Clear, Shovel & Salt!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees,

Hey, its Captain Obvious pointing out to everyone that it snowed last night. 

Obviously there are going to be some slippery conditions are your job sites.  If you are working on roofs, exterior scaffolding, exterior aerial lifts, etc., please ensure that you clear off your working surface before commencing work.  If you do have exterior roof work, think about whether you have other tasks you can perform and coordinate with your Superintendent if that roof work can wait until Monday.  If your job site entrances are extremely icy, please diplomatically point it out to the general contractor to see if he can assist in clearing/salting the icy areas where employees would tend to walk including to the portable bathrooms. 

It is difficult for general contractors to always ensure that the walking paths are clear of ice and snow, so please be careful.  If you are walking on ice, it is best to shuffle your feet instead of taking long strides. 

Have a Safe Day!

Answers to Monday's Ladder Safety Quiz

Below are the answers to Monday's ladder safety quiz.  So how did everyone do?  I would expect that all of the I.D.I. employees got an "A" on the quiz. 

Have a Safe Day!

I.D.I. - Ladder Safety Quiz - Answers

How many people are allowed on a ladder at the same time?

          1          2         3          as many people as we can get on it

What is the minimum height above the landing level that you must extend your ladder?

          1 foot          2 feet          3 feet         4 feet          doesn’t matter

What is the minimum distance that you must keep your ladder from electrical power lines?

          1 foot          5 feet          10 feet          25 feet          doesn’t matter

How often should you inspect your ladder for safety?

          Before each use          weekly          monthly          yearly

It’s O.K. to stand on the top 2 steps of a step ladder?

          True          False

What is a good recommended ratio to use for how far out from a building you should set the feet of a straight ladder or extension ladder when you lean the ladder against the building?  The pitch of the ladder should be:

          2:1          3:1          4:1          6:1

It’s O.K. to use a ladder on top of a scissor lift to increase your work height?

          True          False

It’s O.K. to use a portable A-frame step ladder in the closed position like a straight ladder?

          True          False

 

Does a ladder set up to access a higher landing level need to be secured to the structure to prevent tipping or movement?

          Yes            No

A ladder or stairs with handrails are required when there is a break in elevation of ____________ inches or more?

          12”        19”        24”        32”        36” 

I.D.I. - Ladder Safety Quiz

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees.  Test your own ladder safety knowledge.  Try taking the following ladder safety quiz to see if you know your ladder safety.  I will post the answers on Wednesday, 1/11/12.  Feel free to shoot me an e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com with your answers.

Have a Safe Day!

How many people are allowed on a ladder at the same time?

          1          2         3          as many people as we can get on it

What is the minimum height above the landing level that you must extend your ladder?

          1 foot          2 feet          3 feet         4 feet          doesn’t matter

What is the minimum distance that you must keep your ladder from electrical power lines?

          1 foot          5 feet          10 feet          25 feet          doesn’t matter

How often should you inspect your ladder for safety?

          Before each use          weekly          monthly          yearly

It’s O.K. to stand on the top 2 steps of a step ladder?

          True          False

What is a good recommended ratio to use for how far out from a building you should set the

feet of a straight ladder or extension ladder when you lean the ladder against the building? 

The pitch of the ladder should be:

          2:1          3:1          4:1          6:1

It’s O.K. to use a ladder on top of a scissor lift to increase your work height?

          True          False

It’s O.K. to use a portable A-frame step ladder in the closed position like a straight ladder?

          True          False

 

Does a ladder set up to access a higher landing level need to be secured to the structure to prevent tipping or movement?

          Yes            No

A ladder or stairs with handrails are required when there is a break in elevation

of ____________ inches or more?

          12”        19”        24”        32”        36” 



Happy New Year to all I.D.I. Employees!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:  I have been away from the office for the past 2 weeks so I have not been able to input any safety posts on this blog.  Now that I am back, I am working on safety matters that need attention.  I plan on posting a safety article by the end of the week.

In the meantime, I hope that everyone had a happy and safe new year with your loved ones. 

Thank you, Safety Pete

When Should I Wear Gloves?

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  If your weekend wasn't so great, at least keep in mind that the Packers lost and they can no longer lay claim to having a perfect season.  Had they run the table, gone undefeated and won the Super Bowl, we Bears fans would have NEVER heard the end of it. 

Now for a little glove discussion.  When should I wear gloves and does the type of glove matter?  There are several tasks that employees perform that require gloves.  Lets start with hand & finger laceration protection.  I.D.I. has a policy in place that requires carpenter/framers and all employees that are handling or working around sharp objects to wear gloves.  This policy is mainly in place to reduce the laceration risk of employees working with metal track & studs.  This applies mainly to our framers and delivery drivers.  I.D.I. put this policy in place in February 2010 and we have since had a dramatic reduction in hand and finger lacerations.  As a matter of fact, since February 2010, we have had only 1 framer sustain a laceration on his hand and he was not wearing gloves when the incident occured.  I.D.I. supplies a cotton Jersey type glove to our employees to use for this purpose.  Employees installing insulation are also required to wear gloves.  The main reason for this policy is because the M.S.D.S. (Material Safety Data Sheet) calls for gloves to be worn when handling insulation.  For the common fiberglass insulation batts, the cotton gloves work very well.  If you are installing Thermafiber type insulation, we require the nitrile coated gloves (rubber dipped type) to be worn as they are impermeable to the small granules and fibers that come with this type of insulation.  Prior to requiring the nitrile coated gloves to be worn for Thermafiber insulation handling, we had 2 employees sustain infections from the granules getting embedded in their hand and/or fingers.  Since we put the nitrile coated glove policy in place, we have had no further infection problems develop from the Thermafiber insulation.  Another task that requires gloves are when an employee is working with a corrosive material such as a corrosive paint that can burn their skin.  We supply and require a PVC coated type glove for this application.  The PVC coated gloves that we supply are usually black in color and are a rubberized type of glove that runs about half way up the forearm.

Please keep in mind that there are other times that gloves are required.  The above mentioned scenarios are when I.D.I. does require gloves.  It is diffucult for an employer to name every situation where a glove would be required.  It is important that employees read the M.S.D.S. sheets for the products being used as they will tell you if a glove is required and the type of glove required.  Also, think about the task you are performing and if there is a chance you can injure your hand or fingers, think about the type of glove that would protect you and ask for a pair. 

If you have any questions about gloves or our gloves policies, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham.  You can e-mail him at pgraham@4idi.com and I believe that everyone has his phone number.

Thank you and have a Safe Day!

Next Quarterly Safety Meeting - Saturday, 2/11/12

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employee:  In case you are looking ahead at your calendars, our next quarterly safety meeting will be held on Saturday, February 11th, 2012 at 7:00am.  The meeting will be held at our usual meeting location at our Barrington office at 28059 W. Commercial Ave.  We have not selected the safety topic for the meeting as of yet.  We want to wait until the meeting date gets closer in case a timely topic comes up that we need to train on.  In the meantime, you can mark your calendars with the date.  We will provide everyone with more information about the meeting in a mailer as we get closer to the date. 

Have a Safe Weekend!

2 More Employees Caught Working Safely!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:  Two more employees were caught working safely on 11/28/11.  Framer's Lou Spalla and Daniel Dominick were caught in the act working on a roof deck on a baker scaffold with the wheels locked, safety rails in place on their fall exposure side, tied off with fall protection to the overhead steel beam and using a face shield & safety glasses while cutting steel track with a partner saw.  They were also wearing their hard hats, gloves, work boots, etc. 

Great job guys - keep it up!  Have a safety day everyone!