Silver Lining Safety - Safety Bytes: Recent Episodes
West Bend Mutual Insurance
As an insurance company, we understand how important your business is to you. In this weekly podcast, we’ll give you information on business safety and loss prevention best practices, provide resources to keep you and your employees safe and share the latest insurance news. Opinions in this podcast may not apply to all listeners. Be sure to consult with a qualified safety professional before making any changes to your business. To recommend topics, please email us at talktowestbend@wbmi.com.
An emerging technology that’s gaining traction as a viable tool for safety training is virtual reality. Learn more by listening to this brief podcast.
Employers in all industries are dealing with a significant problem: a shortage of employees. This was initially triggered by the pandemic, which caused many to lose their jobs as many employers were forced to reduce or temporarily shutter their operations or close altogether. Learn more about how to keep safety a priority during this time.
We can address ergonomic issues by having a good understanding of the concepts of neutral posture and what it looks like. Learn more by listening to this short podcast.
A willful violation as a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement, in other words, purposeful disregard, or acted with plain indifference to employee safety. Learn more by listening to this short podcast.
Safety complacency, while very dangerous, is avoidable. Listen to this short podcast to learn more.
Black ice is especially dangerous because it often goes undetected until it’s too late. Learn more by listening to this brief podcast.
Learn about some things to consider if you’re building or modifying a defensive driving program for your company.
There are steps employers and drivers can take to prepare for unexpected and dangerous travel conditions.
Whatever the reasons are, providing your employees with a smoking cessation program will have many benefits for them, as well as your company.
While most people understand the physical risks associated with construction work, not many realize there’s also a very real mental health risk associated with construction work.
Cybersafety involves utilizing safe practices to protect yourself and your business from online attacks of cybercriminals. Learn more by listening to this short podcast.
The compact design with an attached screen and keyboard results in a big disconnect from what we know about optimal ergonomics. Learn more about proper ergonomics when using a laptop.
There’s no way around it; slips, trips, and falls are a part of everyday life. In many cases these falls only result in minor scrapes and bruises, and possibly a bruised ego. But unfortunately, falls can often lead to much more serious injuries and even death.
If you work in an office, you may have experienced a sudden pain in your neck, shoulders, or back. Prolonged or repeated unhealthy body mechanics can lead to pain and injuries known as musculoskeletal disorders.
Loading docks pose several risks to warehouse workers and truck drivers. Slips, trips, and falls are some of the most common injuries experienced on loading docks.
Eyewash stations are an essential aspect of emergency safety equipment. They’re intended to mitigate eye injuries when control methods like personal protective equipment fail to prevent exposure to a physical or chemical irritant or biological agent.
Let’s learn more about ladder safety by reviewing an example of an actual West Bend Mutual Insurance claim.
For decades, “lift with your legs, not your back,” has been a common mantra for safe lifting. While this may be good advice in specific situations, it doesn’t consider the many variables that determine how lifting actually affects the human body.
If your company employs drivers, it’s important to ensure you have a comprehensive and effective driver safety program.
Stairs and stepladders pose huge hazards when it comes to slips and falls. Fortunately, there are things you and your employees can do to minimize the risks associated with stairs and stepladders.
Learn more about the importance of an emergency action plan that’ll help protect your employees, jobsites, vehicles, and equipment and will minimize the impact on your bottom line.
A common approach to improve workplace safety is a safety incentive program that rewards employees for certain outcomes. Learn more by listening to this short podcast.
Adverse behaviors by residents in caregiving environments such as senior care, traditional nursing homes, and group homes are often a regular occurrence. We discuss several key ways to ensure a successful debrief.
It’s our 100th podcast! In celebration of 100 podcasts, find out what it takes to give 100% for safety.
This podcast addresses manual distractions as we continue our series on behaviors, controls, practices, and laws to reduce distracted driving.
This podcast addresses visual distractions as we continue our series on behaviors, controls, practices, and laws to reduce distracted driving.
This podcast addresses cognitive distractions as we continue our series on behaviors, controls, practices, and laws to reduce distracted driving.
West Bend understands the significance of distracted driving. We’ve created a series of podcasts to address behaviors, controls, practices and laws to reduce distracted driving. This series is dedicated to ensuring we all play a part in the fight to save lives by ending distracted driving.
