By Lee Wendel, CIA, CSP, CSPHA
SFM loss prevention technical leader

Would it surprise you to learn that the smartphone you use every day has the potential to help keep you and your employees safer?

Recent studies show that more than 75 percent of U.S. adults carry smartphones, and that number is getting higher every day. Today’s mobile devices are as powerful as they are ubiquitous, and mobile app developers are now harnessing that capacity to help users work and live more safely.

The idea of using a phone to make your life easier has already gained wide acceptance, but the idea of extending that to safety is still new for most people. The reality is that some commonly used apps are already helping users avoid danger, whether they realize it or not. One example comes from one of the phone’s most common tools, the weather information app. Properly configured, these apps can give you warnings in advance of dangerous conditions without even asking (via push notifications).

In addition to the more mainstream apps, we’ve begun to see a new breed of specialized releases that are designed to encourage safer practices. In the interest of making the world a safer place, the following apps are available free of charge to both Android and iPhone users.

Identifying heat-related risks

This summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teamed up to release a new app called the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool .

This app uses your location to determine the risk of working outside both at the current time and hourly for the remainder of the day. The app also offers advice about how to avoid and treat heat stroke/heat exhaustion. Supervisors have found this to be a great tool to help keep workers out of harm’s way in hot conditions.

Demystifying ladder safety

Another helpful app from the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focuses on a frequently mis­under­stood source of danger — ladders.

The NIOSH ladder safety app gives users a way to understand and address some of the main root causes of ladder injuries/fatalities. Key features include:

• Level and angle meter — extension ladders need to be positioned at an angle of approximately 75 degrees, or one foot out for every 4 feet of rise. The app lets users measure this angle by holding the phone up to the ladder.
• Ladder selection guide — the type and height of work drives the type of ladder. The proper ladder can help prevent electrocution, for example.
• Ladder inspection guide — proper inspections differ by ladder type,
  and must address specific elements essential to safe use.

Encouraging better ergonomics

One more tool that recently came to our attention is the “Office Ergonomics” app from EWI Works International.

This interactive guide facilitates a step-by-step ergonomic review of an office workstation. The app walks users through a decision tree that encourages them to address issues that can result in injuries over time.

While a self-service approach like this may not replace a professional workstation review, it’s a good way to highlight challenges before they become problematic.

As the number of mobile safety apps continues to grow, we encourage you to embrace your mobile device as a tool to make work a safer place.

Learn more

You can find out more about these safety topics in other Simply Work Comp posts:

• Protect your workers from the threats of extreme heat
• Ladder safety resources
• Workplace ergonomics: Tips to create a neutral posture

What are you doing right now — besides reading this, of course? Are you also scanning your email? Is the radio or TV on in the background? Are you in a meeting?

Multitasking has infiltrated our work and home lives. It’s so common to check our mobile phones (about 80 times a day on average) that we don’t even realize we’re multitasking anymore.

Juggling multiple projects at once used to be something to strive for at work — a sign of a high achiever. But the research is clear — multitasking doesn’t save time.

Multitasking’s negative side-effects

In study after study, researchers have found that a multitasking worker is more likely to:

• Make mistakes
• Experience higher stress
• Remember fewer details
• Experience a drop in IQ
• React more slowly

As Cal Newport, author of the book Deep Work, put it, “Human brains weren’t built to multitask.”

The reason why is that multitasking is a misnomer — a more accurate description is task-switching.

People trying to do two things at once are actually switching back and forth. And each time they switch, there’s a cost in time and cognitive load. It’s akin to constant interruption. The result: projects take longer to complete and they’re not done as well.

Safety risks of multitasking

Do you still think task-switching is more productive? What if you knew that it was also more hazardous?

Distracted driving

Distracted driving is simply another form of multitasking poorly, but while behind the wheel and with potentially dangerous consequences.

In a National Safety Council survey, 54 percent of respondents said work would motivate them to do a distracting activity while driving such as making a phone call, searching for a location using a GPS system or reviewing and sending emails.

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of work-related deaths in the U.S. The risk of a crash or near crash is 17 percent higher when the driver is interacting with a cell phone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The National Safety Council has reported that drivers using a cell phone had slower reaction times than drivers with a .08 blood alcohol content.

That’s why SFM’s sample cell phone policy includes a zero tolerance position regarding using a cell phone or hands-free device while driving.

Distracted walking

Distracted walking poses another danger.

Pedestrian deaths have increased in recent years, reaching a 25-year high in Minnesota last year with 60 fatalities, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In a study where people texted while crossing a busy street, the texters were less likely to stay inside the crosswalk or look before they crossed. They spent on average two seconds longer in the street than non-texters.

