Spring Landscaping Safety Alert
The spring weather is here. Attached is a Safety Alert discussing how we can keep our employees stay safe while landscaping outdoors.
OSHA 10 HR CONSTRUCTION COURSE- NRLA (Rensselaer, NY)
April 5th & April 12th, 2022 8:00AM-2:00PMTo aid in your compliance with the various Federal, State and City regulations requiring this training, the LSM safety department is once again offering the OSHA 10 Hour Course. The course is provided by our OSHA certified instructors. Each employee who successfully completes the program will receive a certification card from OSHA.*Pre-registration is required. Please complete attached form.
Completed forms may be submitted to: LSMSafetyDepartment@LovellSafety.com
OSHA 10 HR CONSTRUCTION COURSE- Construction Exchange of Buffalo
March 23rd & March 25th, 2022 8:00AM-2:00PM
To aid in your compliance with the various Federal, State and City regulations requiring this training, the LSM safety department is once again offering the OSHA 10 Hour Course. The course is provided by our OSHA certified instructors. Each employee who successfully completes the program will receive a certification card from OSHA.*Pre-registration is required. Completed forms may be submitted to: LSMSafetyDepartment@LovellSafety.com
OSHA 10 HR CONSTRUCTION COURSE- Northern NY Builders Exchange
March 3rd & March 4th, 2022 7:30AM-1:30PM
To aid in your compliance with the various Federal, State and City regulations requiring this training, the LSM safety department is once again offering the OSHA 10 Hour Course. The course is provided by our OSHA certified instructors. Each employee who successfully completes the program will receive a certification card from OSHA.*Pre-registration is required. Completed forms may be submitted to: LSMSafetyDepartment@LovellSafety.com
2021 OSHA 300A Log – Posting & Filing Requirements
Dear Group Member,
Attached please find information regarding both the posting and filing of your 2021 OSHA 300A log.
lsmsafetydepartment@lovellsafety.com
212-709-8899
Why Do People Get Hurt?
What do we think of when we think of safety and people getting hurt? The first is the pain and suffering of the injured worker and the increasing costs of our workers’ compensation insurance. We see the immediate and obvious implications; however, we often do not recognize the giant cost factors that are lying just underneath our noses.
The lost time we will need to make up by hiring someone new or having our other workers fill in. The effect the injury will have on employee morale and productivity. The indirect costs of this injury, such as property damage and excessive amounts of time spent by management reporting on and following up on the incident.
The legal ramifications of the injury and will OSHA be brought in? Will we be sued or written about in the local newspapers? How will our customers react to it? Will our OSHA frequency rates and severity rates be affected? What will our experience modifier go up to? Will we still be eligible to bid on jobs?
It is clear that for many reasons we do not want to have workplace employee injuries. But, how do we avoid them? We create slogans, put up posters, do employee training, provide personal protective equipment, etc. Yet, we still have injuries. How do we explain why people get hurt?
Is it inattention, as many supervisors are prone to say, or unsafe conditions, poor training, inadequate personal protective equipment? Or is it a result of unsafe behavior? We have reported for years that 10% of injuries are from unsafe conditions and 90% are from unsafe acts/behaviors. Yet we spend most of our attention on ensuring that the physical environment is hazard free and we have met the details of safety regulations, all of which needs to be done. However employees are still getting hurt.
For years now, safety professionals have talked about changing the “culture” of an organization to impact its safety program. But what does that mean to the supervisor on a worksite or an owner of a company trying to get the job done. How does he/she implement that?
We need to begin by looking at how we behave and understanding it, so that we can change it. Please note: behavior is an observable act, not an attitude or an emotion. We are not performing psychoanalysis, we are trying to effect the actions people take. Here are the ABC’s of behavior!
Antecedent: The circumstance before a behavior occurs.
Behavior: The action the person takes.
Consequence: What happens as a result of the action the person takes.
Behavior: The action the person takes.
Consequence: What happens as a result of the action the person takes.
An example of this …
You are driving and you see a yellow light, what do you do? (The yellow light is the antecedent). Most people, if honestly speaking, will speed up to make it through the light! (That is the behavior) What is the consequence? Usually, you will make it through the light and get to your destination faster and with no negative effects.
