Safety Meeting Starter (SMS) July 2012

Safety Meeting Starters

(SMS) for July 2012

Happy July ! Welcome to July. This month’s theme is safety with-it-ness. What does safety

‘withitnes’ mean? You’ll need to read more to find out!

As always, Safety Meeting Starters contains tons of helpful and timely safety information to

help you and your work group identify and control work hazards and raise safety awareness - -

enjoy the material, and please share it with a friend, co-worker, staff member or supervisor.

To inquire about Matt’s keynote presentations and seminars log onto www.safestrat.com.

Don’t wait for effective safety information, stay up to speed on the latest safety information

through Twitter - - (https://twitter.com/Safestrat or @safestrat).

Order Now - - Available today! What Safety Leaders Do, The Insider’s

Handbook for Safety Leadership Tips, Tactics, Secrets and Ideas, was released

mid-April. One early commenter wrote; “We are all very busy, so if you want to

take the time to read one book that will have the greatest impact on improving

your safety program results, then you need to read What Safety Leaders Do.”

Steve McKay, Willis Insurance Group.

New Release discounts: use code GHDF4HQD and get $5.00 off per book, no

limits! To learn more and order: https://www.createspace.com/3761883

We love your feedback - - send comments to [email protected].

Thanks again and pass this along! Remember, no one gets hurt today! God Bless, Matt.

Matt Forck, CSP, JLW | www.safestrat.com | 573.999.7981

SMS-Powerful Information for a RESULTS driven safety culture!

Matt Forck | www.safestrat.com | (573) 999-7981 Safety Strategies…for LIFE!

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S.A.F.E. (See Accidents Forever Eliminated) ™ at Work - A Motivational Safety Column!

Contribute Your Good to Safety

In 1957 Bangkok, Thailand was expanding many roadways in and around the city.

One such road project required that a Buddhist Temple and monastery be moved,

the new road would be cutting it in half. As part of the relocation, a ten foot

statue of Buddha which was in the current Temple would be moved to the new

one. It wasn’t just a ‘normal’ statue, it was a ten foot tall, 2.5 ton statue of

Buddha. The monk in charge of the relocation was nervous. The statue was over

200 years old and the center piece of the temple.

As straps were put around the statue, the monk looked on; he didn’t have a good

feeling. The statue was lifted off of the ground. So far so good he thought but just

then it cracked. The monk’s heart sank. Sit it down, he ordered. So, they did. They

placed a tarp around it and left it for the day. Later, it began to rain. The monk

went out to see if the Buddha statue was staying dry. He lifted the tarp and

peered into the darkness. As he did so, his eye caught the crack, and a beam of

light returned the glance. Dumbfounded, he left and returned with a screwdriver.

Scrapping away at the crack, he fell backwards in disbelief. Under the clay figure,

was gold!

After the initial shock of such a discovery, the research began. It was discovered

that centuries ago Burmese invaders launched an attack into Thailand. To protect

the gold statue of Buddha, it was covered with clay. The Burmese killed everyone

on their attack and the secret died with them. Several hundred years later, a

mistake lead to the discovery of this golden Buddha-now valued in the hundreds

of millions of dollars.

The secret today is to understand that each of us has gold inside. Of course, we

have forgotten this since overtime we have had mud thrown at us-generally from

all directions. This mud has covered our gold. Today, on the job, throw off a little

mud and get back in the safety game. Help out another, make a safety suggestion,

use additional PPE. In other words, let your safety light shine.

©20121-SafeStrat, LLC-All Rights Reserved



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Safety Tidbits—the most information packed pages in safety!

