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Living and working in Florida we don’t often have to think about snow and freezing temperatures, but we do get some cooler weather and here are some suggestions on how to prepare for it. It’s a good idea to start preparing for colder weather now rather than waiting until we are already freezing.  Monitor the weather.  Knowing the potential condition of the work environment allows for preparation for changing weather conditions and will help in planning to work effectively.  Cold that we are not expecting can be distracting and can create an unsafe mindset. Most often the mornings are cold and then temperatures warm up throughout the day.  From a PPE standpoint, we lose the protection of reflective vests and hi viz PPE because we have them covered up with warmer clothes.  Remember, vests and hi viz PPE must be visible on our worksites.  Also, hard hat liners (head coverings that meet OSHA standards for consistent hard hat protection) are a compliant alternative to hoodies and other types of headwear.  Hard hat liners, cotton gloves that can be worn with the leather work gloves are ways to ensure compliance and comfort.  Heat loss from the head accounts for 10% of the body’s heat loss.  Another form of heat loss and discomfort is in the area of footwear.  Having cold and wet feet can make work life difficult and distracting.  Insulated waterproof boots are an asset in colder weather.  Staying hydrated even in colder weather, without sweating, is essential.  Warm drinks and sports drinks and water are a deterrent to dehydration.  Know the signs of cold stress.  Even in Florida, hypothermia is a factor when workers are exposed to contrasts in heat and cold.  Be aware of the conditions of hypothermia and be able to take steps to correct it.  Although we don’t experience the extremes of weather of our northern construction environments, we do have a certain amount of exposure to conditions that create issues that we have to recognize as a hazard.  Preparation is the key to prevention.

I was recently asked, “What is the biggest safety issue that you face?”.  I had to think about that for a minute because the management of risk is never over.  There is an element of risk in everything we do.  Whether it’s work or play, risk is everywhere.  I began to ask myself, Is there a specific issue that appears most frequently that results in an impact on the area of risk?  I found that we can identify an area that fit that criteria.  It’s new employees.  The first year of employment is a surprisingly dangerous period.  One third of non-fatal injuries occur to employees who have been on the job less than a year.  A quarter of those injuries are frequently serious, resulting in lost time of more than a month.  The first 90 days are the most dangerous because new workers have a huge knowledge gap that increases their chances of getting hurt.  What about experienced new hires?  New hires with experience still meet the same risk criteria because they must learn the culture and working environment unique to every company.  They may bring with them, bad habits that have been learned that need correction.  We may be in the same kind of business, but we all have different ways of going about it.  That creates a learning gap that that must be filled, and that gap statistically takes about six months to fill. The question then is, how do we work to eliminate or minimize the risk to these new employees?  We can focus on lifesaving rules.  Things that exist that can be a hazard to the worker.  The first stage is an effective orientation.  Many times, we rely on field workers to spend time training new employees.  While that is an effective and vital function, it doesn’t always equip the new employee with a sense of their own personal safety or a clear understanding of the work environment.  An effective orientation includes an overview of the kind of work being performed.  This can be done through classroom and hands on functions.  Videos, tests, lectures, and interactive discussion can provide an overview of the functions and culture of the company.  If there is a means of identifying the new employee to make them visible to existing employees, such as a green hard hat, that is going to be helpful in assimilation because it identifies the employee who may need coaching and mentoring. Establishing a site mentor to help a new employee to become a safe and contributive member of the crew, is very helpful, however, the selection of the mentor is critical.  Choosing an experienced co-worker who is willing to take on the responsibility of mentoring adds value to the process. We all need employees.  We can’t exist without a team of people rowing in the right direction.  We also need to train those new employees and equip them to be able to make a safe and effective contribution to the process.

