Loss Control

Cold Weather Safety

It is the time of the year where temperatures are getting cooler in the daytime, and sometimes close to or below freezing overnight.  Because we are a 24/7 society, this means people are working outdoors during the day and night, and need to be aware of the dangers working in cold weather.

The two main concerns for working in cold weather are hypothermia and frostbite.  What is the difference?

Hypothermia can occur when the temperature is above freezing.  Hypothermia occurs when the body is cold for so long that the heat lost from the body's core makes the body temperature dangerously low.  The first sign is shivering - the body' s was of attempting to warm up.  Other signs can include numbness, poor coordination, drowsiness, irregular breathing, slurred speech, and puffiness in the face.  Windy conditions, physical exhaustion and wet clothing can contribute to hypothermia.  When the shivering ceases, hypothermia has set in.  This can result in unconsciousness or even death.

Frostbite occurs in freezing weather.  The beginning signs include feeling uncomfortably cold and then numb.  Some people even report getting a tingling or aching feeling.  Body parts most affected:  nose ears, cheeks, fingers and toes.  The skin turns white and circulation is reduced.  The body is not receiving enough heat and therefore, the tissues begin to freeze. In extreme case, blisters form but the person feels no pain.  Frostbite can permanently damage tissue, and in extreme cases, the person can become unconscious and stop breathing.

Who is at a higher risk?  Persons who don't dress appropriately for cool weather/cold temperature.  Persons who are older, overweight, have allergies or poor circulation.  Other activities that raise the risk:  smoking, drinking and taking medications such as sedatives.

Below are some things you can do to prevent hypothermia and frostbite:

• Wear layers of clothing in buildings/houses and outside - cotton or lightweight wool next to the skin and wool layers over the bottom layer are ideal. Two layers of lightweight wool is better than one heavy pieces of clothing.
• If working in wet weather, wear a waterproof garment over layers. Also, keep extra clean, dry sock and gloves available.
• Remember to wear something on your head, neck and ears, as well as gloves. Why cover your head? You can lose up to 40% of your body heat from your head. The body can only product so much heat. What that limit is reached, it can produce heat no faster. If heat is taken away faster than it can be produced, the body starts to cool down.
• Keep moving.
• Drink plenty of fluids (avoid caffeine and alcohol). Even in cold weather, our body can become dehydrated.
• Eat high protein meals (meats, eggs, dairy, nuts, beans) - this is "fuel for the oven."
• Take regular breaks in a warm area.

Safety Tips for Thanksgiving Travel

The American Trucking Association (ATA) has published several tips for safe Thanksgiving travel on it's web site today.  The ATA is estimating a record 40 million motorists taking to the road this year over the weekend, and notes that the additional motorists, combined with the potential for winter road conditions can lead to dangerous driving situations.

The ATA has put together a group of million mile accident-free drivers, known as America's Road Team.  This team has helped establish a list of tips for the public.  Below is a partial listing of tips, along with a link to the complete listing of Safety Tips:

• Vehicle Preparation - Making sure the vehicle is well maintained is key to ensuring safe travel.
• Plan Ahead - Know where you are going before you leave.  This will help reduce driver distraction looking for exits, maps, etc.
• Keep space between you and large trucks - Trucks are heavier, longer, have less visibility and can't maneuver very easily.  Leave lots of space at all times.

For the complete list of safety tips, click here --> http://www.truckline.com/pages/article.aspx?id=39%2F%7bC4187953-4463-459F-A592-C16D29AFE284%7d

Hiring Quality Staff Key To Success

An important part of operating a successful business is hiring the best personnel. The quality of a company’s staff directly impact productivity, affect operating costs, interfere with customer relations, and negatively influence that company’s profitability. Hiring employees who are not the most qualified can result in distracting management’s focus on important business operations and in worst case scenarios create situations that may end in lawsuits.  The links below are to articles that provide information related to hiring quality personnel.

 

http://www.constructionexec.com/Issues/August_2009/Workforce_Development.aspx

http://www.constructionexec.com/Issues/April_2009/Workforce_Development.aspx

http://www.constructionexec.com/Issues/December_2008/Workforce_Development.aspx

http://www.constructionexec.com/Issues/February_2009/Workforce_Development.aspx

http://www.constructionexec.com/Issues/June_20092/Workforce_Development.aspx

 

Transportation Secretary Announces Driver Pre-Employment Screening Program

On October 7, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that it will launch a new Driver Pre-Employment Screening Program that will give motor carriers access to information they could previously not obtain. Until now, prospective employers mainly had access to MVRs, and whatever information they could obtain from prior employers or background checks from private investigation companies.

The new program will allow Motor Carriers (with a signed consent form from the employee) access to all crash information as well as driver inspections. Historically, these records had been only available to federal officials and the employee himself through the Freedom of Information Act.

In the end, the change is designed to give motor carriers a better opportunity for more thorough screening of driving candidates.

