Check Your Housekeeping Checklist

Before getting into the seasonal concerns, you need to make sure that all aspects of your basic housekeeping plan are being implemented, for example:

• Is the place tidy?
• Are things stored in their proper places, kept clean and maintained in good order?
• Have slip, trip and fall hazards been eliminated?
• Are spills cleaned up and fire hazards addressed?

Once you’ve covered the basics, here are five ways you can address cold weather concerns.

1. Look Down

Ice and snow cause thousands of slip, trip and fall injuries each winter. Therefore, keep buckets of salt handy and ensure that someone is responsible for keeping walkways, paths and building entrances clear. Put down mats inside the doors of buildings to absorb melted snow and provide traction.

2. Look Up

Are there sloping roofs, overhangs or pipes over any pedestrian routes? Make sure to keep them snow-free and break off icicles.

3. Look Around

If your workplace has outdoor storage or work areas, make sure they all remain accessible, even when the snow gets deep. Mark road hazards, such as open manholes, pits or raised pavement castings with stakes and fluorescent tape so that drivers and pedestrians can steer clear. Ensure fire and emergency equipment aren’t buried.

4. Look in the Shed

If your workplace has snow-clearing equipment or other gear needed for winter, inspect them. Make sure snow shovels and other tools are in good shape.

5. Designate Space

If your parking lots or walkways are plowed or blown clear, think about where you’re going to put all that snow. Make sure to designate a corner of your workplace to pile up winter’s leavings.

Conclusion

The basic rule is keep snow and ice out of your building and off your walkways. With that simple housekeeping idea in mind, you can prevent many of the hazards of winter from becoming injuries. Remember, winter hazards don’t go until winter is over. Remind your workers to keep their eyes open and report any hazard immediately. At the least, they may save someone’s dignity. At the most, they may save someone’s life.

He says that while falls from scaffolds and ladders might be the number one injury in most construction companies, in his workplace most injuries are the result of workers tripping over materials lying around the lumber yard. He tells his workers to be more careful and reminds them to keep the yard clean, but it’s not enough. It’s especially difficult when workers deliver building materials to job sites hundreds of miles away, far from his safety warnings. What can he do?

Here are a few of your suggestions:

#1 Create a Housekeeping Habit

I am the safety officer at a depot for military aircraft. We tear down and rebuild airplanes used for pilot training. Foreign objects (FO) on the ground can be a tragic accident if an aircraft engine sucks it up from the ground. A pilot could be killed or thousands of dollars of equipment could be ruined. What we do to prevent this from happening is daily FO walks. After the workers first break, everyone goes to the ramp, forms a line and starts walking across the ramp, picking up any debris they come across. After this goes on for awhile, you will notice people picking up debris on their own.

Tim Walters

#2 Investigate and Discipline Offenders

If he is a safety manager, and actually has some authority, he should discipline the workers as needed. Find out who the guilty parties are, and write them up for a safety violation. If that does not do it progress to unpaid time off. A man missing a day’s work, and a day’s pay, and having to explain to his wife the reason was he was working unsafely can cause more embarrassment to him than anything else. It also sets an example to others.

For off site deliveries, simple: Contact whoever is in charge of that site and ask him about your workers and if they performed their jobs as they were supposed to. Particularly in regards to safety.

And when a worker is hurt, once he recovers, are investigations and disciplinary action taken? Lost time due to injury, then lost time due to disciplinary action will hit the offender where it hurts………in the wallet.

Gary Swiatowy

#3 Engage the Workers and Measure Success

Telling the workers to be more careful and simply reminding them to keep the yard clean is not enough. Therefore, the safety manager could incorporate safety toolbox talks and safety meetings regarding the importance of housekeeping and have an open forum to workers to have their say. Instead of lecturing the workers, he should ask for the workers input and find out what they have to say about the poor housekeeping and recurring injuries from tripping over materials. Too often it is forgotten that the workers really are the experts at their jobs, and we as safety people are here to assist them, not do their jobs for them. Therefore, talking to the workers and getting their input may lead to a solution to the poor housekeeping. This also gives the workers ownership. If they come up with an idea that is implemented, it gives them ownership of their jobs and allows them the much-needed worker involvement that so many companies are lacking.

As well, nothing will get done unless it is measured. As well, if workers know their worksite is going to be inspected, they may be more inclined to keep it clean. The safety manager could implement a daily or weekly inspection of the jobsite to identify recurring issues with housekeeping and to identify existing and potential tripping hazards. This will also provide information for trending, so that improvements in housekeeping can be tracked, as well as any decreases in the number of injuries occurring as a result of trips. Such improvements will warrant rewards for the workers, even if just positive reinforcement comments from management.

