Gloves When Handling Sharp Objects!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:  On Tuesday, one of our employees who is a drywall hanger, was cutting a metal stud with tin snips to use as backing for some drywall.  During this task of handling and cutting the metal stud, a small sharp metal burr on the stud punctured into his right middle finger.  He did not bleed and did not need medical care at the time.  In fact, he didn't report the incident to anyone at the time as he didn't think much of it.  Today, his finger is sore and swollen as he was developing an infection.  He went in for medical care and was supplied with anti-biotics.  He was released to full duty and he should be just fine for the long run. 
This employee was not wearing gloves while handling the metal studs.  This is just a reminder to all of our employees.  One of our company policies involving gloves states:  "Carpenters and framers are required to wear gloves when handling metal studs and track."  The policy continues on to say:  "All employees are required to wear gloves when handling or working around sharp objects."
We do not require drywall hangers to wear gloves while handling drywall as we realize that the gloves make it difficult to handle the drywall and difficult to grab the drywall screws.  However, when a drywall hanger changes his/her task to now handling a sharp object such as a metal stud, he/she would then be required to wear gloves. 
This policy is in place for your protection.  All employees at all times should have a pair of gloves in their back pocket or at least in their work location so they have them on hand when needed. 
This glove policy went into affect in February 2008 and we have had a huge decrease in our finger and hand laceration frequency.  Had the drywall hanger mentioned above been wearing gloves, it is likely that he would not have needed medical care today.
So, all I ask is that you show me some love and where the glove.  I know, keep your day job - Safety Pete.
Should you have any questions about our glove policies, please feel free to contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

Next Quarterly Safety Meeting - 8/13/11

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. Employees:  Our 3rd quarterly safety meeting of 2011 will be held on Saturday, August 13^th from 7:00am to about 9:00am.  Please keep in mind that International Decorators has moved our office location back in June and the meeting will be held at our Barrington shop located at 28059 W. Commercial Ave. in Barrington, IL.  The quarterly safety meeting training topic will be on ladder safety.  In the construction trades, ladders are used by everyone at one time or another.  Many of us use ladders on a daily basis.  Ladders are often used to access an elevation or to stand and work on.   There are many different types of ladders such as extension ladders, portable A-frame ladders, straight ladders, fixed ladders, job-made ladders, and they can be made from fiberglass, aluminum, wood, etc.  Ladders also come in all different lengths with various weight capacity requirements.  Each type of ladder also has various OSHA requirements pertaining to setup and safe usage.  We will cover all of this at our 8/13/11 quarterly safety meeting to help reduce our injury exposures involving ladders.  Over the years, we have had injuries involving ladders.  Some of the injuries were due to not securing the ladder in place, using a make shift ladder instead of an actual ladder, etc.  Please mark your calendar and plan on attending.  Between now and the meeting, please think of any ladder safety related questions that you may have and by all means, please ask them at the meeting.  Communication amongst us is a major aspect of safety and is encouraged in our safety culture.  See you at the meeting! 

Have a Safe Day!

Summer Heat - Drink Plenty of Water and Communicate With Your Foreman!

Working In The Heat!  Summer is here and we are getting 90 plus degree weather 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!

I will begin posting articles on this blog starting on 7/18/11

Good morning everyone:
I have been away from work attending an OSHA 500 safety course for the week of 7/11/11 - 7/15/11 and I have limited access to my computer.  I apologize for not having any recent posts.  I will be posting some safety articles next week. 
In the meantime, be safe and look out for other's safety. 

Thank you, Safety Pete

I'm Trying To Work Safe But My Job Site Is Cluttered - What Can I Do?

Poor housekeeping is on ongoing battle at construction sites.  Wouldn't it be great if job sites were always empty rooms with nothing on the floor?  The fact of the matter is they aren't.  Construction job sites are ever changing.  Each job site is different depending on the number of contractors on site at a given time, depending on the general contractor running the project, depending on the contractors that are present including their materials and equipment brought with them.  You may be doing the best you can to keep your own housekeeping matters under control.  Your equipment, tools and materials are organized, your debris is picked up but your work area is still cluttered with other contrator's tools, equipment or materials.  What can you do in this case?  It's pretty much all about communication.  If other contractors tools, equipment and/or materials are cluttering your work space and are presenting slip, trip and fall hazards, don't just accept those conditions and work in them as it could lead to a serious injury.  Discuss the hazard with your Foreman and/or Superintendent.  The Foreman should then communicate the poor housekeeping hazard to the general contractor and seek out assistance in having the other contractor's get their items cleared out and organized.  If this step in the process doesn't go well, the Foreman should then contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham, to seek out additional assistance.  He will then offer up other solutions and he will probably come out to the cluttered project and take some photos and have a sit down discussion with our Superintendent and the general contractor to discuss a housekeeping plan and implementation of the plan.  What we don't want for you to do is to start moving other contractor's heavy equipment and materials yourself as that has the potential to cause an injury to you.  Again, it's about communication.  If you have any questions regarding poor housekeeping issues, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.

Have a Safe Day!

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!