Safety initiatives to deploy during National Safety Month

Photo courtesy of the National Safety Council

National Safety Month is held each year in June to communicate and encourage awareness of the importance of safety and promote an ongoing safety culture within organizations. Organized by the National Safety Council (NSC), the occasion focuses on reducing the leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities. The NSC provides a host of materials to members and nonmembers about the following four safety topics for National Safety Month 2019

Week one – hazard recognition: The NSC’s printed resource covers learning to identify hazards, pinpointing unseen or forgotten hazards and distinguishing hazards not only in the workplace but also at home. Though you might not view your workplace as particularly hazardous, dangers are often there. Employers and employees can become complacent and overlook basic hazards in the workplace.

Photo courtesy of the National Safety Council

Week two – slips, trips and falls: Although slips, trips and falls may seem minor, they are some of the most common hazards we face and can result in serious injuries. The NSC materials provide several tips on how to avoid common workforce conditions that lead to slip, trip and fall injuries.

Week three – fatigue: In this resource, the NSC concentrates on sleep awareness. As our lives get busier, our sleep often suffers, and we can quickly become fatigued. Fatigue, in turn, can have serious impacts on our health and safety. This resource provides some techniques to reduce fatigue and fatigue-related accidents and injuries.

Photo courtesy of the National Safety Council

Week four – impairment: In every industry, employees need to be healthy and focused to stay safe at work. Impairment is becoming a major roadblock to workplace safety, and the effects are more common than you think. The NSC material provides some insight on the risks associated with impairment, including issues related to cannabis usage. As marijuana is legalized and becomes more commonplace for recreational and medical use across the United States, new safety concerns are arising in the workplace.

Photo courtesy of the National Safety Council

National Safety Month is a great opportunity to discover the training materials available to marketers through the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). PERC has many resources available to assist propane marketers in obtaining training on several of this year’s safety topics. One of those resources is a program called “Propane Personal Safety: Techniques for Injury Prevention in the Propane Industry.”

The Propane Personal Safety program introduces techniques for personal-injury prevention in the propane industry and is a comprehensive training program for all employees in your organization. The program demonstrates why injury prevention is important and outlines best practices propane marketers can use to teach and encourage safe work performance.

Photo courtesy of the National Safety Council

A program video illustrates methods to safely perform various job tasks and includes interviews from managers, owners and technicians. The program also provides a training manual that enforces the lessons provided in the video, as well as an instructor PowerPoint, quizzes, a field evaluation tool and employee-coaching documents.

This multi-media program provides employers with the tools and techniques needed to make their workplaces safe, including:

• Tools to assess personal risks in daily routines
• Entering and exiting of trucks and vehicles
• Techniques to reduce injury through proper body mechanics
• Preventing slips, trips and falls
• Handling cylinders
• Forklift cylinder delivery
• Cage deliveries
• Bulk propane delivery

Find more information by visiting PERC’s website, propane.com, and the NSC website, nsc.org. I hope you find these resources useful in observing National Safety Month and as an aid for safety and training concepts for use in everything you do.

Randy Warner is the product manager for North America at Cavagna North America Inc.

NOTE: The opinions and viewpoints expressed herein are solely the author’s and should in no way be interpreted as those of LP Gas magazine or any of its staff members.