It's time for our second safety themed geocache series. This
time around the theme is Hand Safety! We can't reach our goal of
ZERO injuries until we eliminate ALL hand injuries.
The physical cache is a nano magnet located adjacent to the
Sunnyvale Water Treatment ponds. Please keep in mind that there is
a healthy gopher snake population in the area, and at times the
bugs are thicker than the smell. Safety glasses are not an uncommon
sight on these trails.
The Hand Safety cache series was placed with your safety in
mind. This cache is only a step or two off the main trail, but they
can be tricky steps. You’ll need to bring a pen for this
nano, as well as your attention to detail.
The goal of this cache is to provide awareness of the role that
Inattention plays in almost every category of accident analysis,
which of course includes hand injuries.
To help avoid the pitfalls of inattention, there are some mental
checks that we can perform:
- Concentrate on ways to do your job better, or safer, or more
efficiently
- Always apply “what if..” thinking Ex: “what if
the knife slips…”
- Take micro-breaks by standing, flexing, or stretching to
stimulate the mind and body
- Pause and evaluate what has just occurred and review what is
about to happen
- Focus on hand and body positions
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Stay focused on the task at hand
One thing that all these mental checks have in common is that
they require an individual to be PAYING ATTENTION in order to
remember to conduct the mental checks. This is the hazard when
employees are conducting hazardous work by themselves.
In our Beyond Safety workplace at Ames we’re constantly
striving to find ways to combat inattention. Below are a few GROUP
methods that we use to combat the inattention of an individual.
Working Alone Policy – It should actually be called the
“Do Not Work Alone Policy,” but our employees never
work alone when completing dangerous work such as machine shop
work, confined space entry, energized electrical, working at
heights, etc. A key element of the Working Alone Policy is that
teammates need to be able to identify inattention in their
co-workers, and have the courage to intervene.
Check-In Process – This is a process that we use in group
settings such as meetings, or pre-evolution safety briefings. Each
member of the group is given a few moments to update the group on
their mental status (i.e. are they checked in?). An individual can
say “Pass” if they don’t want to participate, but
this happens rarely in our workplace where relationships are a
priority. Often times we end up learning that individuals are
battling serious issues at home that can lead to inattention in the
workplace.
Here's the entire Hand Safety series:
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 1 of 8 – Hand Safety –
Inattention Hazards
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 2 of 8 – Hand Safety – Rigging
Hazards
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 3 of 8 – Hand Safety – Just
Don’t Slip, Trip, or Fall
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 4 of 8 – Hand Safety – 100%
Glove Policy
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 5 of 8 – Hand Safety – Line of
Fire Hazards
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 6 of 8 – Hand Safety – 10 Hand
Hazards
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 7 of 8 – Hand Safety – Cut
Resistant Gloves
Bonus Multi-Cache!
Beyond
Safety Series #2 - Cache 8 of 8 – Hand Safety –
Mechanical Hazards
-----------------------------------------------
Below are the links for the first Beyond Safety cache
series:
Beyond Safety Series #1 - Cache 1 of 6 – Hearing
Conservation
Beyond Safety Series #1 - Cache 2 of 6 - Eye and Face
Protection
Beyond Safety Series #1 - Cache 3 of 6 - Voluntary Protection
Program
Beyond Safety Series #1 - Cache 4 of 6 - BZ Walking Club
Beyond Safety Series #1 - Cache 5 of 6 - Earthquake
Preparedness
Beyond Safety Series #1 - Cache 6 of 6 - Slips, Trips, and
Falls