Quotes of the month:

"The only people you should get even with are those who have helped you." - -

Napoleon Hill

"A good character is, in all cases, the fruit of personal exertion. It is not inherited from

parents; it is not created by external advantages; it is no necessary appendage of birth,

wealth, talents, or station; but it is the result of one's own endeavors - the fruit and

reward of good principles manifested in a course of virtuous and honorable action." - -

Joel Hawes

Safety Article: Being Free From Injuries; http://www.utilityproducts.com/articles/print/volume-16/issue-06/product-focus/safe-at-

work/being-free-from-injuries.html

From the Twitter Feed - - why wait for the end of the month Safety Meeting Starters when you

can get near real time safety updates from my Twitter feed! Join today;

https://twitter.com/Safestrat or @safestrat.

Safety News from Recent Tweets

OSHA probes bistro death - Times Union http:/ /www.timesunion.com/local/article/ … via @TimesUnion

Cochrane victim of ‘freak’ workplace fatality identified http://www.calgaryherald.com/Cochrane+victi …

Working in the heat can affect your health and safety - Learn how "Heat Stress" can be prevented http://is.gd/HeatStress NIOSH resources

OSHA and young workers; this is a very good resource; http://www.osha.gov/Publications/y …

Tips For Keeping Cool During Hot Weather http://abcnews.go.com/Health/tips-st …

PHOTO BLOG: Top 5 Wacky Warning Labels http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business …

Stop Construction Falls http:/ /stopconstructionfalls.com

Distracted Driving | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Texting and Driving http://www.distraction.gov



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Farmer killed in slurry tank fall - Local - Belfast Newsletter: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/far …

What Safety Leaders Do - - New Book Release by Matt Forck http://myemail.constantcontact.com/What-Safety-Le … via #constantcontact

What Safety Leaders Do, new book by Matt Forck. Learn more and get $5.00 of per book at; http://www.safestrat.com/review-and-ord …

Being Free From Injuries - Utility Products Magazine: http://www.utilityproducts.com/articles/print …

One dead, six injured in two incidents on same day at Fort Leonard Wood - http://KansasCity.com : http://bit.ly/LRhadQ

Nevada OSHA probes death of construction worker killed in Lake Mead tunnel accident http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/accid …

OSHA begins investigation into fatality at Third Straw project - My News 3 - KSNV, Las Vegas, NV http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/s …

Blind spots and communication break down embarrass Britain Prime Minister; http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-paren …

Only two months on the job! Worker, 26, killed at Tioga County foundry Monday - http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.d …

State officials investigating Burbank crushing death http://www .burbankleader.com/the818now/tn-8 …

Watch the Heat! Cal OSHA investigating two heat related deaths; http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/05/453 …

Remote sensing technology aims to increase construction safety – Journal of Commerce: http://bit.ly/KvhqcQ

Huntersville firm fined in March death, OSHA sites lack of seat belt, among other items, Charlotte Observer: http://bit.ly/LPTRLQ

Tree Falls, Killing One CA Tree Cutter, Injuring Another - Fire Engineering: http://www.fireengineering.com/news/2012/06/0 …

Hawaii Dept. of Labor Says Weak Soil Led to Worker's Zip Line Death http://ohsonline.com/articles/2012/ …



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Leadership Is a Conversation http ://hbr.org/2012/06/leader …

Safety Meeting Starters, June 2012 http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Safety-Meeting … via #constantcontact

Worker recovering after 19-foot fall at Madison construction site - http://bit.ly/NaKRad via @njhills

1 dead, 4 hurt in Minnesota paper mill explosion, fire http://on.msnbc.com/NaKBYO via @msnbc_us

Cleanup at MFG completed, investigation continues after 43 employees go to hospital; http://shar.es/qEqYr via @sharethis

Company fined over aircraft engineer's death - Business - NZ Herald News http://nzh.tw/10809560 via @nzherald

UT student hit by bus...lucky that this blind spot didn't get him killed! See video here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxeg-o …

The Safety Notebook:

Sign up for the OSHA heat app at this link...pretty cool, no pun intended!

http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/qt05152012.html

Safety Duct Tape - - 72 minutes of safety material to recharge your batteries for only 99

cents! http://www.amazon.com/Safety-Duct-

Tape/dp/B005Q2XQM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1319715328&sr=1-1

