OSHA 300A logs reporting reminder

OSHA 300A Logs need to be posted in your city/utility offices from Feb. 1 through April 30. 

March 2, 2021 is the deadline for electronically reporting your OSHA Form 300A data for calendar year 2020. All high-hazard Minnesota industries with 20 or more employees are required to electronically submit their data to federal OSHA. When counting employees, include total number of employees your establishment paid during the year. Also include those not on your payroll if the establishment supervised these employees on a day-to-day basis. Include all employees: full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, volunteers, salaried, and hourly. 

Log into the Injury Tracking Application.

Resources:

https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/
https://www.lmc.org/resources/reporting-injury-illness-data-to-osha/

Submitted by: Julie Jelen, Loss Control Consultant

Winter Driving Training Opportunities in December - Free Training Through MN Safety Council

Photo credit: City of Keewatin

There was no easing into the first severe winter storm this year as heavy snow measuring 6 to 9 inches blanketed most of southern and central Minnesota on Oct. 20. This storm was by far the heaviest recorded snowfall in Minnesota so early in a season.

While your public works department has had a reprieve from winter storms since then, it is inevitable that the white stuff will make a return soon.

It is not too late to take advantage of some upcoming free winter driving training opportunities for your employees. The MN Safety Council has the following two (did I mention free?) seminars coming soon:

Fatigued at Work and Behind the Wheel?

Virtual Session
Dec. 18 | 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Cost: Free
Register here: Registration Link

Course Description: Fatigue is having an impact on portions of every organization's workforce. Worker fatigue can result from prolonged mental or physical work, extended periods of stress, and even increased participation in virtual meetings. This free, one-hour session will review the causes and consequences of worker fatigue and help employers and employees recognize and mitigate fatigue risks at work and on the road.

 
Before the Snow Flies, Are You Ready for the Road?

Virtual Session
Dec. 22 | 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Cost: Free
Register here: Registration Link

Course Description: Driving safely in winter weather can be a challenge, even for the most experienced driver. Safe winter driving requires preparation and special care. This free, one-hour session will review steps to ready your vehicle and simple safe driving reminders so you can face winter roads with confidence.

Hopefully, you and your staff can take advantage of these timely driver safety seminars.

Submitted by: Joe Gehrts, Senior Loss Control Consultant

Avoiding Driver Fatigue

While driving, have you ever experienced a lack of concentration, difficulty making decisions, lane drifting, reduced alertness, or tired and blinking eyes?

These are just some of the warning signs when sleep deprivation is starting to kick in, and most of us will answer yes to at least one at some point.  Sleep deprivation can occur at any time of day but is most common during early morning hours or late nights. How can you avoid sleep deprivation and stay energized during long shifts of vehicle operation?

First, and arguably most important, is getting enough rest prior to the start of a shift. If you know you are going to be working extended shifts the next day or night, try to get a healthy sleep. Consider these tips:

• Have a consistent routine each night with the same bedtime and wake up time and a relax period or nice bath/shower right before.
• Avoid large meals, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and late naps before bed.
• Try to exercise at least 30 minutes a day, but not ideally within 3 hours of your bedtime.

Another important facet of preparation is nutrition, which includes:

• Making sure to keep hydrated with water and sports drinks constantly throughout the day.
• If you are a caffeine drinker (tea/coffee/energy drinks), being aware of your limitations and not to go overboard. Make sure to mix in plenty of water with these types of drinks.
• Large meals will cause drowsiness to follow, but eating smaller portions of healthier meals throughout the shift will help avoid after-meal sleepiness.

As far as resting goes, there are no hard and fast rules or regulations in place here. Emergency vehicles are not subject to Department of Transportation regulations for hours of service. If so, there would be 14 hours on and 11 hours off. Your body will tell you when you need to take a break and if you also need to take a nap, but a rule of thumb approach is to take some type of break every two hours.  Depending on where you are on your own fatigue cycle, this could mean you are functioning normally for six hours or fatigue could set in within an hour of when your shift begins.

Exercise and stretching can also be a way of combating fatigue. When you’re starting to feel fatigue, drowsiness, or stiffness set in, take short walks round your vehicle. Something as simple as basic neck or arm stretches gets the blood flowing and can be done inside the vehicle itself. 

Lastly, keep your vehicle well ventilated. A warm and stuffy vehicle promotes drowsiness.

Check out these resources to learn more about driver fatigue:

SAFE-D Part 1 of 2: Sleep, Alertness and Fatigue Educationfor Drivers

SAFE-D Part 2 of 2: Sleep, Alertness and Fatigue Education for Drivers

Submitted by: Michael Neff, Loss Control Consultant

Roof Inspection for Winter Damage Prevention

The NOAA released its annual weather outlook for Minnesota and it is showing strong signs for a more cold and snowy winter than usual. Looking at this from a loss control perspective, our first thoughts go to maintaining the property of our cities. Specifically, the snow and ice can do a number on roofs over a long freezing Minnesota winter. This article’s purpose is to remind you of some best practices to take when inspecting and preparing your roof for the upcoming snow and ice.

