2018

A. E. C. S.

The

Safety Zone

THE SAFETY ZONE | UP PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS®

SEPT

HEA

LTH

TALK

STRETCH IT OUT AT YOUR DESK If you work in an office, chances are good that you sit for a large part of the day. This puts you at risk for ergonomics-related problems. “No matter how well a workstation is designed … working at a computer often involves very few changes in body position,” states the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety. “This lack of movement can lead to muscle pain and strain.” You can help prevent the adverse health effects of sitting by starting a stretching routine. CCOHS describes a number of stretches you can do at your workstation:

HANDS AND ARMS Start with your hand open, and then make a fist – keeping your thumb straight. Then, slide your fingertips up your palm so that the tips of your fingers are near the base of your fingers. You should feel a stretch. Place your hands down and open. Gently bend your wrist from side to side as far as you can. Hold this stretch for about five seconds. Repeat it three times. Stretch out your arm and hand, and slowly rotate your wrist until you feel a stretching sensation. Hold for three to five seconds. Then, rotate your palm up until you feel a stretch. Repeat this sequence three times. Place your elbows on your desk with your palms together and slowly lower your wrists for about seven seconds before relaxing. Repeat this stretch three times. NECK AND SHOULDERS

Bring the top of your shoulders toward your ears until you feel some tension. Hold this pose for three to five seconds before relaxing into your normal sitting position. Repeat this stretch two or three times. While sitting or standing – without lifting your chin – glide your head straight back. (If you feel like you’re giving yourself a

“double chin,” you’re doing this stretch correctly.) Hold for 20 counts and repeat five to 10 times. Slowly drop your head to the left, trying to touch your left ear to your shoulder. Hold and then repeat on the right side. Placing your hands behind your head, squeeze your shoulder blades together. BACK AND LEGS

Lace your fingers together and lift your arms over your head, making sure to keep your elbows straight. Then, press your arms as far back as you can and slowly lean to the left and then to the right.

Hold your right arm with your left hand just above your elbow, and then gently push your elbow toward your left shoulder. Hold this for five seconds and repeat with your left arm.

Hold one foot off the floor with your leg straight. Point your toes up and then down. Repeat with your other leg. Sit forward in your chair and place your feet flat on the floor. With a straight leg, lift one foot a few inches off the floor. Hold

for a moment and return your foot to the floor.

If at any point during these stretches you feel pain or discomfort, stop.

For more stretches, as well as graphics illustrating how to do them, visit ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office/stretching.html.

Safety

Talk

THE SAFETY ZONE | UP PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS®

WORKWEAR IS KEY TO FIGHTING HEAT STRESS ` In a perfect world, we would all work in weather-controlled environments where heat wouldn’t

be a factor and comfort could be maximized. Many workplaces, however, deal with very high temperatures, and heat stress is a constant risk that requires serious consideration. Heat stress is the single largest issue facing safety managers when combating worker compliance. If the garments are too heavy, uncomfortable, too hot or don’t cool well enough, workers are far less likely to wear them compliantly. This increases the risk of danger and can be an unpredictable factor in the work environment. In those situations, it is critical for safety professionals to maximize opportunity for their workers remain protected from the factors that lead to heat stress. This can be accomplished through a number of tactics and through thoughtful, intentional application of preventative measures. Unacceptable levels of heat stress are likely to occur in many scenarios. As a general rule, there are four primary approaches to the solution: modify the work, the work environment, the worker, or the clothing or equipment. These limited options become even more constraining when considering how regulations often curb the ability to modify these

factors. The work has to get done no matter the environment, but safety must also be maintained.

AVOIDING HEAT STRESS The most effective and practical approaches to prevent heat stress are to acclimatize workers or to modify their workwear. But there are also day-to-day measures that can be taken to prevent significant heat stress incidents. First and foremost, encouraging your team to keeping a close eye on one another is critical to a safe work environment. The effects of heat stress can lead to miscalculated judgment, meaning a good “buddy system” will keep workers on the lookout for the signs of heat stress in each other. Staying hydrated is another critical step. Workers should drink at least 8 ounces of water every 20 minutes to keep the body’s natural cooling processes running smoothly. Additionally, scheduling set times for breaks (preferably in a cool, shaded area) will also make sure your team has a set time to find relief from the heat. Avoiding heat stress even goes beyond the job site: Encouraging your team to get a good night’s sleep before every shift can play

a significant part in the body’s ability to fight off heat-related fatigue and discomfort.