Keep Going for Safety - - http://www.utilityproducts.com/articles/print/volume-

16/issue-2/safe-at-work/keep-going-for-safety.html

OSHA Quick Cards - - If you have not used OSHA quick cards before, then you will love

this website. It’s a terrific reference for quick hit job briefings, safety awareness and

safety meetings; http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/quickcards.html



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OSHA Clipboard:

Cochrane victim of ‘freak’ workplace fatality identified By Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald June 24, 2012. The Cochrane man who was killed when a trailer

ramp fell on him has been identified as a town employee of more than six years and a longtime resident.

Tim Bannister, 52, died Thursday afternoon in a workplace incident that is now under investigation by

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety. Bannister was repairing the back section of a flatbed trailer

when the hinges failed and the trailer fell on his chest. A co-worker discovered him, but he could not be

saved. His family said they are shaken up by the incident, but do not blame anyone for the tragedy.

“It was just a freak accident,” said his daughter, 30-year-old Tanya Popplewell. “It was nobody’s fault. I

don’t even know why it happened, but it did.” In a statement issued Saturday morning, Cochrane mayor

Truper McBride said Bannister’s co-workers are grief stricken.

“We are a close-knit family at the Town of Cochrane and are obviously devastated by the loss of an

employee, especially in such tragic circumstances. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tim’s family at this

time.” Bannister is described in the statement as “a highly regarded and much loved team member,

colleague, and friend (and) always on hand to help, encourage and motivate others.”

Bannister grew up in Kimberley, B.C., but resided in Cochrane for many years. He played sports, coached

ringette and repaired appliances before he started to work for the town. Bannister leaves behind two

adult daughters and a wife. His funeral will take place Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Cochrane old arena.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald Read more:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Cochrane+victim+freak+workplace+fatality+identified/6831728/story.ht

ml#ixzz1z5O86QIl

OSHA investigating Formula One contractor after labor complaints

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration authorities opened an investigation this week into

possible workplace violations at the Formula One racetrack construction site in Elroy.

At least four workers have complained to a nonprofit worker advocacy group that they and their roughly

80 colleagues have been told to bring their own water to the work site, a violation of federal rules. OSHA

said construction sites must provide drinking water for workers.

When asked about the requirement to provide water, Circuit of the Americas spokeswoman Julie Loig-

non said workers had not previously raised the issue at daily safety meetings and that site managers

were not aware of any problems.



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Elizabeth Todd, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Labor, said OSHA investigators went to the

site Monday and have opened an investigation, which will consist of interviewing workers and other

actions to determine whether violations of federal regulations occurred.

If investigators find a violation, which they must report within six months, the violator might be fined.

Todd declined to comment further, including identifying which construction company at the site is under

investigation.

Gregorio Casar, business liaison for the Austin-based Workers Defense Project, said that the complaint

he filed Monday is directed at JMEG, an electrical subcontractor. He said he filed the complaint on

behalf of the workers and said that they are being given inadequate breaks.

"The immediate goal is for this situation to be rectified," Casar said. "It makes no sense as to why this

high-end construction project ... is putting people's lives at risk."

JMEG's website says the company is "providing electrical construction services" at the track site. An

official with the company said he did not know anything about an investigation and directed a reporter

to call the site's general contractor, Austin Commercial. Officials with that company responded through

Loignon, who said "Austin Commercial has assured us that they are complying with the required break

structure for workers at the site."

OSHA probes bistro death

By Lauren Stanforth, Sunday, June 24, 2012 - - SCHENECTADY — The Occupational Safety and Health

Administration will investigate the death of Bangkok Bistro co-owner Israel Silva, whose head became

wedged in the mechanism of his restaurant's dumbwaiter early Saturday.

