Archive for Solutions

    In some parts of the world insect-borne Lyme disease, malaria, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and West Nile disease are prevalent.  Many occupations like landscapers, loggers, farmers/ranchers, golf course grounds keepers, construction, surveyors, railroad, pest control, mining, and parks and recreation are at serious risk of having employees develop dangerous insect-borne diseases. A company called “Insect Shield” ...

  – Utility knives, carton cutters,  and box cutters are used for a variety of cutting and trimming jobs (e.g. opening boxes/cartons/sacks, cutting plastic banding and carpet, etc.).  Unfortunately, old style cutters and knives each year account for thousands of laceration type injuries.  In recent years, there have been a number of safety equipment suppliers who have started selling ...

    Getting an injured worker back to work as soon as possible after an on-the-job injury is an important way to control the cost of a workers compensation claim.   Offering  light duty to an employee who is released to return to work with medical restrictions can reduce the impact of that claim on future insurance premiums ...

    Most companies have concrete floors in their production areas.  Standing all day on a bare concrete floor is stressful on a workers’ feet, legs, knees, and hips.  I’ve known of serious cases of varicose veins and knee injuries that occurred because of prolonged standing on a hard floor. Some employers provide employees with thin inexpensive mats to stand on.   They quickly ...

    Being able to quickly shut off power to a machine can mean the difference between a serious injury and no injury at all.   A company in Minnesota has developed an over-sized easy-access switch that allows the operator to immediately shut down machinery with a bump of the knee against its’ giant red stop plate.  No more ...

    Keep your factory up and running by spotting problems before they happen.  The above photo is an infrared (IR) thermographic image (courtesy of FLIR Thermography) of an electrical panel.   It clearly shows a hot spot, that if not corrected could result in a fire!  IR thermography can also detect hot bearings and overheated motors. ...

  Over time, heavy fork truck traffic can loosen and even bend the cover plates over floor drains and raceways.   Even if they are not bend, they can work loose and either slip or tip-up when stepped on. Floors in restaurants and grocery stores that are usually wet often have those little round drains in ...

    Vacuum lifts suspended from jib cranes have been used for years to eliminate the need to manually lift glass sheets and metal sheets.   They have proven themselves to be a cost-effective ergonomic alternative to having employees lift sheets by hand. But did you know that many companies are now using vacuum lifts for more than just ...

    Those bright yellow and orange high visibility vests aren’t just for roadway construction crews any more.  I’m seeing them worn all over the place in business and industry these days.  Employers have discovered that in certain high hazard work areas, it’s a good idea to have employees wear high visibility vests to provide an extra measure of ...

     Each year there are numerous serious accidents that occur when a semi-trailer rolls away from a dock while it is being boarded by a fork truck.   OSHA has long recognized this serious hazard, and has a standard on it that reads -  “The brakes of highway trucks shall be set and wheel chocks placed ...