SafeTalk with SafeStart

S13Ep15: Hidden Dangers in the Office

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Have you ever heard your office personnel say things like, "Why do we have to attend safety training? We never go out into the plant."?

This podcast explores several key office safety concerns, beginning with the universal risk of driving to and from work that affects all employees regardless of position. 

Host: Danny Smith

Danny Smith Host

00:09

Welcome back to SafeTalk with SafeStart. I'm Danny Smith and today I want to talk about office safety. Now wait, before you shut down the podcast or move on to another episode. I know the office doesn't appear to be a place that one would normally look for risk, but I can tell you after thousands of observations through our SafeTrack process, our clients are continually surprised at just how much risk is often hidden in the cubicle jungle. 

 

00:37

An issue of the National Safety Council magazine, Safety and Health, and it was by Loretta Clausen. The title of the article was Recognizing Hidden Dangers 25 Steps to a Safer Office. Now, clearly we're not going to go through all 25 of those today, so you may want to go check out the article itself, but I did want to talk about a few of the things that she mentioned in the article, just to bring some of the top risk factors to the surface and get you thinking about ways that we can engage office workers. And I think that's really important because if you're like me, you've probably encountered folks who work in the office who just say well, why do I have to attend safety training? I never go out in the plant. And in many cases, they're right. It's not difficult to imagine that the folks working out on the shop floor need safety training, but office personnel well, and notice there I said, in many cases they're right, but that's not the case, I don't think with SafeStart training, since SafeStart is a 24-7 process. Really, office personnel will find that SafeStart is probably more useful for them off the job, but that doesn't mean that they don't use the concepts at work as well. Now let me touch on something that the article did not mention before we get back to the article itself, and that is the risk that we all face on the things that we do daily, and that is the risk that comes from driving, and clearly office personnel don't get a pass when it comes to this particular risk. 

 

02:12

Now I want you to listen closely to what I'm about to say, and I said listen closely. I don't want this to be taken out of context. Okay, don't say I said something I didn't say. Everybody is equally valuable as a human being, but from a business perspective, some are probably going to be harder to replace, even for short term, than others. For example, if you lose your third shift machine operator because they're injured in an automobile accident and they're out for three weeks. It's probably going to be a scheduling issue for you, for sure. But if it's your CFO or your Chief Operating Officer or the president of the company, well, it may be a different scheduling issue then, right, it's a far different situation. Now, understand what I'm saying here. I'm not saying one person's more valuable than the other. It's a different skill set that we're talking about. But when you think about the risk of driving, it is the same for the third shift machine operator as it is for the CFO, as it is for the president of the company. Now, morally, one life is not more valuable than the other. But again, from a business replacement perspective, well, maybe not so much. Right, all right back to the article. 

 

03:28

Without a doubt, probably the most at-risk behavior that most people dealing with office environments faces, well, ergonomic in nature, things like monitor heights, the distance from screens and so on. For that I direct you to a couple of previous podcasts I did with our own kinesiologist, Dr Robert Cannon, and the first I would direct you to is actually one of the first podcasts we did. It's called Sitting is the New Smoking, which is all about setting up your workplace, regardless if you're in a traditional office environment or if you're working in a home office, like I do, you'll find wonderful advice there from an ergonomic expert. The next thing I would mention as well is check out the podcast I also do on Sprains and Strains, just for general information on ergonomics and specific application of the SafeStart technology. So again, give both of those a bit of a listen there.

 

04:22

Thinking about ergonomics, one of the first things that I think is really, really critical is for us to realize and remember that one size does not fit all in an office workstation, and I know we've all heard that, but I'm afraid that sometimes we tend to forget it. Adjustability is the key that comes to things like chairs, monitors, stands, etc. All of those need to be adjustable in order to accommodate the widest range of employees. Many of you probably met me before at conferences or at public workshops, perhaps on site with some of your folks, and you know I'm personally a big guy, okay. Paraphrasing a famous comedian joke, I'm somewhere between six foot and six two, depending on which convenience store I'm in, and I weigh. Well, let's don't talk about weight today, okay, but let's just say I'm a big guy, okay. So as such, I need a big boy chair to be ergonomically correct. My wife, on the other hand, is just barely over five foot. So, again, depending on the convenience store, yeah, well, yeah, you get the idea. My wife doesn't want or need a chair like mine. Remember, one size does not fit all, and I can tell you from a personal experience. When I went to go shopping for a new chair recently for my office here at home, I was a bit reluctant to go out and shell out the big bucks for the top-of-the-line chair, but I knew that it was something I needed to do. I would get better service out of it and, frankly, it would be better for me from an ergonomic standpoint. 

 

06:01

And some employers may be in the same position. They may feel a bit reluctant to pay for expensive ergonomic equipment, but experts insist the equipment is a wise investment. But ergonomic devices are only a third of the solution. Many employers are not sure as to how to use the equipment properly. So, training on how to use that properly is really key and we need to make sure that our employees know how to use that properly is really key, and we need to make sure that our employees know how to do that. And we haven't even considered how the human factors such as rushing frustration, fatigue and complacency can impact ergonomic issues as well. 

