Posts Tagged ‘quiz’

Highest injury rate POP quiz: construction, manufacturing, mining, or nursing homes?

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Pop quiz:
Match the Injury Incident Rate per 100 Full Time Equivalents (#1 through #4) with the industry (A, B, C, D)
1. 8.6
2. 5.6
3. 4.8
4. 3.5
A. building construction
B. coal mines, underground workers
C. nursing home workers
D. tire manufacturing workers
Answers: 1-C, 2-B, 3-D, 4-A
Yes, you read that right. Nursing home workers are at higher risk of injury than underground coal miners, construction workers, and tire manufacturers. And the picture is pretty much the same when you talk about serious injuries that result in lost time. “The lost-time/ restricted duty injury case rate for nursing home workers is 5.6 per 100 FTEs, compared to 3.7, 3.3 and 1.7 for these same sub-industries, respectively.”
At The Pump Handle, Celeste Monforton posts about new data that reveals that nursing home workers face an extraordinarily high rate of on-the-job injuries.
Of the 16 million US workers employed in health care and social assistance, more than 3 million are employed in US nursing and residential care facilities. In comparison, Monforton notes that about 17.1 million people were employed in manufacturing and construction. OSHA focused approximately 78% of its inspections on these two industries, and less than 2% on healthcare workers. She notes that there are different standards or triggers to prompt inspections in these industries. “Manufacturing plants on the targeting list, for example, aren’t selected for a possible inspection unless their DART rate* is 7.0 per 100 FTEs or greater. Nursing homes in contrast, have to have a DART rate of 16 per 100 FTEs or greater to “make the cut” for a possible inspection.
*DART: days away from work, restricted-duty or transfer to a different job
Related
NCCI study on safe lifting programs for long-term care facilities

High hazard highway work zones: risky for workers and motorists alike

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Pop quiz: 1) In highway construction zones, do most fatalities occur A) to the vulnerable workers who are standing in the work zone while thousands of cars and trucks speed by, or B) to the motorists in the cars and trucks that are speeding by?
2) Are most highway construction workers killed by A) being struck by passing motorists or B) being struck by construction vehicles?
If you guessed “A” for both answers, you are correct.
Motorist safety in highway work zones
Highway construction projects pose hazards for drivers and workers alike, but about 85% of the vehicle-related fatalities that occur in work zones each year involve motorists. Lane changes,uneven surfaces, stop and go traffic, driver impatience at delays, unpredictable occurrences, and poor night visibility are all factors that make these zones hazardous. For those who need further incentive for caution than self preservation, bear in mind that 32 states and the District of Columbia double the fine for speeding (or committing other traffic violations) in a work zone. The Governors’ Highway Safety Administration offers a handy state by state chart of work zone traffic laws.
One of the best safety strategies a driver can take is avoidance: seek an alternate route. The Department of Transportation offers national traffic and road closure information to help drivers plan in advance – or drivers can check with state transportation authorities – most offer alerts about major construction projects. For those who can’t avoid a construction route, the Wisconsin DOT offers tips for safe driving in a work zone. The tip sheet notes that work zones requiring special caution encompass more than just highway construction projects. They include emergency vehicles at the side of the road, snowplows, garbage pickups, landscapers and any situation where workers are at risk.
Worker safety in highway work zones
This spring, the NIOSH Science Blog featured an excellent post by David E. Fosbroke about construction equipment visibility. In the post, Fosbroke cites a multi-year study of 844 fatalities at road construction sites. While 73% of these fatalities occurred when workers were struck by vehicles, victims were killed by construction equipment at least as often as by passing motorists. And of the incidents when workers were killed by construction equipment, at least 50% of those fatalities involved vehicles backing up.
To help prevent such fatalities, NIOSH offers downloadable blind area diagrams of of 38 pieces of construction equipment and 5 pieces of mining equipment. These diagrams map out the area around a vehicle or piece of equipment that cannot be seen from the operator’s position. The post explains this and other issues related to highway construction safety – including some good observations in the comments section.
For additional information, The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse provides comprehensive information to improve motorist, worker and pedestrian safety in roadway work zones. Resource include links to related sites and training resources.
More safety resources:
NIOSH: Highway Work Zone
OSHA: Highway Work Zones and Signs, Signals, and Barricades

Cool work safety tool from WorkSafeBC – “What’s wrong with this photo?”

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Remember playing those “what’s wrong with this picture” games in activity books when you were a kid? Well WorkSafe BC has adapted the concept as a safety tool. Every issue of WorkSafe Magazine includes a photo that has been staged to show at least six hazards or dangerous work habits – you can interact with the photo to position pushpins on identified hazards, describe the hazards, and then submit your response to WorkSafeBC for a possible prize (although it’s likely that only B.C. residents are eligible). In each issue, they include the winning entry from the last issue, along with responses from other readers. Neat.
One of the really cool and useful things is that they keep an archive of all past photos online – you can either take the challenge online and then check the answer key, or you can print the photos and the answer keys and use them in safety meetings or toolbox talks.
Here’s one example: Can you spot the safety hazards in this commercial kitchen? Note: the image below is only a sample pic – the online interactive version is accessible at Kitchen Safety and here’s the commercial kitchen answer key to check your responses.
WorkSafeBC
Archived “What’s wrong with this photo” tools
There’s a pretty good array of work scenarios representing a variety of industries. Here are direct links to each:

