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Nearly 100 workers die each year in Washington State from workplace accidents. More than 120,000
are injured.
Don't turn your back on the facts.
Workplace Fact Sheets: Seven Common Injuries
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Wear proper work safety gear: Fall-Protection Harnesses Protect Yourself Whenever fall protection is needed, make sure you have the right fall-protection
system, know how it works, get trained to use it – and use it. Where eliminating the hazard, guardrails, or safety
nets won’t work, you need personal protective equipment (PPE) – fall-restraint systems, personal fall-arrest systems,
or work positioning systems (on rebar). Restraint systems keep you from falling. Fall-arrest systems stop falls. You will need a full-body harness if
you use one of these systems. A full-body harness has straps worn around your trunk and thighs, with one or more D-rings
in back to attach the harness to other parts of the system. If you fall, a properly fitted harness spreads the stopping force
over your thighs, pelvis, chest, and shoulders. Choosing
a Harness • Learn about the types of
fall hazards on your job. • Choose the right type of fall protection for each
type of fall hazard. • You can use a harness
with an anchorage, a lanyard, a retractable lifeline, a vertical lifeline, a travel rail, a horizontal lifeline, a fall arrester,
and/or a shock absorber. A fall-arrest system should let you fall no more than 6 feet. A work-positioning device should let
you fall 2 feet or less.
• A registered professional engineer should design a fall protection system. A qualified
person must supervise the setting up.• Never use a body belt, seatonly harness,
or chest-only harness for fall protection. Use a full-body harness instead.
Information provided by The Center to Protect Workers'
Rights
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Safety by DesignResourceful links available on
www.safejob.org to assist you in creating a safer workplace environment.
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Success Story: The Tenaska Co-Generation (Electric and Steam) Plant in Ferndale,
Washington, has gone 14 years without one time-loss injury. It receives the prestigeous VPP "Star" award for
safety from OSHA and the Department of Labor and Industries.
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 Where can health and safety
prevention efforts be most effective in reducing severe costly workplace injuries and illnesses?
The Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program examined Washington State workers'
compensation data to identify the industries at the highest risk for severe and costly workplace injuries and illnesses.
The data discovered help prioritize where to invest prevention resources for the greatest benefit.
SHARP reviewed
data for over 810,000 claims filed from 1998-2002 in the Washington State workers' compensation system. The direct
costs of the claims exceeded $3.9 billion, just 21 percent were "compensable." Yet those 21 percent compensable
claims accounted for 89 percent of the costs and nearly 98 percent of the time-loss days from work.
"Compensable"
generally means the worker received benefits beyond payment of medical bills. These may include partial wage-replacement
benefits for being off work for four or more days, disability payments, loss of earning potential, the worker being kept on
salary or the claimant's death.
To learn more or to obtain a copy of a full statistical report, please
contact SHARP Program.
Information obtained from Technical Report Number 64-1-2005,
Prioritizing Industries for Occupational Injury and Illness Prevention, Washington State Workers' Compensation Claims
Data, 1998-2002.
 Don't try this stunt at work.
CLICK HERE to begin a free online Ladder Safety Course
Falls from ladders are one of the leading causes of injuries in the construction trade. This online presentation
provides some safety practices for ladder use based on DOSH ladder safety rules (WAC 296-876).
Simple safety measures
can extend your life. On June 5, 2007 a contract roofer fell to his death due to improper
use of a ladder at a job site. The 20-year-old victim was climbing down a roof upon completing
a task where the extended ladder collapsed. The ladder rungs were not fully engaged and the roofer was holding
a drill case in one hand as he was descending the ladder. State
Wide Statistics: This was the 33rd out of 80 work-related fatalities in Washington State during 2007,
and was the 7th out of 16 construction-related fatalities. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries codes require safety measures to
help prevent ladder injuries. - Employers are responsible for training
employees to recognize portable ladder fall hazards and how to minimize or eliminate these hazards.
- Position ladders so that side rails extend at least 3 feet above the landing.
- Secure ladders at top and bottom to prevent slipping.
- Have both hands
free to hold on to ladder.
- Use a hoist or other means than hand carry to bring
materials and tools up to or down from a roof.
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Get a grip on workplace
injuries
One injury is too many & all
injuries should be addressed.
CLICK HERE for information on workers' compensation in Washington State
Humor & unsafe
ladders should not be tied together. Don't climb your way to the top by taking improper shortcuts!
You risk falling if portable ladders are not safely positioned each time they
are used. While you are on a ladder, it may move and slip from its supports. You can also lose your balance while getting
on or off an unsteady ladder. Falls from ladders can cause injuries ranging from sprains to death.
Steps to safety: Position portable ladders so the side rails extend at least three
feet above the landing. Secure side rails at the top to a rigid support and use a grab device when three foot
extension is not possible. Make sure that the weight on the ladder will not cause it to slip off its support. Before
each use inspect ladders for cracked or broken parts such as rungs, steps, side rails, feet and locking components. Do
not apply more weight on the ladder than it is designed to support.
CLICK HERE for NIOSH report on worker deaths by falls
Always have
a 3-point contact on a ladder (such as, one hand and two feet).
Proper Training
is required at any age
CLICK HERE to receive portable ladder safety hazard alert
The link above is provided by The Center to Protect
Workers' Rights
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We may also include a link to download our position papers on this page.
Labor Neighbor Radio, 4000 Aurora
Ave #102, Seattle, WA 98103
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