Photos of hazards in the workplace

Photos of hazards in the workplace - safetyphoto uk
The purpose of this web site is to provide practical information that might be helpful to NEBOSH, occupational health/safety students and others, whilst taking part in their studies. It brings together in one place, photographs of hazards, poor working procedures and near misses in the workplace.

"Swedish Hard Hat" order form, no kidding

Visor, "Swedish Hard Hat"

Rally calls for safer logging practices

Rally calls for safer logging practices - By Sandra McCulloch, Victoria Times Colonist
Talk of logging companies upgrading their safety programs brought only scoffs from many of those gathered in Chemainus on Thursday.

"I'm here to support safety awareness for the B.C. loggers because too many have died this year," said rally organizer Glynis Eve, whose husband was a logger for 23 years. Eve is founder of the Vancouver Island Loggers Safety Support Group.

"We are not the enemy, we are an independent group of concerned citizens," she said.

Changing to longer stretches of working days -- to six or 10 days in a row from five days -- is making loggers tired and prone to accidents, she said. She vowed the group will act "to ensure our loved ones' place of employment returns to the respectable camps they once were."

Recent changes are putting loggers at risk, said Scott Baird, who has worked in the logging industry, as has his family. "Because we've gone to contract logging, corners are being cut and safety is the first sacrifice [companies] seem to make."

Cathedral Grove Vancouver Island

CathedralGrove.se
The Swedish website project on Cathedral Grove explores - primarily by means of visual representation - the relationships between environmental politics and history; between environmental activism and vested interests; between environmental ethics and science; between European and North American cultural identities. The project is motivated by a concern over the degradation of nature by the global wood products industry, and reflects on the non-sustainable consumption of natural resources and its devastating consequences on the ancient forests and indigenous peoples of the world. The Cathedral Grove website is an appeal to help protect the last old growth forests in North America, those rare and endangered places that have hitherto escaped the tsunami of imperialism, resource exploitation and population expansion triggered by Europeans.

plywood-pete's world map of visitors

Site Meter - Counter and Statistics Tracker
try this new Site Meter feature we just added this week: click the link above and let the world map load and mouse over the dots to see where visitors are coming from....

"Nobody trusts WCB"

Faller dies on job -- forestry death rate doubles '04 - By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun
Forest licensees say a culture of risk-taking in the logging sector and a shortage of skilled workers are factors in the rising death toll.

But loggers say conditions have changed in the bush and companies and provincial agencies like WorkSafe B.C. have yet to respond to the new reality of small owner-operator contractors.

The self-employed contractors face pressures to produce more for less, yet are considered employers rather than employees by Worksafe B.C. Their premiums skyrocket if they report safety violations.

Fallers also say they are being required to work under increasingly difficult circumstances as companies rely on an on-and-off pattern of employment and lay-offs known as "lurch-logging." Lurch logging is where workers are hired by contractors for the duration of a specific contract rather than having full-time jobs with forest companies.

Lurch logging is leaving them exhausted and uncertain of steady work, said faller Bill Boardman, a safety advocate and close friend of Gramlich.

"They bring us in like gypsies, stack us on the hill and work us until the job is done," he said of current logging methods.

...Continued

"Nobody trusts WCB," Brown said referring to WorkSafe B.C. "Why? Because they [faller contractors] don't want their rates to go up. They don't want to get in trouble because WCB puts them through the ringer.

"Until that changes," he said, "people will be out there working when they shouldn't be working, when they should be laying at home in bed healing. That wasn't Ted's case but those are the problems."

Brilliant Oct. 21 safety meeting - Skanska safety week

so its 6:45 am - graveyard is tired, day shift is just starting, afternoon shift is no where in sight, open forum is truncated and management is defensive - Pete says it will be run better next time - no accidents for the week tho' so that's a plus for the workers
(commentary and photos by Doc)

Working in the Dark

Working in the Dark - Grading and Excavation Contractor
Regarding the key to successful work in darkness, Eldridge points out that good lighting is essential because operating and moving around heavy equipment demands good visibility and concentration for everybody at the site. He adds that his workers seldom attempt anything as precise as fine-grading at night because however good some lighting systems are, they are not quite the same as daylight for such applications. Most contractors seem to agree with that.

Good lighting for nighttime construction work is essential, and there are standards set for the amount necessary - set nationally by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. You can find those standards, explained and recorded, at the Web site www.osha.gov. It is mandatory that all local standards for lighting and noise be met during any night work. The risks you take by trying to avoid any regulations are not only financial, though they should be deterrent enough; in some communities there is an inspector on-site to make sure you have enough light. The determining factor appears to be the amount of adequate light available for a certain work area, and contractors who have experience in night work tend to learn how much is required and practical and where to find the right lights. If your excavation involves moving along a road, street, or airstrip, for example, you might discover that two trailer-mounted units, hauled along as the work progresses, are enough. Some projects, because of their area and the different jobs going on (e.g., surveying before you excavate), might require more than 20 lighting systems.

a typical scene on the dark side:

Pete Walton was making a safety inspection in the powerhouse last Tuesday.

He entered the powerhouse sump area where several Skanska supervisors were talking to a crew of cement finishers.

One supervisor, Mats, is pretending to read a blueprint and Bengt, the other Skanska line manager is hanging upside down from the ceiling.

The safety rep asked what are you guys doing?

The first Skanska supervisor says “Can't you see I yam vreading some blueprints?”'

The supervisor then says “and my construction manager from Sveden he is slightly cvazy. He seems to tink he is a light bulb.”

At that point Pete says, "Since Bengt is an employee of Skanska, don't you think you should get him down from there before he hurts himself?'