Name Withheld

#4 Sort, Assign, Audit and Reward

I would suggest that the safety manager and the lumberyard employees conduct an inspection to determine exactly what the employees are tripping over and how and/or why those items are there in the first place. If it’s just an accumulation of “junk”, they need to dispose of it. If the items are needed, they should designate and mark a specific place for them, sort of like a 5S program. If the places are marked, everyone will know where those things go and will need to put them in their place. Every employee should be held accountable for a certain area.

Then they will have to do regular periodic audits to make sure that things are getting put away properly. The safety manager and the yard employees should conduct the audits. The employees need to take ownership of this process since it is for their own safety as well as the safety of others. I would suggest weekly audits to start and after the process is going well, they can decrease the amount of audits. Also, I would suggest that the employees get rated on their “Housekeeping Performance”, either on their merit reviews or by giving them some reward for doing an outstanding job.

We have done a 5S program here in our facility, (except we call it 6S with safety being the 6th S), and it has been a great success. Employees take pride in their areas and keep them clean by putting things away and sweeping and mopping. Even though it’s been about 5 years since we started the program, it is still working very well. When I take visitors through our facility, 90% of the time the first words I hear when we enter the manufacturing area are: “Wow, this is really clean!”.

Gerry Garrison
Safety Manager

Do you have any suggestions to add? If so, either log in and post a response to this note or send me an email at catherinej@bongarde.com.

By the same token, lodging a safety complaint doesn’t make a worker immune from legitimate discipline. This series will show safety directors on both sides of the border how to discipline workers without liability under whistleblower laws. There’s also a Model Policy in TOOLS that you can use or adapt.

What the Law Says

Section 11(c) of the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Act makes it illegal to “discharge or in any manner discriminate against any” worker because the worker files an OSHA complaint or “exercises any right” under the OSHA law. The OHS laws of each Canadian jurisdiction include similar protections. Acts of retaliation can include not just firing and layoff but:

• Reassignment or assignment to undesirable shifts;
• Blacklisting;
• Demotion, pay cuts or reduction of hours;
• Denial of overtime, promotion or benefits,
• Disciplinary action;
• Failure to hire or rehire;
• Intimidation; and
• Transfer.

Section 11(c) and its Canadian equivalents are no paper tiger. The government is committed to protecting whistleblowers against retaliation because worker complaints are the key to the OSHA/OHS enforcement process. So acts of retaliation are a serious liability risk.

Why You Need a Non-Retaliation Policy

One of the ways a company can protect against this liability is to create a clearly worded policy that reassures workers that you won’t retaliate against them for reporting violations or exercising other workplace safety and health rights. The policy should address both the worker and supervisors above them. A meaningful policy must address all levels of the workplace, they say.

Like the Model Policy in TOOLS, your non-retaliation policy should do five things:

• Restate your company’s commitment to workplace health and safety;
• Remind workers that they’re not only allowed but required to report OSHA violations;
• Require supervisors and managers to keep an “open-door policy” and encourage workers who have complaints to come forward;
• List the protected activities workers can engage in without retaliation; and
• State that anybody who violates the non-retaliation policy will be disciplined.

Caveat: Talk Is Cheap

A non-retaliation policy, no matter how eloquently worded, won’t do much good if nobody believes it. There needs to be trust and a known commitment to safety on the part of management. A non-retaliation policy at a company that practices oppression borders on the grotesque. A policy, on the other hand, at a company that really promotes worker involvement can help safety directors build a culture of safety and trust.

Conclusion

Next week, we’ll look at another aspect of the retaliation issue: the risk of retaliation under the federal Sarbanes Oxley Act and its Canadian equivalent, C-13.

THE QUESTION
Did the company commit illegal retaliation by firing Ike?

THE ANSWER
Yes.

THE EXPLANATION
This scenario, which is hypothetical, illustrates an important point: It’s illegal to fire a worker in retaliation for making a safety complaint even if there are also legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons for the action. Ike did commit insubordination by walking off the job without permission. But retaliation for complaining to OSHA was also a motive for firing him. So the company’s decision to terminate Ike is illegal.

Another year has come and gone. Goodbye 2008; hello 2009. Things change. Stuff happens. What’s fine today is folly tomorrow. Take a moment to consider how computers, cell phones and recent world events have changed our lives. It becomes obvious to the most casual observer that we better be prepared to handle change. What exactly does it mean to “handle change”?

Change Management

Change management has become a corporate buzzword. But what is it? More importantly, what can you actually do to manage change?

