Nobody wants to get hurt or sick at work. And UFV’s Environmental Health & Safety department and the Joint Occupational Health and Safety committee have a vested interest in keeping us safe.
To raise awareness about workplace injury and illness prevention, UFV is participating in North American Occupational Safety & Health (NAOSH) week.
The goal during the NAOSH week is to focus the attention of employers, employees, partners, and the public on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home, and in the community.
At UFV, we strive to:
- Increase understanding of the benefits of investment in occupational health and safety.
- Raise awareness of the role and contribution of safety and health professionals.
- Reduce workplace injuries and illness by encouraging new health and safety activities and interest in NAOSH Week.
Read about our final three (out of five) topics below, and take the online quiz for a chance to win a prize! See part one here.
Topic three: Dangers of heat stress
When your body’s cooling system can’t keep up with the heat, the body dehydrates and body temperature rises above 38°C. That’s when heat illnesses can occur. Heat illness has a range of increasingly serious symptoms, beginning with heat rash and muscle cramps, which are warning signs of the onset of more severe heat stress. If no action is taken, symptoms will worsen and the health effects will progress to more severe stages of heat illness that are life threatening, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
It is often difficult for someone with the onset of heat stress to realize the danger they are in. Therefore, it is extremely important that we all watch out for heat stress symptoms in each other and take action as necessary. Report any safety concerns to your supervisor.
The following heat illnesses are the stages of progression of heat stress.
Heat rash
- Skin becomes reddened and may itch, feel prickly or hurt.
- First aid: Fluid replacement and rest
Heat cramps
- Muscle cramping due to overheating of the body and dehydration
- Recommendations: Drink cool water. Rest in a cool environment.
Heat exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is when the body cannot keep blood flowing both to vital organs and to the skin for cooling. Signs are rapid heartbeat, heavy sweating, extreme weakness or fatigue, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, irritability, fast and shallow breathing, breathlessness, headache, difficulty continuing work and a slightly elevated body temperature.
Recommendations: Get medical aid and cool down (move to a shaded area, loosen clothing, drink cool water). Drink plenty of water or other cool beverages if able. Take a cool shower, bath, or sponge bath or use alcohol wipes. It takes time to cool the body down from heat exhaustion, and if it’s not treated promptly, it can lead to heat stroke.
Heat stroke
Heat stroke is a condition that occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature and can lead to death or permanent disability. Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Your body has used up all its water and salt and cannot cool itself. Your body temperature rises to dangerous levels.
Symptoms are confusion and irrational behaviour, convulsions or loss of coordination, unconsciousness, no sweating — hot, dry skin, high body temperature — 40°C or more, throbbing headache.
Recommendations: Request immediate emergency medical assistance. Take aggressive steps to cool the worker down. Move the worker to a cool, shaded area. Remove excess clothing and apply cool water or alcohol wipes to the body. Immerse in cool water if able. Encourage worker to drink fluids if able.
How can we protect ourselves?
Here’s how to avoid heat stress. Seven simple steps:
- Know the signs and symptoms of heat stress
- Watch out for symptoms in yourself and others
- Wear sunscreen, a hat, and lightweight, loose-fitting clothing
- Drink water often — avoid drinks with caffeine
- Take breaks in the shade and more often on hot days
- Know how your workplace deals with heat stress
- Report any safety concerns to your supervisor.
Click here to complete the quiz and to be entered into a draw for a chance to win prizes.
Topic four: Near misses
Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHA) defines a near miss as incidents “in which a worker might have been hurt if the circumstances had been slightly different.” They are a precursor to accidents and are opportunities to identify hazards and unsafe conditions.
Types of near misses:
- Unsafe condition
- Circumstances, environment, or state of equipment which could lead to an accident occurring.
- Unsafe act
- Behaviour that can potentially lead to damage of property, personal injury, or death. It’s often related to ignoring procedures and is signaling the need for new rules.
Near miss vs accident
The main difference between a near miss or close call and an actual accident is harm or injury.
Near-misses are unplanned events which could have resulted in injury or property damage but didn’t. An accident is an incident that results in bodily injury or property damage of any severity.
It is interesting to note that OSHA highlights the fact that both near misses and accidents are unplanned. The key here is that the circumstances leading to the event — whether unsafe environment or unsafe practices — had thus far gone unnoticed.