Test your OSHA Employee Protection Knowledge

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

From mancomm.com, supplier of compliance and safety training products, we received the following quiz on OSHA’s employee protection regulations, which is excerpted from their Introduction to OSHA booklet. See how well you do.
1. On OSHA’s Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, what else might be written in the space marked ‘Employee’s name’ instead of the actual name?
A.) ‘Privacy Case’ – in the event of a privacy concern case, where confidentiality is necessary.
B.) The employee’s job title.
C.) You must always put the employee’s first and last name, with no exceptions.
D.) None of the above.
2. Which of these is an item of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for which an employer must pay?
A.) Rubber boots with steel toes.
B.) Prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for full face respirators.
C.) A and B.
D.) Employers must pay for all PPE.
3. Stress is psychological, not physical, so it is not considered a common workplace health hazard. True or false?
4. Why is a confined space, such as a manhole, sewer or silo, considered a potential safety hazard?
A.) It may contain too little oxygen.
B.) It may contain too much oxygen, with potential for an explosion.
C.) It may contain a build-up of carbon monoxide.
D.) All of the above.
5. Work-related fatalities and catastrophes which have resulted in the hospitalization of three or more workers must be reported by employers to OSHA:
A.) Within one hour.
B.) Within eight hours.
C.) Within 48 hours.
D.) Within five working days.
6. A sedentary worker dies of a heart attack at his desk, but because it occurred in the workplace, the death must still be investigated by OSHA. True or false?
7. If an employer retaliates against an employee for engaging in whistleblower activity, the employee:
A.) Has no legal recourse.
B.) Can file a complaint with OSHA.
C.) Has one year to file a complaint.
D.) None of the above.
8. An employee has the right to refuse to do a task, if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe hazardous conditions or imminent danger exists. The employee can:
A.) Walk off the job immediately, with full OSHA protection.
B.) Use vacation time instead of doing the task.
C.) Ask the employer for other work.
D.) Remain on the worksite, even if ordered to leave by the employer.
9. If an employee files an OSHA complaint form, their write-up of the ‘Hazard Description/Location’ should:
A.) Describe the hazard clearly.
B.) Identify chemicals involved and include copies of labels or Material Safety Data Sheets, if possible.
C.) Include the approximate number of employees exposed to or threatened by each hazard.
D.) All of the above.
10. Components of a Material Safety Data Sheet usually include:
A.) Physical and chemical properties of the substance.
B.) The flavor of the chemical, for accurate identification.
C.) Sales phone number, so more of the substance can be purchased.
D.) All of the above.
11. The OSHA website includes such features as:
A.) The latest OSHA news.
B.) A graphic slideshow of OSHA highlights.
C.) Recent information on worker fatalities.
D.) All of the above.
12. When reading OSHA standards, you will note that they:
A.) Break down into parts, subparts and sections.
B.) Are presented in chapters and paragraphs, like a novel.
C.) Are copiously illustrated with photographs.
D.) Are written in a friendly, conversational style.
==============Click link below for answers

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OSHA Recordables – test your knowledge, part 3

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

We’ve recently been challenging ourselves with OSHA recordable quizzes posted by the smart folks at the Advanced Safety and Health News Blog. We found them interesting enough that over the next few weeks, we will pose the scenarios / questions and you can test your knowledge. Click the headlines to go to the respective blog post and learn the answers.
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #10: injured on smoke break
Scenario: An employee reports to work. A few hours later, the employee goes outside for a “smoke break.” The employee slips on the ice and injures his back.
Question: Since the employee was not performing a task related to the employee’s work, the company has deemed this incident non-work related and therefore not recordable – right or wrong?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #11: injury during seizure
Scenario: You have a 48 year old male employee who reports to work on Wednesday morning and two hours into his work shift he experiences some sort of seizure and falls to the floor. During this event when the employee falls he strikes his head on a work table and receives a laceration on his head that requires six stitches. Further investigation determines the employee has epilepsy and a history of epileptic seizures. The doctor verifies that what this employee experienced was indeed an epileptic seizure. So you determined the event was due to a preexisting non-work related medical condition.
Question: Since the employee struck his head while at work performing work, does the geographical presumption make this event an OSHA recordable?

Recordkeeping Quiz 12: company sponsored meal

Scenario: To celebrate a safety milestone of achieving one million hours worked without an injury, your employer provides a lunch complete with fried chicken, barbequed ribs, hamburgers, and all the trimmings. A few hours later many employees start to exhibit signs of food poisoning. Seventy two of your employees get food poisoning so bad that they must miss the next day of work. Further investigation reveals they received the food poisoning from the potato salad provided by the caterer your company hired for the event.
Question: Do all seventy two of these cases go on your OSHA 300 log as recordable with at least one day away from work (DART case)?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz 13: counting time away from work
Scenario: An employee sustained a work-related ankle injury (sprain) and received medical treatment. The employee immediately returned to work with restrictions. The employee’s doctor has requested that the employee return for periodic office visits so that he can observe the patient’s improvement. The employee’s doctor states that on the days the employee has an appointment, the employee is “unable to work that date.”
Question: Are the days used by the employee to visit the doctor for follow-up to be considered days away from work?