Let’s start with what you can’t do. If you try to manage change the same way you manage a stable routine situation, you’re going to have real problems. You need to recognize that change is usually under-managed—even simple changes. People up and down the chain of command are often too resistive, too reactive and too closely tied to the old ways.

With a new year less than 24 hours away, here are a few ways to manage change, instead of letting change manage you.

View Change with a Positive Attitude

You might disagree with a change taking place in your organization. But as the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. If the change is going to be implemented anyway, then you might as well be upbeat and even enthusiastic about it. Remember that your attitude and morale affect those of the employees you work with. So don’t be grudging in your acceptance of the change.

Wrong: “I don’t like it either, but, hey, my hands are tied and that’s just how it’s going to be.”

Right: “This is the way it is now (or is going to be soon.) The old way has been discarded (or changed). We must figure out the best tactics to use to handle it.”

Invite Resistance

The 15th century political theorist Machiavelli wrote these words in The Prince:

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.”

Machiavelli is basically making the old “I’ve-been-doing-it-this-way-for-25-years-and-it’s-always-worked” kvetch. The best way to take the steam out of this type of resistance is to welcome it. Only you need to be prepared to show why the new way is better, or at least necessary.

Communication Paves the Way for Change

When people understand the why’s and wherefore’s of the new way of doing business, they gain some feeling of participation. But too often companies, governments and leaders in general make changes and enforce them without communication beforehand.

Employees should be kept informed of proposed changes that might impact them well before those changes become official. It’s best to communicate changes and their purposes verbally and in writing before, during and after the change takes place.

Make the Change Slowly, If Possible

When it comes to change, you may not have the luxury of time. For example, if you discover that a certain practice is dangerous or causing your company to bleed capital, you need to change it right away.

But if immediate change isn’t necessary, try not to rush it. By the same token, try to implement the change before it becomes necessary to give people at your organization the chance to adjust.

Pass Out “Psychological Paychecks”

According to Business as Unusual by Price Pritchett, Ph.D. and Ron Pound, Ph.D.

“Sometimes you’re not in a position to give employees more in terms of tangible rewards. But there is no limit to the intangible rewards you can provide. . . These psychological paychecks require little effort on your part and cost the company nothing. They represent an excellent way for you to compensate your people for the extra effort required of them during times of transition and change.”

After the change is in effect, make a special effort to thank those who are affected by it. It’s been shown over and over again that a compliment or a simple “thank you” can make a huge difference in a person’s mood and behavior.

Conclusion

It’s been said that the only person who likes change is a baby in a wet diaper. Perhaps this is true. That’s why you need to make an extra effort to help your workforce accept and adapt to changes in the way they work. Remember that the way you handle change is a reflection of your management ability as well as your personal maturity.

• A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.
• Before all else, be armed.
• Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.
• Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.
• If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
• It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.
• It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.
• It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.
• Never was anything great achieved without danger.
• No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
• One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.
• Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense; benefits ought to be handed ought drop by drop, so that they may be relished the more.
• The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
• The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.
• The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.
• The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.
• There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

Niccolò Machiavelli was born in what was then the city-state of Florence in 1469. Not much is known about his early life except that he obviously got himself one heckuva good education in the humanities.

Italy was a political mess at the time. The country was made up of city-states (Florence, Genoa, Venice, the Papal States, etc.) who warred with each other. Their disunity made them easy pickings for foreign states like France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

Florence was in the center of the political storms. When Machiavelli was a young boy, the city was ruled by a dictatorial priest named Savonarola who ended up being overthrown and burned at the stake. In 1494, Machiavelli became a clerk and an ambassador for the government. Later that year, the ruling Medici family was kicked out and Florence was declared a Republic. Machiavelli was a big wheel in the new government and its leading diplomat. So when the Medicis came back to power around 1512, he was out of a job.

In 1513, Machiavelli wrote his most famous book, The Prince, to curry favor with Lorenzo di Medici and get back into government. It worked. The Medicis took on Machiavelli. The Prince lays down practical principles about how a leader should rule and control his people. The dimestore interpretation of The Prince: The ends justify the means and the ruler should be prepared to bend laws and morals to hold onto power.

But The Prince is not as simple as that. Machiavelli did, in fact, believe in moral limits. And he didn’t believe in power for its own sake. He recognized that the prince carried the burden of the public good on his back and that an effective leader would be better for the people and society. So if Machiavelli could help the prince do his job better, he’d be doing a service to humanity.