Distracted walking can take place anywhere, not just on sidewalks and streets. Consider employees preoccupied by phones while walking around the manufacturing floor, down the stairs or in parking lots. What kind of situations might they find themselves in — or falling into — while they’re unaware of their surroundings?

How to reduce distractions

Some straightforward solutions can reduce distraction and the resulting injuries in any work environment: Focus on one thing at a time. Practice being present in the moment. Put down the phone.

To cut back on email and mobile phone distractions, start by turning off notifications. Try keeping your phone in your bag or another room. Some mobile apps exist solely to block other apps from interrupting.

The sign of a successful person is no longer multitasking — it’s single-tasking, focusing on one thing at a time. Eliminating distractions will help you get more done with less stress and more awareness of your surroundings and safety risks.

While forklifts play a useful and necessary role in many work environments, they can also be dangerous when not operated with care. According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, forklift-related accidents account for approximately 85 deaths and 96,700 injuries every year.

Tips for forklift drivers

Forklift-related injuries most often result from inattention, distraction, excessive speed, poor driving habits and lack of training.

Tips to reduce accidents and injuries for forklift drivers include:

• Wearing a seatbelt
• Making sure loads are stable and kept as low as possible
• Keeping the path in sight
• Watching for obstructions, including those overhead
• Avoiding speeding, especially when crossing a blind spot

Tips for pedestrians walking around forklifts

Pedestrians should also exercise caution around forklifts.

Some suggested safe practices are:

• Avoiding walking next to forklifts
• Alerting the driver and making eye contact when nearby
• Staying clear of raised loads

Loss prevention team trains on forklift safety

On June 1, SFM’s Loss Prevention team attended an in-house forklift training session at the Barrier Free Access facility in New Brighton, Minnesota. The event helped serve as a reminder about how dangerous forklifts can be, said Senior Loss Prevention Representative Jeff Aafedt.

Aafedt helped lead the training session, along with Loss Prevention Specialist Julie Thatcher, covering topics such as forklift inspections, safe operation, training requirements and pedestrian safety. As part of the training, members of the Loss Prevention team had a chance to operate a forklift.

“Equipment-specific training in the environment where equipment will be operated, pre-shift inspections and solid safety procedures are vital to preventing workplace injury exposures,” Thatcher said.

Following the training, SFM created a new Supervisor Initiated Training resource on forklift safety for pedestrians. Find this and other forklift safety resources in the resource catalog.

People go to the hospital to be cared for and get better. But for health care professionals, going to work can put them in harm’s way.

Nursing homes and hospitals are among the most high-risk occupations for injuries generally , and their rate of injuries from workplace violence are much greater than the average — 5 to 12 times higher, according to a recent Washington Post article .

According to OSHA , “health care accounts for nearly as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined.”

Defining workplace violence

Workplace violence encompasses more than physical assaults. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s definition includes threats of assault as well as verbal abuse, hostility and harassment.

This violence can be committed by co-workers, patients or family members of patients. Health care workers interact with a large number of people throughout their day, often in stressful situations.

Quantifying violent incidents in the health care sector

The most recent statistics from OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics paint a picture of shocking risks to workers:

• In 2015, more than 11,000 violent incidents against employees in the health care and social assistance sector occurred
• Assaults made up 10 percent of all lost-time work injuries in health care
• Of the 24 work-related fatalities in hospitals, five were a result of “violence and other injuries by persons or animals”
• The same category of “violence and other injuries by persons or animals” accounted for 11 percent of lost-time injuries in private hospitals and a staggering 45 percent of injuries in state-run hospitals (possibly because these facilities are predominantly psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals)

Within health care, some positions are more exposed to the risk of violence. Employees who work with patients with dementia or psychiatric issues, for example, may be at greater risk. Registered nurses and nursing assistants have higher lost-time injury rates due to violence than private industry on average.

Under-reporting workplace violence

According to OSHA’s “Workplace violence in health care: Understanding the challenge” report , violent incidents in health care often go unreported, with verbal abuse and bullying less likely to be reported than physical altercations.

A 2004 study of Minnesota nurses in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine “found that only 69 percent of physical assaults and 71 percent of non-physical assaults were reported to a manager.” The same study concluded that workplace violence — or the threat of violence — can hurt workplace morale and productivity and lead to higher burnout and turnover.

Preventing violent injuries in health care

With such a high rate of injuries in health care, OSHA updated its “Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service workers” in 2015. The voluntary recommendations are designed for health care workers at all levels, from support staff to physicians, and in settings across the continuum of care, from home health care to hospitals.

