"I Caught You" (working safely that is)

On March 16th, I caught taper Jose Lara working safely on a baker scaffold.  Jose was observed working on a baker scaffold with his platform set about 7' high.  He had his wheels locked and he was using safety rails.  The scaffold also had extra support bracing to help keep the scaffold from racking and to keep it stabilized.  This is what we are talking about when it comes to safety.  Great job Gildardo Sotelo and Jose Lara on being pro-active with safety.  Your actions greatly reduce the chances of a fall type injury from occurring while working on the scaffold. 

Our Safety Mission:  "Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition as They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It."

Quarterly Safety Meeting Show Up Rates - Awesome Turnout!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  We wrapped up our quarterly safety makeup meeting yesterday evening and we have now caluculated our show up percentages following our 1st quarterly safety meeting (Q.S.M.) of 2011.  We had a total of 79 out of 83 active employees attend the meeting for a show up rate of 95%.  We also had a total of 44 out of 45 Safety Coordinators in attendance for a total Safety Coordinator show up rate of 98%.  This was our record turn out in International Decorator's history.  We want to extend a huge thank you to all of the employees that attended our 1st quarterly Q.S.M. for 2011.  Let's strive to have our safest year ever which is good for everyone.  Let's keep the momentum going into our next Q.S.M. which is tentatively scheduled for May 14th, 2011.  As we get closer to the next meeting date, we will continue to update you as to the safety meeting topic and confirmed date of the meeting.  In the meantime, continue to look out for each other to keep our family members from getting injured. 
"Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition as They Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It."

Have a Safe Day!

Makeup Safety Meeting Reminder!

Just a final reminder:  Our quarterly safety makeup meeting is this Wednesday, 3/9/11 at 3:00pm at our shop location.  If you are planning on attending, please ensure that you call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689 or e-mail him at pgraham@4idi.com.  We need a head count for the meeting so we can prepare in case we have to rent chairs, etc.  The safety meeting topic is on trade specific tools that we commonly use.  Framers, acoustic carpenters and drywall hangers will be receiving safety training on the various Ramset and Hilti tools that we use.  Attendees will be issued operator's license cards for the powder actuated tools of which the training will be on.  This training will be performed by our tool vendors.  Our tapers that attend will meet with our Safety Director, Peter and we will cover stilt safety, mini-Perry scaffold safety, impalement hazards, bucket heater electrical safety and we will discuss the main hazards tapers face while performing their tasks and how to prevent injury from those hazards.  If you are a painter and you are planning on attending, your makeup meeting will be on a different day.  Painters should not show up at the 3/9/11 safety training date.  If you are a painter and you want to be scheduled for a makeup meeting, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham. 

Thank you and have a Safe Day! 

Quarterly Safety Makeup Meeting on 3/9/11 at 3:00pm

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  If you didn't have the opportunity to attend our quarterly safety meeting that was held on 2/12/11, you now have a 2nd chance to attend.  Our quarterly safety makeup meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 3/9/11 at 3:00pm.  The meeting will be held at our usual meeting location at the shop located at 1225 Karl Court in Wauconda, IL.  This makeup meeting is for our framers, carpenters, acoustic carpenters, drywall hangers and tapers.  If you are a painter, you are advised to call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689 and he will get you scheduled for a makeup meeting.  Furthermore, if you are planning on attending the 3/9/11 makeup meeting, you need to contact Peter Graham on or before 3/8/11 so we have an idea of the headcount before hand.  If you have any questions at all about the quarterly safety makeup meeting, you should call Peter at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