Schenectady Fire Chief Michael Della Rocco said his department and police evidence technicians took

witness statements and photographs at the scene in preparation for OSHA's investigation that likely will

start Monday. The dumbwaiter, or food service elevator, was used to hoist food from the restaurant's

kitchen in the basement to the dining room on the first floor of the 111-year-old building at 268 State St.

Della Rocco said Silva appeared to have had his head in the dumbwaiter shaft around 1:20 a.m. Saturday

because he was trying to repair it when the elevator suddenly became operational. Della Rocco said it

was unclear if someone had turned the elevator on. A flight to Albany Medical Center Hospital was

called off after it was determined Silva had died at the scene from head trauma.

While passenger and freight elevators must be inspected regularly under federal guidelines, Della Rocco

said he didn't know if the same was true for dumbwaiters, small elevators that were used decades ago

to quickly transport items from one floor to another. An online database maintained by OSHA shows

that such fatal accidents nationwide are rare. A search of the database showed that apparently only one

other person in the U.S. has died in a dumbwaiter accident since 2002. That incident occurred at a hotel

in Branson, Mo., in 2005 when an employee who was also trying to fix a dumbwaiter suffocated after

getting his head stuck in the mechanisms.



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A note on the door of Bangkok Bistro Sunday said the restaurant will be closed indefinitely. Condolence

messages were left on the restaurant's Facebook page and two flowers were left on the bistro's

doorstep in honor of Silva, whose nickname was Bobby. "Rest in Peace Bobby," read one note left with a

red rose, "you will always be in our heart." People gathered Sunday at a family home in Niskayuna

declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/OSHA-probes-bistro-death-

3659098.php#ixzz1z5QwoqmG

Worker recovering after 19-foot fall at Madison construction site

Friday, May 25, 2012/By SALLY CAPONE, Staff Writer - - MADISON - A 23-year-old worker at the

Walgreens construction site in Madison, who apparently slipped while working with a steel

beam and fell some 19 feet to the ground last Thursday, May 17, is home from the hospital,

said his employer, Jeffrey Vandermeyde, owner of Vandermeyde Welding-Iron Work Inc., based

in the Hewitt section of West Milford Township. “He’s doing well and recovering well,”

Vandermeyde said Monday.

The employee, Thomas Block of Sussex County, is recuperating from injuries suffered in the fall

following surgery at the Morristown Medical Center. Police said that at about 7:32 p.m. May 17,

police Detective Edward Mitchko and Patrolman Carmen DeCaro responded to the Walgreens

construction site on Main Street at Greenwood Avenue on a report of a construction accident.

Found Victim On Ground - - The officers found Block prostrate on the ground, bleeding and in

obvious pain. With the assistance of Patrolwoman Jenna Landrigan of the Morris Township

Police Department and the Madison Fire Department, Block was secured on a backboard and

transported to the Morristown Medical Center for treatment. Patrolwoman Landrigan was off-

duty at the time and happened to be jogging by the accident scene. Madison police said she

helped Mitchko and DeCaro stabilize the victim until the arrival of medical personnel.

The Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps and paramedics from the Morristown Medical Center

responded to the scene and the victim was taken to the Morristown hospital. Construction at

the site, where the skeletal structure of the future Walgreens has been erected, halted after

the accident and is expected to resume this week, Vandermeyde said. The U.S. Occupational

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed Monday it had opened an investigation

into the fall.



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Available Now! Order today…

What Safety Leaders Do – - The Insider’s Handbook for

Safety Leadership Tips, Tactics, Secrets & Ideas

Today there is a procedure for everything that is important. Yet,

more than 99% of groups fail to have a road map for safety

leadership. The reason is that leadership is different. While most

of those other procedures are ‘one size fits all,’ safety leadership

is not. Each team, work group, and company has a different

culture, history, exposures and corporate structure which means

there isn’t a cookie cutter mold to safety leadership. To be

successful, each organization must customize their program to fit

their unique organization. To effectively ‘customize’ your

company’s safety leadership program, you first need access to all

of the cutting edge leadership tactics, tips and secrets – - which is

exactly what this book provides! Then, you can pick the ideas that

are right for your group; putting proven methods to work for you

– - to get the results you have always aimed to achieve. 204

pages/$19.95

New Release discounts: use code GHDF4HQD and get $5.00 off per book, no limits!

