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Are Off The Job Injuries a Problem?

In my experience as a Paramedic/Fire Fighter, I have observed that most of the injury related calls I have responded to were not at the work site, but rather in homes or areas where people were participating in recreational activities. On one large construction site the safety personnel noted that there were four to five times more off the job injuries than on.

Some organizations have been monitoring off the job injuries. One company I have spoken for noted that their ratio between on and off the job injuries were astounding. They had up to 15 times more off the job injuries than on the job injuries. Home can be a very dangerous place.

Most people at a work site take safety training courses and wear proper personal protective equipment. The safety rules should be and can be enforced by the company. Many people who would refuse to use an unsafe ladder at the worksite will go home and use a ladder that is unstable, broken or too short for the job. Often the result is injury.

We have to realize that safety is a twenty-four hour a day concern. The safe work habits developed on the job should not be left at the office or in the locker along with the steel toe boots, hard hats and safety goggles.

Many companies are starting to recognize that encouraging and promoting off the job safety saves money. It doesn’t matter where a worker is injured, the company pays. This can be in increased WCB or sick time.

Posted in Fall Protection Videos, Safety Articles by Martin Lesperance. Martin Lesperance has 25 years experience as a firefighter/paramedic. He is a best selling author/speaker dealing with injury prevention and wellness. He has spoken to organizations such NASA, ExxonMobil, and Los Alamos National Laboratory on safety.   www.safety-speaker.com

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Did you know that the 14th of April was the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic?  Well it was.  It was supposed to be an unsinkable ship.   We all know how that turned out, when the massive ship sunk in the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage.

The sinking of the Titanic reminds me of two things in regard to safety…

One. The ship sank.  Which could be a pretty blatant metaphor about businesses today.  People are panicking that they’re ship will sink, so they decide to throw all of the “dead weight” overboard to stay afloat a little bit longer.  Your safety program is not dead weight!

Two. The Titanic was billed as the “Unsinkable Ship.”  Unfortunately, I think that’s how a lot of workers feel on the job site.  That they are impervious to pain and that accidents don’t happen to them.  After all they’re unsinkable!  No one is unsinkable.  Don’t let pride and ego cost you your life.

Technorati Tags: safety, safety programs

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DeWalt has been making safety glasses for several years now, but I’m always surprised to find out how many loyal DeWalt users and carpentry workers don’t know they exist.  So here’s a brief look at some awesome glasses backed by a top notch brand.

The glasses are manufactured by Radians, and have a nice range of price.  It’s also important to point out that the quality is very respectable.  Trust me, I have no qualms about throwing a manufacturer under the bus, and I don’t like getting close enough to people’s asses to blow smoke up them.  So here are three of the styles I like…

The DeWalt Protector is you low end safety glasses, but they are extremely well made.  I was really impressed by the quality for a basic style like this.  You can get cheaper glasses, but the quality won’t match this specimen.

The DeWalt Reinforcer RX is a very stylish pair of bifocal safety glasses.  For a long time the word style and bifocal never went together.  This is one of the first styles to bridge the gap.  It still holds up nicely and has good number of comfort features.

The DeWalt Ventilator is the high end pair of safety glasses from DeWalt.  It borrows a bit from the AO Safety Fuel (as far as style is concerned), but the price is way better.  Take a look at this style if your having compliance issues.  It might help out.

So there you go.

Technorati Tags: dewalt safety glasses, radians safety glasses, Safety Glasses

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Did you know that you can’t just keep oily rags and flammable liquids just laying round your shop?  I’m not going to go into a whole bunch of detail here, but very briefly… THEY COULD CATCH ON FIRE!

So what’s a boy to do?  Flammable safety cabinets are the answer.  Plain and simple.  There are safety cabinets for paints, inks, corrosives, pesticides.  You name it.  They’ve got a big metal box you can put it in.  I know it’s all very confusing, because there are sizes, regulations, and insurance crap to work about.  So you could head over to a place like Safety Plus and look around…

Technorati Tags: flammable cabinets, safety cabinets

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I wanted to take this post to let you know about brand of safety glasses you may not have known existed… Drumroll… O. C. C….

Yep, Safety Glasses Inc.  stocks Orange County Choppers Safety Glasses and they are sharp.  They’re manufactured by AO Safety, so they’ve got that going for them.  Secondly, most of them have slick metal frames and are as sturdy as Aunt Mildred’s 3-point stance.