Electrical Tools & Extension Cords; Don't Get Zapped!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  Getting zapped by electricity is not fun.  You can get external burns, internal burns that affect your organs and it can even stop your heart causing you to die.  When electricity runs though the human body, it is seeking a path through your body to get to the ground.  If you are holding a tool such as a mixing drill or an electric saw in your right hand and your cord on your tool has exposed wires protruding out from the cord's rubber insulation and that exposed wire happens to be laying in a puddle of water, you will likely have electricity running through your body.  The electricity will enter through your hand, run up your arm and then down through your body.  There is no exact path that the electricity takes to get to the ground, however, if the path happens to run across your heart, this is when it can change your heartbeat causing a possible serious problem or even death. 
So, how do you protect yourself from this occuring?  By inspecting your electrical tools and cords daily.  Ensure that your cords have no exposed wires.  Ensure that the outer rubber insulation on your cord is in good condition.  If you are using a tool that has a ground prong on the plug end, make sure the ground prong is in place.  The ground prong keeps the tool grounded to the earth to help protect you.  Ensure that you are following our Assured Grounding Program meaning that your tools and extension cords with 3 prongs on the plug end have been properly inspected and tested on a quarterly basis and appropriately color-coded to document the cord was inspected and tested for the current quarter.  From 1/1/11 through 3/31/11 we are using white tape for our Assured Grounding Program. 
Also, a good safe practice is to plug your cords into a ground fault circuit interrupter or GFCI.  A GFCI monitors the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral.  If there is any imbalance, it trips the circuit.  It is able to sense a mismatch as small as 4 or 5 milliamps, and it can react as quickly as one-thirteenth of a second. 
So let's say you are outside with your power drill and it is raining. You are standing on the ground, and since the drill is wet, there is a path from the hot wire inside the drill through you to ground.  If electricity flows from hot to ground through you, it could be fatal.  The GFCI can sense the current flowing through you because not all of the current is flowing from hot to neutral as it expects -- some of it is flowing through you to ground. As soon as the GFCI senses that, it trips the circuit and cuts off the electricity.  Some general contractors require GFCI's to be used 100% of the time.  I.D.I. does have GFCI's available for you to use.  If you are working in wet conditions or if you are at a job site that requries GFCI's, notify your Foreman and/or Superintendent and advise that you need a GFCI. 
Final note; do not repair electrical tools and cords yourself.  If your tool or cord has a problem, remove it from service and have it turned into our shop for service.

Have a Safe Day!

Today's Message - Do a J.H.A.!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  Don't forget to perform a job hazard analysis today for the tasks you are performing.  Think about the tasks you are going to be performing and all the potential ways that you could get hurt doing them.  Then develop your plan to prevent yourself and others from getting injured while doing the task.  Do you have the correct PPE?  Are there electrical hazards?  Check your electrical tools and cords to ensure they are in good safe condition.  If the conditions are wet, do you have GFCI?  If scaffolding is required, do you have safety rails?  Don't forget to lock your scaffold wheels.  Is your work area clean and free of slip, trip and fall hazards?  If not, clean the area before you commence working in it.  If the area is not clean and it is others debris or materials in your way, you should notify your Foreman so he/she can communicate with the general contractor or other subcontractors on a cleanup plan before you go into the cluttered area. 

Performing a pre-task job hazard analysis is simple, only takes a few minutes and starts you off on the right foot in the battle against injuries and health hazards. 

Have a Safe Day!

Thank You To All Who Attended Our Safety Meeting On Saturday, 2/12/11

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:  We just want to say thank you to the 91 employees that attended our Saturday, 2/12/11 quarterly safety meeting.  As of today, we do not have the safety meeting show up percentages calculated.  Those numbers will be posted towards the end of the week after we receive our payroll information for the week ending, 2/12/11.  The overall turnout was tremendous as compared to the number of employees on the current payroll.  We hope that you took something away from the safety meeting that will be beneficial to you in the battle against injuries.  Thank you for supporting your safety program and International Decorators.  We truly appreciate it!  Also, we extend a big thank you to Brett Hoekman of Dee & Bee Fasteners, Matt Spelde of Ramset, Lance Krall of Hilti, Luis Moctezuma of 3M and Daniel Smith of Carboline for supporting our safety training program and providing some excellent safety training to our employees on Saturday.  If your efforts prevent even just one injury or health hazard, it was well worth it!

Have a Safe Day!