Refer to this link for additional information --> http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2009/pre-employment-screening.aspx

FMCSA holding Public Listening Sessions

As many are aware, CSA 2010 (Comprehensive Safety Analysis) is designed to assess the safety performance of the motor carrier industry, and will attempt to change unsafe behaviors of both motor carriers and drivers.  The current system in place, SAFER, mainly addresses only the carrier's safety performance.  Several states have been active in this model thus far.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be holding two public listening session webinars in December about the agency's CSA (Comprehensive Safety Analysis) initiative.  Past listening sessions have been used to solicit the public's input for improvements in monitoring and assessing the safety performance tool.

The upcoming sessions are designed to inform the public on the latest progress of CSA 2010, as well as answer questions.  Details about the dates and times of these web sessions are available by using the following link:  http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/listeningSessions/

Additional information regarding CSA 2010 can be found here: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/

5 Ways to Help Prevent Slips, Trips, & Falls

Each year billions of dollars in liability and workers compensation losses occur  from slip, trip, and fall (STF) accidents with injury or death occurring.  They happen in workplace settings, public facilities, and in the home; and can be from the same level or from heights.   It is always one of the leading types of losses year after year.  What can you do to prevent such an occurrence from happening?

 

Understand the factors that cause STF, and try to prevent them. 

 

Causes include:

• improperly constructed or maintained surfaces
• hazards that are not adequately identified or barricaded
• personnel wearing footwear that is not meant for the surface
• fraud
• improperly trained employees

Other factors contributing to a loss are vision, age, hearing, health, and physical abilities of the population.  Our society is aging, so the chance of this type of loss occurring in the future is likely to increase.

5 ways to help minimize loss potential:

• Regularly inspect all inside and outside walking and working surfaces, and make sure they are properly maintained per industry standard. Codes and standards vary per location and setting; and are addressed by such organizations such as OSHA, ANSI, DOT, NSC, and others. Remember that the more contrast in color, texture, pattern, markings and lighting help identify the surfaces or deviation of the surface height.
• Good housekeeping and visibility are very important.
• If you have control over personnel, encourage or mandate that the proper footwear is worn.
• Analyze the surface itself and either install slip-resistant flooring, or use cleaning agents and coatings that increase the friction factor (less slippery).
• Floor mats that are used must be of the proper type, cleaned on a regular basis, and replaced if worn or curled edges exist.

You have more control over slip, trip, and fall losses than you think; so take action!
  

Links:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/walkingworkingsurfaces/index.html

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/mainrencon/occhealth/slip_trip_fall_prevention.pdf

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/falls.html

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/hazards/slips/slips.html

 

About the Author:
This blog post is authored by guest author Bill Doliber, a Senior Risk Control Representative for Westfield Insurance. Bill is based out of our Richmond, Virginia office and has 28 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry. He has a risk control background in boiler and machinery, large property accounts, restaurant associations, the carpet industry, contracting, and general industry.

 

 

Wide-Base Tires: Advantages & Disadvantages…

Recently, more employers have begun using wide-base tires (sometimes referred to as “super singles”, which is actually a trademarked name of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.) on their trailers instead of conventional duals. So what are the predominate advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages:

v      Weight savings:  Duals add up to 1,300 lbs over depending on whether you are replacing both the drive and trailer tires and whether you are using them with aluminum wheels in place of steel.  This may allow extra payload in the trailer.

v      Fuel economy:  Reduced rolling resistance of one wheel versus two (10-15% less contact area). By most estimations, the fuel economy increases from 1% to 4%.

v      Environmental: Related to the above, since tire rolling resistance accounts for nearly 10% to 15% of truck energy use (the Federal EPA averages 13%), this means less energy use (fuel), and with thousands (or millions) of trucks out there on the roads, a greener industry.

v      Improved, softer ride:  Less side-shimmy because the tire is so wide the vehicle is not susceptible to the normal road rutting or water drain grooving on the road surfaces. This means better control in these instances.

v      Maintenance:  again- one tire verses two to mount.

v      Dual tire/wheel matching:  Eliminates these concerns.

v      Improved brake cooling:  An obvious safety issue.

Disadvantages:

v      Road Contact:  A safety issue. Contrary to popular belief, wide base tires do not provide more road surface contact than duel standard tire configurations. A conventional trailer tire size is 11R22.5 and the most common wide base tire size is 445/50R22.5. One 445/50R22.5 is NOT double two 11R22.5 tires. So using (2) 11R22.5 tires gives an overall tire footprint of 124 sq inches. Using one 445/50R22.5 has a footprint of 111 sq inches (10% less contact area).

v      Higher sensitivity to overload: Due to the reduced tire-surface contact area, the wide base tire is doing more “work” than two duals. Any under-inflation would be a more critical issue.

v      Heat:  Again, if not properly inflated, would generate more heat. Running even 10% under inflation will lead to premature tire removal because of irregular wear and tire durability issues.

v      Traction:  Due to the shortened lateral contact length of the wide base verses the double tire configuration, there may be less traction due to the physics of a lengthened lateral ‘lever’.

v      Wear pattern:  More sensitive to wear. Under-inflated wide-base tires will lead to fast centerline wear and overinflation will result in fast shoulder wear. 

v      No limp-home capability:  Although not recommended to limp “home”, obviously limping out of danger is a major advantage. Duals offer this ability.

v      Weight:  Wide based are obviously individually heavier, adding a burden to maintenance staff (and increasing the possibility of injury and maybe requiring assistance from another maintenance technician).

