KEEPING IT SAFE The Health and Safety Newsletter of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation Special points of interest: There must be equal employ- ee and employer representa- tives on the safety commit- tee. Back braces allow a person to lift heavier weights but it does not give greater support High levels of stress can re- sult in ulcers, high blood pres- sure and weight loss. One of the best leg toning exercises is skipping. When installing security light ensure that they point away from the premises. Inside this issue: Building Effective Health and Safety Committees 2 Do You Know Your Pictograms 3 Air Fresheners: The Silent Menace 4 Back Braces or No Back Braces 5 Adopting a Culture of Prevention 6 Your Christmas Feast: Your New Year’s Resolution 8 To be Stressed or Not to be Stressed 10 Types and Uses of Security Lighting 12 Have a Chuckle 13 Upcoming Events 14 Volume 1, Issue 2 Feb 5, 2015 S ince the proclamation of the Act in 2012 many organizations are still in limbo regard- ing what is required by them to attain full compliance. Many organization find it difficult to read the 141 page document that is our legislation and even if they did, to plunge through the entire Act the legal jargon can be confusing. The legisla- tion has piqued the interest of organizations to become compliant but so far that is as far as it has gotten - a piqued interest. How do we move from a state of awareness to a state of compliance? What must be done by all parties to ensure that organi- zations build safety into organization policies and everyday func- tions. The Act provid- ed a guide book for em- ployers. It of- fers a higher level of litigious weight than what was previously in place. The major struggle has been the creation of a workplace culture that is conducive to safe people, place and plant. I have heard questions such as how am I to change the traditions of my organization after it has been in operation for so many years? My response to this question always is, safety should have been apart of the business from its inception, actually the lack of safety procedures usually speaks to the type of management procedures in place. It may be that the major concerns with the lack of a positive national safety culture are the following: 1. The lack of sufficient man power within the enforcement agency (The Labour Department) 2. The poor interpretation of major parts of the Act Where do we go from here ? By: Melony James OSH/Research Coordinator - BEC 3. The lack of drive to adapt safety in the national occupational customs and prac- tice. However, once all parties involved fully under- stand that all the resources in Barbados are generated directly or indirectly by human work, the idea that a healthy environment equals a healthy worker, equals to productivity will be succinctly understood. Once this is un- derstood the question no longer is where do we go from here, but what must I do to go forward. The European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health has outline the following steps as necessary to channel the way forward for oc- cupational safety and health in organizations. 1. Management Leadership: Management needs to devise a strategy which is both strict and achievable. 2. Effect Documenta- tion: This ensures internal cohesion and effective communication. 3. Training: This enables the employees to work more safely due to their increase in knowledge and skills. 4. Full participation: all members of staff should be made aware that participation is not optional but is mandatory require- ment. The way forward based on the inspection of the current situation is to continue to communi- cate the importance of working safely in addi- tion to giving the Act the teeth it needs through enforcement. Moreover, organizations need to enforce their safety policies by imbedding infringements into their disciplinary code. Re- member, being safe is a journey of continuous improvements. The Way Forward
This issues focuses on organisational culture. It also addresses the way forward for safety and health nationally . Additionally, it offers useful information for organisations who are in the process of developing a safety programs.
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Transcript
KEEPING IT SAFE The Health and Safety Newsletter of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation
Special points of interest:
There must be equal employ-
ee and employer representa-
tives on the safety commit-
tee.
Back braces allow a person to
lift heavier weights but it
does not give greater support
High levels of stress can re-
sult in ulcers, high blood pres-
sure and weight loss.
One of the best leg toning
exercises is skipping.
When installing security light
ensure that they point away
from the premises.
Inside this issue:
Building Effective Health
and Safety Committees
2
Do You Know Your
Pictograms
3
Air Fresheners: The Silent
Menace
4
Back Braces or No Back
Braces
5
Adopting a Culture of
Prevention
6
Your Christmas Feast: Your
New Year’s Resolution
8
To be Stressed or Not to be
Stressed
10
Types and Uses of Security
Lighting
12
Have a Chuckle 13
Upcoming Events 14
Volume 1, Issue 2 Feb 5, 2015
S ince the proclamation of the Act in 2012
many organizations are still in limbo regard-
ing what is required by them to attain full
compliance. Many organization find it difficult to
read the 141 page document that is our legislation
and even if they did, to plunge through the entire
Act the legal jargon can be confusing. The legisla-
tion has piqued the interest of organizations to
become compliant but so far that is as far as it has
gotten - a piqued interest. How do we move from a
state of awareness to a state of compliance? What
must be done by all parties to ensure that organi-
zations build safety into organization policies and
everyday func-
tions.
