Unsafe Companies shouldn't get Government Contracts

According to consumer advocacy groups, government agencies award construction contracts to companies with poor safety records on the regular occasion. There are a number of recent cases where contracts were given to companies with long history of health and safety violations.

"Taxpayer dollars should not be wasted on companies that expose their employees to dangerous work conditions," said Justin Fieldman, an advocate for health and safety performance. He also goes on to say,"When government agencies fail to properly assess construction companies for health and safety performance, the results are not only expensive, but deadly."

Citizens want there to be a better procedure for reviewing contractor health and safety performance. The Public Citizen group, a national nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, is calling for lawmakers to require agencies to consider a company's safety violations and injury prevention practices before awarding contracts.

For construction safety, be sure to check out the two courses we offer on the topic: Construction Safety and Struck By and Caught Between. SafetySkills offers a variety of safety training courses. Training is also available in a DVD format for employees without computer access. Please call us today for more information on course titles, regulations, and pricing at 888-844-3549.

Employers Responsible for Providing Safe and Healthful Workplaces

Under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Act of 1970, "Employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women are enforced by setting standards, providing training, education, and assistance."   

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing their alliance to promote safe work practices in environments involving hazardous chemicals. The renewed alliance will increase awareness of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

"More than 32 million workers are exposed to 650,000 hazardous chemical products in American workplaces,"  said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels.

The above statement is eye opening in the sense that so many citizens are being affected by hazardous chemical products. The Alliance program will educate workers on personal health and they will develop information sheets on health and physical hazards of chemicals. They will also focus on the elements that make Globally Harmonized System (GHS) compliant.

noodleStream.com®, the maker of SafetySkills™, is an Oklahoma based online safety training provider that specializes in hazardous chemical prevention courses. Course titles include Hazard Communication, Chemical Safety, Hazardous Waste Awareness and over 200 additional OSHA compliant courses. Training is also available in DVD format for employees without computer access. Please call us today for more information on course titles, regulations, and pricing at 888-844-3549.

SafetySkills™ New Year's Resolutions for 2012

At SafetySkills we put safety at the top of our list and we hope to inspire others to do so as well. This year we are sharing our New Year’s resolutions to provide some helpful ideas on having a safe and healthy 2012.

1. Be more energy efficient - Mother Earth needs some loving and so do our wallets. Check out this online safety training course for tips on how to be more energy efficient while saving you money.
Protect yourself at work – Let’s vow this year to be more safety conscious. No matter what field you may be in, you may come in contact with something that can be potentially dangerous if you are not wearing the proper personal protective equipment or PPE. This online course can provide helpful tips in choosing PPE and the different types to choose from.
Quit Smoking - A smoker usually at one time or another thinks about quitting smoking. Make 2012 be the first of many smoke free years. Beginning in September of this year, the FDA will require larger, more prominent cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States. Give yourself a heads up on what to expect in 2012 by viewing our Carcinogen awareness course. Sometimes a visual reminder is more effective in helping people make a change.
Be a more courteous driver – We know how stressful the workday commute can be. You’ve got places to go and people to see and no one around you is moving fast enough. Here’s an idea, if everyone made the pledge to be more courteous, the rush hour commute may actually be more peaceful. Sometimes a little more quiet time is all a person needs to put them in a better mood. This road rage online safety training course can give you some preventive measures to help you from being pushed over the edge.
Focus more on the road and less on your phone – Don’t be the object of someone else’s road rage because you were not paying attention. Too many accidents occur because people are not paying attention to the road. Don’t add to the statistics and put the phone away while driving. No text or phone call is worth your life or someone else’s. The SafetySkills distracted driver course will help you identify some methods to minimizing or eliminating driving distractions.
Finish home improvement projects – It always starts out with good intentions, the measurements have been taken, all the necessary tools have been purchased and then months later the drywall is still in the exposed status you left it in. Make 2012 the year that you actually finish what you started. To help get you pumped up and ready to go safely, be sure to watch our hand and power tool safety course first before gearing up.
Clean your house more – Life has become so busy that sometimes it’s hard to clean up after yourself or others. Unfortunately you have let it go for so long that you are beginning to wonder when the camera crew from “Hoarders” is going to start knocking at your door. Don’t wait for spring to do some spring cleaning; no time is better than the present. Before you overwhelm yourself with all the cleaning options or have the sudden urge to spray all the cleaning products you have in bathtub, check out this household chemical safety course. Start 2012 off fresh, clean and safe.
Be a better listener – How many times have you been accused of not listening? If you are my husband, this occurrence happens at least once a day. My husband likes to feed me the line that it’s not that he isn’t listening he just can’t hear me because of all the loud noises he endures every day at work. Whether this is actually true for my husband or not (since he always hears me when I say how much something is going to cost), millions of people are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work every year. Protect your ears (and you relationship) by learning how to prevent hearing loss with this online hearing conservation training course (your partner will thank you later)
Travel more – According to a report by the Families and Work Institute, the average vacation time that Americans took each year averaged 14.6 days. A survey done by Expedia.com shows that workers in France earned 30 vacation days, on average, in 2011, and often used every single one of those days. The same goes for employees in Brazil and Spain, Expedia said. In the UK, workers get 25 days and they used all 25. Why let the Europeans have all the fun? Make this year the time to finally get out from behind the desk and use all those vacation days. Before you head out, make sure that your traveling is stress free with this situational travel online training course.
Take more risks – We all think about it at one point or another, we want to be daring, spontaneous and the object of our coworkers jealousy. Let this year be the year to get a little crazy. What about a tattoo? This ink on your body will show people that you are a risk taker even if it’s a little fuzzy kitten on your ankle. Make sure your do your research before diving any risky permanent ink situations. A good start may be to look into the safety regulations that legit tattoo shops have to follow so you are armed with the right questions to ask. This online safety training course is designed show tattoo artists the proper procedures necessary to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens.

