Red Tape on 3-Pronged Electrical Tools and Extension Cords

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:  All Safety Coordinators are being provided with a roll of red tape  from your Superindendents.  We begin a new quarter on 7/1/11 for our Assured Grounding Program.  You are to inspect, test and color-code with red tape all 3 pronged electrical tools and extension cords.  All electrical tools and cords need to be visually inspected.  If you see any defects in the cords such as bare wires, severe kinks, missing or damaged ground prong, the cord pulling away from the plug end housing, etc., then that tool or cord would need to be immediately removed from service and reported to your Foreman.  If your tool/cord passes the visual inspection, your next step is to test the cord with a receptacle tester.  First, you should test the oulet that you will be plugging your cord into to ensure that it is properly wired.  You should see 2 yellow lights lit up on your tester and the red light should be off.  This means the outlet is working appropriately.  Next, plug your cord into the outlet and then test the cord with the receptacle tester.  Again, you should see the same light pattern as mentioned above and this would mean the cord passed the test and it is good and safe to use.  Any other light pattern means that there is a problem with the cord and the cord needs to be removed from service and reported to your Foreman.  If the cord passes the visual inspection and the cord tester test, you should then remove the previous quarter's green electrical tape and install the red electrical tape about 1" down from both plug ends.  Your cord is now in compliance with our 3rd quarter's Assured Ground Program.  The red tape shall remain in place from 7/1/11 through 9/30/11.  You are not quite done yet!  You now need to visually inspect all electrical cords and tools on a daily basis and if any defects are found, the cord needs to be immediately removed from service.  Thank you for taking the time to ensure your electrical tools and cords are in safe working order.  Your actions may prevent one of our family members from sustaining an electrical shock type injury or worse yet and electrocution.  If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Program, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

Working In The Heat!

Summer is here and we are getting 90 degree plus heat for the rest of this week.  This is a good time to put out another reminder of what too look for as for as heat exhaustion symptoms, prevention methods, etc. 
Although summer heat is the largest cause of heat distress disorder, it may also occur when workers are exposed to confined areas such as pipelines, tanks and other spaces with limited ventilation, and any confined area involving welding or cutting.
Symptoms:
The symptoms of heat stress disorders are very slow to start, but increase in intensity if precautions are not taken. The onset of the initial symptoms are mild and usually involve headaches, thirst, and tiredness.
Heat stress can move to heat stroke, a life-threatening medical emergency, quickly when the body's natural cooling system breaks down and causes the body core temperature to rise and overheat the brain. Some of the symptoms of heat stroke are immense thirst, severe headaches, disorientation, dry/hot skin (no sweating) and possibly collapse.
Treatment/Prevention:
The following ideas may aid in combating heat stress disorders:
1. Employees accustomed to working in the heat are better candidates for job assignments where heat stress disorders may occur.
2. Until employees acclimate to the high temperatures, allow them for short frequent breaks to cool down.
3. If heat is affecting employees, it’s a good idea to rotate employees job tasks from the heat exposure area to a non-heat exposure area on a regular basis to help in avoiding heat stress symptoms.
4. Employees should be encouraged to drink plenty of fluids (water, Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) to replace electrolytes. Employees should not drink any carbonated beverages (Coke, Pepsi, etc.) as these only increase dehydration and give a false sense of being properly hydrated. Also, the use of alcohol the evening before the work shift, can lead to dehydration even before heat exposure.
If an employee appears to be suffering from heat stress disorder, remove him or her from the heat and provide a cool, shaded place to rest and provide them with water. If the employee is disoriented or non-responsive, call for medical attention immediately. (911 in most areas)
The goal is to recognize the hazards and symptoms of heat stress disorders and stop them before they occur. Remember, there is no better cure than prevention, and heat stress disorders can occur in winter as well as summer. 
Should you have any questions regarding heat related stress, you are encouraged to call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

We Have Moved!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  In case you have not heard, International Decorators has moved back to our Barrington office/shop located at 28W059 Commercial Ave. effective today, 6/13/11.  We have moved for various reasons.  Our phone numbers, e-mail addresses, business structure, etc. will all be the same as it was at our Wauconda office.  The only thing that has changed is our physical address.  Please keep this in mind in case you are coming to the office for a meeting, to pick up supplies or if you are referring a friend for a position.  The main office phone number remains as (847) 526-7477.  If you have any questions related to our move, please ask your Superintendent.

Have a Safe Day!

2nd Quarterly Safety Meeting - Attendance Goals Real Good!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  The following are the final tabulations of the attendance at our 5/21/11 quarterly safety meeting and makeup meeting which was on electrical safety.  There was a total head count of 88 attendees at the meetings.  We had a total field show up rate of 85% at the 2nd quarterly safety meeting and a total show up rate of 93% for the Safety Coordinators.  Year to date we are at a 90% show up rate for the total field and 95% for the Safety Coordinators after our first 2 meetings of the year.  We want to say thank you to all of the employees that took time out of your busy summer schedules to attend the safety meeting.  Your attendance is vital towards the company sustaining our positive safety culture.  We hope you took something away from the meeting to help prevent you from sustaining an electrical type injury.  Your attendance is helping us to live up to our safety mission statement being:  "Everyone Goes Home Alive and in the Same Condition as they Arrived; Your Loved Ones Count On It."  Again, thank you for attending and let's strive to keep up the safety momentum by working injury free. 

Have a Safe Day!

Makeup Safety Meeting Tomorrow at 4:00pm

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  If you could not attend our quarterly safety meeting that was held on Saturday, 5/21/11 due to having to work for International Decorators on that day or because you were out of town or had a family emergency, you are invited to attend our safety makeup meeting.  The meeting will be held at our office tomorrow, 6/2/11 at 4:00pm.  If you are attending, please ensure that you contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham via e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com or you can call or text him at (847) 417-1689.  We need for you to call so we can ensure we have the appropriate room size, chairs, etc.  The safety meeting training topic will be on Electrical Safety.

Have a Safe Day!

Thank you, Peter

Big Safety Training Day - Tomorrow at 7:00am

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  The year is flying by as our 2nd quarterly safety meeting of 2011 is upon us.  Our safety meeting is tomorrow from 7:00am to about 9:00am at our usual meeting location at our Wauconda shop located at 1225 Karl Court.  The meeting topic is Electrical Safety and this promises to be an electrifying meeting.  We have a guest presenter/trainer, Tom King from Continental Electric, on hand to perform the training.  We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning.  As always, we will be supplying the coffee and donuts and you can supply the questions and interaction.  Have a Safe Day and see you tomorrow!

A Couple More Employees Caught Working Safely!

I recently caught a couple more employees working safely.  Great job with the scaffold set up, appropriate ladder usage and wearing the appropriate PPE including your respirators while paint spraying.  That's what I'm talk'n about!