January 2020 Safety Topic of the Month: Let there be light(s)

Happy New Year!!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!!!

As we are in the shortest daylight hours here in the western hemisphere, I felt that it would be a good time to focus on lighting from an equipment and facility perspective. Poor lighting, indoors and outdoors, is not only an inconvenience, it poses several safety and security issues that can be easily overlooked in the day to day operation of any facility:

• Lack of visibility: of coworkers, merchandise and equipment, fixtures, etc.
• Eye strain/general fatigue: squinting and maneuvering to see objects in the dark - consider having to repeat this constantly during a shift will lead to fatigue sooner, and that's when accidents happen.
• Risk to customers: dark/dim areas of a lot or warehouse that customers are not used to increase incidents of slips, trips, falls, etc.

Some possible solutions:
There are several newer lighting advances on the market, with more coming all the time. LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting solutions have come a long way in the last few years, and come in a variety of styles to accommodate nearly any lighting task. Also, the price points have come down a bit in some cases. If the upfront cost of an LED conversion seems daunting, consider the lifespan of LED's is up to 10 times more than that of the traditional incandescent bulb. In some cases, there may be a rebate available for a full conversion (check with your utility provider). Not directly light related, but a mirror in dark blind corners can help balance out a lack of light.

Install LED lights on your equipment. New equipment can come with LED lights standard or available as an option. Side note: if you are currently in the process of purchasing new equipment and want LED lights, ask for them to be equipped (before) purchase - it will cost more to upgrade after the fact. The benefits of LED lights on equipment: the lights are brighter ("stock" lights are still primarily incandescent) and require less power to operate, this is true of all LED's, which is a factor to consider for return on investment. 

Additional lighting: adding LED strip or rope lights to the underside or inside of cabinets or along staircases is easy to install, and an affordable solution to apply light directly to where it is needed. New configurations of lighting are available for a wide variety of applications.

Coming back to the shortest light days - additional lighting can also be a mood/morale booster for everyone at your facility!

December 2019 Safety Topic of the Month: Happy Holidays

I do not have a specific topic for this month, just a suggestion: this may be a good time for you to perform a safety audit for your workplace. Take a little time to review the safety plan from this previous year and note what worked and what did not. Review changes and additions from the year, noting effectiveness, and in no time, you will have a fresh plan of attack for the new year! If this is your busy season, I encourage you to find the right time of year that works for you and your facility's schedule. Don't forget to look for new and innovative ways to improve your safety program!

 It will be a short month for me, as I will be closing for the whole two weeks surrounding the holidays (12/21/19 to 1/5/20), and hopefully finishing the bulk of our move in that time, Lord willing!!! If not, at least I'll have some time for packing, HaHa!!

Thank you all for your support and looking in on these little commentaries, I hope you are able to take some things away from these!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

Tom Kassen  

November 2019 Safety Topic of the Month: Lock Out Tag Out

This Month, I want to briefly cover lock out tag out - briefly because most companies extensively cover this topic, with their own set of procedures and protocols.

For those who have not been so lucky to receive training in this area, I will outline the function and importance of lock out tag out in any situation to promote safety. Simply stated, lock out tag out is used to communicate hazardous and unsafe equipment by disabling said equipment and placing an obvious notice in the place where the equipment would be started/operated. There are several devices used to lock out equipment, for example:

• Hooks with provisions for padlocks - to prevent panels from being opened
• Breaker covers - lock electric circuit breakers into the off position
• Cord plug "boots" - lock into place to prevent damaged cords from being used

Typically, these are used in conjunction with warning tags. These tags have red stripes to be easily identified, they also have a portion for writing in the issue, the name of the person who placed the tag and the department they work in. Some of these tags have a tear away section to relay the same information to the maintenance department (if applicable), both portions have a matching number for identification.

