Summer is coming and with it, energy-sapping heat. For construction laborers and others who work outdoors, or who, regardless of the time of year, work in heat-producing environments, heat is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous.
Heat sickens thousands of workers every year and kills more than 30. About half of these deaths occur in the construction industry. Heat can make anyone sick, but people who are overweight, have high blood pressure or heart disease are at increased risk. So is anyone who takes allergy medication, decongestants or blood pressure medication.
Heat stress can cause a host of conditions and illnesses ranging from rashes and cramps to heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. Factors that can make construction laborers particularly vulnerable to heat stress and illnesses related to heat stress include:
• Working in high temperatures and humidity, direct sun exposure and no breeze
• Engaging in heavy physical labor
• Wearing waterproof clothing
Symptoms of heat exhaustion:
• Headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting
• Moist skin
• Irritability or confusion
• Upset stomach, vomiting
Symptoms of heat stroke:
• Dry, hot skin with no sweating
• Confusion, loss of consciousness
• Seizures or convulsions
Employers can help protect workers from the heat by following these precautions:
• Allow workers to acclimatize by gradually increasing exposure to heat over a five-day period.
• Provide cool water to drink (five to seven ounces) every 15 minutes.
• Require rest breaks in a cool, shady spot and with fans available.
• Schedule heavy work during the coolest time of the day.
• When possible, assign work that can be done in the shade.
• Rotate workers when working in the heat is unavoidable.
• Suggest workers wear lightweight, light-color clothing.
• Schedule additional rest breaks for workers who wear protective clothing and check their temperature and heart rate.
• If a worker has symptoms of heat stroke:
o Call 9-1-1
o Move him/her to shade
o Wipe skin with cool water
o Loosen clothing
o Fan with cardboard or other material
Working in extreme heat – temperatures 10 degrees or more above the average high for the region – is sometimes unavoidable but it doesn’t have to be intolerable. With planning, construction laborers can work safely when temperatures are high.
OSHA’s Heat Stress Campaign and California OSHA’s Heat Standard – California is the only state that requires employers to protect workers from heat stress – provide information that will help keep workers everywhere safe.

Temporary workers offer many advantages, enabling employers to identify promising workers before offering them permanent positions and alleviating short-term staffing shortages—but they can also pose a significant safety risk
Here are some suggestions for making sure your temporary workers do you more good than harm.
1. Train Them Yourself
In many of the recent fatal accidents involving temporary workers, the workers received inadequate training. Some employers that are tempted to cut safety training eliminate safety training for temporary workers first, thinking they can simply pass the buck for safety training to the temporary agency.
It’s important, however, to conduct any site-specific training yourself. Make sure your training:
• Is provided in a language workers can understand. Poorly understood instruction leads to injuries.
• Covers safe operating procedures for equipment, including location of emergency stops and when and how to implement lockout/tagout procedures.
• Covers hazardous chemical safety.
• Covers site-specific emergency procedures.
If you hold daily or periodic safety meetings, make sure temporary workers participate in those, too.
2. Document Training
Because training is such a common failure point, if a temporary worker is injured, the first thing inspectors or insurers will want to see is your training record. Include:
• Date temporary workers were trained
• Description of the training given and the topics covered
• Trainer’s name
• Evaluation method used to determine training effectiveness (e.g., quiz, demonstration of skills)
3. Provide PPE
Workers required to provide their own PPE may bring inadequate gear or gear that is in poor condition. For example, workers who bring their own hard hats might bring hard hats that have suffered previous impacts, or are brittle from improper storage, and therefore not protective. Control the quality of the protection by providing it yourself, and make sure workers know how to properly use and maintain PPE.
4. Use Warning Signs and Labels
A worker who is not closely familiar with the workplace may not remember all precautions and hazard warnings, so make safety warnings explicit and visible. Label emergency stops, post reminders about lockout/tagout and machine guarding, and be clear about prohibited behaviors, such as operating equipment without safety gear.
5. Supervise Closely
Because temporary workers are not familiar with the workplace, they need close supervision—at least at first. Supervisors should not only keep an eye on temps to make sure they work safely, but also provide the same feedback about safety performance as they provide regular workers.

Tom Reddon, National Forklift Exchange
Forklifts are among the most frequently used pieces of equipment in the workplace, with more than 856,000 in operation throughout the United States. Unfortunately, accidents involving forklifts are also quite common.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), forklift accidents are responsible for approximately 100 deaths, 34,900 serious injuries and 61,800 minor injuries each year.
There are a variety of things that can cause forklift accidents, including a lack of training or inadequate training, carelessness by drivers, improper tools and attachments, and failure to maintain the forklift. Typical accidents involve vehicle tip-overs, which can lead to operator fatalities, and forklifts pinning and crushing individuals against another surface.
Having appropriate safety measures in place is critical to prevent these injuries and reduce the risk of fatalities. Below are a few ways you can avoid serious injuries and hazards when working with forklifts.
Be Aware of Carbon Monoxide
Forklifts emit carbon monoxide and must be correctly ventilated. If you drive a forklift in an enclosed area, you should be aware of the increased risk of carbon-monoxide poisoning.
Proper Parking
Allow yourself plenty of time to park and secure a forklift at the end of the day. This will prevent others from accidently walking into it. Ensure the forklift is safely parked, and the key is removed.
Correct Training
OSHA requires all operators to follow proper training procedures and to maintain their machinery. Forklift inspections are essential to determine if a machine needs servicing, which can help to prevent accidents and injuries. OSHA collects more than $2 million each year from citations issued to organizations that fail to maintain their forklifts or provide adequate training to their employees.
Loading Problems
Forklifts can tip over easily if they are improperly loaded. In fact, 14 percent of all forklift accidents occur in this manner. Another dangerous loading hazard to avoid is using a forklift to elevate an individual.
Driving Issues
Accidents as the result of driving issues and operating the equipment are perhaps the most common. Driving off a loading dock leads to 7 percent of all forklift accidents. Other forklift accidents are due to vision problems and operator error/control issues.
Remember, forklift accidents can happen at any time. By implementing appropriate training and safety measures, you can reduce the risks of forklift accidents and workplace injuries.

As the temperature rises, make sure your workers stay healthy and avoid heat stress.
Any work environment with high temperature and high humidity, where physical work is being performed, is a prime breeding ground for heat-related illness. But you need to take into account other factors as well.
For example, working around hot equipment or processes that generate heat adds to the effect of the temperature in the outside environment, compounding the heat stress workers face. So does stale, stagnant air, or a hot wind. And workers who have to wear hot, heavy PPE and protective clothing on the job are also at greater risk of heat illness.
Acclimatization is another important issue. It can take a worker 5 to 7 days to become conditioned to working in the heat. When a sudden heat wave strikes, employees don’t have time to get used to the heat, and that makes them more susceptible to heat sickness.
Consider individual factors, too. For example, older workers are often at greater risk than younger workers. So are employees who are overweight, pregnant, physically unfit, inadequately rested, or sick. And workers who’ve consumed alcohol after work are more likely to be dehydrated the next day and are therefore more susceptible to heat illness.
How to Keep Workers Safe and Healthy
There’s a lot you and your company’s supervisors can do to reduce the risk of heat-related safety and health problems. OSHA recommends these simple precautions:
• Consider a worker’s physical fitness to work in a hot environment.
• Use engineering controls such as ventilation and spot-cooling by local exhaust to keep workers cool.
• Have employees work in pairs to reduce stress and so that they can keep an eye on each other’s physical condition.
• Provide plenty of drinking water and encourage workers to drink fluids throughout their shift.
• Avoid scheduling the heaviest work on the hottest days or at the hottest time of the day.
• Alternate work and rest periods in very hot weather, making sure workers have a cool, shady place to take their breaks.
• Provide more frequent breaks for employees who have to wear hot, heavy PPE or protective clothing, or who work around heat-generating equipment and processes.
• Monitor temperatures and check on workers regularly to make sure they are successfully coping with the heat. Look for symptoms of heat stress.
• Train workers to recognize and treat the signs of heat illness.
The combination of heat, humidity, and human labor can be deadly. That’s why you and your employees need to take precautions to prevent heat-related accidents and illness. You’ll not only be keeping your workers safe and healthy, you’ll also be keeping them on the job where you need them, even on the hottest days this summer.

With more hot and humid summer weather on the way, this month is a good time for a safety meeting on preventing heat stress.
In hot weather, the body normally cools itself by sweating. But when temperatures soar and the humidity level is high, sweating may not be enough. Body temperature can rise to dangerous levels, and a person can develop a heat illness.
Heat-related illnesses include:
• Heat cramps—muscle pains or spasms that happen during heavy exertion in hot weather (e.g., exercising strenuously or performing heavy physical work).
• Heat rash—skin irritation from excessive heat.
• Heat syncope—dizziness or fainting because of the heat.
• Heat exhaustion—the body’s response to an excessive loss of water and salt, usually through excessive sweating caused by overexertion in the hot weather. (Note: Heat exhaustion can become heatstroke if not treated right away.)
• Heatstroke—a life-threatening illness in which body temperature may rise above 106° Fahrenheit in minutes.
Symptoms of heatstroke (the most serious type of heat stress) include:
• Hot, dry skin or very heavy sweating
• Hallucinations
• Chills
• Throbbing headache
• High body temperature
• Confusion/dizziness
• Slurred speech
Proper first aid for heat stroke includes:
• Call 911.
• Move the person to a cool shaded area.
• Cool the person using methods such as soaking clothes with water; spraying, sponging, or showering with water; or fanning the body.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:
• Heavy sweating
• Extreme weakness or fatigue
• Dizziness, confusion
• Nausea
• Clammy, moist skin
• Pale or flushed complexion
• Muscle cramps
• Slightly elevated body temperature
• Fast and shallow breathing
Proper first aid for heat exhaustion includes:
• Have the person rest in a cool, shaded or air-conditioned area.
• Have the person drink plenty of water or other cool, nonalcoholic beverages.
• Have the person take a cool shower, bath, or sponge bath.
Symptoms of heat syncope include:
• Light-headedness
• Dizziness
• Fainting
Proper first aid for heat syncope includes:
• Sit or lie down in a cool place when symptoms first appear.
• Slowly drink water, clear juice, or a sports beverage.
Symptoms of heat cramps include muscle pain or spasms usually in the abdomen, arms, or legs.
Proper first aid for heat cramps includes:
• Stop all activity, and sit in a cool place.
• Drink clear juice or a sports beverage.
• Do not return to strenuous activity for a few hours after the cramps subside because further exertion could lead to heat exhaustion or heatstroke.
Symptoms of heat rash include a red cluster of pimples or small blisters most likely to occur on the neck and upper chest, in the groin, under the breasts, and in elbow creases.
Proper first aid for heat rash includes keep the affected area dry and use powder.

Summer is coming and with it, energy-sapping heat. For construction laborers and others who work outdoors, or who, regardless of the time of year, work in heat-producing environments, heat is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous.
Heat sickens thousands of workers every year and kills more than 30. About half of these deaths occur in the construction industry. Heat can make anyone sick, but people who are overweight, have high blood pressure or heart disease are at increased risk. So is anyone who takes allergy medication, decongestants or blood pressure medication.
Heat stress can cause a host of conditions and illnesses ranging from rashes and cramps to heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. Factors that can make construction laborers particularly vulnerable to heat stress and illnesses related to heat stress include:
• Working in high temperatures and humidity, direct sun exposure and no breeze
• Engaging in heavy physical labor
• Wearing waterproof clothing
Symptoms of heat exhaustion:
• Headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting
• Moist skin
• Irritability or confusion
• Upset stomach, vomiting
Symptoms of heat stroke:
• Dry, hot skin with no sweating
• Confusion, loss of consciousness
• Seizures or convulsions
Employers can help protect workers from the heat by following these precautions:
• Allow workers to acclimatize by gradually increasing exposure to heat over a five-day period.
• Provide cool water to drink (five to seven ounces) every 15 minutes.
• Require rest breaks in a cool, shady spot and with fans available.
• Schedule heavy work during the coolest time of the day.
• When possible, assign work that can be done in the shade.
• Rotate workers when working in the heat is unavoidable.
• Suggest workers wear lightweight, light-color clothing.
• Schedule additional rest breaks for workers who wear protective clothing and check their temperature and heart rate.
• If a worker has symptoms of heat stroke:
o Call 9-1-1
o Move him/her to shade
o Wipe skin with cool water
o Loosen clothing
o Fan with cardboard or other material
Working in extreme heat – temperatures 10 degrees or more above the average high for the region – is sometimes unavoidable but it doesn’t have to be intolerable. With planning, construction laborers can work safely when temperatures are high.
OSHA’s Heat Stress Campaign and California OSHA’s Heat Standard – California is the only state that requires employers to protect workers from heat stress – provide information that will help keep workers everywhere safe.

