Thank you to everyone who participated in our safety contest. When you choose safety you win a lot more than hockey tickets. However; this particular time you also get a free night out to watch our boys wheel and grind. So, without further ado the winner is….. Bill Greber! I have Pm’d you, please get in contact with us as soon as possible. Also a quick shout out to my little one who did the background commentary, LOL.
Today is your last chance to enter to win a pair of Edmonton Oilers tickets. Our contest closes at 5pm (MST). Don’t miss out… Head to our “Is this safe?” post for all the info to get a chance to score this sweet prize. Good luck!
You’ve inspected all your rigging equipment. You’ve checked the load weight and centre of gravity. You’ve checked the stamped SWL (you know what this is right?) on each piece of the rigging equipment and verified it is well within the load weight. You rig up the load and raise it a mere half an inch when an eye bolt shank shears off. So…. what happened? Thankfully, nobody was hurt and the load was secured with no other damage, but why did the eye bolt fail? Eye bolts are essential devices used in many lifting operations; but eye bolt failures continue to cause incidents……especially when used for angular lifts. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) an angular pull of 6 to 15 degrees from in-line can reduce the working load of an eyebolt to 55 percent. WAIT, WHAT….55%, that’s almost half! For a full report on an eye bolt incident recently posted, visit @Energysafetycan on Twitter. And, to gain a better understanding of using eye bolts safely in rigging operations, visit Alberta BC Safety’s Youtube channel or click the bio for a short video.
Now when it comes to hanging your lights, never use nails, staples, tacks or anything that can puncture the protective coating on the cord. Especially anything metal… It conducts electricity, remember. Try plastic hooks or clips instead, the clips are much quicker too! Make sure to keep cords out of walkways or hanging where someone could get caught up in them. If you have to run cords along the ground, secure them so no one trips. Also try and keep the plugs out of the snow. You can buy handy little plastic boxes to cover them or use some extra plastic leftover containers, cut room for the cords and snap on the lid (thank you Pinterest).
While hanging your lights, please use normal ladder safety. Place your ladder on a firm solid surface, get someone to hold it in place at all times, always have 3 points of contact and do not stand on the top rung. Depending on the type of ladder you’re using (extension or step ladder) ensure your ladder is locked. If you’re using an extension ladder it needs to be 3 feet above your roof. Just because you’re not on site, doesn’t mean safety goes out the window.
We all want to have that amazing Griswold moment when you unveil your Christmas lights for the first time and they are so awesome you temporarily lose your sight. But other than seeing spots from your intense light show, we don’t want you having any other injuries this holiday season. So be safe and bright.
Nothing tells your neighbors that you are the merriest of all like an outdoor display of Christmas lights similar to Clark Griswold himself. Whether you’re hanging one simple string of lights or a massive array so bright that it can be seen from Mars… You need to do it safely. Here’s a few tips to help you keep up with the Joneses this holiday season, without injuries or fires.
Before you even begin, check all your lights. Make sure the cords are in good condition (no frays or wires exposed), change out any dead bulbs (be sure to use the same wattage), make sure that they are rated for outdoor use and have fused plugs (this protects against sparks). Once you are confident your lights are safe, make a plan.
Try and avoid using a million extension cords plugged into a power box on one socket. This will end badly. Anything from a fire to having to reset your breaker every time your microwave goes off. If possible, plug each strand into its own socket. I know in most cases this is not going to be possible. Check your fuse box to see what each plugin can handle and use a surge protector. A rule of thumb if you have to use extension cords is no more than 3 strings of lights per extension cord. Most houses will have a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet (GFCI) outside, double check that you’re plugging into one of them, if not… get one installed by a professional electrician. Occasionally check your extension cords for overheating. Always remember to keep your lights off while you’re sleeping and not home, just in case. Come back tomorrow and we’ll finish going over light safety.
Okay I hope you have your safety pants on! When you look at this photo, do you think this worker is doing his job safely? Or are there a few things he could do to protect himself? ***HINT*** We talk about PPE all the time so this should be easy. For a chance to win a pair of Oilers tickets please comment with two hazards you see in this photo. Also like us on Instagram and Facebook. And tag a friend you’d like to take to the game. If you don’t think safety pays off.. this contest is to prove you wrong. Good luck.