Why is it important to report near misses?
It goes without saying that reporting near-misses is a critical tool to create solutions, prevent accidents and injuries in the future and improve your safety culture overall.
Responsibilities:
Employees:
- Immediately report all near misses to your supervisor/manager and submit a near miss report through our TDx reporting system
- Assist your supervisor/manager and EHS with the near miss investigation
Department Manager/Supervisor:
- Take appropriate corrective action to prevent a recurrence
- Document the actions taken at the time, the investigation and any corrective actions either taken or required · Ensure the near miss incident has been reported to EHS through our TDx reporting system
- Assist EHS and the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee (JOHSC) with the near miss investigation. Click here to complete the daily quiz and to be entered into a draw for a chance to win prizes.
Incident Reporting. Check out the information below and remember to check the EHS webpage for more information.
UFV is committed to providing a safe work environment for all employees and endeavours to reduce workplace risks that may lead to accidents and personal injury. If a work-related incident or injury does occur, it is important to know how to respond:
Employee responsibilities:
- For medical emergencies, call 911
- Report all work-related injuries/ diseases to your supervisor and the first aid attendant (if on campus) as soon as possible, no matter how minor it may initially appear to be. This will not only ensure that injuries are treated promptly but it will also ensure that injuries are documented
- Advise your supervisor, EHS, and UFV’s Advisor, Health & Disability Management if you visit a physician (clinic, hospital emergency, etc.) regarding a work-related injury/disease, or, if the work-related injury/ disease results in time loss from work or medical limitations. Please note that if this is the case, you’ll need to complete a WCB Form 6 – Application for Compensation and Report of Injury or Occupational Disease and submit directly to WorkSafeBC. You may also be referred to the Early Intervention Support Program (EISP).
- Assist your supervisor/manager with the accident/incident investigation.
Department Manager/Supervisor Responsibilities:
- Ensure appropriate first aid/ medical aid is received, if necessary
- Take appropriate corrective action to prevent a recurrence
- Document the actions taken at the time, the investigation and any corrective actions either taken or required
- Ensure the incident has been reported to EHS through our TDx reporting system
- Assist EHS and the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee (JOHSC) with the incident investigation.
We hope you have enjoyed this NAOSH Week series. If you would like more information about this week’s topics or any other health and safety issues, contact the EHS department at ehs@ufv.ca or visit our web page. Many thanks to members of UFV’s Joint Health and Safety Committees who work hard throughout the year to help make UFV a safer place!
Click here to complete the quiz and to be entered into a draw for a chance to win prizes.
Topic five: Incident reporting
UFV is committed to providing a safe work environment for all employees and endeavors to reduce workplace risks that may lead to accidents and personal injury. If a work-related incident or injury does occur, it is important to know how to respond:
Employee Responsibilities:
- For medical emergencies, call 911
- Report all work-related injuries/ diseases to your Supervisor and the first aid attendant (if on campus) as soon as possible, no matter how minor it may initially appear to be. This will not only ensure that injuries are treated promptly but it will also ensure that injuries are documented
- Advise your supervisor, EHS, and UFV’s Advisor, Health & Disability Management if you visit a physician (clinic, hospital emergency, etc.) regarding a work-related injury/disease, or, if the work-related injury/ disease results in time loss from work or medical limitations. Please note that if this is the case you’ll need to complete a WCB Form 6 — Application for Compensation and Report of Injury or Occupational Disease and submit directly to WorkSafeBC. You may also be referred to the Early Intervention Support Program (EISP).
- Assist your supervisor/manager with the accident/incident investigation.
Department manager/supervisor responsibilities:
- Ensure appropriate first aid/ medical aid is received, if necessary
- Take appropriate corrective action to prevent a recurrence
- Document the actions taken at the time, the investigation and any corrective actions either taken or required · Ensure the incident has been reported to EHS through our TDx reporting system
- Assist EHS and the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee (JOHSC) with the incident investigation.
We hope you have enjoyed this NAOSH week series. If you would like more information about this week’s topics or any other health and safety issues, contact the EHS department at ehs@ufv.ca or visit our web page. Many thanks to members of UFV’s Joint Health and Safety Committees, who work hard throughout the year and help make UFV a safer place! Click here to complete the quiz and to be entered into a draw for a chance to win prizes.