Review and Approve JSAs . . . electronically

Did you know that JSABuilder facilitates electronic review and approval of your JSAs for multi-user accounts? We slipped this feature in over the past couple months, and have just recently updated it! If you have a single user account, or simply do not wish to use this feature, don’t do anything – it will remain in the default “off” setting. However, if you are an account administrator on a multi-user account (2+ users) and you would like to turn it on, here is how!

1) In your “Admin” tab, select “Organizational Settings” from the blue menu bar on the left.

2) Scroll down to the bottom where “Approval Process” is listed. Simply select “yes” if you would like to turn this feature on. (NOTE – it may take several minutes for your account to switch over.)

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Using JSA to Assess Changing Conditions

Most of us recognize and understand the importance of analyzing a task for hazards before performing it. Off the job we do this as we make decisions while doing everyday things like driving – whether or not to merge or make a turn, how much following distance to leave, how fast to travel; cooking – do we need oven mitts or towels to handle a hot pan or baking dish, moving stovetop pan handles out of the way, handling and storing sharp knives in a particular manner; and a whole host of other activities. Sometimes our risk analysis takes a few seconds. Sometimes, as at work, it takes more, as we think through everything that could possibly happen and devise controls to eliminate or minimize those hazards. However, how many of us remember to stop and reanalyze a job, task or activity when conditions change?

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Undistracted

While a few states have passed hands-free and no-texting laws for drivers, and several apps are now available for smartphones to prevent drivers from using phones while driving, it is important to remember that cell phones are not the only distractions facing drivers. How often are you taking one or both hands off the steering wheel? How often are you taking your eyes off the road? In just two seconds, at 60 mph a driver turning his or her eyes away from the road will travel 176 feet. Do you leave a minimum 2 second following distance from the car in front of you? What about 3 or 4 seconds?

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Health and Safety Training – OSHA Outreach Training Program

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Health and Outreach Training Program is a voluntary program intended to “promote workplace safety and health and to make workers more knowledgeable about workplace hazards and their rights.” Although the health and safety training offered through the Outreach Training Program does not fulfill the training requirements found in specific OSHA standards, it does provide training on the recognition, avoidance, abatement and prevention of workplace hazards.

Initiated in 1971, the Outreach Training Program has grown to the point that more than 3.5 million workers were trained in job hazard recognition and avoidance through the program during the period 2005 to 2010, according to OSHA.

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Summer Critters

It’s summer time now – and snakes, spiders, ticks and other creatures are out and about! If your work – or play – takes you outside, here are a few tips to keep in mind while you keep safe:

• Apply DEET to exposed skin and permethrin to clothing to repel (and sometimes kill) ticks and other blood suckers.

• Tape pant cuffs to ankles and shirt sleeves to wrists in tall grasses or high population tick areas. Perform frequent clothing & body checks for ticks.

• Avoid placing hands, fingers and toes into cracks and crevices – these are great hiding places for spiders, including black widows.

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Safety – makes sense, and cents

Last quarter we discussed the top causes for 2009 lost time injuries and what this means from a health and safety perspective. However, what does this mean from a business and financial point of view? We would likely all agree the best answer is to prevent these injuries and fatalities from occurring in the first place. It not only makes good humanitarian sense to protect your workers; it also makes good business sense.
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Customize & Organize

Did you know you can customize your JSA or AHA form to fit your company? Beyond adding hazards and controls or altering probability and severity, here are a few other things account administrators can do:

• Change JSABuilder terms/nomenclature to match your own (for example, instead of “department/division/section” call it “branch” or “office”). Changes will show up on your printed JSA (but not in the actual JSABuilder program). There are 11 field names you can change – see your Admin page: Organizational Settings: JSA Naming Convention.

• Select your company’s default print style as “portrait” or “landscape,” and whether or not to “display” your logo. Admin page: Organizational Settings: Default JSA layout.

• Create a complimentary JSABuilder login page for your company, complete with your logo, your safety message and your own URL. Admin page: Organizational Settings: Organization Home Page.

• Provide a drop-down list of departments for your company, from which your users can select during JSA creation. Admin page: Departments.

• Display your name and contact information in the “help” tab for your users.

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