Union County Safety Council Newsletter

September 2019 EDITION

Sponsor

Your Union County Safety Council Officers, October 2018 - September 2019

President—Brian Dostanko (Human Resources Director, City of Marysville (937-645-7366)

Vice-President—Robert “Cricket” McClintock (Union Rural Electric) (937-537-0400)

Secretary—Rachel Gwilliams (Honda Trading America Corp) (937-644-8033)

Safety Manager—Angie Venable (Union County Chamber of Commerce) (937-642-6279)

Information - Cooperation - Motivation

August Recap Office Ergonomics

September 11 CEO Lunch and Learn Event

11:15 a.m.– 940 London Ave

Speaker: Brian Dostanko, HR Director, City of Marysville

Our Lunch Sponsor: Patterson Pools

Office Ergonomics is basically designing a job to fit the worker so that the work performed is safer and more efficient. The goal of office ergonomics is to minimize stress caused by the physical working environment with the result being an improvement in comfort and productivity and a virtual elimination of cumulative trauma disorders (injuries and illnesses that develop over time) such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and back/neck injuries. In today’s environment, the trend is combatting sitting. Sitting is the new smoking. “Sitting disease” is a non-medical term given to the long-term effects of sitting too long and having a sedentary lifestyle, in general. We spend more than half of our waking hours sitting down, either watching tv, driving, or sitting at a desk at work or at home. Some of the effects of prolonged sitting include decreases in metabolic rate, lowered heart rate, decreased insulin sensitivity, and the reduction in the body’s ability to process calories. Prolonged sitting results in a greater risk of premature death, cardiovascular disease, cancer and especially type 2 diabetes. However, recent research has also shown that prolonged periods of standing results in numerous negative changes in the body too such as cramps in heels, hips, and calves and neck and back issues. If you have been sitting for hours every day you should not immediately switch to standing all day. You need to give your body time to adjust, especially if you are mostly a sedentary person. Currently standing approximately 30% of your day is the best. A practical rotation plan would be for every half hour of your day, you should sit for 20 minutes, stand for 7 minutes, and walk for 3 minutes. The important fact to remember is to not stay in any one position for an extended period of time. The proper sitting posture is feet flat on the floor, no pressure from the chair on the underside of the knee, positive lumbar support, shoulders relaxed, forearms parallel to the floor, wrist straight with no contact with the desk, keyboard at same level and distance, and monitor positioned for the head to be up looking straight forward. The proper standing posture is head, neck, torso, and legs aligned, upper arms close to the body, shoulders relaxed, wrists straight with no contact with the desk, hands at or below elbow level, keyboard at same level and distance, monitor positioned for the head to be up looking straight forward, and a footrest available to facilitate changes of posture. There are various pieces of equipment you may consider offering to your employees in order to combat sitting for long periods of time. Sit/Stand Adjustable height Desks, Sit/Stand Desktop Converters, Desktop Risers, Fixed Height Standing Desks, Leaning/Perching Stool, Footrests, Anti-fatigue Floor mats, Insoles, Active Standing Mats, Balance Boards, and Treadmills. Keyboards, Keyboard Trays, Vertical Mouse, Trackball, and Roller Mouse can be used for help in office ergonomics.

Today’s Lunch Sponsor is . . .

Patterson Pools Patterson Pools is a family owned and operated company with 70 years of experience in the commercial swimming pool industry. They are the industry leader in all phases of construction and renovation including planning, design, and project coordination. Their customers include municipalities, colleges and universities, military installations, YMCA/YWCA, country clubs, and waterparks. Patterson Pools is passionate about making an impact on local communities. They believe their projects bring communities closer together and encourage a shift toward healthier lifestyles.

September UCSC Community Service Project

Our next collection month will be at our September 11 meeting. We will be collecting

for the United Way. Please consider donating not only cash, but your time as well.

Those making a monetary donation

will be eligible for a special raffle drawing for a $25 gift card.

Ergonomics (www.nsc.org)

Every seven seconds a worker is injured on the job. In 2017, these injuries led to more than 104 million production days lost. From offices to construction sites, employees can suffer ergonomic injuries in myriad ways, including pushing too much weight, repeating tasks or sitting in an awkward position. While these situations are all too common, much can be done to keep employees safe.

Know the Risks Symptoms of ergonomic injuries include posture problems, intermittent discomfort, tendinitis, chronic pain, and disability. If these symptoms go untreated, an employee is susceptible to more long-term problems and even musculoskeletal disorders. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 295,830 individuals were injured in 2017 due to overexertion and bodily reactions. Employees in the transportation and warehousing industries are the most vulnerable, along with older adult workers.

Protect Your Employees Training is vital in reducing ergonomic injuries in your workplace. As a safety professional, you can learn to analyze, evaluate, and rank workstation hazards. An ergonomic assessment will help tailor the work environment to each employee’s specific role and body type. Making minor revisions in an employee’s setup can make all the difference in keeping them comfortable and injury-free. Having an ergonomic program will reduce workers’ compensation and health insurance costs, keep your employees safe, improve morale, and productivity.

Employees Should Stretch It Out Even if your workplace is designed perfectly, employees should still take stretch breaks.

Hands and arms: open your hand, then make a fist. On that same hand, slide your fingertips up your palm. Stop when your fingertips reach the top of the palm and the base of your fingers for a good stretch.

Neck and shoulders: place both hands behind your head, and squeeze your shoulder blades together

Back and legs: hold one leg off the floor and keep it straight. Then, point your toes up and down. Repeat with the other leg.

Employees also should stretch and walk around regularly. If they experience ergonomic pain on the job, a supervisor should be informed immediately. If an employee must lift a heavy object, they should keep their back straight and lift with their legs.

First Aid Tips August’s Additional Learn Topic

There may come a time that you will need to provide first aid to someone. So, how do you even begin? Make sure the scene is safe. You cannot help someone if you become part of the problem. Call for help before you start providing help. Do not assume that someone else has already

done this. Keep the 9-1-1 operator on the line. This person can also provide help to you while you are

waiting for emergency personnel to arrive. Use universal precautions such as gloves and face masks.

What is the difference between trauma and a medical emergency? A trauma is typically injury related and results from an external source such as a weapon, fire, chemical, electrical, or mechanical. So you should try and determine what has caused the injury. A medical emergency is typically a sudden change or onset of symptoms in which medical attention should be sought. For this you should try to find a witness and determine some basic facts such as who the person is, is the behavior you are witnessing normal, is the person choking, was the person stung by a bee, is this the result of a trauma. How do I help someone? Clear the airway: You may need to perform the Heimlich Maneuver or shift the position of the person. If you

have opened the airway and the person is still not breathing you may need to perform emergency breathing. Stop the bleeding: If it is arterial bleeding then the blood will be red and pulsing. This is a life threatening

event and you need to apply very hard pressure to try and stop the bleeding. If you cannot stop the bleeding that way then you need to apply a tourniquet. Never remove any bandages and keep pressure applied. If this is venous bleeding the blood will be dark red and will ooze. Apply enough pressure to stop the bleeding but leave the bandage on the wound.

Check for a pulse: check the artery in the neck and not on the wrist. If the pulse is strong and steady just wait for help to arrive. If the pulse is slow or nonexistent begin chest compressions. You need the center of the chest between the nipples, push hard as you need to compress the chest two inches, and push fast.

These easiest way to remember how to help someone is A-B-C. Airway, Bleeding, Circulation