the house.  The house had no electric service, and since they were going to work throughout the night, they decided to use a generator to provide electric to their portable lights.  The two men placed a gas generator in the fruit-cellar of the basement of the house.  The room that housed the generator had a small open window which the two men obviously thought would be enough ventilation for the exhaust fumes.  There were no other open windows in the entire house.  On Friday morning, the contractor arrived at the residence to check on the painters' progress and found the two men lying on the floor inside of the house.  The man immediately called 911.  When police, fire, and EMS arrived, one of the painters was declared dead on the scene and the other was barely breathing.  Carbon dioxide levels are considered hazardous at 35ppm (parts per million).  The initial levels detected by responders was over 700ppm.

This is just another tragic example of a deadly workplace accident that most certainly could have been avoided with a little fore-thought and safety planning.  Again, we must make safety in the workplace our first priority.  The following is a link to the reported story.

Fumes Suspected in Death

The Department of Labor has tagged April as the Drug-Free month in the United States.  Does drug testing really increase safety in the workplace?  This is a very controversial issue in workplaces across America.  Instead of just dropping a biased opinion on my readers, I want to create a debate on this subject.  In the spirit of a good debate, I welcome any and all comments on this issue.  Tell me what you think and why you think that way.  What are your personal experiences with drug-free workplace programs and testing.

As the author of this blog post, this is where I get to give my answer to the question.  I have been teaching drug-free trainings in Ohio for years, and my answer to the question is yes, drug testing in the workplace greatly increases safety.  Here is some data to help support my position.  All of the following data is provided by the Ohio Bureau of Workman's Compensation.

• Over 40% of workplace accidents in the state of Ohio are substance abuse related.
• Substance abusers are 33-50% less productive than normal employees.
• Abusers miss an average of 3 weeks more from work a year.
• Users are 3-4 times more likely to have accidents at work and their accidents are 150% more severe than normal employees.
• There are 5 times more worker's comp claims filed by abusers than non-abusers.
• Substance abusers use 300-400% more of their employee medical benefits.
• 50-80% of theft in Ohio workplaces are related to employees abusing substances.

The statistics speak for themselves.  Substance abuse is dangerous and expensive in the workplace.  I can tell you that the initial idea of drug free workplace programs was never intended to go into workplaces, round up abusers, and fire them.  The idea has always been to identify employees who need help overcoming addiction.  Once identified by the employer, support then can be offered to that individual that will help them regain control over their lives and then become a productive, valuable, and healthy employee.

I know you are asking me, "what do you know about addiction?"  I have interacted with a lot of substance abusers over the years.  Not only am I a safety consultant, but I have been a professional firefighter and paramedic for a city fire department for 9 years.  Addiction is a physical, emotional, and sociological prison for the user.  They can no longer set and meet their own personal priorities.  The addiction becomes the priority.  All cause and effect thinking has gone by the wayside.  They no longer think about how their actions will affect themselves or their coworkers.  This creates a huge safety risk.

What about personal rights?  I hear many employees say, "what I do in my personal time is my business."  They are right, it is their business, but when it effects me on our time then it becomes my business as well.  Some substances can affect the user hours and even days after using.  I can point to tests that have been done to prove that one-time users of marijuana have failed fine motor coordination tests up to 24 hours after smoking.  When these effects are being brought into the workplace, then they are open to regulation.  I have personal rights too, and one of them is to be safe while at work.

As a firefighter, I am subjected to drug testing.  There have been years when I have been random drug tested as many as 4 or 5 times a year.  Do I have a problem with this?  Not at all.  I understand why the city is testing me.  Ask yourself if you would want your city's safety forces to be potential substance abusers?  Could you or would you rely on their abilities?  I think not.

Substance abusers are extremely dangerous in the workplace.  I believe I have laid the foundation for an excellent debate.  Lets hear what you have to say on the subject.  For more information on drug-free workplace programs visit www.dol.gov/workingpartners.  Be safe out there!

A progressive safety firm has found a new breed of safety consultants.  Heroic Safety Soltuions has added safety forces personnel such as firemen, paramedics, and police officers to its arsenal of safety trainers.  These are people who deal with workplace accidents and injuries everyday.  They are hard working Americans that have won the hearts of our communities.  Who better to relate to and train our workforce.  Every city in the United States is stocked with these professionals, and everyone of them has expertise and certifications in different areas of safety.  The trial run has been extremely successful.  Employees trust and rely on the reputations of these professionals.  They keep the attention of their audiences by using real life stories of accidents and tragedies in their trainings, which employees seem to love.  The days of boring safety trainings led by "the snot-nosed college kid" are gone.  Enter Heroic Safety Trainers.

Heroic Safety Solutions