June is National Safety Month, established by the National Safety Council in 1996. This June, we joined other organizations and the National Safety Council to bring extra attention to safety issues in and outside the workplace. We shared safety tips and facts about safety issues each week, including safety awareness, roadway safety, risk reduction, slips, trips, and falls. In honor of National Safety Month, we wanted to share tips and facts about each issue.
Week 1: Safety Awareness
At CEI, safety is a major focus in all departments. Throughout the year, our employees undergo specific training, and we continuously share tips and facts to help them be aware of the safety risks they face daily in our industry. Safety awareness is important to keep our employees and others around us safe, whether on a job site or in the office.
Week 2: Roadway Safety
For week 2, we shared tips about staying safe on the road.
- Stay focused on the road and your surroundings. Never drive distracted.
- Do not use your cell phone or any electronic device while driving. If there is an emergency, safely pull off the road or into a “Texting Zone” before using your devices.
- Avoid arguments and stressful or emotional conversations with passengers.
- Avoid eating or grooming while driving.
- Be sure children are properly and safely Buckled in. Properly secure pets in a pet carrier or portable kennel.
- Drive sober. Never drive impaired by alcohol or drugs and discourage others from doing so.
Week 3: Risk Reduction
For week 3, we discussed some basics of risk reduction plans for any industry. Regardless of your industry, target market, and personnel, you will always face a certain level of risk while operating. This is why you must find ways to reduce your company’s risk. Here are basic steps to approach risk reduction:
- Risk Assessment & Identification – Identifying and assessing the risk faced through operations.
- Risk Mitigation – Find Practices to minimize or reduce the risks.
- Preventive Measures – Look for preventive measures to keep workers safe during operations.
- Contingency Planning – Contingency planning gives you a blueprint to follow in an emergency.
- Monitoring & Review – monitor your risk reduction approaches and practices to ensure they work.
Week 4: Slip, Trips and Falls
In the last week of National Safety Month, we discussed the risk of slips, trips, and falls in the roofing industry. Slips, trips, and falls account for approximately 20% of all work-related injuries. While the risk is even more common in winter, it can be present in any weather condition (rain, ice, snow, or sunny). Here are some things to remember to prevent daily slips, trips, and falls.
- Practice Good Housekeeping – removing clutter that can increase trips and slips is important to keep the workspace safe.
- Adequate Lighting – Workers can navigate through spaces better with enough light. Given this, it’s best to place proper lighting in access and egress points such as halls, ramps, stairs, and exits.
- Be aware of safety signs and markers- Watch out for safety signs telling you of hazardous space, as well as flagged-off areas that can show areas to prevent you from falling.
- Clear the area from snow, ice, and spills- Properly clearing the workspace from slippery elements like snow, ice, or water is important to ensure safety.
- Wear proper footwear – Wear Non-slip shoes with good traction to protect workers from static electricity, falling objects, explosions, exposure to hazardous substances, and other risks.
- Implement safety plans and protocols- A well-thought-out safety plan cements all efforts to promote fall protection, especially in high-risk workspaces. This plan must include in-depth risk assessments, safety standards and practices, training, regular inspections, equipment guidelines, and toolbox talks.
Now that this has been put in place the foreman leads the stretching session with the entire crew. Every day he goes through the same stretching checklist and signs-off that the crew participated in the Stretch and Flex program. Since this has gone into place, office staff have also taken to doing the stretches. They believe that it helps them stay loose and not get sore from sitting or working on a computer all day. It also allows them to break up there day and add some movement.