Mats then looked over at the safety rep and said, “Vat?!...And have the cement finishers vork in the dark?”

Average Swedish family "cannot afford a house" - they must be working under the Allied Hydro agreement also.....

Average family "cannot afford a house" - The Local, Sweden
Average families where both parents are in blue-collar jobs on a collective wage agreement are no longer able to afford to buy a house in most parts of Sweden, according to a new report.

For the second year in a row the National Association of Homeowners has studied the living costs of families with children. This year's figures show that a couple whose income is based on average trade union salaries would not be able to buy a small house in 270 of Sweden's 290 districts.

If one of the parents ended up working only 75% of the time or became unemployed, they would not be able to afford a property anywhere in the country.

"We believe that blue-collar workers should be able to afford to live in their own house," said the vice-director of the association, Elisabeth Österman.

"Unfortunately the research shows that it's hard. The main problem is the property tax, which needs a fundamental rethink."

Families in the Stockholm suburb of Danderyd face the highest housing costs at an average of 15,970 kronor per month. At the other end of the scale, a family in Ragunda pays an average of 4,045 kronor per month.

According to the report, housing expenses eat up between 16% and 58% of a trade union member family's disposable income, compared to between 12% and 46% for a professional family.

Give us our knives or the fish gets it -- Swedish version

Sweden's Nessie loses its special protection - Scotsman.com News
A NESSIE-like mythical monster, believed by some to have lived for hundreds of years in the murky depths of a Swedish lake, is now fair game for hunters - if they can find it - after authorities agreed to lift its endangered-species protection.

Hundreds of people claim to have spotted a large serpent-like creature in Lake Storsjon in the north-western province of Jamtland, and in 1986 the regional council put it on a list of endangered animals.

But a government watchdog challenged the decision, saying such protection was hardly necessary for a creature whose existence has not been proven.

The council has now agreed to remove the listing, but declined to rule out that there is a monster living in the 300ft-deep lake. "It exists, inasmuch as it lives in the minds of people," said Peter Lif, the council's chief legal adviser.

The so-called Storsjo monster was first mentioned in print in 1635. Some people describe the creature as a snakelike animal with a dog's head and fins on its neck. But no clear image of it has been captured on camera.

Storsjo monster aficionados said lifting the endangered species protection was a mistake, and appeared insulted. "We are not fanatics," said Christer Berko, of the Storsjo Monster Association. "We see this as very interesting phenomenon that we unfortunately have not been able to prove."

Remembrance Day 2005

Remembrance Day 2005 - United Transportation Union
Take the time to attend the ceremonies this year and offer your thanks to a group of men and women who suffered greatly so that Canadians from all walks of life could maintain their freedom.

Had the results of the war been different, there might not be the opportunity to say thanks to those who protected this country and its people.


Encounters With Canada Blog - Veterans Affairs Canada

It's more than just a 'holiday' - edmontonsun.com
NDP MP Peter Stoffer said declaring the Year of the Veteran has done much to build respect for Canada's veterans.But he's disappointed some people still see Nov. 11 as a 'holiday.'

'You'd think for Remembrance Week, and for Remembrance Day, we would actually take a full day to reflect upon what happened in those terrible years, and I think some people still don't get it,' he said.

British Columbia Recognizes Cancer as an Occupational Hazard for Firefighters

click for full text of article - Occupational Hazards
"The core of a workers' compensation system is that it must be responsive to workers' and employers' needs," Labour and Citizens' Services Minister Mike de Jong said. "The contributions our firefighters make in communities all over B.C. should never be underestimated, and it's important we support them in every way we can."

This change to the Workers Compensation Act creates what is called a "rebuttable presumption." This means the onus will be on WorkSafeBC – the Workers' Compensation Board – or the employer to bring forward proof to establish why an injured worker should not be eligible for compensation rather than placing the burden of proof on a sick firefighter.

"This is an important day for B.C.'s firefighters," said Al Leier, president of the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters' Association. "Having the risk of cancer recognized as one of the hazards of our job is welcome news."

Steve Malekow and the Powerhouse roof beam

Hi Pete
Please find attached the photo I created of me holding the Powerhouse roof beam.
You have my permission to post it in the Photo Gallery of the Columbia Power Corporation Website.

Yours truly,
Steve Malekow

Know Your Knots

Know Your Knots - NY Dockbuilders Local Union 1456
6 knots in flash animation

Get Killed On The Job and You're Fired!

click for full text: Get Killed On The Job and You're Fired! commentary by Jordan Barab, Confined Space
Now I'm sure to get a comment from someone asking how I could possibly have a problem with a "zero-tolerance safety policy." The problem is bloody pocket syndrome which Steelworkers union health and safety director Mike Wright describes as "steelworkers who may have as little as a cut on their hand while on the job and in fear of retribution will hide it and wait until after their shift to go to the hospital."

After all, if you get injured, it means you must have violated some kind of safety rule, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten hurt. And if you violated a safety rule, you're outta here. To quote Mr. Williams III again, "There is no warning system. There is no probation. You are gone."

As we have said over and over (and over and over) again here at Confined Space, most workplace accidents are caused not by careless workers or "complacencies," but by unsafe working conditions. Blaming accidents on employees, disciplining and firing them for any injury or safety violation doesn't encourage employees to look for, report and analyze the root causes of workplace accidents and close calls, but to hide them.

high angle rescue photos

Brilliant Intakes mock rescue November 3
click images for full size photos

Skanska knives, the story so far...

first announced as a safety incentive, held back as a production bonus bribe, then back ordered and kept under lock-and-key, lately described as ratty knock-offs or scheduled for delivery before years end -- the rumours continue...

... and cryptic ransom notes have started to appear around the job site: