Changes to CDL Drivers' Med Cards

For employers with CDL drivers, things just got shaken up a little with changes to medical card filing requirements. In short, med cards have gone fully online, and while paper copies may be used by drivers as a backup documentation, everything will now be confirmed online. Let's break down the new process in terms of how it affects both employers and drivers.

Employers

So far employers have kept a current copy of drivers' med cards in their driver files. With this new change, this is no longer a requirement, but it also makes it so employers need to keep an extra close eye on annual driver motor vehicle records (MVR's), which will list the CDL expiration date on the document. While this is nothing new and has always been a requirement, make absolutely sure to request those records annually as this will now be the only way to verify drivers' CDL expiration dates.

With this change employers are also released from checking that the medical examiner is on the national registry for CDL medical examiners.

Drivers

Your med card doctor is no longer required to give you a paper copy of your medical card record, as they submit this information directly to the state. However, it's recommended that drivers still ask for this paper copy for their own records and to have a record of their expiration date.

While this is a pretty small change in the grand scheme of things, it's still one of those things to keep on top of. If you have any other questions about DOT compliance, feel free to reach out to TT&S for help. 

Don't Block the Box: Stopping at an Intersection

 

It's construction season, and tempers can flare high when it takes longer to get where you need to go. We've reinforced that it's important to respect work zone employees (always give the green and orange some space!), slow down when there's a lot of work going on around you, and to refrain from distractions inside your vehicle.

Here's a phrase that might not be as familiar, even though every driver has almost certainly been affected by it: Don't Block the Box.

This is talking about when you have a green light but traffic is moving slower than molasses. It's our instinct to keep close behind the car in front of you, but in an intersection that could spell trouble if the lights start to change. If you don't have clearance to make it through an intersection, remember:

Don't block the box. Stay behind the intersection until you have clearance to make it through. 

Here's a video that goes over this in more detail. 

This is something to always keep in mind, but it can become more common when construction limits traffic down to one lane. Ignoring this rule impedes traffic moving the other way, and could spell real trouble if emergency vehicles need to make it through.

 

 

Summer Storms & Fourth of July Safety

North Dakota has had our fair share of scary storms already this year. Tornado sirens have been an eerie refrain for some communities. We always hope no one needs these reminders, but it bears repeating: 

 - A tornado WARNING is a level of severity higher than a tornado WATCH. Warning means there's been rotation spotted in your area. If there's a tornado watch, you should plan to be near shelter for the remainder of the watch period, altering plans if needed to stay near shelter. If there's a tornado warning, take shelter immediately. 

- Shelter means the lowest level of the building, preferably an inner room without windows if at all possible.

- Before storm season begins, it's not a terrible idea to go over your emergency plan with family members and make sure you have essentials stocked, including a few days' worth of water, food, and any needed medications. If you have an alternate energy source, such as a generator or portable power station, make sure it's functioning and any fuel needed is available.

Storm are out of our control and important to prepare for, but there are other more manmade hazards that early July brings -- fireworks season. Here are some tips to enjoy responsibly:

- Respect any fireworks bans, either due to fire restrictions or, if applicable, within city limits. Fire stations must make these determinations based on their available resources and other outside factors not always obvious to the general public. Make the responsible decision to respect their expertise.

-  Fireworks season is not the time to shirk on PPE. If you're the family pyrotechnic for the night, really consider safety glasses and gloves at the very least. If you're got FR clothes from work or can borrow some, you might really appreciate it if something goes wrong.

- Make sure to light fireworks a respectable distance away from buildings, trees, or other structures, and do not light up in tall grass.

 - Did you know sparklers can reach temperatures of 2000 degrees? They also account for almost a third of all injuries to children under five. Be careful and consider other fun alternatives for the little ones.

- Don't try to relight malfunctioning fireworks and do not hold lit fireworks (such as Roman candles). 

Hopefully with these tips everyone can enjoy a fun and safe Fourth of July! 

How to Host a Great Toolbox Talk

 
The toolbox talk. You'll find a lot of funny YouTube videos mocking the concept, but they are still a great opportunity to get a safety message across if done right. 

Toolbox talks are typically 5 - 10 minute safety talks. They supplement routine scheduled safety training. Many times they are not led by a safety manager, but by a frontline supervisor or operations staff to really drive home the point that management is on board with safety. It's a great opportunity to give a different perspective on safety to employees.

Let's talk about common toolbox talk pitfalls and how to make things more engaging.

 When to hold them?

