Santé et sécurité du travail

Ceiling Lifts: Why Aren't They Being Used?

Ginette Vadnais — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Using ceiling lifts to transfer, reposition, and turn clients reduces injuries. Sometimes though, even when lifts are available, they're not always used. This video challenges the seven most common reasons health care workers give for not using ceiling lifts.

Source : http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=37077

« Regard global sur la prévention : pour mieux y voir ! » : actes du Colloque de l’ASSTSAS 2013

Ginette Vadnais — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Vous pouvez consulter les actes du Colloque de l'ASSTSAS 2013. Le colloque avait pour thème : « Regard global sur la prévention : pour mieux y voir ! »

Source : http://www.asstsas.qc.ca/evenements/colloque-asstsas/colloque-2013-actes-du-colloque.html

Prévention : dix entreprises européennes récompensées pour leurs bonnes pratiques

Ginette Vadnais — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:30:00 GMT

Le 29 avril dernier, l'Agence européenne pour la sécurité et la santé au travail (EU-Osha) organisait la onzième édition des "Prix des bonnes pratiques". Ce concours mettant en lice plusieurs centaines d'entreprises de toutes tailles issues de 29 pays récompensait, cette année, les meilleurs exemples de collaboration entre patrons et employés en matière de prévention des risques. Les lauréats de cette édition, issus de secteurs très divers (soins de santé, commerce de détail, agriculture, bâtiment…), devaient faire preuve d'un sens aigu du leadership et démontrer la participation active des salariés aux problématiques de la santé et de la sécurité. La cérémonie de remise des prix aura ainsi été l'occasion pour les lauréats de s'échanger leurs bonnes pratiques. C'était, en outre, la première fois que l'EU-Osha décernait des prix conjoints à des dirigeants et des employés, conformément à la campagne en cours "Lieux de travail sains", dont le thème est "Ensemble pour la prévention des risques".

Source : http://www.preventionbtp.fr/Magazine/Infos-express/Europe/Prevention-dix-entreprises-europeennes-recompensees-pour-leurs-bonnes-pratiques

Mining Feature: NIOSH Illumination Research Addresses Visual Performance Needs with LED Technology

Ginette Vadnais — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:30:00 GMT

Improved illumination in underground mines could be a key to reducing the second leading accident class of nonfatal lost-time injuries—slips, trips, and falls. While past research efforts have focused on such factors as cost, battery life, and miner preference, NIOSH’s latest illumination research takes a more modern approach—conducting experiments to assess human visual performance in simulated mining environments and using the experimental results to design improved illumination technologies.

Source : http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/features/IlluminationFeature.html

Occupational Health Policy and Immigrant Workers in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Sector

Ginette Vadnais — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:02:00 GMT

Background Immigrant workers make up an important portion of the hired workforce in the Agricultural, Forestry and Fishing (AgFF) sector, one of the most hazardous industry sectors in the US. Despite the inherent dangers associated with this sector, worker protection is limited. Methods This article describes the current occupational health and safety policies and regulatory standards in the AgFF sector and underscores the regulatory exceptions and limitations in worker protections. Immigration policies and their effects on worker health and safety are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on policies and practices in the Southeastern US. Results Worker protection in the AgFF sector is limited. Regulatory protections are generally weaker than other industrial sectors and enforcement of existing regulations is woefully inadequate. The vulnerability of the AgFF workforce is magnified by worker immigration status. Agricultural workers in particular are affected by a long history of “exceptionalism” under the law as many regulatory protections specifically exclude this workforce. Conclusions
A vulnerable workforce and high-hazard industries require regulatory protections that, at a minimum, are provided to workers in other industries. A systematic policy approach to strengthen occupational safety and health in the AgFF sector must address both immigration policy and worker protection regulations.

Source : Liebman, A. K., Wiggins, M. F., Fraser, C., Levin, J., Sidebottom, J. and Arcury, T. A. (2013), Occupational Health Policy and Immigrant Workers in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Sector. Am. J. Ind. Med.. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22190

Mobile elevated work platform (MEWP) incident analysis - RR961

Ginette Vadnais — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:05:00 GMT

Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) are commonly used across all industrial sectors by a whole variety of trades, including mechanical and electrical contractors, and painters and decorators, as a safe, temporary method of working at height. There is a large range of MEWPs on the market and their controls and functionality varies depending on the category, manufacturer, model and size of machine. As their popularity and range of applications has grown, concerns have emerged about trapping/crushing accidents involving MEWPs. This report identifies accidents involving MEWPs and analyses common factors found. The work has focused on MEWP occupants being trapped against overhead or adjacent objects whilst in the platform of the MEWP, particularly when the operator becomes trapped over the controls (sustained involuntary operation of control). Typically, this has occurred when the operator has been moving the MEWP within relatively confined areas. This research has centred on person-machine interface/human factors analysis rather than engineering issues.

Source : http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr961.pdf

ZERO Excuses - Campaign for Hand Safety

Ginette Vadnais — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

The theatre work environment is a very hazardous place, and we continually put our hands at risk:
•Stage rigging has heavy counterweights to handle, ropes to pull, and wire rope ends that may not be properly seized.
•Stage Lighting Instruments can be very hot and burn you.
•Moving platforms and wood can expose you to splinters.
•Metal parts can have sharp edges.
•Dry Ice used for atmospheric effects can super-cool your skin and kill it (ice burns).
•Shop chemicals can burn the skin or accelerate the development of skin diseases / cancers.
•Even non-hazardous grime can be a real problem to clean-off, so stains can last for weeks.

