Turn Around, Don't Drown -- What to do During a Flood

Floodwater Facts

• Six inches of water can reach the bottom of most cars, causing you to lose control of your vehicle.
• A foot of water will float many vehicles.
• Two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles.
• Six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet.

Turn Around, Don’t Drown!

• Floodwater can pose a drowning risk. Do not attempt to walk, swim or drive through flooded waters.
• Avoid areas that are already flooded. Seek higher ground. Even if the water may appear shallow, you can’t be sure of the condition of the road beneath it, which may be broken up or washed away.
• If the road is flooded, find another route. It could save your life.
• Never ignore signs and barriers that warn of flooded and dangerous roads.
• If floodwaters start rising around your car, if possible, abandon car and get to a higher ground.
• If driving at night, be careful, as flooding is more difficult to recognize.
• Floodwater may be carrying debris that could injure you. 
• Keep children away from floodwater. Prevent them from playing near or in drainage outlets and storm water retention basins.
• Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water. Stay away from power lines that are down.

Check out these videos on what could happen if you don't turn around:

https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-turn-around-dont-drown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI6mIlHKrVY

Submitted by: Kate Connell, Loss Control Representative

Safety Tips for Filling, Moving, and Placement of Sandbags

Record snowfall, warmer temperatures, and rain has led to an increased risk of flooding across Minnesota communities. As cities prepare, remember that sandbagging is extremely hard work and requires heavy lifting.

First and foremost, when sandbagging, your safety is the most important. Any medical conditions that could have adverse effects on your health, do not be involved in the filling or handling of sandbags. If you are not feeling well, seek medical attention immediately.

It is also important to wear proper clothing and personal protective equipment. Depending on the conditions and your task, you may need to wear safety glasses, closed toe and heel shoes, work gloves, proper head gear, and reflective gear if working at night.

When beginning work, always stretch before lifting and use proper lifting techniques, remembering to keep the lift between knee and waist height. Do not reach out, bend over, of twist when lifting. Do not lift with your back, use your legs. Be aware of your physical conditions and what your limits are.

Filling the sandbags is a two-person task. There should be one person holding the sandbag and another person shoveling and releasing the sand into the bag. Sandbags should only be filled one-half to two-thirds full. Make sure when you are holding the bag to stand feet shoulder width apart and one foot forward in a power stance, with knees slightly bent.

If you are shoveling, it's important to keep your feet wide apart with your front foot close to the shovel. Again, bend your knees and not your back, and keep the shovel close to body. Do not twist your body, instead turn your feet when putting sand into the bag.

Once you start moving and placing of sandbags, carry it in front of you at waist height and close to your body. If passing bags, do not throw them.

Be aware of your surroundings. There will be multiple different tasks going on. Watch for heavy equipment. Check the ground conditions. Watch for other people working. 

While you're filling and placing sandbags, be sure to avoid touching your eyes and mouth because there may be bacteria in the sand, flood water, and other materials and equipment you come in contact with. Always wash your hands before eating and drinking.

Take frequent breaks and rotate positions. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Here are some helpful resources:

• NDSU: Sandbagging for Flood Protection
• Video- NDSU: Sandbag Safety Tips
• OSHA Fact Sheet: Filling, Moving and Placing Sandbags During Flooding Disasters 
• US Army Corps of Engineers: Flood Fighting, How to Use Sandbags 
• Sandbagging 101

Submitted by: LMCIT Loss Control

It's about that time of year again! OSHA Reporting Rule reminder

OSHA 300A Logs need to be posted in your city/utility offices from February 1st through April 30th. Complete instructional packet for Forms 300, 300A, 301 and instructions (PDF (XLS).

Last year, MNOSHA adopted the federal rule requiring annual reporting of injury and illness data. All high-hazard Minnesota industries with 20 or more employees are required to electronically submit their data to federal OSHA by March 2, 2019. 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.

So, how do I do this?

Have a copy of your city/utility 2018 300A Summary in front of you.

You’ll be inputting the data in the Injury Tracking Application (ITA)  www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/index.html

•             Click on create an account, fill in your name, title, phone, email, and create a username.

•             You will be sent a link to change password to one of your choosing.

•             Use the “Manual Data Entry” choice to create an establishment.

•             Use NAICS code of 921190, “Other General Government Support”.

•             Select “General Public Administration”.

•             Click the “Yes – Local Government” button and choose the total employee count.

•             After completing establishment details, continue to enter 300A Summary data.

•             Submit to OSHA when complete.

What if I don’t submit electronically?

Great question! There’s a chance you could be selected for a site-specific inspection. OSHA has announced three groups of employers they’ll target for upcoming inspections. One of the three groups are those who were SUPPOSED to file Form 300A last year but didn’t.

Now, you’re probably wondering what the other two are. They are employers with high injury & illness rates. In particular, those with high Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates. The third target are those with low injury & illness rates.

Your League Loss Control Consultant is available for assistance or contact MNOSHA Compliance (651) 284-5050.

