State Fund Column

April 2011

Use extra care when working around tanks and vessels
By Mike Klimenko, Farm Bureau Group Manager

Tanks and vessels that are used to store or transport flammable materials can still hold flammable gases and vapors after they are emptied, creating a hidden danger of explosion for anyone working with or near them.

Sources of ignition include open flames, welding, cutting and even static electricity. Static electricity occurs when an electrical charge builds up on the surface of an item. This can be caused by friction of surfaces against each other, by pumping or agitating flammable materials or by materials such as water, grit, inert gas or air flowing across or through a surface.

To prevent fires and explosions from these vapors, CalOSHA requires that tanks are cleaned, ventilated and purged of flammable vapors and tested for flammability before any potential sources of ignition are used on the tanks.

When static electricity builds up, it will remain charged until it slowly goes to ground or until it comes into contact with another surface and suddenly discharges with a spark. This sudden spark can cause fire and explosion if it comes into contact with a flammable gas or vapor.

To rid the tank or vessel of static electricity, be sure that it is properly grounded. Grounding devices can be portable or permanently installed in facilities. They contain metal clips or clamps to attach the ground cables to the equipment and the grounding point.

When grounding a tank or vessel, it is important to make a good metal-to-metal contact for your grounding devices. Don’t attach or remove ground devices if there are flammable gases or vapors present. Also, make sure that portable grounding devices have long enough cables so that they stay attached during your movements. Don’t open the tank or vessel until the equipment is grounded.

Ground any conductive components of tanks or vessels. During cleaning, purging and ventilation of tanks and vessels, ground the nozzles to air, high pressure water cleaning systems, grit cleaning systems and inert gases to the tank or vessel shell that is being cleaned. It is also necessary to ground steam cleaning components, lines and hoses.

Be sure that your employees are aware of these dangers because by taking proper precautions, many potential accidents can be avoided.

State Fund has a wealth of information on safety topics available for easy access on our website at www.statefundca.com. Click on “Employers” and then “Resources” to find the extensive list of topics.

Since 1943, Farm Bureau and State Fund have been business partners. When your policy comes up for renewal, if you are not insured with State Fund, please be sure to get a quote in our Farm Bureau Group Program. For more information, call toll-free at (800) 773-7667, or check the State Fund Web site at www.statefundca.com.

March 2011

Written IIPP helps reduce risk of injuries on the farm
By Mike Klimenko, Farm Bureau Group Manager

As an employer, paying close attention to safety protects the health of your employees and helps you comply with Cal/OSHA regulations. One of the most important tools for employers, including those in agriculture, is an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).

California employers are required by law to have a written IIPP in place and readily available if state inspectors show up at the farm or ranch. Employers are subject to substantial fines if a Cal/OSHA officer inspects your operation and cites you for failure to maintain an IIPP.

The IIPP includes procedures that you put into practice. Part of an employer’s responsibility is to control potential workplace hazards and correct hazardous conditions or practices as they occur or are recognized. The IIPP includes a system for you to communicate with your employees on matters relating to occupational safety and health, including provisions designed to encourage employees to inform you of hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.

The safety communications system, one of the elements of the IIPP, should be in a form readily understandable by all affected employees. The safety communication system may include meetings, training programs, postings, written communications, a system for anonymous notification by employees about hazards, labor/management safety and health committees and other means of ensuring communication with employees.

There are three main elements to an IIPP program: safety training, safety inspections and accident investigations.

At State Fund, we conduct workshops to help you complete your IIPP and thereby take a big step toward creating a safer workplace. Agricultural employers can obtain one of our IIPP binders by participating in one of our four-hour IIPP workshops. These workshops are designed to show employers how to actually create and maintain an effective IIPP for an agricultural operation.

To find when an IIPP workshop will be conducted in your area, check with your county Farm Bureau office or State Fund representative.

In addition to the workshops, State Fund also has a user-friendly downloadable guide to building an IIPP that is designed to help you establish the following requirements for a safe workplace:

Management commitment/assignment of responsibilities
Safety communications system with employees
System for assuring employee compliance with safe work practices
Scheduled inspections/evaluation system
Accident investigation
Procedures for correcting unsafe/unhealthy conditions
Safety and health training and instruction
Recordkeeping and documentation

The guide can be accessed at www.statefundca.com/employers/NewBusiness/safetycenter/IIPP.asp.

State Fund helps employers make their workplaces safer by offering comprehensive loss control services. Safety & Health Services supports this mission by providing quality services, products and professional expertise. Our efforts help protect California employees and help our policyholders manage their workers’ compensation costs. Our extensive workplace safety and training programs are designed to prevent injuries each year and help protect California’s most valuable asset: its people.