Choosing an Online Occupational Health and Safety Training Provider

At $23.7 Billion and a market growth approaching 35%, it is difficult to deny the compelling attributes associated with online training.   Occupational health and safety training delivered online is especially compelling because of the level of compliance-assurance that can be attained, as well as the significant ROI that so many companies have experienced.   In pursuing these benefits however, many organizations have unfortunately, experienced less than what was expected.   The problem is that along with the growth of demand, the number of providers of online occupational health and safety training has increased as well.  To ensure your organization realizes the potential benefits it’s important to ask the right questions that identify online occupational health and safety providers that provide the training content that will meet expectations.    

 

How expert are the subject matter experts?

What are the credentials of the authors of your online safety training?  Make sure the subject matter experts, are in fact, experts in the occupational health and safety subject.   Not only should they have significant experience in the subject, they should be board certified, and hold advanced degrees in a field relevant to that subject matter.   Look for individual credentials, but also, look at the level of complexity and scope of the provider company’s project history.  The subject matter experts must be involved in the safety training development process from defining the required competencies to final quality assurance.

 

What is the instructional design approach?

Just because they know the material, doesn’t mean they can teach it.   The body of instructional systems design and adult learning theory has evolved over the years and you want to be sure that the safety training content you deploy takes full advantage of the design strategies available

 

What is the content’s interactivity and media-complexity level?

Probably the most conspicuous differentiator in quality and cost between online occupational health and safety providers is level of interactivity and media complexity.  Some online occupational health and safety training providers offer content that is little more than web-based PowerPoint slides, or aging safety training videos streamed online.  Look for online safety training providers who leverage the technologies available in the web 2.0 of today, such as dynamic, variable, non-linear navigation based on learner input and intensive action scripting.  Also look for content that is engaging by making full use of non-static avatars; 3-D animations and simulations; and studio-produced audio.   

 

Can the occupational safety content be customized?

How customizable is the content?  To be effective, it is critical that the online occupational health and safety training you’ve assigned an employee be relevant to the employee.  Many occupational safety training providers promote supposedly “easy to use” customization tools which are in fact neither easy to use, nor allow for any substantive customization.  Look for a provider who will offer content that is editable in common off the shelf courseware development software, such as Adobe’s Captivate™ or Trivantis’ Lectora™.   Furthermore, make sure the safety training provider developed the content themselves, in-house.  Some providers rely on outsourcing content development, and thus will have limited capability for customizing the content.

Common Holiday Accidents

Research shows that more accidents occur during the holiday season than any other time of the year. The best way to prevent an injury is to learn what the most common reasons are that bring a person into the ER.

Car Accidents

Car accidents this time of year are extremely dangerous due to weather conditions and a higher-percentage of intoxicated drivers on the road than usual. Avoid driving in hazardous weather conditions when possible and winterize your vehicle before traveling. Above all else, never drink and drive.

Holiday Decorating

When it comes to holiday decorating a variety of accidents can happen. Over 5,000 each year involve falling off of a ladder hanging Christmas lights and decorations. The month of December is responsible for 25 percent of all home decorating fires. Fires caused by Christmas trees and decorative lights claim an average of 500 homes annually.

