It's time to talk about respiratory protection

When it comes to your health, have you ever thought, "I wish someone would've warned me about this a long time ago?" Don't let this happen to your employees. 

Most respiratory protection isn't mandated, and employees may not know enough to protect themselves.  It's the responsibility of a business to educate their employees, so they can take responsibility for their health and make informed decisions that will protect their health now and in the future. If you as an employer fail to educate in the first place, employees will pay a health price long term.

That’s why the topic of non-mandated respiratory protection is so important. In particular, the voluntary use of a disposable particulate dusk mask, also referred to as filtering face piece, mechanical filter or particulate respirator.   

As a safety director, manager, or business owner, do you often feel that it's you against the employees  when it comes to safety? Do you want your employees to feel ownership and responsibility for not just their safety, but for everyone else's? 

This is where the DuPont Bradley Curve is helpful. It's a tool to help businesses shift their employees from following safety protocol because it's what is required, to a place where everyone from the top down is actively participating in the safety culture of the organization. Obviously, anytime someone is practicing safety is a positive, but it's even better if people are following protocol because they have a genuine desire to keep themselves and their coworkers safe. 

Nationwide, a U.S. farm insurer tallied up three years of agribusiness claims and released their top 10 commercial agribusiness claims in 2017.  The top 10 list accounted for 50,000+ claims. Leading the list was motor vehicle accidents!  Motor vehicles accidents accounted for more than 20,000 claims.  The most frequent accidents were rear end accidents, backing into vehicles and accidental strike of stationary object. 

Farmers and their equipment share the road with the motoring public. Both have visions on how the road best serves them.  This blog addresses areas a farm manager can control for safe traveling this fall.

What do these infamous calamities have in common: the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and The Challenger Explosion? Each of them happened when the crews had been at work for hours and were sleep deprived and fatigued, leading to the mistakes that caused them. These events serve as tragic reminders that sleep is an essential part of staying safe at work. 

Every year, falls from grain bins, silos, and grain dryers cause serious injuries and even fatalities. While less frequent than other kinds of falls in agriculture, the consequences of grain bin falls are usually more severe. Here are important things to be aware of when implementing grain bin safety. 

Do you dread the dust from harvest? Do you end up feeling stuffed up, with a runny nose, a cough, and generally crappy? 

As we prepare for harvest time, it's important to keep combine fire prevention as one of our priorities. Do you know the basics of fire, the different types of fire extinguishers, and best practices? Let's review.

Manure pits are changeable and unpredictable. This is the time of year that we need to be assessing the dangers of working in manure pits and brush up on our knowledge of hazardous gases. During late summer and fall there is increased risk as producers are emptying pits, so it's very important that everyone who works in or around manure storage (tanks, pits, and lagoons) understands how to identify hazardous gases and the proper procedures for working in them. 

There is a lot riding on the correct grade of hitch pin that links the implement to the tractor or truck. In fact, the hitch pin is a critical component in keeping control of implements we pull. More often than not a hitch pin is selected based on its diameter and length. Rarely is strength the top consideration. 

According to Fred Whitford, Purdue University, the bent hitch pins pictured below indicates that somebody got lucky!  A bent pin is a sign you needed something stronger, so pitch them before they get used during harvest because they're handy.  Better yet....pitch them so they never get used again. It may be just fine in the field, however, you open yourself up to much more risk when you take equipment on roadways.  

The main goal of a safety and health program is to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities, as well as the suffering and financial hardships these events can cause workers, their families and your operation.  I believe we can all agree with that as the ideal. 

From the feedback we received from recent surveys, HR directors and safety managers are looking for more information on job hazard analysis and hazard identification.  I’m going to embark on a 4-part series addressing hazards to help further your understanding.  By reading this blog, you'll:

1.  have better insights into different aspects of hazard analysis 
2.  understand the role that hazard analysis play in a solid safety and health program.