Whether you work at a computer, installing ceiling tiles, butchering meat, or on an assembly line, your job likely requires you to perform the same task or movement over and over again - which could put you at risk of developing a repetitive strain injury (RSI).
North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, or NAOSH Week, occurs every year during the first full week of May. Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day (OSHP Day) falls on the Wednesday of that week. ASSE urges everyone to get involved in NAOSH Week in an effort to better educate the public about the positive benefits a safe workplace provides not only for workers, but for their families, friends, businesses, their local communities and the global community.
One driving attitude that can get us into trouble and stress us out is an obsession with getting around the guy in front of us. Do you need to be at the front of the line? Common sense tells us that there really is no front of the line to reach, so to try and get there by weaving through traffic and passing anyone in front of us is a losing proposition.
Have you ever noticed certain laws go entirely disobeyed? Back in the ‘70s when the speed limits were dropped to 55 mph across the United States, almost no one followed the law. Lately, I have noticed a similar phenomenon to the laws regarding hands-free cellular phone use and texting while driving.
We all engage in activities outside of work that have risks. In our personal lives, it is normal for our risk tolerance to increase; however, with increased risk comes increased probability of injury. A recent National Safety Council (NSC) report revealed that about 70% of all medical case injuries occur off the job, along with about 90% of fatal injuries.
I'm a liar. There, I said it. I lie. I lie sometimes when I'm in a social situation and my line of work is questioned. If I know I’ll never see these folks again, I might just tell them that I'm a painter. “I paint houses” I might say.
Most hand injuries can be prevented by adhering to simple, commonsense guidelines. When using a knife, never cut towards yourself. Protect your other hand by cutting away from your fingers to keep them out of harm’s way.
For 21 years now, I have been working on a safer workplace, I have worked with many great companies, safety folks, safety organizations, government agencies, workplaces large and small and some very dedicated folks.
I am the managing director of Australia's largest safety solutions organisation, the Industrial Foundation for Accident Prevention (IFAP). We are a wholly self-funded, not for profit organisation which provides services across the broad spectrum of safety-related matters ranging from low level induction style training courses to whole-of-organisation safety culture change programmes.
When you think about the title of this piece, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is an accident that produced property damage but no injuries. While that is a common example of this principle, it is not the only one.