Source :
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.ca/2013/04/zero-excuses-campaign-for-hand-safety.html
http://zero-excuses-protection.com/

The Cooler Solution

Ginette Vadnais — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

The dangers of the quartz halogen work light are well known: They can heat up to more than 570 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to ignite paper and wood. The 500W quartz halogen portable work light is everywhere, and why not? They are cheap, easily moved, and they put out a lot of light to help you work in an area. And while they come in a couple of different styles (on tripods, floor stands, or magnet mounts), at their core they are all the same: dangerous tools that harm workers, start fires, and set off explosions. In our experience working with contractors, electricians, and plant workers, we hear the same complaint everywhere we go: Quartz halogen lights are too hot, and people are getting hurt.

Source : http://ohsonline.com/Articles/2013/04/01/The-Cooler-Solution.aspx

UK Purple Guide Revision Draft Open for Comment : guide to event operations and safety

Ginette Vadnais — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:02:00 GMT

The UK's guide to event operations and safety, also known as HSG195, has been under revision for the past half year, and the committee's work is now available for public input. The open comment period will last until the end of October 2013, after which all comments received will be reviewed for integration. Covering both legislation and good practice, this new guide has been designed to alert and inform both event organizers and suppliers to the practices and issues that need to be considered when events are being organized. The contents are not designed to be prescriptive, and those using this guide should undertake risk assessments and evaluations that are appropriate to evaluate the specific requirements of the unique events they are planning.

The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events (Draft) : www.thepurpleguide.co.uk

À l'heure de la pause

Ginette Vadnais — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Fatigue physique, fatigue mentale... À l'heure de la pause comment se repose-t-on ? À travers 9 portraits de travailleurs, ce webdocumentaire permet de découvrir le monde du travail sous un nouvel angle.

Source : http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/visuel/2013/04/04/a-l-heure-de-la-pause-l-intimite-du-travail_1853770_3224.html

Mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs): Phase 3

Ginette Vadnais — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:05:00 GMT

HSE has carried out a programme of research projects focused on MEWPs, in order to provide a better understanding of some of the issues involved and to help work towards their improved and safer design and operation. An initial phase of work, reported in HSE Research Report RR961, examined the human factors involved in such accidents as a means of identifying possible solutions. The subsequent phase of work (to be published later in 2013) went on to critically evaluate MEWP control interfaces and platform environments. The work detailed in this current report is the third phase of MEWPs research and has aimed to capture MEWP end users knowledge in relation to the key risk factors for entrapment/crushing whilst operating MEWPS, using insights gained from their experiences of near misses/incidents. Suggestions for how these might be addressed are also considered.

Source : http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr960.pdf

Study Finds No Benefit in Voice-to-Text Technology

Ginette Vadnais — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Drivers' response times were just as delayed and their performance just as affected by it as by standard texting, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found. A new study confirms voice-to-text technology is just as distracting for drivers as standard texting, meaning it offers no real safety advantage. The study was sponsored by the Southwest Region University Transportation Center and conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which released it April 23.

Source : http://ohsonline.com/articles/2013/04/24/voice-to-text-technology.aspx

VoiceTo-Ttext Study : http://vimeo.com/64641918 Integral text : http://tti.tamu.edu/group/cts/files/2013/04/voice-to-text-Yager-Apr23.pdf

Amiante : base de données de fournisseurs et produits

Ginette Vadnais — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Vous vous demandez si un élément de structure contient ou pas des fibres d’amiante ? L’INSPQ met à votre disposition une base de données de fournisseurs et de produits utilisés au Québec. Celle-ci fait suite aux travaux menés par une équipe de l’Université de Montréal.

Source : http://www.inspq.qc.ca/dossiers/amiante/amiante_bd.asp

World at Work : The world at work: hotel cleaners

Ginette Vadnais — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

With tourism and hospitality representing the largest economic sector in the world,1 and more than 4.8 million rooms in accommodation establishments in the USA alone,2 hotel cleaners comprise a significant occupational segment. Regardless of geographic variation, hotel cleaners are predominantly women, immigrants and minorities working under adverse conditions such as long hours, ergonomic strain, chemical exposure, poor pay, low job control, job insecurity and a wide array of other physical and mental health risks.3–5 Such exposure has produced disproportionately high health disparities among service occupations, including repetitive strain injury, musculoskeletal disorders, allergies and psychological distress; hotel cleaners are both highly underserved and understudied as an occupational segment.6–8 In this paper, we will provide an overview of the plethora of work hazards encountered by hotel cleaners, and propose effective measures to reduce these hazards in order to improve hotel cleaners' occupational safety and health.

Source : Yu-Chin (Jerrie) Hsieh, Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez. The world at work: hotel cleaners. Occup Environ Med 2013;70:360-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2012-100986

Cancers Pro Doc, le guide des ressources documentaires sur la prévention des cancers professionnels

Ginette Vadnais — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:05:00 GMT

L'Institut national du cancer (INCa) met en ligne un guide de ressources documentaires sur la prévention primaire des cancers professionnels : Cancers Pro Doc. Il propose une sélection de documents publiés au cours des dix dernières années. Ceux-ci proviennent de sites institutionnels ou d'organismes reconnus (instituts de recherche, ministères, agences, organismes internationaux etc.).

Source : http://www.e-cancer.fr/prevention/travail-et-cancers/ressources-documentaires