Training from MN OSHA Record Keeping Forms and Information: https://www.dli.mn.gov/business/workplace-safety-and-health/mnosha-compliance-recordkeeping-standard  

By: Julie Jelen, Loss Control Consultant

Stretch for Safety

In our last blog we showed you a video from the City of Maplewood that discussed some of the things that the city has done to improve employee safety. As part of their wellness program Maplewood has also created a video to walk you through some stretches that can help reduce muscle soreness and your risk of injury.

Stretching has been shown to greatly reduce the occurrence of sprain and strain injuries by lengthening the muscles making them less prone to trauma and tears. This means you are less likely to suffer an injury if you accidently overextend your muscles while performing a task, or if you were to slip on ice and fall into an awkward position. Your body would be better prepared to absorb the shock and protect itself.

Another benefit of stretching is that it helps muscles and tendons recover from job fatigue more quickly by reducing muscle tension and soreness. Anecdotally, individuals who take part in a stretching program report being less sore at the end of the work day.

And lastly, stretching can also help you warm-up your muscles and prepare them for work. Muscles that haven’t been appropriately prepared for a strenuous activity have an increased risk of injury.

So give stretching a chance, your body will thank you for it!

By: Cody Tuttle, Loss Control Representative 

Safety Takes Center Stage

How does your City promote safety within the community and/or with staff? The City of Maplewood has developed a safety video highlighting some tools & equipment certain departments have acquired to simplify the job and make staff and the public safer.

The Public Safety Departments are working on physical and mental training. They are working to reduce not only muscle and soft tissue injuries, but also training to deal with difficult situations on the job. Physical and mental training is only part of the solution, embracing new equipment and safer tools are also helping Maplewood reduce staff injuries.

The Public Works staff have upgraded the way they shovel and apply asphalt. Sometimes getting your hands dirty and shoveling asphalt is still what needs to be done, but can we make the job easier on staff? Sometimes additional warning lights can provide a better warning to the passing public, and adding some mechanical advantage to the asphalt trailer can make it easier for staff!

When looking on how to make the workplace safer, ask the staff what are your concerns and what potential injury could you have on-the-job? This could give you a guide on what to improve and make the job safer and easier!

Check out Maplewood’s YouTube video Safer Workers Stronger City: https://youtu.be/zw0S2xs7uDs

By: Troy Walsh, Loss Control Consultant 

You Know What Ticks Me Off?

Ticks!

Dealing with these blood sucking critters is sadly a reality for those of us that work outdoors. Ticks can attach to you when you are walking through or working in forested areas, brush, and high grass. They can carry a variety of diseases that they are able to transmit to you or your pets.

So, what can you do to prevent a tick bite? The best protection is to avoid high grass and wooded areas, but unfortunately this obviously isn’t always an option when on the job. The next best thing you can do is treat your clothing or buy clothing which is pre-treated with a tick repellant that is an EPA-registered insect repellant that is rated against tick bites (remember to only apply in a well-ventilated area if you are treating your own clothing).

Once back indoors

Of course, even using a repellant does not guarantee that a tick will not find its way onto you or your clothes, so here are some other steps that you should take after coming back indoors:

·       Check your clothing for ticks and remove any that are found (How to remove and dispose of ticks).

·       Shower soon after being outdoors – this can help wash off any unattached ticks, and has been shown to reduce the risk of getting Lyme disease and potentially other tickborne diseases.

·       Washing cloths may or may not kill ticks.  Many can survive cool water wash cycles.  Placing clothing in a dryer for 10 - 15 minutes at high heat, typically will kill most tick species.  Most ticks require moisture to survive. 

·       Check your body thoroughly with the help of a hand-held or full-length mirror. Ticks typically must feed on the host body for upwards to 24 hours in order to transmit a disease so removing them quickly is crucial. The most common areas for a bite are:

o   Under the arms

o   In and around the ears

o   Inside belly button

o   Back of the knees

o   In and around the hair

o   Between the legs

o   Around the waist

Recognize the symptoms of a tickborne disease

While preventative steps will greatly reduce the possible risk of transmitting a tickborne illness there is still no guarantee. That is why it can be just as important to recognize the symptoms. Fortunately, many tickborne diseases share similar signs and symptoms:

·         Fever/chills

·         Headaches

·         Fatigue

·         Joint or muscle aches and pains

·         Rashes

If you know you have been bitten, or start feeling any of the symptoms you should see your doctor immediately.

Other Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html

By: Cody Tuttle, Loss Control Representative

Bleacher Safety Act - Fact Sheet and Reporting Update

Did you know that all Bleachers in MN that are over 55” in height, or have guardrails over 30 inches in height are required to be inspected and certified as in compliance with the Bleacher Safety Act? If not don’t worry, we outlined the requirements in a previous blog which you can read here. You can also read about it in Section VII-J of our Park and Recreation Loss Control Memo.

So why are we talking about it again?

In their push to make information more accessible the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) recently created and released a Fact Sheet outlining the requirements for bleacher safety.

Additionally, there has been a change in the reporting regarding the periodic inspections/re-certification that are required to be performed every 5 years. You no longer need to submit these forms to DLI, but rather retain them for your records and make them available upon request.

By: Cody Tuttle