Like A Horror Movie Plot Right In Your Facility
A major problem faces thousands of health care and lab workers who experience more than 70,000 preventable injuries each year caused by everything from needlesticks to lancets and scalpels.
- By Isaac Rudik
Sharp needles protruding unseen in the dark. Virulent bacteria strains escaping, ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting city. Gory blood spills. Injured workers everywhere.
It sounds like the plot line for Wes Craven’s next horror movie but, in fact, we’re talking about a major problem facing tens of thousands of health care and lab workers every day. Indeed, Ontario health care workers experience an inordinately high number of injuries – more than 70,000 each year – caused by everything from needlesticks to lancets and scalpels. And each time someone is cut, stuck or jabbed, it carries the risk of illness and even a potentially fatal infection.
Even though few injuries result in death, they carry a very high cost to businesses, hospitals, pharmaceutical labs and manufacturers, and other organisations in health care-related sectors. The average cost for injuries that result in a worker being off from work is roughly $2,357. The total claim count of needle-stick injuries in the health care sector alone was $132,000 in 2004, the last full year for which figures are available.
Sadly, nearly all of these injuries and losses are avoidable.
Sticking Problem
The most common injuries involve needlesticks, and health care workers say that many – which can potentially spread blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis – are preventable, in part by disposing of needles properly after use in hospitals, doctor’s offices and other facilities.
Recently, Joanne Brown, a St. Catharine’s, Ont. nurse, got poked with an IV needle and immediately had to be tested for HIV, and hepatitis B and C. So far, Ms. Brown's tests have come back negative but she'll face on-going testing in coming years.
"We need a law that protects people from these injuries," Ted Mansel of the Service Employees International Union told CTV News. In fact, a former Montreal dermatologist is suing the McGill University Health Centre for $1-million after he contracted AIDS through a needlestick injury in 1997. In his claim, the doctor says he tried to throw the needle into the "sharps" basket but because it was full, the needle bounced back out and pricked his left thumb.
Easy Avoidance
There is no reason to subject workers to life-threatening injuries or illnesses. There are numerous, cost-efficient, products that can minimise the risk.
For example, Medical Step-On containers are made of a non-magnetic stainless steel and have a vinyl base to protect floors. It is available in either galvanized steel or with a leak proof, rigid, plastic liner.
Medi-Can manufactures step cans that are both practical and economical for doctor’s offices and clinics. Made of a fire-safe steel, the self-closing lid fits tightly over moulded plastic gasket for maximum odour control. A plastic base ring protects floors.
Finally, Brute’s square container with snap lock lid allows collecting, transporting and shipping regulated medical waste in the same container. Its indented lid design makes stacking easy during transportation and storage, and the container can be customized with the universal bio-hazard symbol or a hospital, clinic or company logo.
With 70,000 injured workers at stake and the cost of preventing many of the injuries so low, it’s actually inexcusable for a horror movie plot to unfold in the workplace.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Changing Perceptions: Small Actions Do Make A Big Difference
Changing Perceptions: Small Actions Do Make A Big Difference
Doing something small for the environment, like turning off lights in unused rooms, also results in big savings for organisations.
- By Isaac Rudik
A colleague recently replaced all of the incandescent bulbs throughout his small-to-midsized company with compact fluorescent lights, and removed one-quarter of the fluorescent tubes from ceiling fixtures in areas where worker safety and productivity wasn’t affected.
Urged to action by his pre-teen children, Jack’s intent was to do something positive – however small – for the environment. But he was delightfully surprised by his next Hydro bill: Not only did power usage drop noticeably, so did what the company owed. Jack’s one small step resulted in a $108 savings over the average sum he paid every billing cycle for electricity.
Because some employees grumbled initially at the change, my friend decided to let them see how their reluctant acceptance of the new lighting policy paid off: He treated everyone to a pizza-and-soda lunch. While it ate up more than what he saved in Hydro expenses that first month, he noticed employees became more conscientious about turning off their computers at night, switching off wash room lights when they left the room and taking similar energy-saving steps around the company.
Jack knew that within another few months, he’d not only recoup the price of the lunch, he see new habits in his employees that would save the company real money on an on-going basis.
Initiating Change
Not every business will have the same immediate success. Changing people’s lifelong habits can be tough, especially when the boss is trying to mandate a different way of doing things.
But the simple fact is that turning off a single 60-watt light bulb for one hour a day saves about 85 kilowatt hours each year. That’s good for both the environment and the bottom line.
To begin conserving energy – and money – start small.
Create a workplace policy about turning off lights in unoccupied areas such as copy rooms, break rooms, board rooms and toilets. To help increase compliance, post reminders next to light switches.
