JUNE – WEEK 1: VSC PPE Requirements
Making sure you are wearing the proper Personal Protective Equipment is very important on jobsites. Personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as “PPE”, is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. These injuries and illnesses may result from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards. Personal protective equipment may include items such as gloves, safety glasses and shoes, earplugs or muffs, hard hats, respirators, or coveralls, and vest. At a minimum requirement of PPE VSC always requires the following (Found in Appendix G VSC Safety Manual) when getting on jobsites.
- Hard Hats that have a stamp within the last five years located on the brim
- Ear plugs if the noise level is 85 decibels or above.
- Safety glasses and when needed for cutting, chemical handling, or other debris face shields with safety glasses
- ANSI Cut 2 resistance or higher gloves
- High visibility vest type 2 on construction sites, manufacturing settings, high traffic areas such as alongside highways, and parking lots.
- Steel toe shoes when on construction or manufacturing facilities. When in schools, medical offices, and other settings a safety toe shoe is required.
Depending on the job there might be more PPE required. At the time contact your local safety representative. At any point the customer standards/requirements are higher than VSC safety standards we while then adopt their requirements for the duration of the job.
I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TOOLBOX TALKS FOR THIS MONTH AND CONFIRM THAT
“SAFETY IS PRIORITY NUMBER 1!”
JUNE – WEEK 2: Fall Protection
Falls from heights are a concern at many worksites and there are threshold heights established where various types of fall protection are required. Fall protection is also commonly found in deer hunting when climbing stands. VSC standards requires employees to wear fall protection in the following general industry, (the height is 4 feet) mining, (the height is 4 feet) construction work, (the height is 6 feet) and fall protection on scaffolding is required at 10 feet. In addition to falls from heights, workers also can slip or trip on ground surfaces that are uneven or cluttered with debris. It is also a requirement to any workers to wear fall protection when operating Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWP). Refer to Appendix O of the safety manual for further communication on this.
- Inspect before every use of harness.
- If any rips, tears, or scaring with a hole bigger then 0.25 tag out of service.
- Store in dry areas out of the sun.
- Find the tags on the harness/lanyards and document inspection per the manufacturer’s recommendation. (Most tags can be found on chest area or back area of harness)
- Make sure harnesses and lanyards are within 5 years of age from when they were made.
- Know what weight rating the harness/lanyard is before putting on.
- Make sure the harness has tight fit to your body with only figure tip space to the leg strips and chest.
- Before tying off know the tie off point can hold 5000 pounds
For more details on fall protection please refer to your VSC safety manual in Appendix D in the Fall Protection Safety Policy.
I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TOOLBOX TALKS FOR THIS MONTH AND CONFIRM THAT
“SAFETY IS PRIORITY NUMBER 1!”
JUNE – WEEK 3: Hygiene
Importance of good personal hygiene at the workplace
When employees exhibit good personal hygiene at work, it yields good results. Among the results of good personal hygiene includes
- It helps to prevent the spread of disease and illness in the work environment.
- Personal hygiene promotes the good health of workers and their social well-being.
- It ensures that the workplace is pleasant for others.
- An atmosphere of cleanliness and safety is observed when there is good personal hygiene.
- It tends to curtail distractions and tensions from poor hygiene practices.
- Reduction in stress levels and tension among the employees
How to promote good personal hygiene?
Personal hygiene for clothing.
- Ensure that you keep your work clothing neat and clean.
- Ensure that there are no holes in your work clothing. Germs or hazardous substances may meet your body when there are holes in your work clothing.
- Avoid wearing ripped clothing as this may cause caught-in hazards for you when working around machinery.
- Always change your shoes every day and dry them. If your work exposes you to a wet environment, remember to clean them.
- Avoid wearing contaminated PPE with your bare hands.
Body hygiene
When being exposed to poor body hygiene from another worker in your workplace, it’ll impact you. Body odors can become a problem for workers and can affect other workers from concentrating on their work.
- Ensure that you bathe, shower and wash your hair regularly.
- Ensure that you keep your hands neat and as often as possible.
- Avoid wearing too much perfume as some people may be allergic to them.
- Always maintain your dental health. Brush teeth regularly.
- If you have any cuts or burns, wash/treat them effectively with appropriate dressings to avoid infections.
Sickness/Illness.
- Whenever you notice that you’re sick, do not come to work.
- During sneezing, remember to cover your mouth with your hand, your handkerchief or tissue with your elbow.
- Remember to wash your hands with soap frequently.
When are you to wash your hands?
- After each restroom visit
- After handling cash (money)
- After touching machines at the workplace
- When you have removed your hand glove or when you want to wear it
- Before and after eating
I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TOOLBOX TALKS FOR THIS MONTH AND CONFIRM THAT
“SAFETY IS PRIORITY NUMBER 1!”
JUNE – WEEK 4: It’s not my Fault!
It’s not my Fault!
How many times have you heard a child (of any age) exclaim “it’s not my fault!” or “it wasn’t me!”?
Whether or not these statements are true is beside the point, what we are talking about is how we conduct ourselves and what image we project to those around us.
A responsible, conscientious person will say “it’s not my fault, but it’s my problem”.
These individuals identify themselves by their actions; they pickup that piece of garbage on the ground, take the time to show examples of how to do task before assigning them, they are quick to lend a co-worker a hand or show them a better, safer way. They step up and take the high road any chance they get.
Why? Because to these people, they see an opportunity every time a situation presents itself. An opportunity to eliminate a trip hazard, an opportunity to lighten the load for a co-worker or to help them keep out of harm’s way.
They may not be a supervisor or a lead hand, but they lead by example, they answer to themselves.
When you hear “Ah…somebody is bound to get that” or “That is common sense”, they are that somebody, for them there’s always something to do, always an opportunity. When you get enough of these people working together (there’s never enough, always looking for new members) you get a company of people that do the right things, follow safe work procedures, help and look out for each other and co-workers throughout the site.
They project an image of accountability and carry a reputation for getting things done and asking “what else can we help you with”. If this sounds familiar, keep up the good work! If this sounds like an opportunity, Welcome aboard!
We’re always looking for new members!
I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TOOLBOX TALKS FOR THIS MONTH AND CONFIRM THAT
“SAFETY IS PRIORITY NUMBER 1!”