Jun 4, 2023 | Accident prevention, Work Injuries
When you work in a warehouse, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of doing things. In time, you’ll likely have a routine that you could do in your sleep. Therefore, many people who work in warehouses will choose to wear headphones on the job. It’s understandable that you would want something to make the day a little less monotonous. However, while headphones provide the right amount of distraction, they also introduce a risk you might not have considered before.
Headphones and Warehouse Work: Understanding Common Risks
Concentration and alertness
One of the first and foremost risks of headphones in the workplace, are the attention they take away from your task at hand. Especially when using heavy equipment, fulfilling orders, manning a station, or moving heavy materials— you need to be present. There is the potential for missing something along the way when your ears aren’t in the game. Take, for example, if something falls from high up and is headed straight for you. In most cases, there will be someone close by who might yell ‘heads up’, ‘move!’, or ‘get out of the way!”. But, if you have headphones in— you might miss those warnings and end up with an injury as a result.
Becoming caught in machinery
Depending on what type of warehouse you’re working in, there might be equipment of some sort running at all times. Therefore, it is often ill-advised to have any sort of loose clothing, or cords, in the workplace. You never know when that loose cord of the headphones, which is connected to your body, might become caught in a machine and lead to your being pulled in that direction.
As an employer, it’s important to keep your protocol in check
Many warehouses ban headphones for these very reasons, however, when things are going well— it can be all too easy to not pay attention to potential dangers. Therefore, make it a monthly, or quarterly, task to perform random, routine safety checks. While you might have other responsibilities, keeping your employees safe should always be at the top of the list. So, check in, check cameras, and hold your employees accountable for making the right decisions.
May 14, 2023 | Accident prevention, Work Injuries
Workers in many different fields like to make use of personal headphones. This lets them listen to things like music and can help pass the time. However, they might not be a safe option depending on your job. It’s important to know when wearing these headphones might become a risk to your safety…
Personal Headphones: Risk vs. Reward
Limiting outside noise
Personal headphones can help you block out any outside noise or distractions. This can help when it comes to focusing more on the work you’re doing. However, it could also mean you don’t hear important audio cues around you. This could lead to you accidentally getting hurt because you were unaware of what was happening around you.
Headphones can also have a small noise-canceling effect on their own. This can lead some to think that they can be used in place of special noise-reducing headphones or earplugs. However, this is actually not the case. OSHA notes that these headphones aren’t as effective as specialty ones.
Snags and tangles
Another issue with personal headphones is the chance of them catching or snagging on something. This can already be annoying when it happens outside the workplace. However, it could also be quite dangerous when you’re working.
For example, if you have to do a lot of moving around at your job, then your headphones could easily catch on to something. This is especially true if your work involves any kind of machinery. Overall, it’s not worth the added risk to wear headphones when doing this kind of work where you want to be as safe as possible.
Potential benefits
It isn’t a bad idea to wear personal headphones at every workplace, however. It mainly depends on the job you’re doing. If you work in a more desk/office-type of job, then you might be able to wear headphones depending on your workplace rules. Compared to other office safety risks, headphones probably won’t be too much of a hazard.
Here, headphones can be especially helpful if you have a hearing problem. They can help you hear a bit better if you have to make phone calls or listen to audio. They can also help if you have something like tinnitus. Having something like music or soft noise playing can help those with tinnitus keep their mind off of the ringing.
Apr 30, 2023 | Work Injuries, Workers' Compensation
Many times, an injury is not as simple as one bruise on one arm. An injury can any part of the body, all which need documentation— no matter how small . Documenting injuries is an important step in your worker’s comp case because it will help your case. Because insurance companies are reluctant to make pay outs and cover charges, this documentation will be important during all parts of your case.
Documenting Injuries: Why It Matters
What to Document
You should be documenting injuries relating to your workplace incident. For example, let’s say you fell at work and used your arms to break your fall. The main injury might be your knee with scratches covering it. What you might not see is the shoulder or elbow pain you are suffering because your arms helped cushion your fall. Then, after you document the injury, and make sense of the situation, it can add context to how your arms might hurt as a result of the injury.
When to Document It
Documenting all relative injuries as soon as they happen is imperative to a successful worker’s compensation case. You should have a discussion with your doctor about your injuries. Documenting injuries does not have to be a formal, long-form write up. You can simply tell your doctor you’ve had some pain in that area. You can also document it in your pain journal. For most major injuries, reports should be made within a few days of the accident.
Why It Matters
An accurate injury report from a doctor or the emergency room will be your best friend in a worker’s compensation case. Make sure all details are included, no detail is too small. Sometimes, insurance companies will try to use missed details or incorrect information to discredit the incident. You can make sure this does not happen by documenting injuries personally and fact-checking doctor’s reports.
To conclude: no injury or pain is too small to document. When documenting injuries, make sure you are including all relevant information. Sometimes, even things you might think are irrelevant can be helpful to your case. Bruises, cuts, and small swelling that you believe will just heal with time are still important to include in your injury documentation.
Apr 23, 2023 | Accident prevention, Work Injuries
A repetitive strain injury is an injury that occurs from doing the same motion over and over again. Examples of these include carpal tunnel, bursitis, and tennis elbow. This type of injury can occur from tasks at work. However, there are ways you can prevent or minimize the chance for this type of injury.
Repetitive Strain Injuries: What Are They
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel is a condition that causes numbness, tingling, or weakness in your hand. This repetitive strain injury is caused by repetitive motions. These include motions like typing, or any wrist movements that you do over and over again. For example, people who work in dentistry have a high risk of carpal tunnel due to repetitive wrist movements while working. Also, you increase your risk when your hands are lower than your wrists while doing the movement.
