Serious injuries and fatalities caused by contact with high-voltage, overhead power lines are actually more common than you’d think ... both at work AND at home.
In the wake of recent natural disasters, everyone has heightened awareness for emergency planning. If yours is like most companies, you already have a written emergency plan, as well as posted emergency procedures and maps of fire evacuation routes and severe weather safe areas.
Recently a plastic extruder moved to a new location in an attempt to consolidate operations and save money. However, they neglected to consider three key points. They did not consider the design capacity of the sprinkler system, they did not consider the building construction and they did not consider the protection class – location of the building. The sprinkler system was significantly under capacity for the commodity exposure, the frame building could not meet the necessary construction design requirements for the storage of their raw materials and finished products and the property was in a protection class 7.
On-the-job accidents date back to the building of the Egyptian pyramids. Fortunately, thousands of years of progress have resulted in many techniques that help prevent worker injuries. Machine guarding is just of those many safety techniques.
It occurred to me recently that, as safety professionals, we often focus our attention only on workplace-related risks, hazards, and controls. While we certainly need to focus our attention on workplace safety, we must also remember that employees have lives outside of work. I’ve seen a number of employers who, with the help of safety professionals, provide their employees with information, presented both at meetings and in print, about safety at home.
We’ve seen it rain quite a bit here in Southeast Wisconsin this past month. While that rainfall was generally welcome, as we needed to make up for last year’s deficit, what isn’t welcome is the potential water damage that can occur to our property if we get too much rain.
Employee Dishonesty coverage is an important optional SMARTbusiness™ coverage that can be overlooked, and sometimes underinsured. The actions of employees may not always be what we expect. Adding Employee Dishonesty coverage to your SMARTbusiness policy can be a “security blanket” if an employee steals money, securities, or other property from your business.
Carpal tunnel syndrome. Lower back pain. Neck soreness or tightness. These, and other injuries, can all be caused simply by working at a computer. If your employees have ever experienced work-related injuries like these, you probably appreciate the benefits of ergonomics. What many employers may not realize, however, is that proper ergonomics is relatively easy to achieve ... and can result in huge savings in workers’ compensation costs and insurance premiums.