The Act provid-
ed a guide
book for em-
ployers. It of-
fers a higher
level of litigious
weight than
what was previously in place. The major struggle
has been the creation of a workplace culture that is
conducive to safe people, place and plant. I have
heard questions such as how am I to change the
traditions of my organization after it has been in
operation for so many years? My response to this
question always is, safety should have been apart
of the business from its inception, actually the lack
of safety procedures usually speaks to the type of
management procedures in place.
It may be that the major concerns with the lack of a
positive national safety culture are the following:
1. The lack of sufficient man power within the
enforcement agency (The Labour Department)
2. The poor interpretation of major parts of the
Act
Where do we go from here ? By: Melony James
OSH/Research Coordinator - BEC
3. The lack of drive to adapt safety in the
national occupational customs and prac-
tice.
However, once all parties involved fully under-
stand that all the resources in Barbados are
generated directly or indirectly by human
work, the idea that a healthy environment
equals a healthy worker, equals to productivity
will be succinctly understood. Once this is un-
derstood the question no longer is where do
we go from here, but what must I do to go
forward.
The European Agency for Occupational Safety
and Health has outline the following steps as
necessary to channel the way forward for oc-
cupational safety and
health in organizations.
1. Management
Leadership: Management
needs to devise a strategy
which is both strict and
achievable.
2. Effect Documenta-
tion: This ensures internal
cohesion and effective
communication.
3. Training: This enables the employees to
work more safely due to their increase in
knowledge and skills.
4. Full participation: all members of staff
should be made aware that participation
is not optional but is mandatory require-
ment.
The way forward based on the inspection of
the current situation is to continue to communi-
cate the importance of working safely in addi-
tion to giving the Act the teeth it needs through
enforcement. Moreover, organizations need to
enforce their safety policies by imbedding
infringements into their disciplinary code. Re-
member, being safe is a journey of continuous
improvements.
The Way Forward
Keeping it Safe Page 2
Previous Page:
Where do we go From Here
This Page:
Building Effective Health
Next Page:
Do you know your
Human Resources Roles in Selecting An Effective Safety Committee
O rganizing or re-energizing a safety committee, whose sole purpose is to prevent injuries and accidents, can
protect your business from avoidable costs that directly affect your bottom line. A safety committee, as the
heart of an organization’s safety efforts, can:
Make managers aware of production or
operational safety issues.
Help save time and money by improving
everyday work activities.
Reduce the risk of Prohibition notices or other
penalties.
Increase employees’ safety awareness and
knowledge.
Enable employees to actively identify and address safety issues directly affecting them.
Make workplace safety a more formalized and important commitment.
Show upper management’s genuine concern for employees’ well-being.
Selection of committee members
According to the Safety and Health at Work Act Sec 103 a committee must comprise of equal employer and employee
representatives. The employer appoints management members of the committee and in a unionized workplace, the union
selects the employee representatives. If the company is not unionized, the employees are to select their representative
by way of nomination to Management. Once the committee is selected, Terms of Reference for its operation should be
drafted and adopted. The legislation states that a health and safety committee must:
meet at least once per quarter and keep records of what transpired at the meeting; and
be granted access to information relating to all workplace hazards and to all reports relating to the work-
place environment.
It is a recommendation of the Confederation that where an employer representative is the chairperson, the secretary
should be an employee representative and vice versa.
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 1
How Well Do You
Previous Page:
Building Effective Health
and Safety Committees
This Page:
Do you know your
Pictograms
Next Page:
Air Fresheners: The Silent
Menace
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
Know your Labels?
Answ
ers
: Fl
am
e, co
rrosion,
explo
sion,
Fall
haza
rd, he
alth
haza
rd, irrita
nt, env
iron-
ment
al ha
zard
, he
avy
lift ha
zard
, co
mpre
ssed g
as, o
xid
izer, a
cute
toxic
ity
Keeping it Safe Page 4
Air fresheners:
N ext to pharmaceuticals, nothing in recent years has been pushed harder upon us than the vast array of indoor chemical so-
called air "fresheners" or room "deodorizers." These products include metered sprays, plug-ins, sticks, wicks, mists, aerosols,
carpet "cleaners," scented candles and even scented stones. There's virtually no place in the American business world that not
only has these "fresheners" in every bathroom, but they're also in lobbies, hallways, office spaces and, most frightening, nurseries
worldwide.
Homeowners are seduced through clever advertising to ensure that as many rooms as possible have these "fresheners" circulating vari-
ous chemical scents throughout the house. Gullible consumers can even extend this passion for perfumed air by installing "fresheners" in
their cars, where a variety of chemically-induced scents fill the car's interior. Due to loopholes and favoritism regarding the chemical
perfume industry, companies pushing these products aren't even required to list the ingredients of anything labeled as "fragrance."
