2 min read

Finding The Right Fit: Personal Protective Equipment for Women

By Gibson on Dec 29, 2014 6:30:00 AM

Ill-fitting personal protecetive equipment (PPE) endangers your workers. Are you helping your employees find the right fit?

If PPE does not fit properly, it does not function as it should. It can therefore expose workers to health and safety risks. It can also negatively impact a worker’s ability to efficiently perform their job. If a worker’s gloves are too big they may put them at risk to getting a glove stuck in machinery or perhaps the loss of dexterity will prevent them from doing their job as well. Likewise, if their hard hat is constantly falling off as they look up, that not only endangers the worker’s head but slows them down as they keep putting the hat back on or use one hand to hold it. 

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Construction Claims Workers' Compensation
3 min read

Methods of Machine Safeguarding

By Gibson on Dec 8, 2014 6:30:00 AM

Crushed hands and arms, severed fingers, amputations, burns, blindness. Machinery-related injuries are numerous, and their impact on a worker’s life can be catastrophic. Most often these injuries are preventable with the use of safeguards. OSHA shares a good rule to remember: “Any machine part, function, or process which may cause injury must be safeguarded.” What are the methods for properly safeguarding machinery?

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Claims
2 min read

Understanding Mechanical Hazards

By Gibson on Nov 10, 2014 6:30:00 AM

Machines can significantly improve production and efficiency. But they do not come without risks. The moving parts, sharp edges, and hot surfaces are hazards to workers. Many machine-related injuries can be prevented with the proper use of safeguards. It is important to understand what dangers machines present and what elements are needed to implement effective safeguarding practices.

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Claims Workers' Compensation
6 min read

Top OSHA Violations For 2014

By Gibson on Oct 20, 2014 6:30:00 AM

Each year OSHA releases the 10 most frequently cited standards.

 

Are you taking proper precautions to avoid these hazards in your facility?

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Claims
1 min read

Disaster Prep & Business Continuity: A Shared Responsibility

By Gibson on Oct 15, 2014 6:30:00 AM

Businesses must approach disaster planning as a probable scenario. Approaching it as a possible scenario is not enough. There are several points of impact resulting from a disruption in power, from (the obvious) loss of connectivity, to (the physical) damaged equipment, or (the elusive) reputation damage. Businesses lose more than just power when an outage occurs. Disaster preparedness involves a planning process resulting in both external and internal communications that help a business continue operating as usual, no matter the situation. To facilitate the planning process, ten steps are discussed, beginning with the “Analysis Of Potential Threats,” and concluding with the ever-important “Recovery Phase.”

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Claims #DisasterReady
3 min read

Culture As An Emerging Risk

By Gibson on Oct 7, 2014 8:40:00 AM

Employee Engagement. Company Culture. Establishing a positive company culture matters. A company’s culture can be an incredible asset…but if not given the proper attention, it can become your greatest risk.

Culture is the values, beliefs, and the norms of a company. It’s not your policies and procedures; it’s the way you do things. It has many facets. Safety, employee wellness, employee wellbeing, and even the overall organizational health. And in order to establish a positive culture, you must engage your company leaders AND your employees.

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management ESOP Executive Construction Claims Employee Benefits Health Risk Management Personal Insurance & Risk Management Workers' Compensation
3 min read

Is Your Company Ready For A Fire? 4 Steps To Create A Pre-Fire Plan

By Gibson on Oct 6, 2014 6:30:00 AM

We understand the steps to fire prevention and protection for our home. We teach our kids the importance of smoke detectors and why they need to be checked regularly. We establish an escape plan and determine a meeting place. In school, our kids learn what to do and where to go in case of a fire. And they participate in numerous drills.

But what about our workplace? Are we properly prepared to handle a fire? Have we trained our employees and practiced our action plan?

Just as with your family or at school, taking time to plan BEFORE a fire can be critical to survival. Here are four basic steps to help you create a pre-fire plan

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Claims
3 min read

Getting A Grip On Hand Protection

By Gibson on Sep 24, 2014 6:30:00 AM

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 250,000 serious injuries occur each year to hands, fingers, and wrists. About 8,000 of these result in amputations. A worker’s hands are so incredibly critical not only to their career, but also their personal lives. Action can be taken to help minimize the hazards to hands, especially through the use of equipment safety mechanisms, personal protective equipment (PPE), and proper training.

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Construction Claims Health Risk Management Workers' Compensation
4 min read

Safety Culture: Setting Your Sights At Zero

By Art Jacobs on Sep 19, 2014 6:30:00 AM

What Is The Mark Of A Proactive Safety Culture?

Early in my career I spent time working in manufacturing as a safety director. After an injury occurred, we would complete the accident investigation and root cause analysis. We figured out what happened, when it happened, why it happened, and how it happened. From there we determined how to keep the injury from occurring again. But why weren’t we doing this before the injury? Why weren’t we doing inspections, reviews, and managing processes BEFORE an injury to prevent it? Why were we waiting until an injury occurred?

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Executive Construction Claims Health Risk Management Workers' Compensation
3 min read

Strategies For Protecting Your Workers From Hazardous Noise

By Gibson on Aug 27, 2014 6:30:00 AM

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), about 30 million workers in the U.S. are exposed to hazardous noise. One of the most common occupational diseases is noise-induced hearing loss. With this many workers at risk each day, it also means very high risks of workers’ comp claims, which can be very costly to companies. What can be done? How can you protect your workers against hearing loss?

Topics: Commercial Insurance Risk Management Construction Claims Health Risk Management Workers' Compensation