These babies are full of fashion, and are a fraction of the cost of other designer safety glasses.  Did I mention that they look stupendous? They do.  So check them out.  And as a little bonus here’s a little introductory video we put together a year or so ago.

Technorati Tags: occ safety glasses, orange county choppers

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April 23, was  officially take a chance day.  However here is a list of 10 things I would not take a chance on today.

1. Not wearing your safety glasses for an entire day
2. That new duct tape harness you created to save a few bucks
3. Telling your boss you slept with his wife
4. Leaving flammable materials sitting by the burn pile
5. Seeing how close you can get your face to your machine without wearing safety glasses
6. Testing the theory that legs can grow back by not wearing chainsaw chaps
7. Lifting anything with your groin
8. Trying to determine how bad an anvil to the head would hurt without head protection.
9. Letting co-workers yell in your ear all day without ear plugs to see if  you’ll lose your hearing.
10. Using your dog’s leash as a fall protection lanyard because you forgot yours at home.

Technorati Tags: chainsaw chaps, fall protection, Safety Glasses

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Are we in a Recession?  Apparently.  Oh well.  Here’s the thing though.  In tough times, individuals and companies are looking for any way to save a buck.  They start cutting things.  Unfortunately, in our haste and panic we often cut the wrong things.  Safety is not an area to cut out.

It is possible to save money, and still provide your employees with safety gear to keep them out of harm’s way.

Look, I love the Wiley X safety glasses as much as the next guy. They look awesome, and I’m pretty damn sure they improve compliance.  However, there are less expensive models available that keep your eyes just as safe.  Hell, you can get a ton of safety glasses for under $4 a pair.

Remember you can save money by changing the style, but don’t cut out safety all together.  You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if something happens.

Technorati Tags: recession, Safety Glasses, safety in a recession

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So, you’re thinking about a horizontal lifeline system, but you don’t know what the hell you’re looking for.  Well, fear not my friends.  First off let me explain a horizontal lifeline system…

Basically a horizontal lifeline stretches from “point A” to “point B” across the length of a roof.  The beauty of a system like this is that workers can attach their lanyard, retractable, etc… to the rope or cable anywhere across the length of the roof without moving their anchor.

Now, let’s take a look at two basic systems from Guardian.  Guardian offers both a cable and rope version at 100 ft.  Both systems support two workers and include everything you’d need to set up your lifeline.  The cable lifeline system is obviously more durable, but with that durability comes weight.  The rope lifeline system is much lighter, but wouldn’t be recommended with welding applications.

Another option comes from SafeWaze, who offers a two man cable and rope system with distances ranging from 30 to 100 ft. long.  And don’t forget that you can use some anchors to create your own lifeline system, such as the CB anchors and the Beamguard.

Hopefully, this quick primer gives you the information you need to get started and thinking about building a horizontal lifeline system of your own.

Technorati Tags: cable lifelines, horizontal lifelines, lifeline systems, rope lifelines

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Due to the increase of infrastructure construction, where fall protection and welding often meet, I thought I’d showcase a few welding fall protection products on the market.

Anchor: Guardian Beamer 2000 - The metal that makes up this anchor is resistant to welding splatter and fits over I and H beams.

Retractable: Go with any cable retractable in the work of welding.  Stay away from Web retractables and lanyards (unless otherwise noted to work with welding applications.

Harness: Safewaze Saturn Welding Harness - This little dynamo is made from Nomex and resists damage from splatter and char up to 700 degrees.  It was made specifically for Welders and the price is way better than Guardian’s Kevlar option.

So there you have it.  Also don’t forget to check out or recent article on welding safety glasses….

Technorati Tags: beamer 2000, fall protection, welding fall protection

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Did you know that April 29 was National Zipper Day!!!  Did you know that zippers have played an important role in safety over the years?  Well they have.  In celebration, where can you find zippers in the safety industry?

Hello, Vest Harnesses use zippers to make these things easy as hell to put on.  If it wasn’t for the zipper, these harnesses would be just as much of a pain in the ass as every other harness on the market.

Another use of the zipper… Safety Vests!  I’m detecting a theme here.  Yes, zippers are often used in safety vests.

Other than that…  It’s pretty slim pickins’  Hmmm.  I guess I should have thought about this a tad bit more before I started writing this post.  I guess zippers also work for mouths…  or fing… hmph! hrrgh! mmrph!

Technorati Tags: fall protection, safety vests, vest harnesses

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