HOW DOES PPE FIT IN? The difficulties of avoiding heat stress are compounded when it becomes necessary to wear additional protection such as arc-rated flame-resistant garments. Added protections to the fabric decrease the rate of heat exchange significantly, so it is critical to optimize your workers’ PPE.

Ideally, FR fabric should weigh as little as possible while still providing the necessary protection level. Specified garments also need a high permeability ratio to allow for improved moisture evaporation and heat dissipation. This is due to the fact that at certain levels, sweating transitions from being a useful cooling mechanism to simply wasted hydration. To continually cool the body, sweat needs to be carried away from the skin.

Source: Occupational Health and Safety

WORKING AROUND CRANES

Safety Talk

A crane is one of the most versatile and important pieces of equipment usually found on a construction job. It can be used to

accomplish a lot of otherwise heavy lifting tasks. However, it can also be one the most dangerous since it can lift heavy loads

over large areas of a project.

Always be aware of the swing radius of the crane

Never walk within the swing radius of the crane

Never work under suspended loads. Besides the crane boom could fail.

Never ride the hook. There are too many things that can go wrong you can’t control

Always wear a hard hat when there is a possibility of a load being overhead

Stay off of and away from the crane unless you are assigned to be on the

crane

Never walk under a boom, especially if it has a load on it.

Never attempt to adjust or turn a load while it’s suspended.

Never enter a roped-off or barricaded area near a crane.

Anticipate a crane’s swing radius when a lifting operation is taking place.

THE SAFETY ZONE | UP PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS®

When working around a crane, the crane operator is going to be

watching his load or the signal person and not for stray workers. Never

enter the swing radius of a crane unless it is absolutely necessary. Never

work within the swing radius. Hard hats are required.

Remember:

Specifying the right workwear to combat heat stress can be challenging. Different environments and facilities require varying standards to be met for protecting workers from the specific hazards to which they may be exposed, and a compounding issue when considering worker protection is compliance.

It is essential to ensure specified workwear offers the right balance of protection and breathability so compliance can be achieved. There may be a number of choices on the market to consider, and one way to guarantee the right garments are specified is through a wear trial.

PPE that is too heavy, lacks breathability or traps moisture against the skin can increase the risk of heat stress.

In addition to health risks, maximum work output will likely be affected, particularly if the workwear interferes

with heat elimination.

Therefore, it is essential to specify lightweight, breathable garments that achieve the required level of safety

for worker protection. With the right workwear specified, you can ensure your workers will wear it compliantly

and remain safe and cool even in the most extreme heat conditions.

Fighting Heat Stress (cont)

Monthly Individual

Gift Card Winners

Team BASF Geismar

Toccarra Redditt

Team Chevron Oronite No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team ExxonMobil Baton

Rouge No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team ExxonMobil Baytown

Clarence Albus

Team ExxonMobil Beaumont Joe Mitchell

Team ExxonMobil Billings No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team ExxonMobil Joliet No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team ExxonMobil Chemical Spring

No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team Marathon Garyville

No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team Motiva Port Arthur

Michael Elg

Team PBF Chalmette

James Henry

Team PBF Torrance

John Sergeant

Team Shell Convent

No Safety Hazard Card Submitted

Team Shell Geismar

Darren Bergeron

Team Shell Norco

Zack Woody

Team Shintech

Rosemary Brocksmith

Team UP Main Office

Megan Falgout

Team Valero Meraux

Douglas Lambert

Team Valero St. Charles

Trew Thonn

Team Louisiana

Tim Creswell

Team Texas Jesse Franklin

Team National

David Beight

Total hazard recognition submissions by location

AA .. CC .. EE .. SS ..

Data is Quarter to Date

PBF Chalmette

107 Submissions

Motiva Port Arthur

78 Submissions

PBF Torrance

40 Submissions

Valero St. Charles

40 Submissions

Team Texas A.C.E.S.

35 Submissions

Shell Geismar

30 Submissions

Top ACES Teams of Q3Top ACES Teams of Q3Top ACES Teams of Q3 Physical Hazard: Barricades

A crane was set up and

operating without barricade

tags around the crane, also the

fly zone path was not

barricaded.

Excellent Observation

of the Month

Corrective Action Taken:

Employee spoke with the

operator and asked him to put

barricade tape and hazard tags

around the work area.

Q3