Unfortunately, there are thousands of crashes in work zones every construction season. Drivers and passengers – not workers – make up the vast majority of those either hurt or killed. It's in every driver's best interest to stay focused and patient – especially in work zones. This podcast provides information and practices to help you safely operate your vehicle in work zones.
When we hear the word ergonomics, we usually think of a fixed workstation either in the office or manufacturing facility. Rarely would we think about a moving workstation. More of us are relying on travel between physical locations. What should you think about before you turn the key in the ignition? Join us to learn about taking ergonomics on the road.
“Lift with your legs” is a common theme when talking about lifting. The problem is we’re not designed to lift other people. Using the proper equipment and eliminating ~~the~~ manual lifts keep~~s~~ residents, patients, and caregivers safe. Listen to the challenges healthcare workers face and solutions to help keep them injury-free.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, lack of effective teamwork and communication between health-care professionals leads to increased medical errors, decreased outcomes in patient care, and decreased staff and resident safety.
According to the CDC, slips, trips, and falls are the third most common type of non-fatal work-related injury in the United States. Injuries from slips, trips, and falls often lead to time off the job for workers. As employers look for ways to reduce injuries and missed time, those turning to slip-resistant shoes quickly see the benefits.
Inclement weather, which is defined by elements like rain, sleet, snow, fog, blowing sand or debris, and slick pavement, cause millions of motor vehicle crashes annually. This podcast provides you with information and practices to operating your vehicle safely in inclement weather.
Our bodies are designed to move. That’s why you may have heard that when it comes to health risks, sitting is the new smoking. In this podcast, learn how short, frequent microbreaks give our bodies the opportunity to reset, renew, and get ready for the next task without any impact on productivity.
As healthcare professionals, we sometimes find ourselves in a situation where a resident is upset and angry. This creates an adverse event. In most circumstances, these events can be avoided by identifying the triggers and responding in the correct manner.
When determining resident transfer status, staff are often able to determine when a patient needs a total body mechanical lift. When choosing a gait belt versus a sit to stand lift transfers, the waters can get muddy.
Controlling exposures of occupational hazards is the fundamental method of protecting workers. The hierarchy of controls is a means of determining the most practical and effective control solutions. In this podcast, we share possible ergonomic controls and their effectiveness on that hierarchy.
When setting up a workstation, how high or low should the work be positioned? How far away from the body should workers have to frequently reach? What parameters can we use to easily assess if our workstation designs will keep workers productive and safe? The purpose of this podcast is to introduce the safe work zones concept and explain how it can help answer these questions.
Ergonomic-related injuries account for up to 75% of all workers’ compensation costs nationwide. As an employer, there are tools you can use to determine what’s safe and what’s NOT safe for your workers.
As technology continues to advance, we find ourselves spending more time in front of computer screens. How can we minimize computer monitor complications and keep our eyes from feeling fatigue? This podcast gives you some practical rules to follow.
OSHA recently released updated data on the top OSHA violations by industry. This podcast will briefly review the top citations for common industries and the routine violations for which OSHA issues citations.
Do you or your staff assist residents, patients, clients, or students with the use of gait belts? Using the physics of transfer when conducting a gait belt transfer may be the difference between safety and injury, not only for the person you’re transferring, but also for staff members. Listen to find out more about the physics of a transfer.
There have recently been fatal injuries to employees in the vehicular traffic areas near loading docks. Listen to learn some of the steps you can take to prevent serious injuries in the area outside of your loading docks and loading zones.
No matter where you work, there are benefits to keeping the objects you often use within optimal reach. Paying attention to ergonomics in your daily activities pays off by increasing productivity and preventing injuries.
How do you assess the best face mask for yourself or your employees? Respirators have specific regulations that apply to them; however, the face masks most of us are using for COVID-19 protection have no such regulatory requirements. A new consensus standard hopes to change that. Listen to learn more.
OSHA announced adjustments to civil penalty amounts. This podcast reviews the new amounts that can be issued for various types of OSHA citations.
Accommodating light duty for injured employees has significant benefits. Learn how light duty can provide you with considerable savings.
Many organizations rely on volunteers to further their missions. When one of these volunteers is injured while volunteering, is it covered under workers’ compensation? Listen to this podcast to find out.
A recent fatality reinforced my belief that safety often results from tragedy. I’ll discuss this and how we can learn more quickly from the losses others have experienced.
OSHA has released guidance for employers outside of healthcare to help them implement Covid-19 prevention measures. Learn what’s in this guidance and if OSHA can enforce it.
