hygiene

Where’s The Soap?

Quin Bond, CEAS IIILeave a comment

Some of the OSHA daily tips seem like they shouldn’t need to be said – much like today’s tip. But, we’ve all gone into a bathroom in a workplace – either as an employee or as a customer – that didn’t have hand soap or paper towels. During the pandemic, I can think of many different places that had hand sanitizer set up in key locations only to be left without having been refilled.

While hygiene supplies – whether it is soap, paper towels, or hand sanitizer – have a cost, that cost is significantly less than the cost of having one or more employees call out sick.

Even though we have been watching graphs of positive COVID cases go up and down over the last year, physicians have seen illnesses such as the flu and the common cold decrease over the same time. Public health officials attribute this to people washing their hands regularly, watching their distance, and covering their sneezes and coughs.

Don’t Forget Hand Sanitizer May Be Flammable

Quin Bond, CEAS IIILeave a comment

Last week, the Mechanical Contractors Association of America put out a reminder that hand sanitizers that contain alcohol are flammable.

Current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control suggests that individuals in clinical settings should be using hand sanitizer (an alcohol based hand rub with greater than 60% ethanol or greater than 70% isopropyl alcohol) due to greater compliance over soap and water.  If hands are visibly soiled or if an alcohol based hand rub are not available, hands should be washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

When using an alcohol based hand rub, you need to make sure that your hands are dry and all of the alcohol has evaporated off before touching anything.  The MCAA put out the reminder that hand sanitizers with alcohol are flammable due to an incident where an employee used hand sanitizer per guidelines to sanitize his hands.  However, the alcohol had not evaporated off of his hands when he touched a metal surface.  The remaining alcohol in the hand sanitizer on his hands was ignited by static electricity.  The employee was able to get to a sink and extinguish the flames however he suffered first and second degree burns on his hands.

When using hand sanitizer please be aware of any risks of flames or sparks and make sure that you allow your hands to fully dry before touching anything that can generate a spark or a static discharge.

20-038-Hand-Sanitizer-Hazard

20-038-Hand-Sanitizer-Hazard

Friday Five

Quin Bond, CEAS IIILeave a comment

The Friday Five is a set of five links that I have come across this week that pertain to ergonomics, occupational health, safety, human performance, or human factors.  For whatever reason, I found them interesting, but they are provided without commentary and are not meant to be endorsement for a give product.

Ergonomic recycling containers – the lids are open to all sides allowing for easier access to deposit recyclables

American Airlines flight staff seem to be having health issues since their new uniforms were put into service.

Ergonomic mice and keyboards aren’t only for data entry – it can be the difference between winning and losing for gamers.

There are a lot of options for ergonomic keyboards.  This site reviews 10 of them.

While there have been reductions in sprains, strains, and other MSDs in many occupations, construction workers still have high rates of MSDs.