Still, history has not been kind to Machiavelli. Thus, the word “machiavellian” has come to be used to describe a leader who is politically corrupt and uses deception to gain personal political goals.

What’s the Danger Posed by Snowblowers?

Blowing snow sure beats shoveling it. But using this snow removal method presents some serious hazards including lacerations and amputations. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2004, medical offices treated more than 44,000 injuries related to the use of power snow shovels and snowblowers, including lacerations, finger amputations and bone fractures, many of which occurred when machine operators tried to dislodge impacted snow from the chute.

There are also musculoskeletal injuries to consider. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons warns that the improper use of snowblowers, coupled with muscles being overextended and overexerted, can wreak havoc on the shoulders, wrists and backs.

Safety Tips for Snowblower Operators

To keep yourself – and those around you  – safe, keep these points in mind while operating snowblowers:

1. Dress appropriately, including slip-resistant footwear.
2. Read the safety manual.
3. Add fuel before starting the machine, not while the machine is hot.
4. Make sure all guards and shields are in place, and use only approved accessories and attachments.
5. Prior to operation, inspect the area and clear it of foreign objects that could fly out of the machine.
6. Adjust the collector housing so it won’t strike gravel or rock surfaces.
7. Clear bystanders from your work area.
8. Keep hands and feet away from all moving parts.
9. Be aware of carbon monoxide poisoning hazards, and don’t run the engine in enclosed areas.
10. Always stop the engine prior to making machine adjustments or repairs.
11. Mark the locations of water and gas shut-off valves prior to clearing snow.
12. Always know where the power cord is when using an electric snowblower.
13. Direct the snow away from buildings, vehicles and pedestrians.
14. Do not clear snow from steep slopes.
15. Do not leave the snowblower running unattended.
16. Pace yourself.

Conclusion

Operating a snowblower safely doesn’t require technical training; it only requires a little awareness and forethought. Keep these tips in mind and your experience with Arthur Sicard’s brainchild is much more likely to be a safe and productive one.

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
~Benjamin Franklin

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.
~Oprah Winfrey

Okay, Canada, it’s your turn. Here’s a version of the above quiz that’s adapted for WHMIS.

A building supply company in Ontario has to keep thousands of MSDS’. Maintaining a paper system has become a hassle. Suppliers are constantly making changes to their MSDS’ and furnishing MSDS’ for new products. And every time the company gets a new or updated MSDS, it has to take apart and then reassemble the MSDS binder. So the company wants to computerize the MSDS’ by making them available on a CD-ROM that workers can access on computers in the workplace. The company believes that the new system will not only be easier to maintain and update, but also simplify workers’ access to MSDS’.

QUESTION

To ensure that its computerized MSDS access system complies with WHMIS, the company must do all of the following EXCEPT:

A. Make sure all workers have access to computers and that their computers are kept in working order.

B. Train all workers and members of the JHSC how to use the computers and CD-ROM to access the MSDS’.

C. Make hard copies of the MSDS’ available upon the request of a worker.

D. Provide each worker his or her own computer.

ANSWER

D. The company must meet the first three conditions above, but it doesn’t have to provide individual workers their own computers.

EXPLANATION

Although WHMIS requirements vary slightly from province to province, the rule regarding computerized MSDS access is basically the same throughout Canada: You can do it as long as MSDS’ are “readily available” to workers. Most provinces have specific computer access requirements in their WHMIS guidelines. (We’ve cited three examples below.) However, no province requires employers to provide each and every worker their own computer. That’s why D is the right answer.

WHY WRONG ANSWERS ARE WRONG

A is wrong because although workers don’t need their own individual computers, they all need access to at least one computer in the workplace. It’s also true that the employer must take all reasonable steps to maintain the computers in working order. Otherwise, a computer shutdown might cut off access to MSDS’ for every worker in the company.

B is wrong because in order for MSDS’ to be “readily available,” all workers (and members of the JHSC) must be trained to use the computer system to access them. A worker shouldn’t have to ask a supervisor or designated co-worker to get him an MSDS because he doesn’t know how to do so himself using the computer system.

C is wrong because employers do, in fact, have to make hardcopies of an MSDS available to any worker who requests it. (Federally-regulated employers and those in Nova Scotia must also provide hard copies of MSDS’ upon the JHSC’s request.) Thus, you can’t have a completely paperless system or throw away your MSDS binders.

Citations:

Ontario WHMIS Guidelines: www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/whmis/whmis_4c.html

Federal WHMIS Guidelines: www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/msdss.html

BC WHMIS Guidelines: www.worksafebc.com/publications/health_and_safety/by_topic/assets/pdf/whmis.pdf