According to Wikipedia a “near miss” in the work place is defined as an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage- but had the potential to do so.” In the workplace these near miss injuries may not be reported even though they can provide valuable information on how to prevent future injuries and may bring to light a dangerous situation that no one has encountered before.
Twelve companies that include ACCO Brands Corp., Buffalo Gap Instrumentation & Electrical Co. Inc., Caterpillar Inc., EnPro Industries, EuroKera North America, Fluor Corp., Gribbins Insulation Co. Inc., Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies LLC, Kennametal Inc., Nalco Co., Richard Goettle Inc. and Savage Services have all made it into the 2011 Safest Companies list as named by EHS Today. Safe work environments are extremely important not only in order to get workers home safely but to keep the company performing at top level.
Have you ever thought twice about a decision you made? Wondering how things would be if you made the other decision and how life changing it could have been. Everyone has in personal and professional situations. In the article “Managing Safety: Three Steps to Build Character in Safety” David G. Lynn talks about making the right choices in the workplace and helps to identify situations that lead to unsafe decision. The three steps are:
Patrick Kapust, of OSHA announced the top ten violations at this year’s National Safety Council’s Congress and Expo. The list tends to be similar from year to year with the top few moving positions, Fall Protection made it to number one this year. EHS Today listed the top ten and the number of violations as stated below:
Many unpreventable factors can cause a slip, trip and fall accident within a facility costing big bucks in unemployment and liability claims. Wet or damp floors are not the only cause; clutter, footwear and improper cleaning are additional slip and fall factors. The majority of general industry accidents are slip, trip and falls. Disabling occupational injuries due to slips, trips and falls has cost an estimated $11 billion annually. According to Don Ostrander, CSP, “The average cost from slip and falls is $22,800 per accident. Average worker’s compensation claim is $19,000.” Many times when an employee has an on the job accident the company has to factor in a replacement worker on top of the salary of the unemployed. There is no limit to what fees companies will be responsible for when a visitor has a slip and fall accident on the premise. Legal and medical fees can be unbearable.
A new study by the scientists at UCLA finds that a moderate traumatic brain injury increases the risk of Parkinson ’s disease later in life. We aren’t talking about the obvious traumatic injuries that happen in extreme situations like a head injury that would affect a soldier at war, but the head injuries that occur every day from slip and falls, car crashes and football helmets crashing together.
According to the article “Eight Ways to Create a Broken Safety Culture” in EHS today, many industrial leaders know the importance of safety in the workplace but ignore simple practices that create a safe work environment therefore creating a broken safety environment. Some practices that create a broken safety environment include ignoring exposures, focusing on injuries and ignoring safety issues until a serious injury happens.