Winter Sports

Many people do not realize how dangerous winter sports can be and end up with extreme consequences. Skiing and snowboarding accidents cause hundreds of physical injuries, as well as frostbite, hypothermia and severe sun burns. 35,000 sledding injuries occur each year. In 2004, 11,000 children sought medical attention from ice skating injuries.

Kitchen Fires

Fire departments across the country plead with the public to be careful in the kitchen during the holidays to avoid kitchen fires. Three out of ten home fires began in the kitchen. To reduce the risk of a kitchen fire, do not leave cooking food unattended and keeping flammable materials away from heat sources.

Cuts

From cooking to wrapping presents, if it’s sharp it can cut the skin. Hundreds of people cut themselves every year working hard to create the perfect holiday mood. Be careful with sharp objects and keep out of the reach of children. Make sure that first aid kits are available when needed.

Poisonous Christmas Plants

The many holiday plants are poisonous and can cause severe reactions if ingested. Keeping poinsettias, mistletoe, holly, Jerusalem cherry and amaryllis out of the reach of small children and pets is the best way to ensure that there will be no need to call poison control.

Electrical Shock

Electrical decoration mishaps bring an average of 5,000 people to the emergency room each year. Only use extension cords that are in good condition (not frayed) and never run them underneath any kind of fabric, including rugs. Be careful to overload electrical sockets and unplug devices when they are no longer in use.

Shoveling Snow and Snow Blowers

Removing snow and ice from walkways and driveways provides protection from potential lawsuits, but each year 100,000 injuries are result of this chore. When shoveling snow, lift with knees bent and a straight back to prevent back injury. Permission from a physician is necessary for those with heart conditions and should stop immediately if chest pains occur. When using a snow blower, the fourth leading cause of finger amputation, always wear protective eye wear and keep hands away from the auger. Make sure that all safety devices are in working condition and read safety instructions before operating.

To learn more about SafetySkills, visit SafetySkills.com.

SafetySkills™ Celebrates Marie Curie's 144th Birthday

Today marks the 144^th Birthday of Nobel Prize winning scientist Marie Curie. Curie was the only woman to win the Nobel Prize in two separate fields – Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911. Curie is known as one of the most famous scientists of all time mostly because of her pioneering research on radioactivity. Curie’s theory of radioactivity, the isolation of radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of Polonium and Radium led her to win two Nobel Prizes. She is still the only woman to ever win the prize in two distinct fields.

Marie Curie died in 1934 from exposure to the radium that made her famous. In 1995, she was entombed in the Pantheon, Paris, the first woman to receive the honor.  One of her most famous quotations is: "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." Thanks to Curie’s discoveries in radioactivity, we are more aware of the exposures and dangers of radioactive materials. 

In continuing with Marie Curie’s tradition of combating fear with knowledge, SafetySkills™ offers a Radiation Safety Course.  This course will discuss ways to reduce exposure to radiation hazards that may exist at your workplace. This course will also provide general baseline knowledge about radiation hazards. SafetySkills™ also offers over 200 OSHA, DOT and EPA compliant courses. Visit us today at http://safetyskills.com/.

Free Safety Course of the Month - Slips, Trips and Falls

I don’t know about you, but I always love a good deal, what’s even better is something for free. SafetySkills™ knows how to make a good deal even better by offering some of their online safety training courses for free. SafetySkills™ is an online training solution that provides interactive and content rich occupational health and safety courses for any size company or individuals.  We know that training is important and sometimes budgets are tight, which is why we offer 15 free online safety training courses. Sign-up for a free basic account to have access to our free courses and over 200 OSHA compliant courses. In this month’s Free Course Safety Spotlight we are featuring Slips, Trips and Falls. 

Slips, Trips and Falls can occur in any type of workplace setting and even off the job.  OSHA states that incidents cause by slips, trips or falls constitute for the majority of general industry accidents. Slips, trips and falls cause 15% of all accidental deaths, and are second only to motor vehicles as a cause of fatalities. OSHA standards for walking/working surfaces apply to all permanent places of employment, except where only domestic, mining or agricultural work is performed.

The SafetySkills™ free Slips, Trips and Falls course will provide the learner with general awareness tips that will apply to any industry or individual. In this course, employees will learn to identify general OSHA safety requirements, guarding for floor and wall openings, issues with stairways, ladder, scaffolds, loading docks and how personal behavior affects safety. This course can help employers to fulfill 29 CFR 1926.1060 OSHA requirement for the safe use of ladders, but should be used in conjunction with conventional training over company specific policy and specific workplace hazards. 

Keep yourself and your workplace safe by knowing basic safety tips. For information on all of our OSHA compliant courses, please visit us at http://safetyskills.com

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