The guidelines recommend incorporating a workplace violence prevention program into an organization’s broader safety and health program. An effective workplace violence prevention program addresses five components:

1. Management commitment and employee participation
2. Worksite analysis
3. Hazard prevention and control
4. Safety and health training
5. Recordkeeping and program evaluation

OSHA’s resources include a workplace violence program assessment checklist, which covers topics such as staffing, training, facility design, security measures and workplace procedures, as well as considerations for workers who do field work. Training may include de-escalation and self-defense techniques.

With health care workers facing a real threat of workplace violence, organizations should take steps to track incidents accurately, train employees on de-escalation techniques and implement a workplace violence prevention program.

Additional resources

• SFM fact sheet: Occupational injuries in health care
• SFM De-escalation Team Training – health care
• Combative patient behaviors Supervisor Initiated Training
• OSHA: Workplace violence in healthcare: Understanding the challenge
• OSHA: Preventing workplace violence in healthcare
• American Nurses Association bullying and workplace prevention page

By Lee Wendel, CIA, CSP, CSPHA
SFM Director of Loss Prevention

Nationally about 350 fatalities occur each year among workers covered by Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s walking-working surfaces and fall protection standards.

Earlier this year OSHA updated the standards. Minnesota OSHA announced that it would mirror and implement these standards effective September 19, 2017.

The updated rule applies to a wide range of businesses considered general industry. It doesn’t change expectations for those in the construction or agriculture segments.

Three categories covered by this standard are leading sources of severe injuries for SFM policyholders:

1. Walking-working surfaces
2. Ladder safety requirements
3. Fall protection systems

Walking-working surfaces

OSHA defines walking-working surfaces as “any horizontal or vertical surface on or through which an employee walks, works or gains access to a work area or workplace location.”

According to the standard, employers must ensure:

• Surface conditions are clean, orderly and sanitary
• Floors are maintained free of sharp or protruding objects, loose boards, corrosion, leaks, spills, snow and ice
• Employers must inspect, maintain and repair walking-working surfaces as often as necessary
• Hazardous conditions on walking-working surfaces must be corrected or repaired. If corrections or repairs cannot be made immediately, the hazard must be guarded to prevent employees from using the surface until repairs are completed

Ladder safety requirements

According to OSHA, falls from ladders account for 20 percent of all fatal and lost-time work injuries in general industry. In recent years, some of the most severe injuries and fatalities from our policyholders could also have been prevented using the standards’ requirements as defined in the update.

Key elements for portable ladders

• Ladders must be inspected before initial use in each work shift to identify defects that could cause injury
• Employers must ensure that steps and rungs are slip-resistant
• Portable ladders are not moved, shifted or extended while under use
• Top steps and caps are not used as steps (ladders are labeled accordingly)
• Fastening multiple ladders together is not allowed
• Ladders cannot be placed on top of other items such as boxes or barrels to gain added height

The update also covers additional requirements and future standards for fixed ladders, mobile stands and platforms.

Fall protection options

OSHA defines fall protection as “any equipment, device, or system that prevents a worker from falling from an elevation or mitigates the effect of such a fall.”

The update requires all employers to protect employees from fall hazards along edges that are at least 4 feet above a lower level. Fall protection is also required in specific situations such as hoist areas, runways, areas above dangerous equipment, wall openings, repair pits, stairways, scaffolds and slaughtering platforms.

Fall protection anchoring and design is a complex topic — if your company doesn’t have a trained “competent person,” engage an expert to help.

Fall protection options under the new rule

• Guardrail System – A barrier erected along an exposed side, edge or another area of a walking-working surface to prevent workers from falling to a lower level
• Safety Net System – A netting system to stop falling workers before they make contact with a lower level or obstruction
• Personal Fall Arrest System – Consists of a body harness, anchor, connector and may include a lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline or a combination meant to stop a fall before the worker contacts a lower level
• Positioning System – Equipment and connectors that when used with a body belt or harness allows a worker to be supported on an elevated vertical surface and work with both hands free
• Travel Restraint System – Combination of anchor, connector, lanyard or other means of connection to eliminate the possibility of a worker going over the unprotected edge or side of a surface
• Ladder Safety System – A system attached to a ladder designed to eliminate or reduce the possibility of a worker falling; Cages and wells are not considered ladder safety systems

Training requirements for these topics were also updated. A qualified person must train workers affected by these risks on how to correctly: Identify and minimize fall hazards; use personal fall protection (if used); and maintain, inspect and store equipment or systems used for fall protection.

