Work Accident Prevention is cool

Hey there! How has your company been doing, regarding work accident prevention? The people here at Accidentless.com have been promoting a few work accident prevention activities, which in turn has prompted some away-from-keyboard time.

But fear not! Soon there will be new advices, tips, reviews and law tidbits. Work accidents are an ever-present menace to workers everywhere.

A work accident is a serious matter, yet we try to approach it lightly, in order to reach a larger amount of people. So, stay with us and explore: keep reading, and seeing funny safety pictures of what not to do.

Avoid a work accident, build a safer environment today for you and your colleagues!

Updates & awareness through humour

In the Humour blogroll, a new entry, called (suggestively) "Safe is Fun". As stated by it, it's meant to, through humour, direct attention towards the violation of safety rules around the world, highlighting recklessness. It resorts to humourous images or references gathered from various online sources, and is thus meant to create work accident awareness through humour.

I'd say, if it produces results in even one person then it is already a positive thing.

Book Review: Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction

Authors: Hughes, P. & Ferret, E.
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier)

[For your convenience, you can find links to the product at Amazon.co.uk (UK residents) and Amazon.com (US residents) at the end of this article.]


This book is, without a doubt, THE standard text for anyone interested in taking the NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Safety and Health, or anyone who develops work in the construction business: Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction (3rd Edition). Based on the Qualification and Curriculum Authority, it is a whooping 624 pages, with diverse chapters that even discuss study techniques and practice NEBOSH questions for each material.

In my opinion, it is a well designed resource both for students and professionals, making it a worthy resource for just about everyone. Fortunately, it does not make for boring read, being composed by clear text suitably accompanied by images and graphics to illustrate the discussed materials. Most topics include bulleted lists for easy reference and memorization. One of its main advantages is the fact that is serves as a handy guide for a vast number of needs in the field, drawing from experience and covering just about everything you're bound to find. The roles of each professional are also discussed, so that every aspect is attended and responsability falls where it is due... a very wise element, in my opinion. Where nothing is left at random, there is a smaller probability for the occurence of any kind of work accident (and if a accident happens, as they often do, consequences will be less severe).

Let's take a look at the topics covered, as described by the index:

- H&S Foundations
- Policy
- Organizing for Health and Safety
- Promoting a Positive H&S Culture
- Risk Assessment
- Principles of Control
- Monitoring Review and Audit
- Incident Investigation, Recording and Reporting
- Construction Law and Management
- Construction Site Issues
- Movement of People and Vehicles - Hazards and Control
- Manual and Mechanical Handling - Hazards and Control
- Work Equipment Hazards and Control
- Electrical Hazards and Control
- Fire Hazards and Control
- Chemical and Biological Health Hazards and Control
- Physical and Psychological Health Hazards and Control
- Working at Height – Hazards and Control
- General Site Issues – Hazards and Control
- Excavation Work and Confined Spaces – Hazards and Control
- Demolition – Hazards and Control
- Summary of the Main Legal Requirements
- International Aspects of H&S in Construction
- Study Skills
- Specimen Answers to NEBOSH Examinations

Quite a broad range of issues discussed, all very relevant and elaborated along the book. Bottom Line: recommended for all students and professionals in this area of work... every member of your team should have one. Especially those with H&S or management responsabilities.


Order it today from Amazon.co.uk:
Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction (3rd Edition)

Or, if you live in the USA, you can order from Amazon.com:
Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction, Third Edition: The handbook for construction professionals and students on NEBOSH and other construction courses

Recommended.

Importance of sleep

It is a consensual fact that being well-rested during work hours is of vital importance, in order to be able to maintain concentration, focus and quick reaction times. Therefore, it is fundamental to remember: enough rest helps to prevent work accidents. It is also very important in decision-making, affecting judgement and on-the-spot decisions.

In the medical field, for example, studies have shown that the lack of rest largely increases the probability of medical error. This is a particularly important conclusion, since it is fairly common for medical professionals to pull multiple and continuous shifts (especially in the emergency room), whether to compensate shortage of staff, increase learning experiences, or to complement income. A tired doctor does not necessarily mean an unsteady one, but it surely means that he is most likely less focused than he could be under better conditions… and that, in medicine, can just be the difference between a life saved and a life lost.

The amount of sleep needed to properly rested varies from person to person, it is quite a subjective matter. But in average numbers, there is an absolute minimum of at least three hours (not to be made into an habit), and a relative maximum of eight to ten hours. Even though some people need more than ten hours of sleep to feel rested, for the majority of people it is not a recommended amount of time, as it can produce effects on the nervous system.

Properly timed sleep also has an effect on learning and performance, through the cognitive processing that goes on during dreams, as reported on You Psychology, a website on psychology and CBT.

Perception of warning signs

Safety signs are all around us. They serve a very important function, warning against a number of dangers that surround us in our daily work life.

However, we are sometimes so used to seeing them around, that our mind becomes accustomed to their presence. Thus, they become nearly "invisible" to our eyes. Adding to this the fact that most people take safety for granted, it spells work accident all across. And this is when we overlook the fact that many safety signs around are so worn or vandalized that their purpose is all but lost.

So, it is urgent that organizations take measures to "refresh" these signs. Psychology has long given its contribute to this, by suggesting alterations that challenge our accustomed perceptions. As a result, some companies choose to alter the placement of the signs; others alter their colors; others yet use attention-seeking strategies. A police initiative, some time ago, that consisted in the placement of life-sized police-uniform-equipped dolls on the side of the road, to discourage speeders around road-side work-sites, is a personal favorite.

Other informations on Psychology can be found at YouPsychology.com (a site on psychology applied to daily life).

Be creative, be aware, be safe.