Poster of the Month, June 2016: Preventing foot and ankle injuries

DON'T DO THE TWIST!


To prevent foot and ankle injuries,
wear sensible shoes and watch your
step – especially on uneven floors

If you find flaws in our floors, please report them


June's Poster of the Month is about preventing foot and ankle injuries in the workplace.

Coincidentally, a couple of months after I researched and wrote the words for this poster, this story came out in the news. It concerned a receptionist who was sent home from her job for refusing to wear high heels.

Her refusal was not without good reason. She claimed that her work involved nine hours on her feet, escorting clients to meeting rooms, and that she would be unable to do this wearing heels.

After posting the details of her experience on Facebook, the receptionist realised that other women had been put in the same position. The women in question were not all in desk jobs. Many were required to stand for long periods; some had to walk long distances, including up and down stairs; some had to carry heavy items; and some even had to run across shiny, slippery floors carrying emergency equipment.

It was after hearing some of these stories that the receptionist decided to start a petition to change the law, so companies can no longer legally insist on high heels as part of their dress code.

What's wrong with sensible, comfortable footwear?

High heels are well known for causing severe discomfort, ankle injuries and posture problems. They can also make you unsteady on your feet, more susceptible to slips and trips and more likely to fall over.

For jobs that involve long periods of standing, walking and carrying, we always recommend flat, comfortable shoes with good treads. Where there are additional threats from falling items or vehicle movements, proper safety shoes with steel toe caps are vital.
 
Having worked in health and safety for more than ten years, I'm appalled that women are allowed to wear heels in some jobs, let alone forced to.

Kodiak has many more workplace posters on the subjects of PPE; safety shoes; and slips, trips and falls.

To find out more, please give us a call on 01530 456 000.

Poster of the Month, October 2014: Dealing with hazards in the workplace

WARNING SIGNS

We can't remove every hazard from our workplace, but we can:

1. Warn others of the hazard
2. Isolate the hazard
3. Control the hazard
4. Direct others to avoid the hazard

Respond to hazards quickly and carefully or it could be the end of the road

October's Poster of the Month looks at ways of tackling workplace hazards, using road signs to illustrate each example.

In an ideal world we could eliminate all the hazards that make our workplaces dangerous but, in the real world we can only acknowledge them and deal with them appropriately

What is a hazard?

According to the HSE:

"A hazard is something (e.g. an object, a property of a substance, a phenomenon or an activity) that can cause adverse effects."

Examples may include:

• a newly washed floor, or accidental spill, that could cause a slip hazard
• working with hazardous materials, for example in a paint spray shop
• excessive noise, which could cause hearing damage
• maintenance or renovations happening in one part of the building

Dealing with hazards

As the poster points out, there are different ways of dealing with different hazards. The following are examples of how this advice might be put into practice.

1. Warn others of the hazard

• Make sure all permanent hazards are highlighted with appropriate signage, such as warning signs, no-entry signs, mandatory PPE signs etc
• Supervise visitors correctly — advise them of hazards and make sure they wear appropriate PPE while on site
• Use temporary signs for temporary hazards, such as putting out a wet floor sign after washing the floor

2. Isolate the hazard

• Isolate areas where hazardous activities take place and specify that only authorised personnel are allowed to enter
• If possible, block off areas where there are temporary hazardous conditions, such as areas where outside contractors are working 

3. Control the hazard

• Ensure employees adhere to the site rules and wear the correct PPE when carrying out hazardous tasks
• Advise employees to make sure their PPE is fit for purpose — it should fit them properly and be in good condition
• Ensure chemicals are labelled correctly and that safety data sheets are available for supplementary advice and information on the chemicals in use

4. Direct others to avoid the hazard

• Use no-entry or authorised personnel only signs to prevent unauthorised access to hazardous areas
• Use authorised cordons, cones and diversion signs to block, and direct people away from, temporary hazardous conditions
• Use clearly marked walkways to segregate pedestrians from vehicle movement areas and dangerous or moving machinery

Kodiak Industrial regularly produce posters on all of the above subjects. We also produce a range of hazard warning signs, including custom-made signs.

Visit our website to find out more about how our posters and our workplace poster programme can help you address hazards in your workplace.

Alternatively, give us a call on 01530 456 000 to discuss your needs.

Housekeeping: Four good reasons to keep your workplace tidy

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I think it's fair to say that in every workplace there is at least one person who works in a constant state of apparent disorder. Whether it be a chaotic desk, a messy workstation or a general habit of leaving things lying about, they just can't seem to maintain any sense of organisation.

They may say it's how they work best and that they know where everything is. To some extent that may even be true. But what if they were suddenly off sick, leaving someone else to step into their shoes? What if an important visitor or potential customer was to drop in? What would happen then?

Here are four good reasons to keep your workspace clean and tidy.