Label electrical switches and panels to identify switches that must be left on at all times or during business hours only. Many businesses have other equipment that can be turned off after hours for additional savings, prime among these being computers and copiers.
To get staff to adopt this habit more quickly, offer incentives for turning off unnecessary lights or include energy efficient practices in all job descriptions. Jack was amazed the on-going impact of a “share our savings” pizza lunch had on staff.
A Helping Hand
Even with the best of intentions and motivation, sometimes people need help.
Companies may do well to install occupancy sensors such as Wattstoppers DW-100 dual technology wall switch occupancy sensor. It combines the benefits of passive infrared and ultrasonic technologies to turn lights off automatically when an area is unoccupied and back on again when people enter a room.
Sensors have come a long way since early models sometimes left people in the dark. Making the switch can save anywhere from 15-to-80% of lighting energy. Sensors work best in spaces that are often unoccupied including board rooms, warehouses, storerooms, toilettes, loading docks, corridors, stairwells and break areas.
In the same vein, install timers or photocells to control outdoor lights. Photocells will automatically turn lights on at dusk and turn them off when there is adequate natural light.
Finally, re-think the layout of workspaces to make the most of windows, skylights and other natural lighting. There are also features such as light shelves that help capture natural light, bouncing it off ceilings.
Turning off lights is a simple and effective energy saving strategy and the savings could be significant by engaging the entire company in the efficiency process. Occupancy sensor technology entails a relatively small investment for potentially great savings. And you just may end up buying pizza for the entire company.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Doing something small for the environment, like turning off lights in unused rooms, also results in big savings for organisations.
- By Isaac Rudik
A colleague recently replaced all of the incandescent bulbs throughout his small-to-midsized company with compact fluorescent lights, and removed one-quarter of the fluorescent tubes from ceiling fixtures in areas where worker safety and productivity wasn’t affected.
Urged to action by his pre-teen children, Jack’s intent was to do something positive – however small – for the environment. But he was delightfully surprised by his next Hydro bill: Not only did power usage drop noticeably, so did what the company owed. Jack’s one small step resulted in a $108 savings over the average sum he paid every billing cycle for electricity.
Because some employees grumbled initially at the change, my friend decided to let them see how their reluctant acceptance of the new lighting policy paid off: He treated everyone to a pizza-and-soda lunch. While it ate up more than what he saved in Hydro expenses that first month, he noticed employees became more conscientious about turning off their computers at night, switching off wash room lights when they left the room and taking similar energy-saving steps around the company.
Jack knew that within another few months, he’d not only recoup the price of the lunch, he see new habits in his employees that would save the company real money on an on-going basis.
Initiating Change
Not every business will have the same immediate success. Changing people’s lifelong habits can be tough, especially when the boss is trying to mandate a different way of doing things.
But the simple fact is that turning off a single 60-watt light bulb for one hour a day saves about 85 kilowatt hours each year. That’s good for both the environment and the bottom line.
To begin conserving energy – and money – start small.
Create a workplace policy about turning off lights in unoccupied areas such as copy rooms, break rooms, board rooms and toilets. To help increase compliance, post reminders next to light switches.
Label electrical switches and panels to identify switches that must be left on at all times or during business hours only. Many businesses have other equipment that can be turned off after hours for additional savings, prime among these being computers and copiers.
To get staff to adopt this habit more quickly, offer incentives for turning off unnecessary lights or include energy efficient practices in all job descriptions. Jack was amazed the on-going impact of a “share our savings” pizza lunch had on staff.
A Helping Hand
Even with the best of intentions and motivation, sometimes people need help.
Companies may do well to install occupancy sensors such as Wattstoppers DW-100 dual technology wall switch occupancy sensor. It combines the benefits of passive infrared and ultrasonic technologies to turn lights off automatically when an area is unoccupied and back on again when people enter a room.
Sensors have come a long way since early models sometimes left people in the dark. Making the switch can save anywhere from 15-to-80% of lighting energy. Sensors work best in spaces that are often unoccupied including board rooms, warehouses, storerooms, toilettes, loading docks, corridors, stairwells and break areas.
In the same vein, install timers or photocells to control outdoor lights. Photocells will automatically turn lights on at dusk and turn them off when there is adequate natural light.
Finally, re-think the layout of workspaces to make the most of windows, skylights and other natural lighting. There are also features such as light shelves that help capture natural light, bouncing it off ceilings.
Turning off lights is a simple and effective energy saving strategy and the savings could be significant by engaging the entire company in the efficiency process. Occupancy sensor technology entails a relatively small investment for potentially great savings. And you just may end up buying pizza for the entire company.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
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