One of the most frequently used tools of utility construction is the trench box. The NUCA Safety Newsletter, Volume 33, issue 3 had a good, in-depth article on trench boxes. Many times, we are so used to doing something that we don’t realize the significance of guidelines and standards related to the activity. That can be related to trench boxes too. Things as simple as the assembly process can become complicated if the right steps are not followed, such as the position of workers and the exposure to overhead handling of trench box parts. Training activities regarding trench boxes should include assembly and disassembly as well as lifting and moving, t aglines and safety pins and engineering standards. Some companies own their own trench boxes. Unless there is some way of tracking engineering data and the relation to the specific trench box, there could be a violation when data is lost or misplaced. Also, when owning a trench box, frequent examinations should be made to ensure that damage has not resulted through handling that might compromise the safety of the trench box. Holes punched in the side walls allow water and sand to penetrate adding to the weight of the trench box. These damaged trench boxes may exceed the lifting capacity of the machine. Additionally, trench box sidewalls can rust from the inside and the walls become thinner reducing the strength factor significantly. There are so many opportunities for us to take advantage of learning to improve our industry. Too often we rely on field e xperience to teach the right way to do a specific task, but it always relates to how the teacher has learned that task. Was the task taught properly or was the training the result of experience learned improperly? Ongoing training in the very basics of what we do should be a priority. We should never take for granted that our people understand the standards and procedures of all the complicated things we do. Not everyone can do what we do. We are specialists.

Every utility construction company has specific tools to use in doing the job. Cut Off Saws are the one standard tool that comes to mind. Using one safely is the priority of every person using this type of equipment. Cut Off Saws come with a safety manual. Most of us can count on one hand the number of people who have ever read the complete manual. More often than not field training takes the place of the manual but field training is supposed to contain the safety specifics of Cut Off Saw use. Every company has had experiences where Cut Off Saws were used “Not as the manufacturer intended”, the result is most likely, horrific injuries to the operator. The basics are pretty standard. Proper PPE includes gloves, steel toe boots, hard hat, face shield, safety glasses, and hearing protection. Read and follow all manufactures instructions. Use blades rated for the cut to be made. Fuel mix as described, inspect before use (every time the saw is used). Never alter any safety device. Dust reduction techniques must be in place. Do not carry the saw while the engine is running. Stop the engine before setting the Cut Off Saw down. How many of us remove the blade when transporting the saw in a truck or when putting it away? That’s a recommendation. Fueling includes never fueling a hot saw. Fuel on level ground. Never drop start a Cut Off Saw. Start the saw on level ground and be sure you have firm footing. If you are cutting in a confined area, carbon monoxide is a significant hazard. Avoid all instances where pinch points and kickbacks may be a hazard to the operator. Reactive forces may occur whenever the wheel is in motion. Any time the blade contacts an object the blade could slow or stop causing loss of control. Being aware of the type of material, the position of the blade, the possibility of a kink while cutting, are all possible reactive force initiators. These are just a few of the suggestions taken from 50 pages of a Cut Off Saw safety manual. Cut Off Saw training should include references to the safety manual and should be mandatory for every person using one. Jeffrey Blomgren

Stay Hydrated: Heat kills more than 600 people a year in the US. Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Those most susceptible to heat related illnesses are for people under Age 4 and over age 65 or those with medical conditions. Staying cool and hydrated and watching heat advisories will help in prevention of heat related issues. Sunburn: UV rays can burn skin in as little as 15 minutes but it can take up to 12 hours to show damage. The most dangerous time for exposure is between 10 am and 4 pm. Working in the heat can be a problem if a worker is not acclimated to the heat. Hard hats provide sun protection and sun shield can be applied for additional protection. Long sleeved material that provides wikiing will help keep the worker cool. Sunglasses with UV protection will help prevent eye damage. Hydrating with water and electrolytes will help replenish minerals lost through sweating. Frequent breaks to rest and cool down are necessary. Heat is cumulative. It's important to get rest and give your body a chance to recover. Swimming Pool Safety: Drowning is the leading cause of death in young children 1-4. Make sure everyone has basic swim skills and water safety awareness. Assign a "Home Lifeguard" to watch children swimming. Know the signs of a swimmer in distress and how to perform CPR. Prevent access to the pool when it is not in use. The CDC has a lot of information on pool safety. If you have children, be sure you know the hazards associated with water and pool use. Wear a life jacket. Take a boating safety course. Florida Fish and Wildlife has an online boating safety course that comes with a lifetime wallet card for successful completion. Get a free boat safety check. Go to uscgboating.org to get a free safety check. Drink responsibly while boating. Living in Florida has so many opportunities for fun in the sun and surf. No matter where you are in Florida, you are never more than 60 miles from the ocean. Florida has the highest number of backyard pools in the United States with 1,590,000 pools, 250,000 more that California. Florida is second in tourism in the United States. People want to be here. Many times, those visitors are the ones that can be identified by their sunburns. We are fortunate to live in Florida but knowing how to live here is half the fun. Stay safe this summer and enjoy our wonderful state.

