TIP OF THE MONTH Understanding Signs of Heat Exhaustion and taking Action
 Summer is fast approaching. Temperatures are sure to rise and heat exhaustion is an important element in our workplace environments. Heat exhaustion happens when a worker sweats a lot and does not drink enough fluids or take in enough salt or both. The simple way to describe the worker is wet, white and weak. Signs and symptoms - Sweaty
- Weak or tired, possibly giddy
- Nausea
- Normal or slightly higher body temperature
- Pale, clammy skin (sometimes flushed)
What to do - Rest in a cool place
- Drink an electrolyte solution, such as Gatorade or another sports drink.
- Avoid caffeinated beverages such as colas, iced tea or coffee.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HOT TOPIC  Ohio BWC Drug Free Workplace Changes
The BWC will phase out DFWP effective July 1, 2010, and will replace it with the Drug Free Safety Program (DFSP). The new program will be available for employers the same day, with many of the same features as DFWP. DFSP will be easier to understand and implement, more actuarially sound and more effective. DFSP relies upon better integration of an employer’s drug-free efforts with its comprehensive workplace safety program. DFSP provides a long-term discount for an unlimited number of years of participation as well as in-and-out-of-the-program privileges to provide greater flexibility for employers. Private employers will be eligible for DFSP beginning July 1, 2010, and may choose to wait to participate until the January program year. Public employers will be eligible beginning Jan. 1, 2011. According to Ease@Work, the differences between the two programs are as follows: - The DFSP is not limited to five years, as was the case with the DFWP.
- Previous participants are eligible to join even if they timed out of the DFWP.
- Stacking of discounts is back, but if your organization is group rated, your DFSP discount is limited to 3 percent.
The DFSP is supposedly simpler and easier to implement than the DFWP. - The application process has been streamlined.
- The employee education requirement has been reduced from two hours initially and two hours of annual refresher to one hour initially and one hour annual refresher.
- The supervisor education requirement has been reduced from four hours initially and two hours of annual refresher to two hours initially and one hour of annual refresher.
- The DFSP emphasizes tailored approaches to loss prevention and risk management, which includes a mandatory safety review and the provision of accident-analysis training for supervisors.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WCORHA UPDATE  WCORHA Update – Safety Training
“What to Do When OSHA Shows Up at Your Door”
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ two locations:
9:00 am-10:00 am.
Grand Lake Regional Cancer Center
900 Haveman Rd., Celina
and
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m
Auxiliary Conference Center Room
St. Rita’s Medical Center
718 W. Market St., Lima
$20.00 per person
Instructed by WCORHA Safety Consultant:
Maria Bayless, PHR
Course Goals
• Introduce OSHA’s requirements for inspections
• Help understand how this affects everyone at their workplace
• Emphasize safe working practices
Limited Class Size. Register by calling Ami Boley at (419) 584-0398 or Debi Blankenship, (419) 226-9851 by June 11, 2010.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WELLNESS UPDATE  Recommendations for Assessing Health Risks, Decreasing Tobacco Use
The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, a volunteer group of public health and prevention experts appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has issued evidence based recommendations for assessing health risks and decreasing tobacco use in the workforce. Recommended health risk interventions include: - An assessment of personal health habits and risk factors that may be used in combination with bio-medical measurements of physiologic health.
- A quantitative estimation or qualitative assessment of future risk of death and other adverse health outcomes.
- Feedback in the form of educational messages and counseling that describes how changing one or more behavioral risk factors might change the risk of disease or death.
In addition, the task force says there is “sufficient evidence” to support the use of smoke-free workplace policies, as well as incentives and competitions combined with other interventions to decrease employee tobacco use.
Contact WCORHA to find out how our Health Risk Assessment and Wellness Program can promote better health in your workplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH UPDATE  Occupational Health Update - Hearing Conservation
Hearing loss is preventable. A good rule of thumb is if you need to raise your voice to be heard an arm’s length away, the noise is probably high enough to damage your hearing. OSHA realizes the damage that is done with hearing loss and has a Noise and Hearing Conservation Standard 1910.95. A Hearing Conservation Program must be implemented if you have noise levels at or above 85 decibels based on a time weighted average. Once noise levels reach 90 decibels, hearing protection is required. Your employees need to be notified when the noise levels reach 85 decibels.
Baseline audiograms need to be completed within 30 days of enrollment in healing loss prevention program or within 6 months if using a mobile van for audiograms. A 14 hour-period without workplace noise before a baseline is required. (Hearing protection can be worn during this period of time.) Audiograms must be completed annually for all employees exposed to 85 decibels of noise. The annual audiogram is compared to the baseline audiogram to check for a Standard Threshold shift (STS) exists in 2000, 3000, and 4000 frequencies. If there is an average shift of 10dB in those frequencies, the individual must be notified in writing within 21 days of the STS. You may have the individual retested within 30 days to see if the STS is confirmed.
If the STS is confirmed to be work related, the individual needs to be retrained and refitted with hearing protectors. The individual may be referred for more extensive evaluation. If the STS is deemed not work related, the person should be referred to their primary care practitioner for further evaluation.
Another portion of the Noise and Hearing Conservation Standard is training concerning the effects of noise, the purpose of using hearing protectors- advantages, disadvantages, attenuation, and instructions on selection, fit, use and care of hearing protectors. The education must also include the purpose and procedures of audiometric testing.
OSHA also requires a copy of the standard be available for the employees and their representative be available and be posted in the workplace. It is also required to keep accurate records of noise exposure measurements. Audiometric records that need to be kept include the employee name and job classification, date of the audiogram, Examiner’s name, and date of last acoustic or exhaustive calibration, employee’s most recent noise exposure assessment, and background noise levels in the audio test rooms. All noise exposure records must be kept for at least 2 years. All audiometric test records are kept for the duration of employment plus 30 years.
WCORHA has many Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationists to provide audiograms to your employees. We also have the ability to use the mobile health van to conduct three (3) audiograms at a time. Please contact your WCORHA account executive to schedule your audiograms or hearing conservation training.
Sally Kramer, RN, COHN
Mercer Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OSHA UPDATE  Forklift evaluation: Written exam not enough
If you have workers who are trained to operate forklifts, then you must make sure they receive more than a written exam for their required triennial evaluation.The evaluation of performance required by the OSHA Powered Industrial Truck standard cannot be met by a written exam alone, OSHA has said, noting that a written exam, by itself, does not indicate whether the operator is operating the powered industrial truck safely. According to OSHA, in most cases, the person conducting the evaluation would do two things:
First, observe the powered industrial truck operator during normal operations to determine if the operator is performing safely, and Second, ask pertinent questions to ensure that the operator has the knowledge or experience needed to operate a truck safely. In some cases, because of the danger or complexity of the operation, the extent of the change in conditions, or the operator’s need for additional skills, the evaluation will need to be lengthier and more detailed, OSHA points out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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