Negative Entrustment
Are you sure you’re letting qualified people drive your company vehicles?? Read this bulletin provided by us from one of our favorite insurance carriers, CNA
Hot! Hot! Hot!
It’s coming folks! The weatherman is calling for temperatures in the upper 90′s-low 100′s to end the week here in Connecticut, and if you’re stuck working outside, here’s a few suggestions to stay safe:
Drink Plenty of Fluids
During hot weather you will need to increase your fluid intake, regardless of your activity level. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink. During heavy exercise in a hot environment, drink two to four glasses (16-32 ounces) of cool fluids each hour.
Warning: If your doctor generally limits the amount of fluid you drink or has you on water pills, ask how much you should drink while the weather is hot.
Don’t drink liquids that contain alcohol, or large amounts of sugar—these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps.
Replace Salt and Minerals
Heavy sweating removes salt and minerals from the body. These are necessary for your body and must be replaced. If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of cool, non-alcoholic fluids each hour. A sports beverage can replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat. However, if you are on a low-salt diet, talk with your doctor before drinking a sports beverage or taking salt tablets.
Wear Appropriate Clothing and Sunscreen
Wear as little clothing as possible when you are at home. Choose lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Sunburn affects your body’s ability to cool itself and causes a loss of body fluids. It also causes pain and damages the skin. If you must go outdoors, protect yourself from the sun by wearing a wide-brimmed hat (also keeps you cooler) along with sunglasses, and by putting on sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher (the most effective products say “broad spectrum” or “UVA/UVB protection” on their labels) 30 minutes prior to going out. Continue to reapply it according to the package directions.
Schedule Outdoor Activities Carefully
If you must be outdoors, try to limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours. Try to rest often in shady areas so that your body’s thermostat will have a chance to recover.
Pace Yourself
If you are not accustomed to working or exercising in a hot environment, start slowly and pick up the pace gradually. If exertion in the heat makes your heart pound and leaves you gasping for breath, STOP all activity. Get into a cool area or at least into the shade, and rest, especially if you become lightheaded, confused, weak, or faint.
Stay Cool Indoors
Stay indoors and, if at all possible, stay in an air-conditioned place. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library—even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat. Call your local health department to see if there are any heat-relief shelters in your area. Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off. Use your stove and oven less to maintain a cooler temperature in your home.
Use a Buddy System
When working in the heat, monitor the condition of your co-workers and have someone do the same for you. Heat-induced illness can cause a person to become confused or lose consciousness. If you are 65 years of age or older, have a friend or relative call to check on you twice a day during a heat wave. If you know someone in this age group, check on them at least twice a day.
Monitor Those at High Risk
Although anyone at any time can suffer from heat-related illness, some people are at greater risk than others.
Infants and young children are sensitive to the effects of high temperatures and rely on others to regulate their environments and provide adequate liquids.
People 65 years of age or older may not compensate for heat stress efficiently and are less likely to sense and respond to change in temperature.
People who are overweight may be prone to heat sickness because of their tendency to retain more body heat.
People who overexert during work or exercise may become dehydrated and susceptible to heat sickness.
People who are physically ill, especially with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation, may be affected by extreme heat.
Visit adults at risk at least twice a day and closely watch them for signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Infants and young children, of course, need much more frequent watching.
Adjust to the Environment
Be aware that any sudden change in temperature, such as an early summer heat wave, will be stressful to your body. You will have a greater tolerance for heat if you limit your physical activity until you become accustomed to the heat. If you travel to a hotter climate, allow several days to become acclimated before attempting any vigorous exercise, and work up to it gradually. Info from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp
4th of July Newsletter
Summer is underway, and with it comes days at the beach, picnics, weekends at the pool, thunderstorms, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and power outages. All of these have one thing in common, INSURANCE! We’ve seen an unfortunate number of natural disasters in the first half of 2011, many of which occurred in parts of the country and urban areas where this type of weather rarely occurs. Rare or not, it’s a good time to give pause and reconsider how you’re protecting your business and what contingency plans you have in place if something like the Springfield Tornado were to hit Connecticut.
To make a donation to help our friends in Western Massachusetts, you can text 90999 on your mobile phone, and a $10 donation to the Red Cross will be added to your cell phone bill. Other options here
Does your company have a disaster recovery plan in place?
LIG has an arrangement with Agility Recovery Services if you’d like to use a provider for all of the logistics. They have some great webinars coming up in July under the EVENTS tab on their site
Has your Business Interruption Worksheet been updated recently?
Good article from INC Magazine on what this coverage is, and why you should have it. The first time you fill out this form it can be daunting, but we’re always just a phone call away.
An article written by another member of a Broker network that we belong to, specifically talking about Business Interruption for Non-Profits.
Can you communicate with your employees & clients when the power goes out?
If the power is expected to be out for more than a day, is there a number your employees can call to see if they are required to work? Are you utilizing social media channels like twitter or facebook to alert employees, clients, and vendors? Give us a call, we’ve got a few ideas!