The typical symptoms of carpal tunnel are not pleasant. For example, burning, tingling, or itching numbness in your palm and thumb or your index and middle fingers are symptoms. Other symptoms are weakness in your hand and trouble holding things, shock-like feelings that move into your fingers, and tingling that moves up into your arm. Proper ergonomics can help reduce the risk of this injury, but wrist braces are a good early treatment.
Bursitis
Bursitis is inflammation or irritation of a bursa sac. These are fluid filled sacs that are all over your body. Bursitis is common around major joints like your shoulder, elbow, hip, or knee. This repetitive strain injury can be caused from workplace activities including carpentry, painting, and scrubbing.
Common places for bursitis to happen are your elbow, shoulder, hip, thigh, buttocks, knee, achilles tendon or heel. This injury can cause pain, and you may notice your joint is red, stiff or swollen. Take breaks often when you’re making the same motions over and over again, and use good posture. If you start to have pain, stop, and see your doctor.
Tennis Elbow
Another repetitive strain injury is tennis elbow. This is a painful condition that usually comes from repetitive use of the muscles and tendons of the forearm and the elbow joint. Surprisingly, only 5% of tennis elbow injuries come from tennis.
Some workplace activities that could lead to tennis elbow include painting, working on cars or on an assembly line or playing a musical instrument. Other examples include kitchen work, such as cutting with a knife, or cutting trees with a chainsaw. This may cause your elbow to be sore. Treatment usually includes rest, ice, and over-the-counter pain medications. However, if the problem gets really bad, surgery may be needed.
Feb 26, 2023 | Work Injuries, Workers' Compensation
Lifeguards play an important role of keeping people safe at beaches, pools, swimming holes, and other bodies of water. However, when it comes to guarding lives… lifeguard safety is also part of the equation. To protect the people around you, you must first protect yourself. So, we’re here to help you do just that. Following, we will provide you with a few tactics to keep yourself safe, and in turn, the people around you.
Lifeguard Safety: Protecting Yourself
Use sun protection
Lifeguards have to stay out in the sun for long periods of time. However, this constant exposure can cause more than just a tan. Sunburn and skin cancer are some risks that lifeguards have to be aware of. Generally, good lifeguard safety means taking steps to be protected from the sun. For example, it’s a good idea to wear a good sunscreen of at least SPF 30 or higher. The sunscreen should be reapplied every few hours, especially if you’ve been in the water. Good hats and sunglasses also help offer added shade and protection from the sun.
Stay hydrated
Lifeguards have a pretty physical job. They must quickly reach people who may be struggling in the water and get them to safety. This can quickly wear a person out, which is why it’s an important part of lifeguard safety to remain energized. That’s why lifeguards should make sure to stay hydrated when on the job. Generally, it’s recommended to have at least 2-4 glasses of water for every hour out in the sun. It’s a good idea to bring extra water bottles in a cooler to keep the chilled throughout the hot day.
Injuries Resulting From Injuries
Lifeguards have to account for any number of things at one time, aside from lifeguard safety. From slippery pavement, to people who can’t swim, rip currents, or other unexpected circumstances. No matter where you are working, there are unique injuries that you might encounter as a result. In turn, when issues begin to happen, others might begin to panic— making it difficult for you to work properly, and avoid lifeguard injuries. Take, for example, someone drowning. When they are panicking and you go to help, they might unintentionally pull you down and put you at risk of a similar injury.
Injured lifeguards should seek out first aid ASAP. After all, their well being is just as important as those they are watching over. They can also take steps to help reduce this injury risk. This can involve keeping the pool area clean, and keeping panicking people calm when rescuing them. Lifeguards have a tough but necessary job. The importance of their jobs means they must make sure to keep themselves healthy when on job. Everyone swimming is safer when the lifeguards are safe as well. Therefore, lifeguard safety should be a concern both to the lifeguard and to everyday people.
Apr 1, 2022 | Accident prevention, Work Injuries
There are workplace hazards that come with operating heavy machinery. Some examples of this type of equipment are cranes, front-end loaders, skid loaders, bulldozers, forklifts and tractors. Due to the size and weight of these pieces of equipment, they can be very dangerous. In fact, according to OSHA, about 404 people in America die each year in heavy equipment accidents. They also say the failure or misuse of heavy equipment is one of the top 10 causes of workplace fatalities. If you operate heavy machinery, it is important to know what to do and not do to best keep you safe.
Operating Heavy Machinery: Things to Know
Training
The first step to safely operating heavy machinery is to be properly trained. This may be a long, involved process, but it is essential for safety. Each person using this equipment should be trained and certified on using the equipment. Even if it is just on how to do a simple task, training is so important due to the nature of the machines. Regular refresher training is good to do every few weeks.
Take it Slow
Another thing to consider when operating heavy machinery is to take it slow and safe. If you are on a tight deadline to finish a project, you may feel the need to go fast. Do not fall into a trap where you skip safety steps and rush. This could lead to you making mistakes. Employers should not try and rush workers while they are using these heavy machines. Errors when using big, heavy equipment could turn into life threatening mistakes. Rushing is not worth the risk of hurting yourself or someone else.
Communication
When operating heavy machinery, it is so important to communicate on the job site. For example, make sure that all workers in the area know when a vehicle is occupied and in use. Have others keep an eye out and keep any dangerous areas around the vehicle clear. Communication also applies to creating clear guidelines for operating procedures. This way everyone is on the same page.
Remove Distractions
Distractions bring in another dangerous element when operating heavy machinery. Phones and headphones should not be used or allowed while using these heavy machines. Construction sites can be dangerous on their own. There are many hazards, including people moving around. A distracted machinery operator may not pay attention or notice people around them, or other hazards.
By following these guidelines, you will be safer while operating heavy machinery. They are not hard steps to follow, but can make a huge difference in workplace safety.
