Safety

Accident investigation and what we can lear n from it

By Donald Burr

PLC Safety & Training Coordinator

In this month’s article, I would like to talk about accident investigation. In the past, we have spent much discussion/training time on responding to accidents, which is undoubtedly essential, but today I am going to discuss what to do after you have gotten the injured the help they need, and the emergency is over. Often, we are so happy that the emergency is over we don’t look at and learn from how the accident happened. In my opinion, this process is less about assigning blame for the accident and more about what we can learn from it. Think about it like education that you have paid for, and let’s get the most bang for a buck. As the employer, you are paying the bills for the accident. Why not learn from it? Looking at a simple slip, trip and fall accident. An employee walking across the garage carrying a large cardboard box (obstructing his view & weighing about 10 lbs.) steps on an oil patch, falls, and breaks his arm. Here are the steps that I think you should consider when investigating this fall, (based on the fishbone method).

Materials

a. List the materials involved at the time the accident occurred. Be sure to list all, not only those that caused the injury/illness. These materials include, but are not limited to: i. Material that contributed directly to the problem ii. Materials that require personal protective equipment to avoid unsafe conditions and personal exposure iii. Materials that require special precautions because of flammability, toxicity, temperature, etc. 1. (In this case) What were the materials involved? a. Large but not heavy box. b. Cement garage floor c. Oil puddle about 16” oval

Equipment

a. List the equipment used or associated with the accident or problem. List also the equipment that is intended to protect against being exposed. Include equipment that may not have directly caused the problem but was involved in the accident. i. (In this case) Was the proper equipment used? Proper boots (Yes) ii. Gloves (Yes) iii. Safety glasses (Yes)

b. If corrective action is needed in the equipment area to prevent recurrence or eliminate exposure, list the identified problem along with recommended remedial action.

People, Methods and Procedures

a. List the procedures or methods intended to protect against: i. The problem that occurred (oil spill left on the

floor)

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ii. The root cause of the problem (good housekeeping was ignored) iii.Contributory cause (big box obstructed view) iv. Exposure from the hazards of the materials that were listed v. Hazards, if any, associated with the equipment b. Consider the following: i. Were adequate procedures available? (housekeeping) ii. Are they understood, current? iii. Were they followed? (no) iv. Do they need to be changed? v. Were responsibilities defined relative to carrying out the procedures?

Supervision/Management

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a. Was supervision adequate? This can mean anything from an inadequate span of control to lousy role modeling. b. Consider the following: i. Is the supervisor understaffed or over-tasked? ii. Is the supervisor properly placed; does he or she have the people and safety skills required? iii. Has the supervisor “bought into” the safety program? iv. Is the supervisor accountable for safety?

The next time you have an accident or a near-miss, try this process to get to the root cause. Knowledge is power, and power is good and can be used to keep you and your employees safe!

Safety

Loggers and Knee Pain

By Brie Weisman, Occupational Therapist with Maine LogAbility

Knee pain is the second most common musculoskeletal complaint in the logging industry, after back pain. The knee is regularly put under stress. Just walking on level ground produces force on the knee of 1.5 times your own body weight. Over time, wear and tear on knees is inevitable in a physically active career. Working on uneven, steep terrain that is often slick with snow, ice, or mud; having to repeatedly climb in and out of equipment with a high step up or down; and carrying heavy or awkward loads, all combine to put loggers at exceptionally high risk for knee injuries and pain. Regardless of whether the pain is a result of an acute injury like a tear in the meniscus that requires surgery, or from a chronic issue like arthritis, logging with knee pain makes for a long day. Below are some simple steps loggers can take to improve their knee health.

Prevention

*Strengthening your quads will help protect the knee joint and improve knee stability. *Wearing quality boots can improve your traction and reduce ankle rolling. *Using anti-fatigue mats when appropriate can decrease joint stress. *Maintain your knee joint range of motion with stretching and exercise. *Improve your posture - leaning too far forward with knees over toes increases knee stress. *Try to keep your work areas clear of clutter to reduce fall hazards. *Use anti slip surfaces in your work areas.