In no way, shape or form does a chemically-scented fragrance and/or aerosols propelled by butane, propane or other toxins create
an indoor environment of fresh air. Chemical "deodorizers" or chemical air "fresheners" only mask other odors. These products do
absolutely nothing to improve the quality of indoor air, and in fact, can contribute to a host of ailments from headaches, high pulse
rate and nausea; to mention a few.
Reports of the dangers of chemical air "fresheners" are just beginning to make
the news. A recent MSN article stated that being exposed to air "freshener"
chemicals as little as once a week can increase your odds of developing asthma
symptoms as much as 71 percent and can contribute to an increased risk of a
number of pulmonary diseases. The article went on to state that "A 2006 study
showed that people with high blood levels of the chemical 1.4 dichlorobenzene
-- commonly found in air fresheners -- were more likely to experience a decline
in lung function."
A September 2007 TIME magazine article, 'How "Fresh" is Air Freshener' re-
ported that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) discovered that most
chemical air "fresheners" contained variable amounts of substances called phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates). Besides the use of
phthalates used as sealants and adhesives and to soften plastics, they are also used to dissolve and carry fragrances. The TIME article
went on to report that "phthalates are commonly found in a variety of products, including cosmetics, paints, nail polish and children's
toys -- and have long been at the center of a larger international controversy over their health effects."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no regulations on the use of phthalates, does not require the labeling of phthalates
content on products and does not consider the quantities to which people are exposed to be harmful, even though studies have sug-
gested that high exposure to certain kinds of phthalates can cause cancer, developmental and sex-hormone abnormalities in infants,
and can affect fertility.
The chemical ingredients in "deodorizers" – or anything else dealing with chemicals – can be found on the product’s Material Safety
Data Sheet (MSDS). If a company insist on the use of such chemicals be sure the scan the MSDS to ensure that the constituents of the air
fresheners are not known irritants. If the use of the deodorizer did not reap ill consequences immediately, it does not mean that it may
not affect employees in the future, often times the chronic affects are worse than the acute effects.
This Page:
Air Fresheners the Silent
Menace
Next Page
Back Brace or No Back Brace
Previous Page:
Do you Know Your
Pictograms
The Silent Menace
Article Taken From: http://www.silentmenace.com/-Air_Fresheners_.html
Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1
Back Brace or
There are a handful of questions I’m asked quite often. “What type of mattress do you recom-
mend?” “Who is your chiropractor?” “What shoes are good for my spine?” And last but not least,
“Should I get a brace for my low back (or neck)?” I’ll address the low back brace in this article. It isn’t
an easy question.
Many people work in professions that require them to lift heavy objects on a regular basis. Baggage
handlers and construction workers, for instance, are increasingly working with the help of a back support
belt in the belief that using it can reduce the likelihood of a back injury. In fact, many companies re-
quire it of their workers so as to reduce the number of days spent out of work recovering from an inju-
ry. But are back support belts really effective? The experts are skeptical.
Reducing the number of back injuries is an important goal. Almost 20% of all illnesses and injuries in the workplace are due to an
injury to the back. The cost of treating these injuries is estimated at between 20 and 50 billion dollars each year. The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that is re-
sponsible for workplace safety, has researched the subject extensively by examining the available scientific literature on the effec-
tiveness of back belts. Based on their staff’s research and analysis, NIOSH believes that companies should favor instituting sound
ergonomic programs as opposed to the use of back belts for preventing injury.
Back belts (also referred to as abdominal belts or back supports) are being purchased in greater numbers than ever. However,
after examining the evidence, NIOSH found there was no support for the claim that the use of back belts prevents back injuries in
those who have never suffered a back injury. In fact, in many cases it may promote injuries to the back.
A study performed by researchers at Ohio State University found that people were just as likely to injure their backs while wearing
a support belt as when they were not wearing one. The study subjects wore one of three different kinds of back belts: elastic, leath-
er or orthotic. The elastic belt lightened the load on the subjects’ back by only 10%. The other two belts were found to have no
effect whatsoever. Professor William Marras, lead author of the study said, “You can lift about 20 percent more weight when you
wear a back belt, but that doesn’t mean that you have 20 percent more protection on your spine. So you may try to lift more than
you can handle and hurt yourself.”
Dr. Chad Henriksen, a chiropractor specializing in issues related to health in the workplace, feels that support belts can weaken the
back. “Too often, employees will wear the back support throughout an entire eight-hour workday,” Henriksen says, “and in that situ-
ation, I think we’re getting some de-conditioning of the muscles in the lumbar spine which sets them up for back troubles later
on.” Regular use of support belts also raises blood pressure, which can be an issue for those with hypertension.
Unless you have suffered a back injury that requires the use of a back support belt for rehabilitation, it is better to avoid them and
instead learn the proper techniques for lifting heavy objects. You can also employ the use of hand trucks, chutes, slides and hoists to
help take a greater part of the load off your back.