There's certainly no hard-and-fast rule. In a field context, holding them before the morning shift begins can start the day off on the right foot. Based on the hazards, you can determine the frequency you want to hold them. Maybe once a week is a good start and gauge effectiveness from there. There is something to be said about creating a routine and sticking to it, once the best frequency is found.

What to talk about?

Pick the hazards that are most relevant to your employees. Consider separating employees into different groups based on their hazards, or inviting different groups together if the hazards discussed are more general. No need to hammer on the same topics either. Toolbox talks shouldn't be taking the place of more formal training throughout the year. They're a great opportunity for reminders about hazards and to make an impact on employees through a case study or personal story.

What about content?

A lot of the time, you might not have access to projector and classroom environment for a toolbox talk. That's OK! Having everyone out in the field in the spot where most of the hazards are anyway can spark its own kind of discussion.

If you've got a story from someone within the company and they're all right with you sharing (be sure to ask permission first!), that can be especially impactful. Otherwise, simple hands-on demonstrations are another great strategy. Doing a quick watermelon tool drop (example here) is a great visual to promote helmet use, for example. Think out of the box.

If you've got the kind of group that might go for this, consider having different employees lead toolbox talks. They can pick the topic themselves, which means they may pick something they have a lot of expertise about or have personal experience with. Supporting employees who do this by helping them find resources or stepping in to talk during a slower moment during the toolbox talk is usually appreciated as well.

Toolbox talks can have a great return on investment. They do not take much time to hold or effort to prepare, but they are in the employees' normal work environment and can serve as a great reminder in the moment about hazards they face every day. If you haven't incorporated toolbox talks into your safety program, consider taking the step. And be sure to ask TT&S for any help if needed. 

Air Quality Revisited

 

I'm sure we here in North Dakota have all noticed the deteriorating air quality over the past week. It's a great time to revisit the basics on air quality with our original post. Please remember to take steps to protect yourselves and other employees by keeping tabs on air quality and adhering to the recommendations provided by the AirNow.gov site.

This site is an incredible resource, with data pulled from various agencies, including NASA, CDC, THE NOAA, and the National Park Service. Take advantage of these resources and keep yourselves informed and safe!

Air Monitors 101

If your work involves entering confined spaces, you hopefully already know a thing or two about air monitors. Here's a great resource from EHS Today that goes over common troubleshooting procedures for air monitors. We recommend also taking the time to look through the owner's manual so you understand the basics of their operation. 

If your job has issued you an air monitor, that means it's absolutely essential to confirm it is operational and working properly before entering a confined space. If you're having issues with your air monitors, also feel free to contact TT&S for assistance. We're here to help!

Don't wait

It's a sad story, made worse by how often it happens.

A company doesn't have a safety system in place. They haven't done much to figure out what the risks are in their company and they don't have a robust training program. But they've been fine, probably for years. No one's been seriously injured or worse.

And then something does happen. There's a severe injury or fatality. Everyone scrambles to finally take this safety stuff seriously.

But it's too late.

We've been preaching on the value of creating a safety system in your company that is sustainable, can adapt to change, and that promotes transparency within all levels of your organization.

But maybe that message is too fast, too soon -- especially for newer businesses or smaller organizations. It can be tough to carve out the resources for safety when you're small or just beginning. And if you've been following our messaging, maybe it's too sudden a change and feels overwhelming.

Here's a word to the wise, though: Don't wait.

It might seem like the task is too big and you've got other issues that feel more immediate on your plate.

But don't wait.

If you haven't had a chance to sit down for risk assessment, lurking in your day-to-day operations are risks of all kinds -- some minor, but some probably much less so.

While you might go long periods of time without an incident -- years, even -- that doesn't mean you're necessarily doing things well or have captured your risk profile. It might just mean those risks have remained undiscovered or uncontrolled. And if they're major, it's only a statistical matter of time before something goes terribly wrong.

Consider these few simple, low-cost steps if you are at the very beginning stages of creating your safety program.

1.  Ask employees what the risks are. Ask them: What is the next incident going to be? They will probably know. Find ways for them to respond in a non-pressured way. Have a suggestion box. Or a great idea from another safety manager: have employees write down their prediction of the next incident on a post-it note and stick it on their supervisor's or HR manager's door. That takes the pressure off of talking during a meeting, or of having their name attached to a specific hazard.

2. If you don't get much response on this, (and you might not), don't give up! Take some baby steps to create engagement with employees. Find strategies to get to know them and build up that trust. Your frontline employees are your greatest resource on what the hazards are and where things can go terribly wrong.