Besides planning for disaster, there are a few things coming down the pike on the Employee Benefits side of things for CT businesses that we thought we’d let you know about prior to January 1, 2012. (We’ll also be putting out a comprehensive list of ALL the changes on both the State and Federal level that will be effective on 1/1/2012)
1. Changes in HSA Contribution Limits, Deductibles, and RXs for buying OTC medication with HSA, FSA, or HRA funds Article Here
2. Metlife’s 9th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study Article & Commentary here
Have you seen one of those weird black and white squares like the one below in a magazine or a billboard lately? Download a QR code reader to your smartphone and take a picture of the image below. Pretty cool, huh? We can help you create one to provide a very cool link to your website or any other online area you’d like to direct clients, prospects, or vendors to? Article about success stories other companies have had using this technology..
And in closing, we’d love to have you follow us, friend us, and check out the other places we post info online.
www.constructionriskadvisors.com
www.facebook.com/constructionRA
http://www.facebook.com/LitchfieldInsuranceGroup
http://twitter.com/LitchfieldIG
http://www.twitter.com/fixyourrisk
Thanks again for reading. We hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend,
Your friends at Litchfield Insurance Group
http://www.workerscompinsider.com/2011/06/5-most-dangerou.html
Lynch Ryan’s weblog about workers’ compensation, risk management, business insurance, workplace health & safety, occupational medicine, injured workers, insurance webtools & technology and related topics
June 7, 2011
5 most dangerous jobs for teens & resources for keeping young workers safe
Every year as summer approaches and kids join the work force, many for the first time, the National Consumer League (NCL) offers its updated list of the 5 most dangerous jobs for teens, along with excellent advice for parents and teens on keeping the work experience safe. In 2011, their picks for the most dangerous teen jobs are:
Agriculture: Harvesting Crops and Using Machinery
Construction and Height Work
Traveling Youth Sales Crews
Outside Helper: Landscaping, Groundskeeping, and Lawn Service
Driver/Operator: Forklifts, Tractors, and ATV’s
The NCL notes that the five worst jobs for teens are not ranked in order. They earn their place on the list because they all share higher than normal injury or fatality rates. If you are an employer who hires teens, a parent with working age teens, or a teen workers, please take the time to look at the excellent report that the NCL has compiled.
We’ve compiled some additional resources for teen safety. While many are appropriate for all groups, we’ve sorted them by primary relevance for employers, teens, and parents.
Resources for employers
Employers need to take particular care with young workers. It’s in the teens best interest and it is in every employer’s best interests as well: According to HR Daily Advisor, “A recent DOL decision assessed penalties of over $277 thousand against movie theaters for employing youths in dangerous jobs and for working them illegally long hours. Have summer hiring plans? Better review youth hiring rules.” The site offers two tip sheets for employers:
Summer Hiring? Watch for Tricky Child Labor Laws and Summer Jobs for Kids–Many Restrictions on Duties and Hours
Interstate Labor Standards Association – an organization of state labor department officials. Find your state contacts and get information on Child Labor Laws.
5 Leadership Lessons: What You Need to Know about Developing Teen Leadership
OSHA: Young Workers: Employers
NIOSH: Young Worker Safety & Health
Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries: Youth Job Safety Resources
National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety
Iowa: Iowa Safe Youth @ Work
DOL: Yout Rules: for Employers
For teen workers
American Society of Safety Engineers: Target Teen Safety Tool Kit, including the The ASSE Interactive Zombie Game
OSHA: Young Workers – site includes a variety of safety videos for teen workers, as well as resources
OSHA Young Worker Summer Job Safety
– Construction
–Farmwork
–Landscaping
–Lifeguarding
–Parks & Recreation
–Restaurants
–Safe Driving
DOL: Youth Rules: for Teens
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
California: Young Workers
Canada: Passport to Safety
CCOHS: Young Workers Zone!
CDC: Are You a Working Teen? What you should know about safety and health on the job
CDC: ¿Eres un Joven que Trabaja? Cosas que Debes Saber sobre la Seguridad y la Salud en el Trabajo
Parents
KidsHealth: Making Sure Your Teen’s Job is Safe
DOL: Youth Rules: for Parents
OSHA: Young Workers – Parents
DOL: Youth & Labor
By Julie Ferguson on June 7, 2011 10:41 AM | No Comments
Do you have an Injury Prevention Plan in place?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that approximately 3.3 million serious work-related injuries and about 4,300 fatalities occurred in 2009. The human cost of preventable workplace injuries and deaths is incalculable. However, according to the 2010 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, the direct cost of the most disabling workplace injuries and illnesses in 2008 amounted to $53.42 billion in U.S. workers compensation costs, more than one billion dollars per week. This money would be better spent on job creation and innovation. Injury and illness prevention programs are good for workers, good for business and good for America.” – Dr. David Michaels Assistant Secretary of Labor
Does your construction company have an Injury Prevention Program, or do you just wait until an employee is injured? It is possible to prevent every injury, you just need to have a program in place and monitor it regularly.
OSHA has just released a new web page with east to use guides on how to implement an effective system for finding and fixing workplace hazards. Addressing the hazards before an accident occurs should be your #1 goal.
Most successful injury and illness prevention programs are based on a common set of key elements. These include: management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, education and training, and program evaluation and improvement.
You can access OSHA’s new web page at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/safetyhealth/index.html
The Archive
The purpose of this “blog” is to be reference library for all the pertinent info we’d like to share with our clients, future clients, and friends in the industry. All of our newsletters will also be archived here, so if you remember reading something that you wanted to revisit, it’ll be waiting for you here. Thanks for reading.
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