Eye Protection

Safety Advice

Eye Protection

Can you put a dollar value on your eyesight? How important is it that you can see? To be able to see a sunset, or watch your children grow up? We sometimes take for granted what our eyes allow us to do, but CNIB reports that every day, 700 Canadian workers will sustain an eye injury. With numbers like that, eye protection should become more of a priority for companies. This article will help show the types of eye injuries that can occur and the types of eye protection covered under CSA Z94.3-07.

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Sun Safety For Workers

Safety Advice

Sun Safety for Workers

For workers who work outside, the sun can be both an enjoyable and hazardous component of their job. It is always nice to feel the sun on a hot summer day, especially after the cold Canadian winter. There are consequences, though, for that feeling. Workers will be outside during the peak hours when sun damage can occur between 10pm and 4pm which is why sun safety for workers is so important. Precautions must be taken to avoid the various skin, eye, and other health concerns that are caused by the sun for any worker who is outside more than two hours each working day.

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Site Safety Orientations

Safety Advice

Site Safety Orientations

Whenever new employees start at your company, they need to be made aware of the hazards, policies and other important safety information. The right to know is one of the three basic safety rights in all provinces and by doing a safety orientation at the time of hire, you can ensure that all employees know what is expected of them and how to do their job safely. However, different work sites will have different hazards. This is why site safety orientations are so important, not just for staff, but for contractors and visitors as well.

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Stepladder Safety

Safety Advice

Stepladder Safety

Stepladders are used on almost every construction site that I have been on. The only time they haven’t been used is when the ceiling was too high. Whether used for painting, installing pipe or lights, or hanging drywall, there are few trades that do not use these devices. Companies need to promote stepladder safety as part of their regular work plans. This article is designed to be a starting point for designing such a program.

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Extension Ladder Safety

Safety Advice

Extension Ladder Safety

Working from heights is always dangerous. Injury can occur if a worker does not take the proper precautions. Using their equipment properly can prevent a fall from occurring. This is why there is a focus on ladder safety on every fall protection course that I have taken. Knowing how to set up an extension ladder to prevent it from falling is important part of the job task. Extension ladder safety then should be a dedicated job safety plan.

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Ladder Inspection

Safety Advice

Ladder Inspection

Ladders can be found on almost every type of jobsite. From construction and utilities to the step ladder in the office used to change a light bulb, ladders are everywhere. A damaged ladder is a dangerous ladder. If inspections are not carried out at least monthly, repairs cannot be done, and a company is not shown to be carrying out their due dillgence. This post will focus on what needs to be done for ladder inspection.

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Change Management in Safety

Opinion

Change Management in Safety

In many organizations, or even industries, there seems to be resistance to change of any kind. The feeling is that they have done things a certain way for years and it has always worked, so why ruin it? The problem with this attitude is that by not adapting a company can fall behind its competitors by not keeping up with changes in technology, market conditions, or even customer requirements. While there are many articles that talk about this in marketing and engineering, safety is often overlooked. Change management in safety issues should be a priority for companies and industries so that injury rates can be reduced.

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Controlling Safety Hazards

Safety Advice

Controlling Safety Hazards

Identifying hazards either related to the job task or to a worksite is only half the battle. After the hazards are identified, the next step is to determine how you are going to keep those hazards from becoming an incident. Controlling safety hazards involves examining the most practicable solution to the particular hazard based on the hierarchy of controls.  From eliminating the hazard altogether to requiring protective equipment to work around the hazard, the hierarchy of controls is an important tool for safety professionals and supervisors to work with.

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Fire Safety Planning Part 4

Safety Advice

Fire Safety Planning Part 4: Emergency Procedures

When there is an emergency, it is important to know what you need to do. In the event of a fire, staff needs to know what their role is, how to escape the building and where they need to go after they have exited. Depending on the size and location of the employer, it may have an in house firefighting team. Whatever the role that they have, knowing the emergency procedures is important part of the emergency plan to reduce the chances of injury. This is what we are looking at in Fire Safety Planning Part 4.

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