Risk Management Defined: Risk Management is the process of identifying, assessing and controlling risks arising from operational factors and making decisions that balance risk cost with mission benefits. If someone asks, “What do you do for a living?”, we answer with the appropriate response but really, Risk Management is what we do every day. Risk Management is what our real job is. When we say “our job”, that means all of us. Everything we do has an element of risk. Driving to work or the store, actually doing whatever our occupation is, even when we are doing something fun like boating, fishing, four wheeling, amusement parks, climbing mountains, yard work, honey-do projects, all contain an element of risk. We do, or we should do, a risk management exercise for things we are doing every day. What is it that I’m doing and what is it that could affect my personal safety or the safety of others? What factors or personal decisions do I need to make to control the risks I may face? Let’s take going to the beach for the day with the family as an example. It’s a fun thing but there are risks. It takes a bit of planning. Gas for the vehicle, weather reports, surf conditions, food, sun screen, towels, etc. Just for fun, make a mental list of things that could be a risk or hazard just having fun on a day at the beach. I’m sure you can come up with a significant number of things, but do we just stay home and not go? No! life is meant to be lived. We cant live in a bubble. We need to work and play and to live life. We have more control over our personal lives but we should also be able to rely on our workplace to be actively identifying assessing and controling the risks we may face but it’s also up to us individually to make good decision. Safety professionals are not the only ones responsible for our safety. Ultimately, risk management is up to all of us. Jeff Blomgren Safety Director

“DO SOMETHING” Most of America was watching January 2 when Damar Hamlin received CPR on the field when he went into cardiac arrest during the game in Cincinnati. For nine minutes, the Bill’s medical staff performed CPR and used an AED to restart his heart and they were credited with saving his life. Training in CPR /First Aid and AED is essential in any safety program. You never know when you might need it. Having at least one person on every crew trained in CPR/First Aid and AED is a best practice for companies like ours. Research shows that 9 out of 10 people will die outside of a hospital environment unless a bystander performs CPR. Brain damage can start in four minutes and death in ten if CPR is not performed. Average response time for emergency services is ten minutes, that’s why being able to respond with CPR is so important. It’s a matter of life and death. Many people are hesitant to perform CPR for various reasons. Fear of breaking ribs, mouth to mouth concerns, hesitation about using an AED or fear of legal ramifications are all concerns used as reasons not to become involved. The breaking of ribs is a reality. It might happen. But what is the alternative? Mouth to mouth doesn’t have to be done. Hands-only CPR is also effective. Most domestic applications, where it’s a child or spouse or family member, mouth to mouth hesitation isn’t an issue because it’s family but for those with concerns, hands-on is “doing something” that can help prevent brain damage and death. AEDs are not complicated. AEDs are designed to be used by anyone with prompts that are an audio descriptive of every phase of effective use. Pictures and lights coach the user, and the AED is designed to detect a heartbeat and will not shock if it detects a heartbeat. Good Samaritan laws are in place in all 50 states. The good Samaritan law is designed to protect the person or workers who are giving reasonable assistance to someone in peril or injured as long as they are acting in good faith, in line with their training and performing a lifesaving act. CPR and First Aid training has expiration dates and renewal is essential to maintain the credentials but the training is not complicated and is readily available through many sources including on line, classroom and in house certified trainers. There’s really no reason not to have workers qualified to perform CPR/First Aid and to use an AED. You never know when those skills may be needed.