An employer is faced with having an employee break one of its safety rules or potentially violate ADA. What do the courts think the employer should do?
Each year, from February 1 to April 30, employers who are required to maintain OSHA 300 logs must post their annual summaries. In addition, many of these organizations must report this information electronically to OSHA. This podcast will review these two requirements.
It’s a new year. Are you setting safety goals for all employees in your organization? What are good safety goals? Listen to this podcast to find out.
Does your workplace safety program focus on injury prevention or OSHA compliance? There is a difference and you need to be aware of it. This podcast will explain.
Pallets, whether wood, plastic, or other material, create three primary types of employee safety hazards in the workplace, yet few employers address these hazards. This podcast reviews the hazards of pallets and pallet handling.
Employers can generally require vaccinations when they’re a business necessity. But should they? This podcast reviews some of the issues with a workplace vaccination requirement.
Some employers feel that if they self-pay their workers’ compensation claims out of their own pocket, it will reduce their experience modification rate and ultimately lower their workers’ compensation costs. In this podcast, we discuss the practice of employers self-paying all or part of their workers’ compensation claims costs.
Older workers tend to have more serious, but less frequent workplace injuries. This podcast will cover what employers can do to address this issue.
Some employers feel that having an employee successfully complete a physical ability test is a critical prerequisite to being hired. The thought is that employees who have the physical ability to complete the work, won’t have an injury. Is that true? This podcast reviews pre-hire physical ability tests.
How do you ensure an employee’s safety if you can’t observe the employee? Maybe the employee works alone, away from your primary location. This podcast will review some steps you can take to ensure the safety of your lone workers.
OSHA has provided an update on the COVID-19 violations issued to businesses through October 2020. This podcast will review the citations and penalties OSHA has issued and provide steps to avoid two of the more significant sources of citations.
Did you realize that not all OSHA enforcement programs are the same? Some states are covered by federal OSHA plans and others are covered by state OSHA plans. This podcast discusses OSHA federal and state plans, why they exist, and some of their differences.
The five-part “Safety Has No Easy Button” podcast series covered the key elements of a high-performing safety program. This podcast will summarize those key elements for your consideration.
This podcast is the fifth installment of the five-part series, Safety Has No Easy Button. It discusses the final element necessary for a world-class safety and health program.
OSHA has a program to recognize the best of the best employers when it comes to workplace safety. It’s called the voluntary protection program, or VPP. This podcast will review the VPP, its rewards, and why you may want to consider it.
OSHA has provided updated information on reporting COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities for employers. It’s also the one-year anniversary of the Safety Bytes podcast.
Lobotomies have a strange history. In some respects, people want to address workplace safety in the same manner. Listen in to understand their parallels.
Is there an individual in your organization who’s responsible for the safety functions? Is that person a safety cop or a consultant? This podcast will talk about those two competing roles.
Hazard control programs – the fourth part of a comprehensive safety program. This podcast continues the series, “Safety has No Easy Button.”
Ototoxicants pose a known hazard to individuals both in and outside of work. Listen to this podcast to get a better understanding of what an ototoxicant is and how it can impact you and your employees.
Have you ever wondered where workplace safety started? I find the history of workplace safety interesting ... from where we started to how we got to OSHA’s creation in 1970. Take some time to listen to this brief history of workplace safety – from the Flintstones to the Jetsons.
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in the workplace. This podcast will discuss a recent study identifying the factors most beneficial in reducing motor vehicle accidents.
An interesting twist to OSHA’s ability to issue general-duty citations for excessive heat exposure.
Employees are often taught to use three points of contact when climbing ladders. However, I see too many injuries where employees didn’t use three points of contact. I’ll discuss alternatives to training employees on three points of contact as we’re failing falling employees.
A continuation of what it takes to have a great safety program. We’ll discuss the hierarchy of controls as part of hazard prevention and control.
This podcast about forklift training continues last week’s podcast with important discussions about what constitutes a type of forklift, as well as trainer qualifications.
OSHA has issued its second set of COVID-19 related citations. This podcast will review those citations and summarize the requirements for a fully compliant respiratory protection program. You’ll want to listen in if you require employees to wear N95 masks in your facility.
If you use a forklift in your facility, are you providing the necessary training to your forklift operators? This podcast will review forklift training, retraining, and evaluation requirements.
Did you hear about the employee who fell through the skylight? Listen to this podcast to make sure your employees are safe on the roof.