3. Unless there's an immediate severe hazard, before you jump into a solution (new PPE, new policy, new anything), discuss with stakeholders, including frontline employees and their supervisor(s). Roll out solutions on a trial basis. Do field tests with a couple different solutions.

4. If a control you've put in place doesn't quite fit the bill as promised, don't give up. Consider creative solutions: Can you combine controls? Tweak your current set up? Have you considered refining your processes? So many times safety is conceptualized as the enemy of productivity, but time after time, we see that it can actually enhance productivity and streamline processes with a little creative problem solving.

Taking those first baby steps to a safety program does not require masters-level education on safety compliance. It doesn't mean you should stop there, either. But don't become paralyzed with options and information about safety regulations. Act now! Don't wait.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Remember that distracted driving is probably the most dangerous activity you can do on a daily basis. It only takes a split-second for something to go wrong, and for tragedy to strike.

"The National Safety Council analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data finds that more than 3,000 people died in distraction-affected crashes in 2020; that is an average of nearly nine people dying in a distracted driving-related crash every single day on American roads."

Nine people losing their lives every due to a completely preventable behavior is unacceptable.

 Consider taking the Just Drive pledge from the National Safety Council here.

Safety Wearables: Height of Safety or Hype?

This one isn't real, folks -- but someday it might be!

You may or may not be aware of one of the newer trends in safety: The rise of wearables. From monitoring-based devices that can tell you when an employee is at risk of suffering from heat illness, to exoskeletons that can support employees with lifting activities, applications of wearables are across the spectrum of risks. But they haven't been out there long yet, so you may have questions. Here's some general insight before you allocate budget to one of these devices.

1. Make the punishment fit the crime

Alright, that's a little bit clickbaity, but here's what I mean: There's lots of shiny new devices on the market, so make sure you've done the risk analysis to see if the wearable is really the best solution out there for the risk you're trying to control or limit. Many times, simpler is better. Also, find what research there is for the wearable you're considering. Does the research bear out that it does what it says it will do and is an effective control? This could go both ways: There's probably wearables out there that are a godsend for their specific use case, and others out there whose creators jumped on the wearable bandwagon to make a less-than-stellar product. Make sure you know which one you're working with.

2.  Don't put the cart before the horse

While you might think a wearable might be the greatest invention since sliced bread, make sure to put it into the ecosystem of your risk management profile. What I mean by that is: Do you have a risk management heat map that you've put together? 

For the risk you're trying to control for, is that risk a high priority to mitigate, or is it farther down the list? Don't be tempted to skip down to lower levels of risk priority to accommodate a fancy new wearable.

3. Make sure you have the resources to support the wearable's introduction

When you introduce a new piece of equipment for use in an organization, almost always you'll need to implement a 'program' to support the new device. If your new wearable is electronic, have you considered who will be charging it as needed or updating software? Who will be in charge of troubleshooting the device if something goes wrong? There's lots of things to consider, so make sure you have the resources needed to support the program's success in an ongoing way.

4. Do you have a phased-in plan for introduction?

In my experience, introducing new devices to an organization is usually much more successful if you have a planned introduction process. The first steps usually include researching different options and getting feedback from relevant team members on which options of a few they would be willing to try. Field testing a couple of alternatives is usually really helpful. And then once the best wearable is decided on, ordering a limited supply and having a longer-term pilot test (maybe over a few months) is the best way forward. The key here is continued feedback from the employees who will be using the device. If buy-in is not achieved before larger scale adoption, I've found the program is not usually as successful.

 

This article turned out to be a little more doom-and-gloom than expected, and companies should not be afraid to get their feet wet in the wearable world. There are some that are showing a lot of promise, and as technology continues to advance, it's not hard to imagine a future where safety wearables are an everyday thing. As long as you're following best practices in determining the right fit of wearables to the risk being controlled, introduce them with a good plan, and ensure you have the resources to make the program a success, they can be a valuable part of your safety program.

 

New App to Measure Heat Stress Risk

As we start gearing up for warmer weather, it's important to shift gears and begin considering the risk of heat stress on employees as well. The AIHA has made an app available to help employers keep tabs of the risk of heat stress. The app is available for both iOS and Android, can monitor multiple locations for heat stress risk, and can send alerts if heat stress is elevated in any monitored location.

We also downloaded this app to see how it works, and it is very intuitive. It takes you through a set of questions upon start up, including the work hours to be monitored, which location(s), and whether you'd classify the work being done as "light, moderate, heavy, or very heavy" with examples of work for each category supplied. 

If you would like to start using the app as a tool in your heat stress risk reduction bucket, you can search for the app called "AIHA Heat Stress" in your app store.