Antonio Toro was preparing to move large bundles of steel at a flood control project. As he positioned his forklift, it tipped, pinning him. By the time emergency responders reached him, Toro was dead.
Forklifts are designed to lift and move heavy loads. The forklifts themselves must be heavy to prevent them from falling forward when the load is lifted. Forklifts also tend to be small and narrow to navigate tight workspaces.
Being small, narrow, and heavier than they look can be a recipe for tipping if workers are not careful.
Tipover accidents are more likely in certain situations and circumstances. Make sure your workers know their specific truck, terrain, and load, and take precautions to prevent tipovers.
1. Inadequately Secured Loads
A load that is not secured can shift, tipping the lift. Workers must know:
• Not to move the truck until the load is secure. The load-engaging device must be placed in a manner that securely holds or supports the load.
• Not to tilt the load-engaging means forward while the forks are elevated, unless they are picking up a load. An elevated load also must not be tilted forward unless it’s being deposited.
• How to use attachments. If the truck is equipped with attachments, special precautions may be required for securing loads and for operating the truck after the load has been removed.
2. Overloaded Forklifts
Loading a forklift beyond its rated capacity can cause the lift to tip. Make sure workers never exceed the forklift’s rated capacity. The rated capacity of all industrial forklifts must be prominently displayed on the vehicle at all times, in a location where the operator can easily see it.
Besides observing the forklift’s rated capacity, operators should heed the rated capacity of the work surface (floor, ramp, dockplate, or other operating surface).
3. Poorly Selected Forklifts
Using the wrong truck for the terrain can cause a lift to tip. Make sure workers know not to use a forklift designed for use on smooth concrete in areas with rough terrain.
4. Traveling or Parking on a Grade
A forklift is more likely to tip on a grade than on a flat surface. Make sure workers know that:
• On grades greater than 10 percent, loaded trucks must be driven with the load upgrade, except for motorized hand and hand/rider trucks, which should be operated on all grades with the load downgrade.
• On all grades, they should raise the load only as far as necessary to clear the road surface and should tilt the load-engaging means back if possible.
• They should avoid turning on a grade.
5. Alterations to the Forklift
Alterations to a forklift can change the lift’s capacity and handling characteristics, including its susceptibility to tipover. Make sure workers know that no alterations may be made to a truck that will:
• Change the relative positions of the various parts from the manufacturer’s original positions;
• Add parts not provided by the manufacturer;
• Eliminate parts provided by the manufacturer; or
• Add counterweighting, unless approved by the manufacturer.
6. Poorly Marked Aisles
Forklifts often tip or roll over the side of a ramp, dockplate, or loading dock.
Make sure markings are present and clearly visible at edges of loading docks and other areas where forklifts could roll off, along with other precautions such as guardrails and chains.
Operators must also take special care when moving from bright to dim light, which can blind them just long enough for them to miss visual cues.

Training can help you ensure that your workers don’t become a part of these shocking statistics: According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled by the Electrical Safety Foundation International, from 2003 to 2010, more than 1,600 people died and more than 20,000 were injured because of work-related electrical accidents.
What are the top three causes of occupational electrical fatalities?
1. Contact with overhead power lines
2. Contact with wiring, transformers, or other electrical components
3. Contact with electric current of machine, tool, appliance, or light fixture
How much electricity is dangerous?
Exposure to just 50 milliamps of electrical current can cause death: That’s about the amount of current that would power a small radio.

What are the four primary types of electrical injuries?
1. Electrocution (death from electric shock)
2. Electric shock
3. Burns
4. Falls (from the impact of an electric shock)
What are the top five occupations with the most fatal electrical injuries?
1. Electricians
2. Construction laborers
3. Electrical power line installers and repairers
4. Tree trimmers and pruners
5. Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers
This is a great time to give your workers this handy reminder of electric safety best practices.
Electrical Safety Do’s and Don’ts Checklist
DO:
• Check wiring to make sure it’s properly insulated and the right choice for the job (e.g., labeled for use outdoors or in work areas with hazardous substances).
• Check that electrical connections are tight.
• Match plugs and outlets (three-pronged plugs go in three-pronged outlets only).
• Read and follow manufacturer’s instructions for electrical equipment.
• Leave work on energized equipment to qualified workers.
• Obey warnings to stay away from electrical circuits and locked-out equipment.
• Wear rubber gloves and any other assigned protective clothing and equipment.
• Keep machines and tools lubricated.
• Keep the work area clean, and promptly and properly dispose of oily rags, paper, sawdust, or anything else that could burn.
• Use extension cords only when authorized—and of the right capacity.
• Keep electrical equipment clean.
• Inspect electrical tools before each use.
• Report any electrical tool, equipment, or wire problems immediately.
DON’T:
• Overload motors, circuits, or outlets.
• Run cords along the floor.
• Use temporary wiring.
• Put anything but a plug into an electrical outlet.
• Touch anything electric with wet hands.
• Leave machinery or heating equipment running unattended after working hours.
• Let cords get twisted or tangled.
• Get closer than 10 feet to a power line (if you’re an unqualified employee).
• Reach blindly into a space that may contain energized equipment.
• Wear metal jewelry when working with electrical appliances.
• Use a power tool that smokes, sparks, smells, or shocks.
Make sure your employees are grounded in safe practices when working with or around electricity this month—by training and following up with regular reminders like handouts to keep electrical safety a high priority.