NOW… Let’s change just one thing. Imagine a police car sitting on the corner of the yellow light. What do you do now? Most people will slow down. Why? What has changed? We are now concerned that we might get a ticket. The fear of a change of consequence is what changed the behavior. How do we relate this to safety?
Let’s take another example. A piece of metal needs grinding (the antecedent). An employee begins work on the grinding wheel without safety glasses (the behavior). The supervisor walks past him and says nothing. The employee continues to have this behavior every time he has a grinding job. He goes for years with neither an injury nor a reprimand from his supervisor. The consequence is that he gets the job done with no problem. Then one day the grinding wheel breaks and pieces fly into his eye and he has a serious eye injury. The consequence has now changed and the employee will probably never perform this task again without the proper personal protective equipment because he will be afraid he will get hurt again. The same behavior could have been achieved, without the injury, if the supervisor had acted when he saw the behavior that was at risk and created a consequence for the employee that would have motivated him to do his job safely without him having to get hurt. This could have been a simple reprimand, write up, etc.
It all comes down to motivation. People perform “at-risk” behaviors because it is human nature to repeat what we have learned in the past. Most times, at-risk behavior is a short cut; it saves time, is convenient and we don’t usually get hurt. There are no apparent negative consequences and the extra time and effort it takes to avoid at-risk behavior does not “immediately” offset the low risk of getting hurt. Add to that management often turning a blind eye to at-risk behavior, choosing rather to discipline the employee after he or she is injured.
It is management’s responsibility to provide the consequences prior to the injury. This will motivate the employee to avoid at-risk behavior. The only way to motivate is through consequences. Consequences provide the key to performance. People behave in ways that have been optimally reinforced in the past and avoid those behaviors that have had negative consequences.
How do we motivate employees to avoid “at-risk” behavior? We need to understand when and how we are working at risk and develop, and use, an alternative method. We need to understand how to do the job safely and develop consequences that the supervisor can use to motivate the employee to use safe behaviors and avoid at-risk behavior.
Factors that influence consequences include timing, consistency and positive vs. negative impact. Immediate, consistent and positive consequences have the greatest impact. It is important to identify immediately and consistently at-risk behavior. However, it is a myth that stopping unsafe behaviors will result in safe behaviors to occur more often. The reality is that for safe acts to occur more often they must be actively acknowledged and recognized. We must:
• Develop both positive and negative consequences. Enforce safety rules and identify at-risk behavior. We need to have a disciplinary procedure for those employees who continue to perform at-risk behavior and an incentive program for those who act safely.
• Instill accountability: Company owners, supervisors and employees all play a key role in ensuring a safe and healthy workplace. Owners are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace, providing the needed tools, protective equipment and training. Supervisors must be empowered to provide the employee consequences and employees must do their job utilizing safe behaviors.
We all need to take responsibility for safety. It must be an integral part of the way we work. That is the only way a truly safe and healthy workplace will exist.
A
Cold Weather Safety
Dear Group Member,
The cold weather is upon us. Attached is a Safety Alert discussing how we can keep our employees safe during the winter and its cold weather.
Thank you,
Thank you,
Safety Department of Lovell Safety Management Co., LLC
lsmsafetydepartment@lovellsafety.com
212-709-8899
OSHA Initiative – Heat Exposure Prevention
Dear Group Member,
Attached please find a summary of the new OSHA initiative for protecting workers from heat exposure. Heat exposure is not restricted to outdoor work in the summer. Many industries have very hot work environments indoors and all year long.
If you have any questions, please contact your local safety representative or the Lovell Safety department.
Thanks,
Safety Department of Lovell Safety Management Co., LLC
lsmsafetydepartment@lovellsafety.com
212-709-8899
NYS HERO Act – Update
Dear Group Member,
Attached please find an update on the requirements of the NYS HERO Act as well as a Fillable PDF of the recently issued NYS template of an airborne infectious disease plan.
If you have any questions, please contact the Lovell Safety Department or your local LSM Safety Representative.
Thank you,
Safety Department of Lovell Safety Management Co., LLC
lsmsafetydepartment@lovellsafety.com
212-709-8899
