Author: portagecsc

Trenching Hazards: March’s Safety & Hygiene Corner

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Question: I am hearing a lot about trench & excavation hazards recently.  Besides cave-ins, is there any other hazards I should be aware of?

Answer: Many construction workers are injured and killed in trench and excavation collapses each year.  Although collapsing is the major hazard with trenches and excavations, there are others that you should be aware of, as well.

  1. Trenches and excavations can be deficient of oxygen or could contain hazardous concentrations of gases like carbon monoxide. Stay out of the trench or excavation and report to your supervisor if either hazard is a possibility.
  2. Watch out for buried electrical cables that could cause injuries or electrocutions. Excavators are supposed to call local utilities before they dig, but its safest to assume that they haven’t.  If you see a cable, assume it is hot.  Get out immediately without coming into contact with it and report to your supervisor.
  3. Watch for water lines and avoid breaking them. Broken lines will cause trenches and excavations to cave in quickly.  If you see water inside a trench or excavation, get out immediately and contact your supervisor.
  4. Watch for buried gas lines and other buried hazards. They could cause injuries.  For example, a broken natural gas line could be ignited by a welding spark, torch, cigarette or other source.
  5. Be aware of falling and moving objects while working, especially when an equipment operator is lowering pipe, shoring materials or other objects into the trench or excavation. Keep well away from the process.
  6. Remember that changing weather conditions may affect the stability of the soil in a trench or excavation. When changes in weather occur, such as rain, snow, ice storms, heavy winds or extended periods of hot, dry, weather.  Stay out of the trench until it is inspected by someone with the knowledge and experience to know whether entering could be hazardous.
  7. Always maintain an accessible means of exiting the trench or excavation such as a ladder or ramp. There should be an accessible exit within 25 feet of every worker inside the trench or excavation.

Provided by the Ohio BWC safety consultants.

February 2020 Newsletter

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Welcome to our monthly newsletter for February 2020!

Our goal for the newsletter is to connect our members to relevant safety resources, all linked together in one convenient location every month. We hope you find this resource useful and valuable!

Please share with your colleagues!

SAFETY RESOURCES:

  1. Embracing the Long View for Safety. Do you abandon your new safety strategy too soon? In this episode, Mike & Nic chat about the diffusion of innovation model and what it means for safety! (11:30) Listen/Download via Google Drive.
  2. Tench Safety Grant (TSG) Program:BWC’s Trench Safety Grant Program provides 4-to-1 matching funds, up to $12,000, to Ohio private and public employers covered by the State Insurance Fund who wish to purchase equipment to substantially reduce or eliminate injuries and illnesses associated with trenching and excavation. The grant funds can assist employers in purchasing safety equipment, such as trench boxes and hydraulic shoring.
  3. Trench Safety Ohio.com! A new website from the Ohio BWC that provides links to trenching safety information and tips, training, and publications.
  4. Practical Application of Electrical Safety (Live). This is a live recording of our monthly workplace safety luncheon on December 12, 2019. The topic was Practical Application of Electrical Safety and it was presented by Karl Cunningham, Global Electrical Safety, Maintenance and Project Specialist, ES Squared, Inc. (34:26) Listen/Download via Google Drive.
  5. February’s Safety Update from the Ohio BWC Library. Each edition provides up-to-date news & safety information.
  6. OSHA’s Policy on Online Training: February’s Safety & Hygiene Corner.
  7. PCSC Podcasts: Our podcasts are now available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Podbean, Stitcher & You Tube! local & relevant workplace safety information right through your phone! Subscribe today!

PCSC NEWS:

  1. NOTICE: March Meeting Date Change! Due to OSC 2020, our regularly scheduled March meeting will now be on March 5th, 2020. Please advise all staff planning to attend.
  2. NEXT MEETING: Thursday, March 5, 2020, 11:30am-1:00pm. The topic will be Safety Crash Course – Part 2 and it will be presented by various speakers. RSVP deadline is 12pm on Monday, March 2.
  3. 2020 Expo! The 4th biannual Portage County Workplace Health & Safety Expo will be on Friday, June 19, 2020, 8am-3pm, at Maplewood Career Center. More details coming this spring!
  4. Expo Vendor Tables Starting at $50!!! Deadline is March 31, 2020. Follow link for more details.
  5. New PCSC You Tube Channel! One podcast will now be automatically converted to video and uploaded to our new You Tube channel every week! 
  6. Website Update! Our website can now be found at PortageCountySafetyCouncil.com! The old WordPress URL stills works but now we are ad free and you can save a few seconds with the new domain address. In addition, we’ve also added several new pages under the About Us tab, to make it easier to explore & navigate all the good things the PCSC is currently involved in! Check it out!

EXTERNAL TRAINING CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

*Click here for ETC guidelines.

PROGRAM UPDATES:

  • Monthly Meeting Power Points. We post them on our website after the presenters send them to us and give us permission to publish. If the speaker provides additional info, we’ll post it there as well.
  • External Training Credit Opportunities: We post them on our blog as outside organizations send them to us. A maximum of 2 external training credits are allowed per program year to help members earn the 10 minimum attendance credits required by the rebate. Please Note: ETC certificates of completion must be submitted by June 30 every year in order to qualify. Click here for ETC guidelines.
  • Rebate Participation Spreadsheet. Rebate eligible members can review how close they are to fulfilling the minimum rebate eligibility requirements by reviewing the Participation Spreadsheet which is typically updated on a monthly basis.
  • Rebate Fact Sheet: Have a question regarding rebate requirements? Check out this fact sheet from the Ohio BWC.

Practical Application of Electrical Safety (Live)

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https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-2cnub-d3adb4

Episode 138: This is a live recording of our monthly workplace safety luncheon on December 12, 2019. The topic was Practical Application of Electrical Safety and it was presented by Karl Cunningham, Global Electrical Safety, Maintenance and Project Specialist, ES Squared, Inc. For more information about the Portage County Safety Council, please visit our website today!

Closing Out Wellness Month

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As we close out Wellness Month, we wanted to provide our members a list of free resources to them improve the health & wellness of their employees!

Wellness Month Podcasts:

Wellness Resources:

  • Engaging Your Workforce in Wellness: Engaging Your Workforce in Wellness is a 24-page toolkit promoting the benefits of employee health & wellness programs and providing employers with evidence-based strategies. 
  • Healthy Workers are Safer Workers Campaign: This campaign was created to help employers reduce workplace injuries by promoting worker health & wellness!The campaign page contains links to free campaign tools and relevant workplace wellness resources to help your company promote & improve worker health!
  • Workplace Wellness Podcast Library: The Portage County Safety Council has teamed up with other organizations to create several workplace wellness related podcasts. These podcasts are great resources of information and are perfect for company newsletters, team meeting icebreakers or toolbox talks! All of these podcast episodes are available not only through our website but also through your favorite podcast app such as iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Podbean, & Stitcher! 
  • Health Talks: We teamed up with University Hospitals Portage Medical Center to create several podcast Health Talks to help employers promote worker health! These talks are straight to the point and are only 3-5 minutes – perfect to get health & wellness info on the go! Again, all of these podcast episodes are available not only through our website but also through your favorite podcast app such as iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Podbean, & Stitcher!