1. Health and safety
Around 50% of all slip and trip incidents in the workplace are caused by poor housekeeping. This includes things such as packaging waste and toolboxes left on the floor, unattended spills and trailing cables.

Falling loads are one of the biggest workplace killers. Reasons items may fall include poor stacking and general untidiness.

Untidy floors can block access to safety equipment and emergency exits, which could prove fatal if an incident occurred.

2. Hygiene
It has been reported that some workstations accommodate more bacteria than a toilet seat – 400 times more according to a study by the University of Arizona.

The study found that telephones can accommodate up to 25,127 microbes per square inch, keyboards 3,295 and computer mice 1,676.

This is not to mention communal kitchen facilities, especially in small companies, where mucky microwaves. sinks full of dirty dishes and fridges containing festering food all provide breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.

3. Efficiency and productivity
According to time management experts, the average person spends a whole year of their life looking for items they have lost. In the workplace this time is not spent efficiently or productively, so it counts as waste.

One of the main benefits of keeping our workspace tidy is that everyone knows where everything belongs – where to find it and where to return it to.

4. Respect for others
An untidy work area might be normal for you, but consider how it looks to an outsider – a visitor who may also be a potential customer. To that person it may suggest that you are sloppy, disorganised and apathetic. Hardly the qualities of a company they would be happy to do business with.

Also consider your colleagues – it's not too pleasant working around other people's mess. It doesn't take much effort to stay organised by tidying your space each evening and returning communal items and tools to their proper place.

Kodiak's motivational poster programme regularly addresses housekeeping and its associated issues, as described above.

Our posters cover everything from keeping fire exits clear to cleaning up after yourself and keeping things organised.

If you would like to find out more about how our posters can help to improve housekeeping in your workplace, why not contact us for an informal chat.

For daily tips on dealing with common workplace issues, why not follow us on Twitter.

If you would like to find out how Kodiak posters 
can help your business work smoother, smarter 
and safer, please call us on: 01530 456 000 
or email us.

Slips, trips and falls: What your employees should know

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According to the HSE, more than 10,000 workers suffered serious injuries as a result of slips and trips last year.

In fact, slips and trips are the most common workplace hazard, accounting for a third of all major injuries. A staggering 95 percent of major slips result in broken bones.

So why are slip and trip accidents so common?

For many adults, falling over is something that happens to children in the playground, or elderly people when they are unsteady on their feet. If one of these adults was to fall over they would expect to be mildly embarrassed and perhaps make a joke of it after work. They would probably not expect to be seriously injured.

Maybe it's not surprising then, that failing to take the risks seriously and a lack of understanding of the causes are cited as two of the main obstacles to putting problems right.

So what are the main causes?

Poor housekeeping is responsible for up to 50% of all trip accidents in the workplace. This includes things like unattended spills, trailing cables and obstacles left on the floor. All employees can take a personal responsibility to keep things tidy and make sure walkways are kept clear.

Unsuitable footwear can increase the risk of slipping over or losing your footing. Culprits include sandals, high heels and shoes with smooth soles. Employees should all know what type of footwear is suitable for them to wear, especially if it happens to be safety footwear.

Environmental factors such as adverse weather, humidity/condensation, longer hours of darkness and blinding glare from the sun can create or hide hazards. Simple solutions include turning lights on before entering darkened areas and wiping feet when entering buildings from outside.

Other contamination may include spilt liquids, oil, debris and manufacturing by-products such as dust. Employees can take a personal responsibility for cleaning up their own spills/mess and any other contamination they find – whether they caused it or not.

Cleaning can present slip risks in the form of mopped floors and trip risks caused by cables for vacuum cleaners and floor polishers. If cleaning is urgent or cannot be done out of hours, try to isolate the area being cleaned until it is safe to walk through.

Flooring can be problematic, especially if it becomes damaged. Employees can help by reporting things like potholes, broken slabs/tiles and loose carpeting/rugs as soon as they arise.

Human factors are an issue in most safety scenarios. Employees can be encouraged to take more responsibility for their own safety. For example, they can help themselves and others by attending to any slip or trip hazards they find immediately. They can make sure they only carry small loads they can see over and they can avoid distractions by not using a mobile phone whilst walking around the workplace.

Improving safety awareness in your workplace can help to prevent slips, trips and falls. With a greater understanding of the dangers, employees are more likely to report hazards, clean up spills, wear suitable footwear and keep their workplace tidy.

Kodiak's poster database contains a wide variety of posters on all aspects of slips, trips and falls.

These issues are also covered regularly in our workplace poster programme.

If you would like to increase awareness of the dangers of slips, trips and falls in your workplace, please get in touch.

For daily tips on dealing with common workplace issues, why not follow us on Twitter.

If you would like to find out how Kodiak posters 
can help your business work smoother, smarter 
and safer, please call us on: 01530 456 000 
or email us.