Daily Topics for Construction Safety Week 2023 May 1-5, 2023
Theme: Strong Voices, Safe Choices
Monday: ELKS with an emphasis on SPSA’s
Attachment: Elks Awareness Training Document and SPSA Card images
TEXT MESSAGE to send out:
SPSA’s
What? Safe Performance Self-Assessment A paperless, last minute risk assessment conducted by an individual.
Why? To identify and eliminate potential unsafe workplace practices and hazards.
When? Before starting a task, during a task. When job conditions or scope changes. CONTINUOUSLY.
Tuesday: Engaging in a Safety Culture, Strong Voices, Safe Choices
Safety is one of our top values, and establishing a supportive culture is essential to creating a safe work environment. Feeling safe and having the power to speak up when we see something unsafe are important to our day-to-day well-being and operations at work.
Building strong teams who work safely is the most important job for everyone on every job, every time. It’s our common ground, a belief and a duty that unites us all. And at the center of all the activity, the hazards, and the frontline efforts on any project is YOU - YOU are the key to keeping projects and people (yourself and others) safe. You make the difference.
TEXT MESSAGE to send out:
Safety is the industry’s top value, and establishing a supportive culture is essential to creating a safe work environment. Feeling safe and supported and having the power to speak up when we see something unsafe are important to our day-to-day well-being at work and imperative to our overall safety success.
If you see something, say something Strong Voices, Safe Choices
Wednesday: Risk Assessment and Hazard Recognition
Video Link: https://youtu.be/9GDCo5m3UoE
We all face risks and make mistakes every day. Most of the time, risks or mistakes don’t cause us injury or harm, but on the job they can be significant. We can take three key steps to minimize exposure and
harm: Knowing when we are placed in situations where errors are likely; being able to assess hazards; and identifying critical steps in our activities to make them safe. Open communication is key to having a stronger, safer workplace where we all look out for one another.
Not all hazards are obvious or easy to recognize even to those who see and face them every day, some are hidden in plain sight. Hidden in the routine things we do every day; hidden in the reactions we have when things don’t go as planned. So, we all have the responsibility and obligation to not just speak up, but to act, and to always have each other’s backs. That means field professionals, management, customers, business professionals and on-site partners have to work together to create a supportive environment, to hear and help one another when it’s time to pause, assess, and take charge of anything that could put ourselves or our team in harm’s way.
TEXT MESSAGE to send out:
Risk Assessment and Hazard Recognition
Not all hazards are obvious or easy to recognize even to those who see and face them every day, some are hidden in plain sight. Hidden in the routine things we do every day; hidden in the reactions we have when things don’t go as planned. https://youtu.be/9GDCo5m3UoE
Thursday: Distracted Driving – A growing epidemic
Distracted Driving: A Growing Epidemic
Distracted driving has become a monumental health issue within the United States. The United States Department of Transportation reported that between 2012 and 2019, nearly 26,004 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver.
Distracted driving isn’t considered just texting or talking on your cell phone while driving anymore. Now the United States Department of Transportation considers distracted driving to be “engaging in an activity that could divert a person’s attention away from that primary task of driving.”
Types of Distractions
Manual distractions - Taking your hands off the wheel
Visual distractions - Taking your eyes off the road
Cognitive distractions - Taking your mind off driving
Texting is the most alarming distraction because it causes an individual to take their hands, eyes and mind away from the wheel while driving!
Take Action
Use your phone’s Do Not Disturb feature or an app to silence calls and texts while driving.
Put your phone away, like in the glove box, while driving.
Avoid eating, drinking and smoking while driving.
Never attempt to read while driving, including a map.
Do not do any personal grooming while driving.
Avoid a lot of interaction with passengers.
Emotions can interfere with driving. Do not drive when you are angry or upset.
Keep music at a reasonable level and avoid using headphones or earbuds.
Pull over to a safe location and park your vehicle if you need to make a call.
Do not drive with a pet on your lap.
Ask a passenger to help navigate, change the music or monitor your texts.
Pull over to a safe place to address situations involving children.
Do not daydream when you are behind the wheel.
TEXT MESSAGE to send out:
Avoiding Distracted Driving
Department of Transportation considers distracted driving to be: “engaging in an activity that could divert a person’s attention away from that primary task of driving.”
- Manual distractions - Taking your hands off the wheel
- Visual distractions - Taking your eyes off the road
- Cognitive distractions - Taking your mind off driving
Friday: It Pays to Be Safe – Taplin Safety Sticker Program and EMR
Hard Hat Safety Sticker Program - The purpose of the program is to acknowledge safe and outstanding achievement of a person for quality work and adherence to Taplin’s safety protocols.
1. Updating JSA’s: Personnel updating a JSA that a person has added information to a JSA and has final approval from a division manager and safety department.
2. Stop Work/Good Catch: Calling Stop Work on any task or operation where concerns or questions regarding the control of Health and Safety risks exist.
3. Near Loss reporting. Reporting and writing up a Near Loss to help prevent a future loss or an injury to personnel.
4. Quality LPO’s written. VP of the division and safety will decide on the quality of the LPO.
5. Client recognition. (For Safety)
6. Note from the general public on professionalism or a kind deed.
Reports will be sent to the division managers; LPO’s, Near Losses, Losses for review and Stewardship of the ELKS program. Safety will help if needed and record and file the reports. Safety department will be the keeper of who receives stickers and as to why. Top three employees with the most earned safety stickers receive a cash prize annually.
Experience Modification Rate (EMR) is a number used by insurance companies to gauge both past cost of losses/injuries and future chances of risk. Clients require an EMR of less than 1. Every loss or injury raises the company’s EMR and that number stays with the company for 5 years. Everything YOU do today, will still be impacting the company 5 years from now!
Safety = Invitations to Bid and do work = OUR PAYCHECKS
Staying safe ==> Staying busy
TEXT MESSAGE to send out:
It pays to stay safe!
Our safety rating (EMR) directly affects our ability to bid work and our value in the eyes of clients. Staying safe Staying busy