Used together with procedures in place to do so, this system is very effective in keeping personnel safe. One thing that does seem to be understated - FILL OUT THE TAG CLEARLY AND COMPLETELY! AND COMMUNICATE VERBALLY WITH A SUPERVISOR AND THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT THE ISSUE! This is where another safety issue arises - when a technician is assigned to perform repairs on a piece of equipment, all the technician has to go on is what is written on the tag out tag. Case in point, I had a forklift tagged out first thing in the morning. The tag was placed by a worker from the graveyard shift, with nothing written on the tag! The only clue was that the propane tank valve was turned off, which never happened unless there was a leak. Sure enough, carefully opened the valve slightly, and nearly missed getting sprayed by the leak in the hose!

For those of us who have had these procedures drilled into them over the years, it is easier to apply them at home. For those who have not, and those who do not apply them to the homefront - I would invite you (speaking to myself, also!) to apply the same procedures for safety, lock out tag out and all other safety procedures for that matter. Your employer does not expect you to do your job with unsafe equipment - why treat yourself any different?

October 2019 Safety Topic of the Month: Cold Weather Preparation

As my housing transition is still in transition and consuming all of my "spare time" this will be brief, but I do want to post a friendly reminder about winter preparation, since we have skipped fall here!

The forecast is predicting a long winter season this year, and definitely seems to be holding true! There is no time to lose in making preparations this year, so I am throwing out pointers off the top of my head. Hopefully, you have a plan of action already in place for the season, if so, I would like to know what your plan is. Feel free to comment or contact me directly!

A few points to consider:

Personal/Personnel:

• Thermal underwear
• Thermal outerwear/thermal PPE
• Traction shoes or boots/or "traction cleats"
• knowledge of hypothermia symptoms and first aid procedures 

Workplace:

• Check snow/ice removal tools for proper working order
• Stock/restock ice melting chemicals
• Update/add "slick area" signage
• Establish and apply winter facility maintenance preparation plan, i.e. sprinkler system or irrigation hose blow out, clear snow pile areas/widen isles, etc., identify building repair projects and reorder if necessary.

Equipment:

• Check coolant level/mixture
• Check batteries: cable connections for corrosion/tightness, charging system and battery load test
• If equipped, clean cab heaters as best as possible for dirt and loose debris
• Check tire wear, check tire chains, check brake/park brake operation
• Check safety equipment: strobe lights, work lights, back up alarms etc.

Thank you,

Tom Kassen

tomkassen@mobilemachineryservice.com

September 2019 Safety Topic of the Month: Be Safe Out There

As I am currently in the process of moving both home and home office, I do not have a topic this month. That stated, I will say always be alert and safety conscious!

Thank you for your support, and reading these blog posts. As always, I welcome a discussion on safety, or equipment related topics. I hope to have a new safety blog for October, and news on new developments with the business - stay tuned!

Thank you!

Tom Kassen

August 2019 Safety Topic of the Month: Safe Work Environment for Personnel & Machinery

This month, I want to focus on the importance of defining spaces for equipment and personnel in any workplace situation. (In my opinion), the majority of pedestrian/equipment accidents, and countless "near miss" situations occur due to lack of proper pedestrian only areas and equipment only areas - and lack of enforcement/discipline. And that is discipline of an individual to adhere to the rules of safety - not reprimand. The common items that I have seen overlooked:

• Lack of floor markings, signage, guard rails, mirrors, etc. to mark where pedestrian and equipment traffic are allowed.
• Lack of / defective safety equipment: horns, lights, reflectors, etc. and/or lack of use of these safety items.  

With the above in place, the most common overlooked issue is having a consistent traffic safety plan in place, reinforced with safety training meetings regularly, and establishing an environment where personnel work together to keep each other safe. If a change has to occur to an established zone - communicate it  immediately to all affected staff, and make sure to have them pass the information on to absent coworkers and post notices in places where all employees can see.