The implementation of a successful safety program is multi-faceted. In this podcast I continue to review the elements of a successful safety program.
A judge in California has ruled that your OSHA 300A is not confidential and should be released to the public. What does this mean for you?
If you’re an employee, has your employer asked you to perform an unsafe job and you want to know if you can refuse? If you’re an employer, has an employee refused to complete a job task because he or she feels it’s unsafe? This podcast will cover both of these concerns.
I’ve talked about consensus standards before, but I’ve not thoroughly discussed how they’re used to create safer workplaces or the three ways OSHA uses them.
Many employers adopt written procedures to comply with OSHA requirements or address safety issues in the workplace. What happens when you don’t follow your own procedures? This podcast will answer that question.
OSHA recently announced it issued the first COVID-19 related citation. In this podcast, I’ll discuss OSHA’s COVID-19 enforcement efforts, the first citation, and the impact on employers.
After May 25, OSHA will require that employers determine if COVID-19 cases in the workplace are OSHA recordable.
While we’d all like our family and friends to be free of the impact of COVID-19 and the challenges it’s created, there’s no EASY button. Just like there’s no EASY button for workplace safety. This podcast will be the first of several that shows what it takes to have a great safety program.
This podcast may cause you to look at workplace safety in a different light. Paul O’Neill, former Treasury secretary, recently passed away. It reminded me of how he made me think differently about safety and how it changed workplace safety for the better.
People often think that if injured employees simply paid more attention, they wouldn’t have been injured. But how easy is it to pay more attention? And if you had more attention to pay, would you be paying attention to the right thing? This podcast will attempt to keep your attention on this captivating topic.
Have you ever wondered if OSHA can recommend that you, as an employer, go to jail? The simple answer is yes, OSHA can recommend jail time. This podcast will cover what’s required for OSHA to send an employer to jail.
On April 16, OSHA announced they would use discretion in their inspection and citation process. This podcast will review what this means for employers.
Must employees who have had COVID-19 be recorded on your OSHA 300 Log? This podcast will hopefully clear up any confusion.
Safety audits are a crucial component of a safety program. A well-formed and conducted audit helps you identify weaknesses in your safety practices so that you may take corrective actions to prevent employee injury or ensure compliance. A safety program that focuses on audits, however, will not achieve a safe workplace. This podcast will review common weaknesses with audits and how to overcome them.
This podcast will discuss consensus standards, how they are developed and why some of them are called ANSI standards even though ANSI doesn’t write consensus standards.
Employees who are working at home, either routinely or because of the coronavirus pandemic, are covered under workers’ compensation if they are injured in the course of their work activities. This podcast will discuss how employers can keep employees safe while working at home.
So, you see a safety product is listed as OSHA approved. What does this mean? What about OSHA endorsed? In this podcast I’ll discuss these monikers.
Do you have a safety incentive program? Is it working? Are you thinking about creating a safety incentive program and want to know how to make it most effective? This podcast will discuss safety incentive programs and what makes them work best to improve workplace safety.
Does workers’ compensation cover employees if they become ill due to novel coronavirus-19 (covid 19)? This can be a challenging question to answer. Listen to this podcast for a general overview of how workers’ compensation applies to this unique hazard.
We often think about workplaces as being unsafe. But is that reality? Is being in a workplace more dangerous than being in the public or at home? This podcast will compare safety in the workplace versus safety in public and home.
OSHA recently published a letter of interpretation on the use of headphones in the workplace. In this podcast I’ll talk about this letter, as well as the implications it has for other sources of music.
While I often speak about safety and safe workplaces, I realized I never defined either of these terms or what they mean to me. Since this podcast series is about workplace safety, I think it’s time to tackle this fundamental but challenging topic.
OSHA’s use of the general duty clause can be subjective. It requires employers to provide each employee with a workplace that’s free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. For OSHA to prove such a condition exists, there are four elements they must establish for a successful citation. This podcast will cover these elements.
Did you know OSHA can issue a citation for any serious hazard, even if it isn’t covered by a specific OSHA standard? OSHA can even require training in circumstances where OSHA doesn’t even have a training standard. This podcast will cover OSHA’s general duty clause – its most comprehensive standard covering workplace safety.
Safety talks are often used in organizations to enhance the safety program. Too often, however, they’re nothing more than busy work for the supervisors who read them and the employees who listen to them - resulting in no improvement in workplace safety. This podcast will help you make safety talks a positive addition to your safety program instead of a wasted opportunity.