Prize is a pair of Oilers tickets worth $297.02 for the game on December 1 vs Vegas Knights. The winner must be 18 or over and be able to prove this at our Edmonton office (this means picture ID) to have the tickets emailed to you.The contest closes at 5pm (MST) November 26. A winner will be chosen on November 26 and be notified via tag on our Instagram page and private message for details by November 27. The winner has till November 29 to provide proof of age and an email address or another winner will be chosen. This contest is in no way paid for or in affiliation with Facebook or Instagram. No purchase necessary.
Like hockey? How about free tickets? Well gear up to put your safety pants on tomorrow. Our contest starts tomorrow but here’s all the deets on the amazing prize you can win, just for knowing the basics. One lucky winner will win a pair of tickets to the Oilers VS the Vegas Knights on December 1st worth $297.02. The winner must be over 18 and be able to prove this at our Edmonton office (this means picture ID) to have the tickets emailed to you. All you have to do to enter is answer tomorrow’s question, like us on Facebook and Instagram and tag a friend you want to take to the game. The contest closes at 5pm (MST) November 26. A winner will be chosen on November 26 and be notified via tag on our Instagram page and private message for pick up details by November 27. The winner has till November 29 to provide proof of age and email address or another winner will be chosen. This contest is in no way paid for or in affiliation with Facebook or Instagram. No purchase necessary. Good luck!
I think the hardest obstacle to overcome regarding safety in the trades is attitude. Unfortunately so many workers still complain about having to wear a hard hat while welding, gloves while putting screws on, traction aids in the winter, safety glasses when they get foggy or an uncomfortable respirator when grinding. I could actually go on forever. But let’s think about this for a second… We are not the only people that have to protect ourselves while working. What about Hockey players? They have to gear up just like us for work, they have to stretch before they start and they have rules they have to follow while they are on the ice. Not only do they not complain about wearing helmets, jockstraps, gloves, pads… (again I could go on forever with the amount of safety equipment they put on……which I would also like to point out is a lot more than us), but they have gotten better overall. It’s true, look at the stats. Back in 1928 the league average amount of goals per team was 1.46 per game. Now that was without out helmets (not implemented till 1979) and reinforced thumbs in their gloves, shin and shoulder pads and most of their safety equipment. It didn’t start showing up till the 1930’s. Yet in 2017, that same stat is 3.11 goals per game and the players are covered is safety equipment. Doesn’t that say something? That we can in fact do our job with PPE on and we can do it better! So let’s take a page out of their playbook and gear up and kick some butt!
Every week we post safety topics, you read them and we hope you use them. (Please tell me, you use them). But we want to see how much you are absorbing. So coming very soon, is a contest to keep you on your toes with some great prizes! So brush up on your safety knowledge and get ready to put it to the test. Come back soon for prize details… Trust me you don’t want to miss this!
OH&S recently reported an incident of a zoom boom carrying a window, making contact with energized power lines causing an arc flash. Luckily no one was injured. This incident could have been catastrophic and human life could have been lost. We definitely want to make sure this never happens again so let’s run through the basics when it comes to working near overhead power lines.
Before you begin, make a plan. No worker or equipment should be closer than 10 feet to power lines unless they are trained, which is a general rule of thumb if working by your average power lines. However if you are conducting work by 500 kilovolts lines that distance changes to 23 feet. So know what kind of lines you’re dealing with. Of course most times workers do not expect to get that close. If you are working in any proximity to energized power lines, tell other workers in the area and use a spotter….someone who is there just to ensure you don’t cross the safe zone. Never, under any circumstances trust or assume that a line is dead. Obviously never touch a line. If a worker or equipment does make contact, do not touch them. Electricity conducts through people. You will only end up being electrocuted as well. Instead get help.
Nobody intends on making contact with energized power lines, it’s always accidental. However it’s a very avoidable accident. Always do your pre work plan, stick to it, know what to do in an emergency and always, always look up.