December 2007
- Solving the Hazards of Emergency Response
- Survivors Spread the Word About AEDs
- Increase Safety Awareness with Signs
- Benzene Exposure: What are the Risks?
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Cover Story
By Linda J. Sherrard
When we talk about workplace exposures, it’s hard to conceive of a more varying and serious set of hazards than what first responders encounter. There are none more courageous and none more exposed to known and unknown industrial hygiene hazards in the regular course of their work than those who deal with front-line lifesaving.
Features
By Mark McLaughlin
Ordinary Coffee Spilled On The Stairs Turned Them Into A Deathtrap! Those Stairs Were DEADLY WHEN WET. Starring Slick DeMise. Rated P for PERILOUS. Is this an ad for the latest direct-to-video horror movie? No, it's text from the front of a Safety Stuffer released by the Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) of Chicago and United Association Local Union (LU) 597 -- small flyers dispersed with weekly paychecks to LU 597 workers employed by member contractors of MCA Chicago. The back of that particular safety flyer reveals the rest of the message: Please, clean up spills as soon as possible. Twenty-six different stuffers are being distributed, each conveying its safety message in the form of a scary movie ad that features eerie illustrations. The Safety Stuffers are sponsored by the LU 597/MCA Joint Safety Committee.
By R. Craig Schroll
Fire detection systems are designed to discover fires early in their development when time will still be available for the safe evacuation of occupants. Early detection also plays a significant role in protecting the safety of emergency response personnel. Property loss can be reduced and downtime for the operation minimized through early detection because control efforts are started while the fire is still small.
By Scott C. Dunsmore
Because of heightened security concerns and recent hazmat transportation incidents, the shipping paper has come under more scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and state inspectors than ever before. Shippers and carriers are being asked to demonstrate their compliance with all regulations for preparing their hazardous materials for shipment. Moreover, of the 304 civil enforcement actions closed from May 2005 to April 2006, 215 were shippers in violation of one or more of the hazmat regulations.
By Drue Townsend
The best way to manage on-thejob hazards is to make sure every step is taken to avoid them. One way to help prevent accidents is by utilizing a safety signage program to keep employees informed and educated about possible hazards, company procedures, and general safety tips.
Departments
By Robert Pater
Everyone seeks improvement in “Leadership,” for themselves or in others. Strong Leadership promotes simultaneous returns: boosting safety, productivity, quality, receptivity to change, morale, trust, credibility, and retention and energizing involvement.
By Jerry Laws
Because I’ve lamented regulatory paralysis in Washington, D.C., on many occasions, it’s a relief to cheer a federal safety program that is winning over an industry not by fiat, but by the power of a great idea. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Crew Endurance Management System (CEMS) expects to have 2,000 trained coaches in place by the end of this year and shows no sign of slowing down. What CEMS does is use our scientific knowledge of fatigue to reduce risk factors and boost crew members’ endurance.
By Gary W. Helmer
The leader of any organization is the safety officer, the head of the organization. Managers and supervisors are safety officers for their respective units and are directly responsible for protecting the resources entrusted to them. Safety must be the core value. However, the predicament is how to effect a value system among individuals—each having his or her own that may already be set in stone. We must realize that not all of our beliefs are the same beliefs others hold. Each of us sees the world differently, and we cannot expect to believe that all will respond the same.
By Ronnie Rittenberry
If you don’t know jack about hybrid inertial- acoustic tracking technology, then you probably have not been introduced to Tecnomatix Jack, a human modeling and simulation tool from Siemens PLM Software. Designed to improve the ergonomics of product designs and workplace tasks in virtually any environment, the software features the titular humanoid Jack and his digital cohort, Jill.