Wow baby - it is cold outside! With temperatures plunging and wind chills making it feel like - 29c in Easter Ontario, this is just a little reminder to bundle up when heading outside. 

If you have employees that must work outside today make sure you supply them with everything they need, have warm beverages and soup on standby, and make sure they don't stay outside too long. Set a timeline for the day and have them warm up and check in every 15 or 20 minutes depending on the temperature where you are. There is nothing wrong with being a "Mother Hen" when its this cold.

Prevention is the key and being aware of frostbite signs and symptoms can promote quick medical attention and reduction in injury.

The following tips come from the Red Cross: 

Prevent frostbite and hypothermia:

• Wear a hat and clothing made of tightly woven fibers, such as wool, which trap warm air against your body. A few lighter layers protect better than one heavy garment.
• Protect vulnerable areas such as fingers, toes, ears and nose.
• Drink plenty of warm fluids to help the body maintain its temperature.  If hot drinks are not available, drink plenty of plain water. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which hinder the body's heat-producing mechanisms and will actually cause the body's core temperature to drop.
• Take frequent breaks from the cold to let your body warm up.

Signs & symptoms of frostbite:

• Numbness
• Tingling
• Pain and swelling

  As the condition worsens...

• Total loss of sensation
• Pale waxy skin will become dark bluish
• In severe cases, the skin will look burnt and charred.

Do not delay immediate treatment...be prepared to react and read the entire article here at: http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=20811&tid=068

Stay inside if you can - if not, bundle up and protect yourself! I'm off to have a nice cup of tea!

This article is reblogged from http://ehssafetynews.wordpress.com written by safety professional Jack Benton.

The California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program investigates work-related fatalities to identify the causes and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
http://ehssafetynews.wordpress.com

This video explains how Hans Petersen, a 30-year-old solar panel installer, was killed when he fell off an apartment building roof… and what can be done to prevent this from happening again.

Slips, Trips and Falls

The Ministry of Labour has been promoting an upcoming safety blitz for the months of February and March, 2013. Inspectors will be out in full force visiting industrial and construction worksites verifying training records, inspecting equipment identifying hazards and looking at safety controls you have put into effect.

This is an important service to workplaces in Ontario as it highlights the need to really focus on specific aspects of workplace health and safety. For some of you it may be a much needed wake up call, for others a chance to strut their safety stuff.

We urge you to make your business compliant and ready for the upcoming blitz - to protect not only your personal safety but that of your employees, clients, and the overall financial health of your company:

• Verify training records are accurate and up-to-date
• If you operate from mobile unit, ensure you have a copy of all training records in your vehicle at all times
• Arrange for necessary Fall Arrest training
• Conduct your own thorough safety blitzes on all fall arrest and fall prevention equipment including ladders, harnesses, scaffolding, aerial lifts etc. Set daily and weekly goals to ensure you are ready and nothing has been missed.
• Monitor your workplace for same surface slip hazards and implement a plan immediately to deal with problems such as loose floor mats, improper lighting and poor housekeeping that could cause a trip or fall.
  
• Ensure all handrails and guardrails are in proper working order.
• Use morning safety talks to empower employees  - put a positive spin on the safety blitz. 
• Remember: This is not about the government "out to get you" - it is a valuable opportunity discover workplace hazards, establish permanent solutions and perhaps, most importantly, to show your employees that you genuinely care about their safety. 

LINKS:  
Winter Safety Blitzes | Ministry of Labour 
Safety Guys Fall Arrest Training | 2013 Course Information  |  Kingston Classes

Are you making your customers sick?

I am one of a growing number of the population that suffer from an invisible disability.  I will leave your store without buying anything and never return. I will seek professional help elsewhere. I will probably not tell you why I am leaving because there is not enough time and sadly, many of you still don’t get it. 

I know you don’t mean to offend me, or make me sick - but you do. You probably think you smell great. But the way you, your employees, and your business smell can be driving customers like me out the door.

I suffer from chemical sensitivities, a disability now recognized and protected by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. We talk about this in our Safety Guys WHMIS and OHS classes, and I am always shocked by the number of blank expressions staring back at us. People, in general, have no idea that household and beauty products can actually be very harmful.

Chemical sensitivity is a very frustrating thing to live with. For consumers like me, the simple act of buying groceries can be filled with danger. Scented products (especially perfumes, hairspray, fabric softener, air fresheners and carpet cleaners) cause a variety of allergic reactions - some give me an instant headache, my eyes water, my throat constricts, I cough, or I can feel dizzy or nauseous, or it can all happen once. And while getting myself away from the problem offers relief, I’m often left in a “hangover” state for the rest of the day.  

If I think for even one second that staying in your place of business will make me sick and ruin my day,  I’m leaving - fast - and taking my wallet with me.

The health problems are real. Chemical sensitivities affect people in different ways and to different extremes. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, CCOHS,  has complied an in depth page of resources to highlight the causes, health risks, and solutions to creating a scent-free workplace policy. All business should be prepared to address this issue in much the same way smoke-free policies were implemented.

So how does perfume affect profit? Its very simple. 

Odds are that you are already losing customers and experiencing reductions in employee productivity. By ignoring this issue, you are risking the other investments that go into making a successful company. Staff members may be quietly suffering, afraid to complain, or not realizing that their headaches and confusion are being caused by something in their work environment.  

Are you really prepared to keep blindly losing customer loyalty and employee productivity?

I don't think so...and I encourage you to get honest. Take stock of fragranced products in your workplace...this applies to anything and anyone that is contributing to indoor air pollution.  Research the potential dangers. Engage in open conversation with your staff and customers. Aside from extensive research on the web, anyone suffering from chemical sensitivities can be one your best sources of information.

WHMIS training will alert you to some potential dangers and some products will have an MSDS sheet to help you. Products such as air fresheners though, will require more research. The warning label and ingredients list will not provide you a clear picture on potential health risks. The term “fragrance” for example is a legal term that protects the secret recipe of a particular scent. That fragrance can be a composition of hundreds of different chemicals. 

Work with your Health & Safety Committee to be proactive and develop a strategy that shows staff and clients alike that you care about their health and safety.  

Useful links:
CCOHS 
SKIN DEEP Cosmetics Data Base 
ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP

For those of you familiar with our website, you will have noticed by now that things look quite a bit different...I hope for the better, and I hope you enjoy your experience here.

Life for us is very busy and very rewarding. In my quest to simplify things, I have switched safetyguystraining.ca to Weebly.com...and I can honestly say I highly recommend this service to any entrepreneur looking to create a professional website, that is easy to create, update and navigate. 

There are more exciting changes happening at Safety Guys. We welcome two new staff members to the team- Matt Wilkinson and Steve Ross. We are thrilled to have them on board. 

We are repackaging our youth programs under a new banner "Trade Safaris" to represent the journey into a new job sector that combines work and safety skills with skills of the head and heart...confidence, self-worth, and personal empowerment. We are very excited about the new training options and have changed the course selections to offer more industry specific skills.

And last, but not least, we have found a training location in Kingston to host scheduled training sessions for those of you who find it easier to send yourselves or your staff to us. I will keep you posted on this - we are firming up the schedule this week.

I would like to end this first post by saying thank you to all of our clients and staff for making Safety Guys the success that it is. Paul and I wish you all the best for a very prosperous and fulfilling New Year!