Collisions are a major cause of injury and death in traffic accidents. The main types of collisions are:
• Head-on collisions
• Hit from behind
• Hitting the driver in front
• Side collisions
Two-car collisions are among the most common kind of traffic accident. About one-third of two-car collisions occur at intersections, so workers need to be especially careful when entering an intersection.
Head-on collisions are particularly dangerous and can be deadly. The key to avoiding them is to keep looking ahead down the road for possible problems. If a crash looks like it’s coming, employees should slow down and even go off the road to the right to avoid a head-on crash.
Rear-end collisions are also dangerous, but they, too, are preventable. For example, employees should:
• Signal their intentions when stopping or turning;
• Be alert for tailgaters;
• Slow down gradually; and
• Leave room in front of you when stopped so that if you are hit from behind, at least they won’t hit another vehicle in front.
To avoid colliding with a vehicle in front, employees should take these precautions:
• Look well ahead for hazards, brake lights, and turn signals.
• Always maintain sufficient distance between their vehicle and the vehicle in front so that they have enough room to stop safely.
To avoid side collisions, workers should be sure to approach all intersections with caution, and always look both ways before proceeding—even if they have right-of-way. They should never try to force their way through an intersection if another driver is set on going first. It is better to let the other driver go ahead of you than it is to get into an accident that can be costly and perhaps dangerous to them and to others.
Nighttime Driving
More accidents occur at night than any other time of day. The reason is simple: It is much harder to see at night, and much harder to react quickly when you do see a hazard.
Here are some defensive driving tips you can share with employees for driving at night:
• Keep windshield clean to improve vision.
• Turn lights on 1/2 hour before sunset.
• Increase following distance to 4 seconds.
• Be extra careful on curves and at intersections.
• Switch from high to low beams to keep from blinding other drivers.

A good spring cleaning can enhance safety in your workplace if it’s done with an eye to eliminating hazards.
Spring cleaning is an annual ritual that coincides with warmer weather and the ability to open up homes that were tightly battened down against the winter’s chill. The idea of an annual cleaning binge is useful in the workplace, too enabling you to catch up on things that could otherwise be pushed to the back burner indefinitely.
Take a look at the occasional and infrequent tasks below and decide whether it’s time for a good spring cleaning.
De-Clutter
Clutter causes hazards. Flammable clutter is a fire hazard; general clutter may create tripping and blocked-exit hazards. De-cluttering, then, is not just an aesthetic pursuit—it also improves safety.
Now is the perfect time to dispose of:
• Chemicals. Old or unused chemicals create unnecessary workplace hazards. They may be flammable or toxic, and many chemicals that are not dangerous when purchased can become so as they deteriorate over time. Dispose of chemicals that are no longer in use, have passed their use-by dates, and have missing or illegible labels. Be sure to dispose of chemicals properly: Some can be poured down the drain, but others might need to be disposed of as hazardous waste.
• Trash. Got a pile of pallets on the loading dock? Dumped a lot of construction debris on the back lot? Anything that’s not in use that has piled up should be removed from the site. This will reduce fire hazards, when combustible materials are removed; tripping hazards, when items that are blocking walkways or taking up valuable storage space go away; and pest harborages, when unused materials that make good nesting areas are hauled off.
• Equipment. That frayed sling or wobbly ladder may have been taken out of service, but if it can’t be readily repaired, why is it still hanging around in the workplace? If it’s there, even if it has a “do not use” tag on it, someone in a hurry or not paying close attention might use it anyway—and regret it afterward. Equipment that has been removed from service and won’t be promptly repaired should be permanently removed from the premises.
Clean and Repair
Besides clearing out the clutter, your spring cleaning can address infrequent needs that will boost worker safety and health. Find out whether it’s time to clean and/or service:
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. A health hazard evaluation conducted by the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) found that properly maintained HVAC systems were associated with a decreased incidence of lower respiratory symptoms, allergies, and asthma among building occupants. Proper maintenance controls mold, bacteria, allergens, and other contaminants within the system.
• Signs and labels. Signs and labels are important for workplace safety, warning workers of low clearances, identifying machinery controls and power sources, showing workers which direction materials in pipes are flowing, and much, much more. But they also take a lot of abuse. Replace damaged signs and illegible labels, clean signs that have become too grimy to read, and re-hang signs that have been knocked askew.
• Offices. University of Arizona researchers famously found that office phones, computer keyboards and mice, and desktops harbored 400 times more infectious bacteria than office toilet seats. Yet in most offices, vacuuming and emptying the trash are the only regular cleaning performed. Encourage workers to take disinfecting wipes to office surfaces—not just once a year but daily if possible—to reduce infectious illness transmission in the workplace.