More topics covered in the standard can be found on the OSHA website . See the OSHA site for details with general requirements starting at §1910.22.

Additional resources

• OSHA walking-working surface final rule
• NIOSH ladder app
• SFM blog: Ladder safety resources

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Knowing what hazards are associated with a job gives employees the power to avoid them and prevent injuries. Using job hazard recognition is a great way to review a work area in order to identify, eliminate or control work-related risks that could cause injury.

Workplace analysis

Workplace analysis can help identify and control hazards and prevent injuries through assessment of operation, procedures, processes, physical environment and individual workstations. There are four steps in workplace analysis:

1. Review previous injury records

Injury records can reveal trends in types of injury, time of year, specific shift or work area, specific tasks and tools and equipment used or not used.

2. Use a checklist and review it

You can identify hazards more consistently and without overlooking the obvious by following a checklist. Reviewing the checklist can help generate ideas for improvements to be made.

3. Walk through the worksite

Look for hazards: evaluate specific jobs, workstations, equipment, the environment and employee’s behaviors.

4. Determine ways to eliminate or control hazards

If there is risk of injury due to the process of completing a task, consider modifying the process or choosing a different one. Eliminate the hazard through improvements to the workstation, enclosures, machine guards or personal protective equipment or find ways to reduce exposure to the hazard.

Know the hazards

Before beginning a job, take the time to evaluate the potential dangers. Safety issues to watch out for include:

• Slip, trip and fall hazards
• Ergonomic hazards
• Hand tools/power tools
• Lifting, handling, pushing, pulling
• Unguarded/unprotected moving parts
• Eye hazards
• Breathing hazards
• Pinch points
• Electrical hazards

Specific safety procedures, such as lockout tagout, confined space and fall protection procedures, may also be associated with certain jobs. Serious injuries can be prevented by knowing and following all associated safety procedures.

More resources:

• Job hazard recognition Supervisor Initiated Training
• Hazard analysis of the workplace 5-Minute Solution
• Workplace analysis CompTalk and supervisor checklist

One visit from a loss prevention representative — that’s all it took to measure a significant reduction of risk for a lost-time claim in a newly published study.

The research, published in the September 2017 Journal of Safety Research , shows the value of loss prevention representatives for helping a high-risk industry reduce severe employee injuries.

In the study, small and medium-sized construction firms tracked their lost-time claim frequency and the number and type of loss prevention contacts they’d had. Researchers then quantified the connection between contact and reduced lost-time injuries.

We spoke to the study’s lead author, Katie Schofield, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Schofield is a former SFM loss prevention representative.

The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What led you to this research?
I used it for my doctoral dissertation, looking at injury burden and construction contractors, particularly smaller ones. They don’t have a full-time safety person. Oftentimes they weren’t getting safety or health [resources] from anyone else, except loss prevention reps. Because I worked with them myself as a loss prevention rep, I was interested: Is what we’re doing making a difference? Is it doing something positive?

That’s part of my story behind this, too. Insurers are such a valuable resource, because loss prevention reps can get out there and really have the opportunity to help the business, disseminate research, make the business case for safety.

What were the conclusions you were able to draw from looking at the data over a number of years? Did anything surprise you about these results?
It was heartening to see that there was a significant reduction in risk with these on-site visits with policyholders. Compared to groups that had no loss prevention contacts, when employers did have contact with a loss prevention rep, their risk of a lost-time claim was reduced. Employers that had one contact had about a 27 percent reduction in risk. Employers that had two contacts had a 41 percent reduction in risk. And then three or more contacts was a 28 percent reduction in risk.

So the risk reduction doesn’t continue to go up evenly with repeated visits. Do you have an explanation for the fluctuation, how risk was reduced more with two contacts than with three or more?
Somewhere between that second and third visit, you’re still getting a reduction – not as dramatic of results, but still a significant reduction. That was just interesting in trying to consider, OK, why is this happening? How do we look at what we see in these results here and try to find an explanation in real life?

When you’re first establishing this contact and giving policyholders resources or a plan of action, that would be that first contact that would reduce the risk.

Then maybe your second contact, you check back in, you see how things are going, you follow up. Those might be the things that have the biggest impact, and then with each subsequent contact, you’re still making a difference, but it’s not that dramatic as the first ones. So the effect tapers down.

Or, those accounts that are being visited a lot, they may have a higher risk to begin with. Perhaps that’s why the trend doesn’t continue with bigger and bigger reductions of risk. But it still is significant; 28 percent risk reduction at three or more contacts, that still is a nice effect that you’re seeing there.