There are dozens of analogies related to the three-legged stool illustration. The Engineering diagram here gives us an idea of what makes it work. Equal pressure on each leg to support the weight of the load above. That seems simple but there are factors that could create a problem in effectiveness. If any one of the dimensions of the legs change, balance is compromised. The principle is good. Build the stool following a plan that will insure a successfully balanced product. So, how does that relate to safety? Any successful business must balance three main things to ensure success. Safety, Quality and Productivity in equal amounts. Safety comes first, followed by quality and then productivity. Without any one of those the likelihood of success is a matter of chance. If we believed that safety is a matter of chance and that things are going to happen anyway, it wouldn’t be long until we would understand that not having safety first, is a matter of life and death. Think of a surgeon who performs bypass heart operations. Would you trust a surgeon that believes he’s 90% effective? Would you fly on an airplane where the company says that they are 95% sure you won’t crash? Granted, if we lived in a bubble and every chance of risk was completely removed, we would be entirely safe. However, we most likely would never be very productive since being productive involves an element of risk but, the level of prevention is equal to the level of importance. If productivity wasn’t a factor, we soon would be out of money because there would not be a product to sell. If we didn’t care about quality, no one would want our product and we would soon be out of business. So, if we are to expect to be able to successfully exist in the competitive world we live in, we must maintain a balance that ensures success. Safety Quality and Productivity, in equal amounts. Is the proper balance for business success. Jeff Blomgren

When I am faced with a member of our team that has a problem with compliance, I’m always curious why they choose to circumvent the regulations that are intended to promote their own safety and the safety of others. When we use the word “RULE” we are independent thinking people who are free to choose, and the word “RULE” seems to invite resistance. Guidelines, on the other hand, implies advice, recommendations, or instructions and are not expected to be the hard and fast, must do items. Rules are explicit regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity. Any “Pirates of the Caribbean” fans recall the negotiation with Captain Barbossa when Jack Sparrow cites the Pirate Code. A list of rules that pirates must adhere to, but Captain Barbarossa says that, “They’re more what you’d call guidelines, than actual rules” which implies that there is flexibility to interpret rules as more like situational decisions that are made on the basis of convenience. “I’ll obey if it fits within my area of activity as long as it’s convenient.” If we adopt the attitude that rules are merely guidelines rather than principles of conduct, we are compromising our own safety and the safety of others. It’s a character decision. Am I making decisions based on my own idea of just what’s good for me, or am I making decisions that I clearly understand as rules of conduct that are meant for me to be able to do what I love to do safely? Make good choices! Jeff Blomgren Director of Safety Petticoat Schmitt Civil contractors, Inc.