State Fund’s safety and health services are offered at no extra charge to policyholders and include educational programs, materials and inspections:

Safety & Health Services ergonomic evaluations, air sampling, and on-site inspections that can save employers thousands of dollars in injuries and illnesses.
Safety educational materials including pamphlets, manuals, booklets and safety sheets
Assistance in Cal/OSHA Compliance

State Fund recognizes that your loss control efforts affect the frequency and severity of injuries and illnesses in your work environment. Our experience shows that with informed planning and education, workplace injuries and illnesses can be reduced or eliminated. We are committed to the belief that a safe workplace can increase worker productivity and lower your workers’ compensation costs.

For this reason, State Fund has prepared a catalog of safety materials as a service to policyholders. The catalog may be downloaded at www.statefundca.com/pdf/e17839.pdf.

February 2011

Insist that employees use of lockout/tagout procedures
By Mike Klimenko, Farm Bureau Group Manager

Four out of every five accidents involving injuries to persons performing maintenance or set-up work on machinery were caused because the proper lockout/tagout procedures were not followed.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, failure to lock out or tag power sources on equipment can result in electrocutions, amputations, and other serious—sometimes fatal—accidents.

Be sure to follow proper lockout/tagout procedures, even for a quick or minor repair. Don’t cut corners. Without exception, lockout/tagout should always be required during setups, when performing maintenance, when troubleshooting or making repairs.

When a piece of equipment has been locked out, a person should never remove any locks or tags other than his or her own. In addition, a person should never try to start equipment that has been locked out or tagged out unless authorized to do so.

Lockout/tagout means that the energy source for the equipment—electrical, mechanical, hydraulic or other—must be disengaged or blocked. There’s a big difference between turning off a machine and actually disengaging a piece of equipment. If a lockout/tagout procedure is going to be used, a person should first notify all individuals in the area where the work is to be performed.

Whether you work with one piece of machinery or several, the following prevention program is recommended:

Identify all equipment that requires lockout/tagout of power sources.
Post warning signs to indicate that lockout/tagout is required.
Develop written procedures explaining how lockout/tagout is to be done and allow no deviation from these procedures.
Train workers in lockout/tagout and conduct periodic refresher training.
Perform regular maintenance to prevent malfunctioning equipment.

There is also a procedure that should always be followed when restarting a machine that was shut down for maintenance, set up or any other reason. The following items must be checked:

Have all guards been replaced correctly?
Are all stray tools and parts accounted for and removed from the work area?
Are pressure tubing, pipes and hose connections properly installed?
Have all lockout/tagout notices been removed?
Is the area clear of all workers?

There is also a procedure that should always be followed when restarting a machine that was shut down for maintenance, set up or any other reason. The following items must be checked:

January 2011

Make sure farm equipment's guards are in place
By Mike Klimenko, Farm Bureau Group Manager

Moving machine parts have the potential to cause severe injuries on the farm or ranch, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness. To protect workers from these dangerous mishaps, equipment manufacturers install machine guards to cover any machine part, function, or process that may cause injury.

This means that when a machine is in operation, its guards must be in place. A guard must never be bypassed or removed during use. If a guard is removed for machine cleaning or repairing, it must be put back into place before reuse or storage.

Before putting any machine into operation, it is very important for the equipment operator to do a thorough inspection to make sure that all guards are properly functioning and securely in place. Checking the guards should be part of your regular daily inspection. Employees should be encouraged to report any missing or damaged guards should be reported to you or their supervisor.

It is important that workers are trained in machine operation safety before using such equipment. The training should cover such things as wearing the proper clothing for working around machines including required personal protective equipment. For example, if a worker's long hair becomes entangled in a tractor's PTO (power take-off), the results can be tragic. Be sure everyone is wearing tucked-in shirts and pants without cuffs. Long sleeves, neckties, scarves, gloves or jewelry can become entangled in moving parts. Everyone should wear eye protection where required and keep long hair covered and away from moving parts.

Many farm accidents occur when workers are clearing a jam, reaching for a tool, retrieving an object or making an adjustment. Don't let breakdowns, jammed work or broken parts cause you to forget safety procedures. Power should be turned off and switches locked and tagged during repair and moving equipment should be blocked to protect against stored energy. When the repair has been completed, guards must be replaced and checked that they work properly.

A machine's motor should be completely stopped and the power source disconnected before a worker attempts to service, adjust, clear or unclog the equipment. Don't try to slow down a moving part with your hand or makeshift device, let the machine stop completely by itself. And never walk off and leave a running machine unattended.

Injury prevention comes down to having the proper procedures in place and requiring that they are carried out. Remind everyone that a machine's safety features are there to protect them. If they allow themselves to become distracted, bypass a guard or ignore a safety procedure, it could lead to a serious mishap.