What to Check
Visible damage and debris – The first step to inspecting a roof is looking for obvious signs of damage, including visible structural deformations, dirt and debris, standing water, and blocked or broken gutters and downspouts. Any obvious damage should be repaired immediately.

Exterior structural components – All external structural components of the roof, including chimneys, vents, fascia, drip edges, and decking should be inspected for damage, missing components, rust, and rot. Leaks tend to form around chimneys, vents, and skylights – and if they're not noticed in a timely manner, damage can occur to the underlayment, sheathing, and joists, leading to potentially expensive repair and replacement costs.

Interior roofing components – When roofs are not inspected regularly, interior structural damage can occur. Often, due to lack of regular maintenance, interior damage is the first to be noticed. On sloped roofs, the location of the damage may not directly point to the location of the leak. Water follows the path of least resistance, which means the source of the leak is often not above the visible damage. If a leak has been left to linger, rafter and roof trusses should be checked for evidence of mold, mildew and rot, which could indicate extensive structural damage.

At a minimum, a comprehensive maintenance program for roofing systems should include these basic steps:

• Keep roofs clean and free of debris.

• Keep drainage systems clear and functional.

• Train maintenance personnel on the requirements of working with the roof system.

• Restrict roof access to authorized personnel.

• Limit penetration of the roof system.

• Use professional roofing contractors who stand behind their work.

When to check
While the spring inspection would reveal potential damage that might have occurred from severe winter weather and necessary repairs, a fall inspection would reveal any preventative action that would be required before winter arrives. An inspection should be conducted after any major storm or construction activity that might cause damage to the roof.

Submitted by: Michael Neff, Loss Control Consultant

FirstNet Will Become NeoGov on Jan. 1, 2021

FirstNet Learning will become NeoGov on Jan. 1. These changes apply to existing FirstNet users and individuals currently accessing training courses through the FirstNet learning system who are not a part of a Regional Safety Group (RSG). RSG members, you have already been migrated over to the new NeoGov learning platform, but read on as there are some significant changes to be aware of with the programs we are offering.

What’s behind the change?                                                 

First, a quick background of the two companies. NeoGov was established back in 1999 and is known for HR software solutions, automated recruiting, hiring, onboarding, performance management, and off-boarding processes specific to the public sector as well as higher education organizations. With that comes a more robust learning system software platform. FirstNet Learning has been in business for 19 years and has been a leader in providing online training to thousands of public agencies that are part of over 35 state-wide insurance pools. NeoGov purchased FirstNet back in 2017 and with the combination of these companies, we are able have some of the best features from both.

The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust is currently at the end of the three-year contract we had established with FirstNet and have renewed the contract with NeoGov for another three years. For RSG users, you have undoubtedly seen several of the new and improved features the new platform can provide if you choose to explore them. For those individuals who are new users or will be converting over to NeoGov on Jan. 1, there will be a series of webinars we strongly encourage you to attend that will help speed you through your implementation process. More to come on this as we proceed closer to the transition date.

What do these changes mean for you?

The most noticeable change will be an increase in per user cost. Under the terms of our expiring contract, the current cost per user/seat was a standard $20 and no minimum fee for non-RSG members. With that, we were able to offer limited functionality and 61 online training courses. The majority of these were focused on OSHA and general safety courses.

Under the terms of the new contract, the per user/seat fee will be increasing to $29 for non-RSG members, but will still be free to any RSG member. In addition, there is a new minimum fee of $261 per non-RSG city, and the fee for more than 10 employees will become $29 per user. The question you must be asking yourself is what am I getting with this price increase? Besides a much more robust training and tracking platform than was previously being offered, we have included an additional 150+ online training courses instead of the 61 courses presently being offered. Several new fleet training programs will be available to everyone, as well as a large offering of additional safety and health programs. 

What we are really excited about is a new series of what is commonly referred to as ‘human capital courses.’ These courses cover a wide range of supervisor training, including providing effective feedback and managing change, and courses intended for a wider audience such as focusing on the customer and listening skills. This is in response to general inquiries in the past asking for such programs.

There will be additional announcements coming throughout the rest of the year and updated information on our website regarding these changes, including upcoming training webinars as well as the complete course catalog listing. Please stay tuned for more information on these.

We do understand that this is an increase that always needs to be a part of any budget planning process.  For that reason, we felt the need to give all existing FirstNet users a heads up of what changes are coming your way. 

Submitted by: Joel Muller, Field Loss Control Manager

How Does Snowplowing Fit Into Your Pandemic Planning?