Read the full study

A Rand Corporation survey released this week sheds light on working conditions in the United States, and results are mixed.

On one hand, significant numbers of respondents reported physically taxing, unpleasant and potentially hazardous conditions. On the other hand, most reported positive feelings toward their bosses and colleagues.

The report is based on a nationally representative sample of participants in the American Working Conditions Survey, fielded in 2015.

The bad news: Workers report physical exertion, safety hazards

According to the report:

• 60 percent of respondents reported engaging in one or more of the following activities: moving heavy loads or people at least 25 percent of the time, maintaining tiring or painful positions at least 25 percent of the time or standing almost all or all of the time
• 75 percent reported using repetitive hand/arm movements at least 25 percent of the time
• 44 percent reported sitting all or almost all of the time
• 55 percent reported exposure to at least one unpleasant and potentially hazardous working condition such as vibrations from hand tools or machinery; loud noise; extreme temperatures; breathing in fumes, smoke, powder or dust; handling chemicals or handling infectious materials
• 20 percent reported experiencing some form of hostility at work such as verbal abuse, threats, humiliation, unwanted sexual attention, bullying, harassment or physical violence
• 66 percent reported working at high speeds, tight deadlines or both at least half the time

Nearly all of these conditions can increase the risk of work injuries. For a big-picture look, read our past blog post: Four signs that you genuinely value workplace safety.

The good news about U.S. working conditions

It wasn’t all bad! Most respondents reported supportive social conditions at work.

According to the report:

• 58 percent of respondents said they have a supportive boss
• 78 percent said they like and respect their colleagues
• 78 percent said they have good cooperation with their colleagues
• 57 percent said conflicts are resolved fairly

This is good news since research shows that workplace friendships generate employee satisfaction, and employee happiness at work contributes to higher productivity.

If a work injury does occur, good working relationships between managers and employees are especially important.

For more details on the survey, visit the Rand Corporation website .

Cleanliness is next to godliness, the saying goes. In construction, cleanliness reduces risk of injury.

Proper housekeeping is an important part of keeping your construction site safe and avoiding OSHA penalties. Accidents such as trips and falls, being struck by falling objects and cutting or puncturing the skin can often be avoided by keeping a jobsite neat and organized.

Here are some guidelines to create a safer workplace:

• Clean up debris
  Keep all walking and working surfaces clean and clear of debris. Clean as you go to prevent build-up of debris and to minimize the amount of time needed to clean a larger mess at the end of the day. Watch for debris in stairwells.
• Pay attention to proper storage
  Identify designated areas for storing tools and materials. Out-of-place objects such as leaning lumber, plywood and other materials can cause trips and falls. Stack materials orderly and secure them so they won’t fall.
• Eliminate hazards
  Clear away protruding pipes, lumber, rebar or other materials that could cause injury. Bend over or remove nails that are sticking out of lumber. Provide adequate lighting.
• Keep extension cords clear of walkways
  Extension cords and airlines should be elevated, if possible, out of walkways, or covered with lumber or plywood. When not in use, coil up and neatly store.

More resources:

• General housekeeping for construction SIT
• General housekeeping for construction 5-minute solution – English
• General housekeeping for construction 5-minute solution – Spanish

Injuries from “distracted walking” have more than doubled since 2004, and surveys have shown that 60 percent of pedestrians are distracted by other activities while walking as well, according to a 2015 report by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons .

The study also shows that distracted walking is resulting in people falling down stairs, tripping over curbs, and stepping into traffic, causing cuts, bruises, sprains, and fractures. Walking while distracted can also cause you to miss potential hazards like ice, snow or a change in the walking surface, putting you at risk for a fall.

To avoid distracted walking accidents at your workplace, encourage employees:

• NOT to use cell phones, tablets or other devices while walking
• NOT to read documents while walking
• NOT to carry more than they can handle safely
• To take it slow when they see snow
• To stay focused on their path and their end goal
• To wear proper footwear

Encourage your employees to watch each other’s backs. When employees see coworkers being distracted by cell phones, stress or other factors, encourage them to help each other get back on track and focused. Showing you care is often a very effective safety measure.

There are many things supervisors can do to promote safety in the workplace and awareness among employees. Start by being a good example and practicing what you preach. Avoiding distractions yourself will go a long way. Hang SFM’s Don’t be distracted posters as reminders, and check out SFM’s other free downloadable safety resources.

Don’t miss your moment

We also have a series of short videos demonstrating what people can miss going on around them when distracted.

This post was originally published on January 24, 2014, and updated on June 30, 2017.