 

06:39

So be sure to pay attention as well to any pain, fatigue, numbness or weakness that you or your employees may be having as well. Those can be signs of an ergonomics issue that's underlying, and it could be the start of a more serious musculoskeletal disorder, and as employers we need to make sure that our employees know those symptoms as well. Early detection can really keep those from becoming painful and costly injuries. Here's a tip I picked up years ago in our SafeTrack process. A good way to do this is just have some conversations with your folks and simply ask them how are you feeling today? Do you have any problems with your back, your shoulders, your wrist, your forearms, anything like that? And if they say yes, the next question you can ask then is well, did it hurt yesterday or is this something new? And if the answer is no, it didn't hurt yesterday, then it probably means that's not something that's cumulative in nature. However, if their answer is yes, you probably need to suggest they go see a doctor, and if it's something that's work-related, obviously deal with that through your work comp facility. Right, and, by the way, that works not only for office workers but for everybody, regardless of their duties. Now, look, you don't have to be an ergonomist to spot early signs of musculoskeletal disorders. So do yourself and your employees a favor and get to these injuries and illnesses early, before they become disabling and costly. 

 

08:15

Now let's talk about the article real quickly, a few things that were mentioned there. First of all, let's think about housekeeping. Things like boxes, files and just other things can easily become piled up in walkways and create a tripping hazard. Be certain that all materials are stored safely and in their proper location to help prevent buildup of clutter in the walkways. You know, when we talk about industrial facilities, we often talk about the process of 5S in workspaces. Those concepts can be applied in the office as well.

 

08:49

Another big issue that faces office workers from time to time is well, sometimes we got to step on up. Well, what do I mean by that? Well, how many times have you or someone else that you've known had to reach something that was a little bit higher than you could reach, and so you go looking for something to stand on, and quite often in an office environment that ends up being a chair, sometimes even a rolling chair, and that obviously presents a significant fall hazard. So, anybody that really needs to reach something in an elevated height should use a step ladder or a step stool, and workers should never climb higher than the step indicated up at the top. We've all seen that little label do not stand on or above this step right. And after an accident involving an office chair, if you hear, well, I fell while I was using an office chair to reach something. You may hear something like this I just needed to reach something just out of my reach, and I didn't have time to go get a stepladder. Well, let's bring that back to human factors again. You're probably dealing with that human factor or that state of rushing that we talk about in SafeStart. Perhaps you hear things like well, I've always done it this way, or I've used a chair like that hundreds of times. Well, we're probably dealing with some complacency there. Here's a good idea Go ahead, as an employer, spend $100 on a good step ladder and make it something that's an easy access for your employees, right? 

 

10:22

Another issue could be related to what we call the error of balance, traction and grip, and particularly I want to think about this in terms of balance and traction Things like carpeting and other skid-resistant surfaces can help to reduce falls. Placing mats down can be especially helpful at entrance ways, where workers are likely to be coming in with shoes that are wet from the rain. Another big issue in offices can be something that could help you with eyes on task, and that is when it comes to blind corners. Blind corners in the office can obviously cause collisions, particularly if people are in a hurry trying to get to a meeting, trying to head out the door to catch up with a co-worker who's on their way to lunch and they're going to lunch together, whatever it is. The National Safety Council suggests installing some convex mirrors at the intersections to help reduce collisions, and if workers can see who's coming around the corner, they're going to be much less likely to have an issue with line of fire related to not having their eyes on the task. 

 

11:29

Another big issue and we touched on this just a little bit earlier with computers, as it relates to ergonomic issues, but another part of that that we did not touch on was just looking at a computer monitor for long periods of time. That can really put a lot of strain on your eyesight, especially if you're spending a large portion of your workday at the computer, your eyes can become dry and irritated and you may even begin having some trouble focusing, teaching folks to get up and take a few minutes away from the computer just to rest their eyes. I think that's really important, especially in today's environment where we all seem to be spending a lot of time on virtual conference calls and things of that nature. Really important to take a break from those from time to time. Also, make sure you've got your monitor position correctly. Keep it around 20 to 26 inches from your eyes. Slightly below eye level is the best, and if you've got a screen that can tilt or swivel, that can be especially beneficial. Your eyes resting position, if you will, is just a few degrees below where you're looking when you're straight ahead, when you're looking straight ahead, rather. So, think about that as you are positioning your monitor and setting up your workstation. Also, be sure you think about things like screen glare there. Make sure you minimize that, because that can be a huge, huge issue as it relates to eye strain.

 

13:01

And another thing that we should probably talk to our office workers as well as everybody about is just making sure that well, that their eye health is in good shape. Probably a good idea to make sure everybody goes to the eye doctor on a regular basis, and I know some of that is a bit difficult to control, but certainly something we can control ourselves for us, right? So be sure you go to the eye doctor and, especially if you spend a lot of time on the computer, make sure you mention that. I know that's something that I talk to my optometrists about on a regular basis. Just a reminder for them that hey, don't forget, when you're writing my prescription and when you're filling my prescription, that you make sure that you do things like you know. There’re the new filters now that can help filter out the blue light that seems to be so damaging and taxing on your eyes. So, make sure that you look for things like that and you talk to your doctors about things like that.

 

13:57

So really, great, great ways to look at some things like that and again, give your eyes a break. Let them rest, you know, step away and again, give your eyes a break. Let them rest, you know, step away. Let them focus on things at varying distances. That can help reduce strain and fatigue on your eyes and, I think, just overall as well

 

14:15

OSHA recommends that workers take a 10-minute break for every hour they spend on a computer, and I think that's a great, great rule of thumb. To be honest, it's probably one I need to get better at myself. Rule of thumb So, again, just a few tips there for keeping folks in the office safe, particularly as it relates to some of the ergonomic issues that we all face from time to time. So, think about these things, share this podcast with some of your folks as well. That's our time for today, and thanks for spending your time with us. Always feel free to share this podcast with others. In fact, we'd really encourage that, and if you're thinking of another subject that you would like for us to cover, just please let us know. You can email me at Danny at safestart.com. That's D-A-N-N-Y at safestart.com. So once again, I'm Danny Smith for SafeTalk with SafeStart, and until next time, have a great day.