Some employers feel that if their employees aren’t exposed to a hazard, they can’t be given an OSHA citation. This isn’t true, however, in a multiple-employer situation. In this podcast, we’ll review OSHA’s Multiple Employer Citation Policy – the process for determining which employers can receive citations on multi-employer worksites.
At this time of year, many businesses are establishing annual goals. When it comes to safety, however, too many businesses rely on lagging indicators. In this podcast, we’ll discuss leading and lagging indicators and provide you with suggestions to identify the best indicators to achieve your safety objectives.
Did you know that almost half of carpenters are injured by a nail gun in the first three years of training? What if there was a simple way to cut pneumatic nail gun or pneumatic stapler injuries by more than half? There is! In this podcast I’ll talk about how you can reduce the potential for pneumatic nail and staple gun injuries, whether in the workplace or at home.
Did you know humans really can’t multitask? Even if you think you can safely text, listen to podcasts, watch TV, or review emails while driving, you can’t. This isn’t multitasking; it’s having your mind switch focus between two tasks and your performance on both suffers.
This podcast will discuss how the workplace often requires multitasking and switching focus, and how it causes workplace productivity and safety to suffer.
If you don’t accommodate employees who’ve suffered work-related injuries, or you don’t engage employees in an interactive process when considering your obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a recent 3.3-million-dollar judgment against an employer in Illinois should be a warning.
I see too many employee injuries that result from pulling trash bags out of trash cans and throwing trash into dumpsters. In this podcast, I’ll review the problem and what you can do to eliminate these costly injuries from your workplace.
How often do you think about your emergency evacuation rendezvous locations? Too often we’re just focused on getting employees out of the building so we can account for them as quickly and accurately as possible. This podcast is focused on additional considerations for your evacuation meeting points.
The lockout/tagout standard, or the control of hazardous energy standard, requires periodic inspection. Many employers believe this is just a review of their written lockout/tagout compliance program. In reality, the periodic inspection required by OSHA must be much more in-depth. This podcast will review the requirements of this inspection process.
Are employees in your company familiar with the phrase “lockout/tagout”? Do they think the terms are interchangeable? If so, we may have to clear up a misunderstanding. In this podcast, we’ll discuss whether tagout is permitted and if you should remove the word from your vocabulary.
Over the past 12 months, OSHA has begun to use drones to conduct workplace inspections. In this podcast, we’ll discuss OSHA’s process for the use of drones. We’ll also touch on your rights as an employer, as well as considerations for permitting the use of a drone during an OSHA inspection.
Over the last 20 years, businesses have moved their OSHA compliance training from classroom-based to training-supplemented with VHS or DVD video. Now there’s a big push to move to online training. What does OSHA think about that? I’ll talk about it in this week’s podcast.
As an employer, you have the right to require that OSHA obtain a warrant before they begin an inspection of your facility. Should you? This podcast will cover the pros and cons of requiring a warrant.
I’m often asked if I have suggestions for providing training on responding to incidents of workplace violence, including active shooters. While I can provide suggestions, I am always concerned about the physical injuries and psychological trauma that can arise from poorly constructed training. This webinar primary focuses on the potential harm from this training.
It’s great that you implemented an accident investigation program! Now what was the outcome of your investigation? Unfortunately, many times, blame falls on the employee. In this podcast, we’ll discuss situations in which employees were blamed for the accident, then we’ll focus on corrective actions that help improve the workplace rather than the employee.
Too often employers think of accident investigation as simply reporting a claim to their workers’ compensation carrier. There is much more to accident investigation – most importantly there is the opportunity to change an organization to prevent future accidents from occurring again. This podcast focuses on an accident review process, that when implemented properly will identify corrective actions an organization can take to decrease the potential for employee injury.
OSHA provides little information on emergency eyewashes and showers in their standards, and as such it is a topic that many people often have questions above. This podcast discusses when emergency eyewashes and showers are required, and the various common issues related to their installation, operation and maintenance on which OSHA can potentially issue citations.
This podcast discusses World War II pilots and safety programs. Just as there were no average pilots in World War II, there is no average safety program. Because there is no average program, you need to create a safety program that works within your unique organization.
Worm drive hose clamps are often misused in industry and can pose a hazard to employees. This podcast talks about the limitations of worm drive hose clamps and one alternative for compressed air hoses – ferrules.