For those workplaces that are less than conventional: outside, close spaces, and those where customers, vendors, or even regular local traffic drive through the middle of the work area, extra care and planning will be necessary. A heightened level of awareness should be encouraged throughout your team. Also consider adding personal protective equipment (PPE) such as high visibility uniforms, coveralls, or vests. The addition of temporary to permanent traffic redirection devices - cones to "K-rails" may be necessary to facilitate traffic around the workflow. Weekly or even daily team safety meetings would go a long way to keep up the safety mindset.

All of this has funneled down to safety training, and the primary topic to teach is awareness. Constant surveillance of surroundings is imperative. Achieving eye contact with equipment operators before proceeding at an intersection, as well as the equipment operator keeping a vigilant eye out for pedestrians and potential hazards - and from here we scratch at the topic of operator training, which I will cover soon.

Proper signage and safety implements will create an atmosphere where safe practices will thrive - vigilant communication of the safety policy and procedures will help your team come together to keep the workplace as safe as possible-
so everyone goes home at the end of the day!

Tom Kassen

Note: As I wrote this, I realized that I may have made a vague reference to construction environments. As construction environments are not my area of experience, I did not intentionally cover specifics for construction in particular. My experience has been that construction crews have a very high standard and a zero tolerance for any lack of safety practices. I would really like to hear some insight into construction safety from anybody who has experience, thank you! 

July 2019 Safety Topic of the Month: Overheating - Man & Machine

With Summer upon us once again, it's time to talk about heat related stress. While considering this topic, I found myself thinking more about people than machines (as anyone truly should) and realized how they truly do go hand in hand. Simply put - if one is overheating, the other is probably overheating (or prone to overheating) given the work environment.

1. WATCH OUT FOR YOUR FELLOW WORKERS/EMPLOYEES!

Familiarize yourself and your employees with the sign of heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Perform an evaluation of your facility - identify areas of increased heat stress, and if possible restrict personnel and equipment from the area, or at least restrict time spent by any one person, rotate employees in quick intervals to further limit time in a high heat area. Identify areas where employees can cool down if exposed to heat - provide drinking water in these areas and keep water close to employees throughout the facility.

 Photo courtesy of Stevens County Fire District No.1's Facebook page.

There are several products available that help beat the heat, evaporative cooling caps, for example are very effective in high heat environments. Keeping up electrolyte intake is important as well, non-caffeinated sports drinks will help with this. There are electrolyte tablets that are effective - but consult your doctor before taking as they are basically sodium tablets. Communication and alertness of changing situation are the constant to avoid heat related injuries and accidents.

2. KEEPING MACHINERY FROM OVERHEATING

The short and simple here is constant monitoring of equipments' gages and alarms. That "usually ignored" temperature gage will need a little more attention in the heat. And close monitoring of coolant levels during pre shift inspections, as well as overall condition of the visible cooling system will be the best guard against an overheating issue. If ANY issues are revealed at that time - TAG OUT the machine immediately and DO NOT OPERATE! Have a full inspection completed by an appropriate repair technician. If the machine begins to overheat, SHUT IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY! - not just for the machine, but for your own safety. Also to consider, if you see a fluid leak - it may not be the fluid you think it is. Case in point, while working onsite at a facility where excessive heat is a constant year round (and worst in summer),  a forklift operator brought over a Toyota forklift "that was leaking transmission fluid". He left the truck running, I hopped into the seat, looked at the instrument panel, and the temperature gage was pegged in the red. Toyota forklifts (like Toyota cars and trucks) use a specific coolant - pink in color, and the forklift operator had mistaken the engine coolant for transmission fluid! (Dexron 3, if your curious). The good news was no permanent damage, the bad news the truck was down for two days for parts, and was only one of three forklifts of that capacity for the whole facility.

To sum it all up - always be aware of your surroundings and be on the lookout for the signs of overheating, in both man and machine!

Tom Kassen  

(Added 7/17/2019) Here is a link to OSHA's page on Occupational Heat Exposure:
 https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatstress/?fbclid=IwAR0ilbGgpjDZYxBMh1YRJhVN2dJGQtkc5Fzwl3fR77tQezPUaFESIG0jMSU