So, to go “wide-base” or not? As wide-base tire quality and technology improve, we will see more use simply because the advantages (though perhaps fewer in number) are greater. “Green” advantages (decreased energy use) are too important to our earth not to use them. The question may be more an issue of “when” rather than “if”.

REF: 

-          US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Transportation & Air Quality

-          PSI Tire Digest, copyright 2009

Road Construction High Visibility Garments

OSHA has recently released a standard interpretation letter on road construction crew apparel requirements.   Although road construction crews have been required to wear high visbility warning garments, OSHA has clarified that these garments are required beyond the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).  In summary, the OSHA letter states that all highway and road construction workers must wear high-visibility apparel regardless of whether the MUTCD requires them.

Fall weather has unique driving dangers

It's pretty well understood that winter driving has many obvious hazards associated with it.  However, we often overlook (and sometimes ignore) the less obvious hazards that the fall season presents to drivers.  Recognizing this, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has published some good reminders of common fall hazards, as well as preventive measures that drivers can take when preparing to operate a vehicle this fall. 

Below is an overview of the hazards, as well as some suggestions for avoiding them:

• Wet leaves on the roadway can be as slippery as ice. They also can obscure traffic lines and other pavement markings, making driving in unfamiliar areas particularly difficult. Motorists should slow down and use extra caution on leaf-covered roadways.
• Fog and sun glare can present other fall hazards for drivers. When driving in fog, motorists should use low beam headlights since the high beam setting creates glare and reduces visibility. Not only will headlights enhance visibility of your vehicle, state law requires headlights be on when wipers are in use.
• Sun glare can be most problematic during sunrise and sunset which coincide with morning and evening rush hours in the fall. The intense glare from the sun on the horizon can blind a driver, causing an unexpected traffic slowdown. Drivers can prepare for the glare by keeping a set of sunglasses handy, removing clutter from their sun visors and keeping the inside of their vehicle’s windshield clean.
• Also, morning frost and icy spots on the road can also cause problems as overnight temperatures drop toward freezing. Motorists should pay particular attention to bridges, overpasses and shaded areas on roadways where icy spots can form on the pavement. In addition to exercising caution while driving, motorists should clear their vehicles’ windows of frost before travel. Morning drivers should also watch carefully for students walking along roadways or waiting for school buses.
  

PennDOT also offers the following fall driving tips:

• Increase your following distance in severe weather, at dusk and dawn and when in an area with wet leaves. If you are being tailgated, let the other driver pass.
• Check your vehicle’s headlights, taillights and turn signals to ensure they are working properly since darkness will be a part of many driver’s morning and/or evening commutes. Make sure you turn on your headlights as the sunlight fades.
• Have your vehicle’s heating and wiper systems checked to ensure they are working properly.
• Be sure you have tires with sufficient tread depth in case of an early season snow.
• Visit your state's Department of Transportation web site or call them by telephone to check traffic conditions before heading out (typically, the contact information can be found in the telephone book or the yellow pages).

Additional information and tips from PennDOT can be found at the following links:

http://www.drivesafepa.org/Resource-Center/Traffic-Safety-Publications/

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/home/hotatdot.shtml

Halloween Safety Tips

In a couple of weeks our neighborhoods are going to be filled with all kinds of witches, ghosts and goblins out for some trick-or-treat fun.  The following tips will help keep it a fun and safe experience for everyone involved.

Tips for Kids

• Costumes should be flame retardant and short enough that they do not pose a tripping hazard.  Costumes should also be warm enough for the evening or large enough to wear over warm clothing.
• Many costumes are dark colored, so it is important for children to carry glowsticks or flashlights to make them visible to passing cars.  It is also a good idea to put reflective tape on the costume and candy bucket to increase visibility.
• Masks should fit well enough that children have a full range of vision and can breathe easily.
• Children should be accompanied by an adult.  Older kids should trick-or-treat with a group and stay within boundaries that you have set, maybe a couple of streets or a small neighborhood.  Be sure to review safety tips with your children, including staying on sidewalks and not getting into cars with strangers. 
• Children should be warned not to eat any candy until parents have a had chance to inspect it.  Candy that is only partially wrapped should be discarded.  Home made treats are wonderful, but should be discarded unless you know that they came from a safe source.

Tips for Adults

• Drive slowly through neighborhoods.  Children get very excited during trick-or-treat and don't always pay attention to traffic.
• Lock your doors at home if you are going out.  With so many people out at night for trick-or-treat, suspicions are not raised if a stranger approaches your home.
• Leave several lights on inside your house to deter burglars.  Make sure doors and windows are secured.  

For more good tips, please visit the following websites:

http://www.cdc.gov/family/halloween/

http://www.halloween-safety.com/

http://www.lacity.org/lafd/hween.htm