Ancient history affects our lives every day. If you slept through your Ancient History class, WAKE UP! In the mid-1700s BC, Hammurabi, the king of Babylonia, established 282 rules to provide standards of behavior and regulate interactions between his subjects. He set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of the law. This was the first written evidence in history of rules of conduct or, “Law” as we know it. The intent of the early law was to establish rules of conduct to ensure order and the safety and equal treatment of Hammurabi’s subjects. However, we also know that this set of laws was known as “The Eye for an Eye” laws. Today we operate as an industry under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration established by the US Government in 1971 and the agency was called OSHA. OSHA likes to call their rules “Standards” and not “Regulations”, when in fact they command the force of law. There are fines and penalties assessed when the intent is to carry out the legislation in the area of jurisdiction. In layman’s language, rules are rules and no matter what you call them, if they contain penalties assessed by a government agency, and there are penalties attached to violations, they are “Laws” and you must comply. There is no intent to draw any similarities between the two sets of laws or administration of those laws. The intent is to show that rules and laws are as ancient as history and recognized as a necessity of life. We’ve come a long way from Hammurabi and his 282 “Eye for an Eye” rules. We’ve worked through Jack Sparrow and the Pirate’s Code and to where we are today with laws established to regulate behavior and designed to protect civilization. Think about it. What would our lives be like with no rules? There are people in this world we live in that say we have too many rules. They claim that we don’t need any rules at all but that’s impossible. That’s how wars begin. While too many rules can be true in some cases, and there can be bad rules, the majority of us, agree or not, know that rules and laws are intended to preserve and protect. They are laws we must live by. We just need to know what they are. Jeff Blomgren Director of Safety Petticoat Schmitt Civil contractors, Inc.

2023 is here. If we are going to have a successful and safe 2023, we need to look at 2022 to see where we can improve. Identifying the areas where we may have experienced a dip in performance requires a review of procedures and circumstances that affected the goals we had for the past year. Asking questions like, what were the most frequent compliance issues? Were there particular departments or functions that didn’t perform well? Do we need to address personnel issues or establish action plans and set goals for improving performance in those areas? Outlining expectation and goals for the coming year should be a part of every safety performance action plan. Company, department, team, and individual goals should also be part of the 2023 action plans. Questioning each area as to what they can do better to improve over the past year and establishing benchmarks is helpful as well as monthly or quarterly reviews to see if established goals are met. A suggestion might be to have a general meeting between senior leadership and field team leaders to develop and outline the 2023 action plan. Many companies do not reach their collective goals because senior leadership is not involved. Senior leadership is critical for any successful safety program. Also having each team leader setting goals for the team and presenting those goals to the group builds accountability for achieving those goals. Tying compensation to safety performance establishes the importance of building safety into every phase of production and sets the standard for the company. The company that puts safety quality and productivity into every phase of the operation will ultimately be the most successful. Planning, goal setting, accountability, measurements, reward and recognition and other areas that may apply to your specific circumstances and operations are critical for a successful 2023. Best of luck in 2023. Let’s win together. Jeff Blomgren Director of Safety Petticoat Schmitt Civil contractors, Inc.

Each new year we spend time reviewing the previous year to assess our progress and to plan and set goals for the new year. Along with that goal setting and planning are some things we need to take care of in our recordkeeping. There are some specific annual OSHA guidelines for that recordkeeping. For any company with 10 or more employees the OSHA 300A Form should be posted in a conspicuous place at each jobsite from February 1 to April 30. In addition, the OSHA 300A Form must be electronically submitted to OSHA by March 2. Access to these forms is available through the OSHA website. It’s a good idea to have someone on staff attend an OSHA Reporting class to learn the process and procedures involved in reporting and maintaining accurate data. Along with the annual requirements for OSHA should be the review of handbooks and materials pertinent to safety and operating procedures of the company. OSHA requires an annual update of the safety manuals, and this also requires the input of hourly employees affected by the rules and regulations contained in the manuals. An active and effective safety committee can be a valuable tool in the company safety program. The new year also provides an opportunity to rotate membership in the safety committee. Rotating membership annually provides for the input of more of the employee base and fresh insight into the safety process. Representatives should come from various areas of the operations because each operation has its own unique safety issues. Problem solving, setting policy, developing programs and safety implementation are the main functions of the safety committee as well as the communication and dissemination of materials and information to the company. Senior leadership participation is a must if the credibility of the safety program is to be a priority. Getting a good start each new year is a fresh opportunity to review what worked and what didn’t. It’s a chance to fix what can be fixed and to improve on the culture of safety. If the safety program is working effectively, goals can, and will be, reached. Have a great 2023. Make it a great year. Jeff Blomgren Director of Safety Petticoat Schmitt Civil contractors, Inc.