Archive for category: Safety Resources

Nobody ever intends to block an emergency exit or a fire extinguisher. However, sometimes we need to put something down or out of the way for “just a second” and then it becomes forgotten and more stuff begins piling up. You may think it’s not a huge deal… but truth be told, it is. In a life or death situation, seconds mean everything. So let’s go over a few tips to avoid blocking violations.

 

First off, what areas should never be blocked? You never want to block these 6 areas… emergency exit, first aid box, eyewash/shower stations, fire extinguisher, power disconnect/panels and walkways. Think about how awful it would be trying to escape a fire and your emergency exit is blocked with a stack of boxes. Or you get a solvent in your eye and you have to try and maneuver around trash bins to reach the eyewash station. This is why these areas are a block free zone. So here’s how we make sure that happens.

 

Take the responsibility upon yourself. If you’re at a new site/shop take a look around. Find the 6 areas listed above and make sure they are not blocked or locked. Do random checks to ensure they stay free and clear. There should be signage indicating what needs to be cleared. Talk to your co-workers, if you see someone blocking an area, politely educate them. Your safety crew should be doing regular audits, to ensure nothing is blocked or locked. If need be, get approval, the grab some yellow paint and paint some “block free zones”.

 

This is one of those things we hope we never have to use or rely on. But in those emergency situations a readily available fire extinguisher, emergency power disconnect or any of the other areas clear of road blocks could be the difference between life or death. So do your part to put a stop to blocking validations.

Nobody wants to go to work, never crack a smile, never laugh and be all business all the time. We need a certain level of camaraderie but when joking around becomes a safety issue… It’s not fun anymore. It’s more than fine to make some jokes and get people laughing, I actually encourage it. Happier workers are usually better workers. But just like your tasks at work, put some thought into what you say and do. Am I saying write out a JHA for every joke you wish to say? Well, yes and no. No, you don’t actually have to write out a hazard report but put some thought and/or planning into it. Will your joke or comments cause another worker to become too distracted, or does it have the potential to cause injury, or make someone feel uncomfortable or angry? Will it slow down production? These are real questions you need to ask yourself before you start your one man comedy show. If there are no hazards involved, go ahead and ham it up. Being safe may be boring and dry, but I don’t see how the alternative is funny at all. So go ahead and be funny or have a laugh but be safe too.

If a crew is working on a particularly hazardous task, we use red tape to keep other workers from entering freely. So does this mean we can just stumble into anyone’s work area that has no red tape without consent or knowledge of our presence? I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. This just in… all jobs on site have hazards! You have no idea if you are about to enter a fab tent, just at the right time to get grinder debris straight in the face or a hoarding right while a pipe is being lifted right where you’re standing. If you were not a part of that crew’s planning or FLRA/JHA for the day, you need to let them know you’re there. This is as simple as radioing ahead if possible or just a shout out before jumping up on some scaffolding or entering a fab tent. Workers in these areas have safe guarded for passers by, but not for the element of surprise. So do them and yourself a huge favour and let everyone know you’re there and want to enter and wait for the workers to okay it.

Frostbite is when your skin actually freezes due to extreme cold or even touching extremely cold items (another reason to keep your gloves on, especially while handling anything metal such as a wrench in extremely cold conditions). Frostbite can leave you with damaged tissue, which will always be more susceptible to injury in cold conditions for the rest of your life… Not fun if you work outside. It can leave you with all sorts of injuries from blisters all the way to amputation, depending on severity. Also keep in mind that frostbite can go hand-in-hand with hypothermia. If you are suffering from hypothermia your body will limit your blood flow to your extremities to keep your core warm therefore, all your extremities will cool at a rapid pace leaving you much more susceptible to extreme frostbite. Signs of frostbite include the area being cold (obviously), with it stinging or tingling, followed by numbness. Discolored skin, such as red, purple and in extreme cases white. The area could also be very hard to the touch. If this is happening to you or a co-worker, get somewhere warm. You should try and warm the area very slowly. In extreme cases call emergency crews before performing any first aid. But in mild-to-moderate cases, you can try to warm the area slowly by placing it in warm water. Do not use hot and do not pour warm water directly onto the area. You could also try to wrap in a warm cloth. Frostbite needs to be taken very seriously, as it can leave you with lifelong injuries.

Trench foot is a less severe form of frostbite caused by having wet feet for too long. Similar to frostbite the signs of trench foot are the affected area may be tingly, itchy or develop blisters. If this happens to your coworker warm the feet slowly and ensure they are dry. Tomorrow we will finish up with how to prevent cold stress illnesses.

 

We definitely can’t complain too much about the weather so far this winter… But that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way. Temperatures can drop way below zero in these parts. You know, when it actually hurts to breathe (ugggghh why do we live here?). Every site and/or company has its own limits on cold weather. However, I recall working on one site, it was so cold every other company pulled the plug on working that day except ours. We were told to dress warm and we better not get caught in the warm up shack for more than 5 mins every hour. Days like these I thanked my lucky stars I was a welder and I could warm up from preheating, mid heading and after heating my pipe all day. (Okay the last two weren’t necessary but it was -38° people). If you find yourself in a situation where you have to work in ungodly cold temperatures, you need to know the signs of danger and what to if you find yourself in that situation.

First, let’s go over the types of cold stress. You have trench foot, frostbite and hypothermia (mild, moderate and severe). Let’s start with all we need to know on hypothermia, including prevention. Hypothermia happens when your body is losing heat quicker that it can produce it. Situations where you may be working in the wind, wetness or not properly dressed for the weather can speed up your heat loss quite quickly. Your normal body temperature is 37°C. Mild hypothermia kicks in when your core temp lowers to 36°C to 32°C. Moderate is 32°C to 30°C and severe is when your temperature drops way down to 30°C to 25.5°C. Come back tomorrow and we’ll go over the signs and treatment of Hypothermia.