To learn more and order: https://www.createspace.com/3761883 or www.safestrat.com

Reviews are in: “I felt that Matt was speaking directly to me through this book. It not only identified many of the

issues facing my company's safety challenges but also many that apply to me personally. We

oftentimes over-complicate safety. Matt provides a very simple recipe for success. He not only

identifies key weaknesses that most of us face but he provides ideas and solutions that could be

implemented tomorrow." Bill Dampf, Manager, Safety and Training Utility Sector

“I edit the writings of 100s of safety authors and Matt Forck is unique in his approach to safety

leadership and saving lives. Matt makes safety reading easy with his humor, down to earth

realism, and "from the frontlines" solutions. Matt has a sharp mind, big heart, and is "mission

driven" to give safety professionals ideas and tools to build strong safety cultures, nurture strong

effective safety leadership, and keep employees actively engaged in safety processes.” Dave

Johnson, Chief Editor (since 1980), Industrial Safety & Hygiene News (ISHN)



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ISMA-Involved Safety Meeting Activity Activity: Expect from Me, Expect From You Estimated Time: 15 Minutes Materials Needed: Dry Erase Board and markers. Reference materials: See ISMA below: The ISMA: In a group discussion format generate discussion on the following question:

What is expected from management in order to succeed in safety? Chances are, there will be a lot of good comments about what management needs to do in order to achieve safety success. But, management is only part of the equation, so challenge the group with the next question;

What do you have to do to be successful in safety, meaning, no injuries? Our people know what to do so that they return home each night safe and whole. Once this list is on the board, challenge them to begin today. The Take-a-ways: Our power to decide is not greater tomorrow than it is today! And, our workers know what to do and when to do it. It’s the natural ‘human’ urge to make a job faster, more convenient or quicker. It’s in this effort that we often cut a corner here and there. Challenge your workers to begin acting and doing those specific items outlined in the above activity. If they decide to act today, injuries will be a thing of the past!

Want 101 ISMAs? Check out ISMA (Involved Safety Meeting Activities—

101Ways to Get Your People In Involved! at Matt’s website;

http://www.thesafetysoul.org/Matt%20Forck%20Safety%20Speaker%20Review%

20Books.htm



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SPOT-M –(Safety Picture of the Month)

Backflip Anyone?

Are you ready to Tumble! Falls are a leading cause of work place injury

and death. Falls come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on the task, if

you are more than four or six feet above a surface you may need

additional protection.

Choose in favor of your safety!



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Tools for Pros!

Do You Have Safety With-it-ness?

In the December 15, 2008 New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell published an interesting article on education.

The article focused on how teachers are evaluated. The article is entitled, Most Likely to Succeed, How

Do We Hire When We Can’t Tell Who’s Right for the Job? introduces a concept called with-it-ness; and

asserts that today’s most gifted teachers have it!

Gladwell writes,

“Another educational researcher, Jacob Kounin, once did an analysis of “desist” events, in which

a teacher has to stop some kind of misbehavior." In one instance, “Mary leans toward the table

to her right and whispers to Jane. Both she and Jane giggle. The teacher says, ‘Mary and Jane,

stop that!’ ” That’s a desist event. But how a teacher desists—her tone of voice, her attitudes,

her choice of words—appears to make no difference at all in maintaining an orderly classroom.

How can that be? Kounin went back over the videotape and noticed that forty-five seconds

before Mary whispered to Jane, Lucy and John had started whispering. Then Robert had noticed

and joined in, making Jane giggle, whereupon Jane said something to John. Then Mary

whispered to Jane. It was a contagious chain of misbehavior, and what really was significant was

not how a teacher stopped the deviancy at the end of the chain but whether she was able to

stop the chain before it started. Kounin called that ability “with-it-ness.”