Mitigation

*If you’ve had an injury, talk to a therapist about taping the knee area to provide extra support. *Use the RICE method if there is swelling (Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate).

*For arthritis, moist heat can help ease the joints prior to working. *Maintain a healthy body weight. Extra weight puts unnecessary stress on knees and other joints.

Every injury and person is different. Talk with your primary care provider for specific recommendations and referrals to professionals that can provide you with the right advice. Waiting too long to address knee pain not only prolongs the pain and recovery, it is likely to lessen your productivity as well as making you even more susceptible to further damage or falls. Staff members at Maine LogAbility can help keep you working safely and successfully. For more information, contact us at maine.agrability@maine.edu or extension.umaine.edu/agrability.

Safety

Ted Clark, CLCS, Loss Control Consultant, Acadia Insurance Quarterly Safety Meeting: Non-routine tasks

As we go into 2022 and the start of a new year, it’s a good chance for business owners and employees to take some time to reflect on 2021. What went well? What didn’t go well? What can we change within our operations to improve our safety and production for the years coming? Within my role as a loss control consultant, I spend a lot of time working with individual customers as well as the PLC to review incidents and injuries and provide feedback on why they are occurring and what we can do to help prevent them. Dissecting these incidents to get to the root cause of them is always an interesting and necessary process, because it often reveals opportunities at the core of our operations that need to be addressed. After reviewing these incidents, I can say there is one exclamation point where, if we can get a handle on it, we could significantly reduce the injuries that are happening within our organizations. The large majority of serious injuries DO NOT result from a worker’s daily job, rather, accidents occur as a result of a non-routine task that is being performed. This is a task that has a high potential in resulting in serious injury and is a relatively unfamiliar activity to those performing the task because it is performed so infrequently. A great example of this is trying to right a truck that has rolled into a ditch or shortening chains on a grapple. Both are high risk activities where, if not well controlled, they have a high chance of resulting in a serious injury or other incident.

Why are low frequency tasks so much more hazardous?

Naturally, when you perform a job on a daily basis you start to learn all the nuances of the work and you start to see what could go wrong. With the high frequency associated with your day-to-day job, your brain becomes programmed to recognize a hazardous situation and then instruct your body how to react for a positive outcome. The trouble with low frequency tasks such as those listed above, is your brain hasn’t had enough exposure for it to instruct you on the right response to avoid injury or incident.

We have a lot of non-routine tasks. How can we reduce our exposure?

Luckily, with most non-routine tasks, you have plenty of time to plan out your approach and, while reducing all of the exposure may not be impossible, you can improve your safety with some simple steps. Slow down – This may be the single biggest problem I see when it comes to performing non-routine tasks. Where non-routine tasks are generally not our typical

job, we create this urgency that the job has to be completed immediately in order to get back to work as quickly as possible. The trouble with this mindset is it often leads us to diving into hazardous work with very little planning. Come up with a plan – Prior to performing a nonroutine task you should plan out your work. Spend time identifying each step of the task and the hazards associated with those steps. Once identified, figure out the best ways to eliminate or reduce those hazards. The planning process should include everyone who will be involved in the work, taking into consideration their skills and limitations. Communicate – Communication will be key during the performance of any non-routine tasks. Except in rare circumstances, someone should be designated as a “leader” with everyone else empowered to stop work if there is a hazard observed. Your job involves a significant amount of hazards on a daily basis that, for the most part, you do a really good job of reducing and/or eliminating all together. When you find yourself in the position of performing a non-routine task, it is absolutely essential to take your time, carefully plan the work, and communicate that plan to everyone involved. Taking this time will help reduce the chance of an injury or incident occurring as a result of this challenging work.

Acadia is pleased to share this material for the benefit of its customers. Please note, however, that nothing herein should be construed as either legal advice or the provision of professional consulting services. This material is for informational purposes only, and while reasonable care has been utilized in compiling this information, no warranty or representation is made as to accuracy or completeness. Recipients of this material must utilize their own individual professional judgment in implementing sound risk management practices and procedures.

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