2020 has been an interesting year for everyone across the globe. Now that summer is coming to an end, we’re thinking about how children will be returning to school and planning other fall activities. As we plan, there will also be a continued focus on how to deal with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and the health considerations that should be followed.

An important thing to consider as we move into the fall is if your city has a snowplowing policy. And if you have one, is it written? If COVID-19 is still a local pandemic during the upcoming winter season, then you need to plan for the worse-case scenario. What will you do if you have a snowstorm and a plow operator out with a COVID-19 quarantine? What if you have two or three out on quarantine? Do you have a contingency plan to get the streets plowed if you are at 50% staffing?

Your city may already have a backup operator in place, while some of you are laughing at 50% saying there is only one person that operates the plow. When working on your plan, some questions to consider include:

• When do you need to start looking at the winter season and planning for these scenarios?
• Is your plan laid out for 14 days or more? Should it be?
• Should you look at mutual aid agreements with neighboring communities, county services, or even private contractors to pick up if the pandemic takes your staff away?
• Is cross-training other staff to plow an option? (I know of building inspectors that plowed snow for public works when they were short staffed!)
• Are there union contracts that need to be reviewed when working with other agencies or departments?
• When was the last time that you reviewed the plan to make sure it will still function as when the plan was first developed?

Having a contingency plan for staff is always a best practice, but this becomes magnified if the pandemic is still around through winter. When you have a policy, you can use that as a guide to make contingency plans in case of an emergency. It’s a baseline to guide staff and can lay out when plowing operations will start, what routes are priority routes, and what gets plowed last.

I developed a snowplow policy many years ago that laid out staff routes with full staff, two-thirds staff, half-staff, and quarter staff. Having this in the policy helps guide staff and administration to what needs to get completed when people are sick, late, stuck in their own driveways, or, now in 2020, possibly in quarantine. Without a written policy, staff may be plowing trails in parks while the priority emergency routes aren’t even opened to traffic.

If you are at full staff its typically easy. What about if you are half-staff, one private contractor, a county plow operator, and the finance clerk? What type of plan can you have for them once they arrive to start plowing and how the operation should flow? Is it going to be flawless? Not likely. But did the priority/emergency routes get opened in a timely fashion, did the priority facilities get plowed next, and so on?

Nothing ever works when you’re scrambling at 2 a.m. for a plow operator and you tell them to just go push the snow when they don’t even know the streets. Have a policy that provides a baseline for operations, allows for flexibility, and plans for staffing shortages.

I know we are all hoping that COVID-19 goes away soon, but what if it’s here through the winter? How will your operations get affected and what plans do you have in place?

Submitted by: Troy Walsh, Loss Control Consultant

Considerations for Wearing Masks and Face Shields During COVID-19

People in Minnesota are now required to wear a face covering in all indoor businesses and public indoor spaces, unless alone. Additionally, workers are required to wear a face covering when working outdoors in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained.

That’s all according to Gov. Walz’s Executive Order 20-81, effective July 25, 2020.

The League of Minnesota Cities team has received many questions about face coverings. Where they need to be worn, what is allowed for face coverings, and when does a face shield become an option over a face mask? The Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) provide best practice guidance and are great resources for any COVID-19 pandemic questions you may have.  We follow the CDC and MDH guidance on wearing of face masks and the option of a face shield.  

What CDC and MDH say about face shields
The MDH has provided face covering requirements and recommendations under the Executive Order. 

• What they say: It is not known whether face shields (a clear plastic barrier that covers the face) provide the same source control for droplets as face masks, but they may be an option in situations where wearing a face mask is problematic. For optimal protection, the shield should extend below the chin and to the ears, and there should be no exposed gap between the forehead and the shield's headpiece.

The CDC has also provided considerations for wearing masks.

• What they say: It is not known if face shields provide any benefit as source control to protect others from the spray of respiratory particles. CDC does not recommend use of face shields for normal everyday activities or as a substitute for masks. Some people may choose to use a face shield, in addition to a mask, when sustained close contact with other people is expected. If face shields are used without a mask, they should wrap around the sides of the wearer’s face and extend to below the chin. Disposable face shields should only be worn for a single use. Reusable face shields should be cleaned and disinfected after each use.

City of Cologne

Face shield protection study
Here’s what we know and what we don’t about how face shields can protect us from contracting the coronavirus: Researchers put a face shield on a head form encasing a breathing machine and placed it a few feet from another head form spewing droplets of influenza. They measured how much influenza made it behind the face shield, into the mouth of the head form, and down the breathing machine. The face shield did a good job of blocking the cough at first, catching the big droplets. But as the minutes went on, smaller droplets — aerosols — made their way behind the shield.

Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. Face shields may not provide as much protection to respiratory droplets but are an option, especially if there are medical issues involved with the wearer.  

Submitted by: Troy Walsh, Loss Control Consultant