Gladwell, and researcher Jacob Kounin, simply define ‘with-it-ness’ as the ability to be proactive - - to

stop an event before it happens. And, they assert that with-it-ness, along with feedback, is the key trait

to teacher effectiveness. Safety with-it-ness, or our ability to be proactive or to stop an event before it

happens, is also the measure of safety effectiveness. So, the simple question is, do you have safety

with-it-ness? Here are three simple questions you should ask every day in order to have a high level of

safety with-it-ness.

First, what on this job can change my life forever? Having worked in the electric industry for nearly 20

years, I have had the misfortune to analyze dozens of electrical contacts and other serious incidents.

What is amazing about many of these tragic events is that on most of these jobs, the energy source was

the only hazard on the job that would change the workers life forever. And, it was the energy source

that went unguarded or that the worker didn’t take the appropriate action to protect himself against.

Before starting any job, ask a simple question; what on this job can change my life? You may find an

energy source, trench, fall exposure, vehicle traffic, etc. Usually however, there are only one to three

things on each job that are ‘major’ life changing hazards. Find them. Take proactive steps to control

them…work with safety with-it-ness.

Am I in a transition? Several years ago the quest to summit Mount Everest hit 1,000 official requests.

When reviewing those attempts, statistics show 200 of the 1,000 climbers perished. The interesting

thing for me is that of those 200 who died, 150, or 75%, died climbing down the mountain. One could



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argue that the focus and energy and planning was dedicated to reaching the summit and climbers lost

sight in transition, underestimating the focus and planning that phase of the climb demands.

Our jobs are often similar with transition situations often leading to incidents and injuries. Our

equivalent of descending the mountain might be when a construction job is finished and the only task is

cleaning up, or backfilling or climbing down off of a roof or elevation. Transition is simply the last task

before break or lunch. It might be the day before a long vacation. Having safety with-it-ness means we

actively look for transition situations knowing that there is added danger in these times. If you don’t

believe me, think about those 150 climbers. Jeff Evans, a man that has successfully climbed and

descended Mount Everest says it this way; “Reaching the summit is optional…Going home isn’t.”

What’s new? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration published the following on an OSHA

facts sheet, “Young workers, ages 14-24, are at risk of workplace injury because of their inexperience at

work and their physical, cognitive, and emotional developmental characteristics. They often hesitate to

ask questions and may fail to recognize workplace dangers. OSHA has made young workers a priority

within the agency and is committed to identifying ways to improve young worker safety and health.” In

other words, they are new, and because they are new, there is added risk of incident and injury.

But being new doesn’t just apply to young workers. Having an added risk of injury or incident applies to

new tools, new equipment, a more seasoned worker in a new job, etc. Safety with-it-ness means you

and your organization understand the added risk of ‘new’ and take pro-active steps to review and train.

This small amount of time making ‘new’ more comfortable and getting your workers more comfortable

with ‘new’ tools and equipment can save more time later…and can save lives.

In short, good teachers are able to stop events before they occur; and for us to make it through each

day safe, we need to employ that same skill set - - or as I like to say, we need safety with-it-ness!

Mat Forck, CSP and JLW, is a leading voice in worker safety. Matt leads SafeStrat, LLC, a safety keynote

and consulting services organization dedicated to building people. Matt works with clients in all business

sectors and with trade organizations in over ten countries. Learn more about Matt, learn about his

safety and motivational books and sign up for FREE safety resources at www.thesafestrat.com.

Read the entire Gladwell article;

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_gladwell#ixzz1wwkKh8BH

Review the OSHA Facts Sheet for Young Workers:

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/young_workers.html

Date post:	14-May-2015
Category:	Education
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Safety Meeting Starter (SMS) July 2012

Education