OSHA Recordables – test your knowledge, part 2

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

We’ve recently been challenging ourselves with OSHA recordable quizzes posted by the smart folks at the Advanced Safety and Health News Blog. We found them interesting enough that over the next few weeks, we will pose the scenarios / questions and you can test your knowledge. Click the headlines to go to the respective blog post and learn the answers.
Recordkeeping Quiz #6: counting days
Scenario: One of your employees injured his foot at work on a Thursday. Your physician said he could not work and scheduled a follow-up appointment on the following Tuesday. The physician would then determine if your employee could return to work or would need to be away longer. The employee was not scheduled to work on Saturday or Sunday, but was scheduled to be at work on Monday.
Question: Since your employee was not scheduled to work on the weekend, do you need to record this time as part of the days away from work?
Recordkeeping Quiz #7: are flu illnesses recordable?
Scenario: Your business is in the middle of flu season and many employees are calling in sick. Two of the employees are claiming that they have been diagnosed by their doctors with the H1N1 flu. They say they contracted the flu at work from a co-worker who was also diagnosed with the H1N1. The two employees want you to record their illnesses because they say they got the flu at work.
Question: Are you required to record these flu related illnesses?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #8: maximum recordable days
Scenario: One of your employees suffered a very serious broken leg due to an accident at work. She had surgery and is in rehabilitation. Her physician cannot give a definite date or even an estimate of when she will be able to return to work. She may be out of work for many months, but is expected to fully recover and be able to work in her job again.
Question: Is there a maximum number of days that should be recorded on the OSHA 300 Log for cases such as this one?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #9: posting the entire 300 Log
Scenario: You are the Safety Manager for your company and are responsible for completing the OSHA 300 Log. It is time for you to have your new Plant Manager sign the “Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses” Form 300-A so you can post it as required by the standard. You spent quite a bit of time explaining to him how the whole OSHA recordkeeping process works, and he demonstrated quite an interest in what you were doing and the types of injuries your plant was experiencing.
As you are leaving his office, he makes the following statement to you: “When it comes to safety, we have no secrets around here. I think it would be a great idea if you post the entire 300 Log along with the Summary so people see just exactly what type of injuries we are having.”
Question: How should you respond to his statement?

OSHA Recordables – test your knowledge

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

We’ve recently been challenging ourselves with OSHA recordable quizzes posted by the smart folks at the Advanced Safety and Health News Blog. We found them interesting enough that over the next week or so, we will pose the scenarios / questions and you can test your knowledge. Click the headlines to go to the respective blog post and learn the answers.
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #1: horseplay
Scenario: Two of your supervisors completed their work for the day and had entered the change trailer to change clothes and proceed home. There was some bantering back and forth concerning how to beat the traffic at shift’s end. The discussion escalated into a physical confrontation where one supervisor allegedly pulled a knife and struck the other in the right bicep, causing a laceration that required sutures to close.
Question: Is the injury the one employee received an OSHA recordable or not?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #2: go-cart racing
Scenario: An employee is injured while participating in go-cart racing, which occurred during an off-site company sponsored team-building event. Employees were required to attend the off-site meeting and lunch, but were then free to choose among the following options: (1) participating in the team-building event; (2) returning to the office to finish the work day; or (3) taking a ½-day vacation.
Questions: Is an injury incurred during the go-cart racing considered to be work-related? Is the answer any different if an employee elects to stay for the go-cart racing but is not required to participate and is injured while watching the racing?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #3: personal tasks
Scenario: An employee knits a sweater for her daughter during the lunch break. She lacerates her hand and needed sutures. She is engaged in a personal task.
Question: Are lunch breaks or other breaks considered “assigned working hours?” Is the case recordable?
Recordkeeping Quiz #4: injuries in company parking lots
Scenario 1: Employee A drives to work, parks her car in the company parking lot and is walking across the lot when she is struck by a car driven by employee B, who is commuting to work. Both employees are seriously injured in the accident.
Scenario 2: Employee C commutes from home to work and parks his personally-owned vehicles in the company controlled parking lot. The employee opened the driver side door and started to exit his car when he caught his right foot on the raised door threshold. The employee subsequently fell onto the parking lot surface and sustained a right knee cap injury that required medical treatment.
Question: Is either case work-related?
OSHA Recordkeeping Quiz #5: damage to dentures
Scenario: One of your employees was hit in the mouth by an object while he was performing his normal work duties. However, his dental bridge was damaged. He has not wanted any medical or dental treatment.
Question 1: Would damage to a denture in the presence of no other discernible injury be considered a recordable injury requiring entry on the OSHA 300 log even when medical treatment is not administered?
Question 2: In the context of repair to a denture, what type of activity would be considered medical treatment?
Question 3: Would simple repair to a denture meet the threshold for the definition of medical treatment?