February 2017 IVES Update Newsletter

In this edition we'll be covering the following topics:

• Feature Article: Time Well Spent.
• Cal/OSHA looks to IVES for training.
• OSHA cites $197,752 for excavation hazards.
• Ask Bob: Our tech guru addresses a question on aerial lift pre-use inspections.
• OSHA's 2016 Top 10 serious and willful violations.
• An incident report on a deadly forklift accident.
• Last chance to register!
• What's Wrong With This? Photo and answer.
• A selection of interesting articles.
• New testimonials from our wonderful clients.

But first, check out all the places we are delivering training this month...

Time Well Spent

Having been in the training world over the past 25 years, I completely understand and can personally attest to the value of using sound instructional techniques in the delivery of forklift operator training. Knowing the subject well, working from a plan, being observant in the classroom and in the field plus a host of other tried and true methods and procedures used by trainers and educators from around the world didn’t become the hallmarks of good training by chance. They are used because they work. Simply put, I believe that if a trainer can convey the what, how and why of a given task or procedure, like operating a forklift for example, then he/she can consider it a job well done.

In sharp contrast, take a situation I experienced following a job interview for my first “real” job after high school. The interviewer stood up and asked me to follow him into the plant, a very busy industrial production facility that manufactured high-end doors. I thought we were going on a plant tour but to my surprise I was led to a work station and put to work, still dressed in my interview clothing. He told to me to wait there until he could get a supervisor over to tell me what to do. The supervisor arrived about 15 minutes later and without introduction, immediately began to spit out work instructions for me with a heavy German accent in the midst of a very busy and noisy industrial environment. The only way I had of knowing or at least presuming he was done was that several seconds passed with him not moving his mouth while staring at me. Sensing my bewilderment in what I can only imagine was the look of utter ignorance on my face, he started to perform the job he wanted me to do. Slowly, I began to mimic what he was doing until, and again I presumed, he saw what he wanted to see and with the same cordiality with which he arrived, he departed. As you might imagine I did the job very poorly and only improved when others downstream in the production process sought me out and, shall we say, offered “clarification” on what I should be doing.

When I look back on what a disaster that situation was I realize how easily it could have been avoided using a few basic training techniques. Imagine how much better of a job I could have done had I clearly understood what was expected of me and for that matter, what the job actually was. Then how much more improvement could have been realized if the supervisor (trainer) had taken the time through practice and evaluation to ensure I understood how to do the job. Finally, and in my opinion most importantly, think of the grief that all of my coworkers downstream could have avoided if I understood why the job I was doing needed to be done the way it was. In this particular scenario, I remember it was over a year later while working at one of the jobs downstream from the one I made a mess of a year earlier, that I truly understood the importance of doing that job upstream the right way and I wondered why my “trainer” chose not to make the context of what I was doing known to me.

I never want my trainees, particularly the beginners, to feel the same sense of anxiety and dread I felt back then at being forced to do something important in the scheme of things with no clue of what, how or why to do it. It was very clearly exposed way back then and probably has been a billion times since, that not spending the time to address the basic tenets of what, how and why in the context of any training scenario is a recipe for certain failure and while it may qualify as dictation, it is definitely not training.

I’m sure that the company and the people involved in my particular situation had their reasons for doing things the way they did. Back in those days training was not the front burner issue it is today and of course the usual constraints on time were as prevalent then as they are today. However, if time truly is of the essence you’ll probably find that investing it at the front end of a training program will save you more of it than dealing with the consequences at the back end.

Rob Vetter
Director of Training
IVES Training Group

Cal/OSHA Looks to IVES for Training

When Cal/OSHA needed PIT (Powered Industrial Truck) training for Officers within their Consultation, Hygiene and Enforcement divisions, who did they call? IVES of course! We thought you might find a little peace of mind in knowing that the same company that you called for your mobile equipment safety training is the same company that state regulatory agencies like Cal/OSHA called. IVES has also worked in the same way with regulatory agencies in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

In this photo at right, Rob Vetter of IVES leads Cal/OSHA Officers through forklift training in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

OSHA Cites Contractor $197,752 for Excavation Hazards

A Long Island contractor was cited by OSHA for exposing workers to excavation hazards at the construction site at Verona High School, the agency announced on Monday.

The Landtek Group, a contractor based in Amityville, N.Y., was issued nine violations for allegedly exposing employees to an unprotected 10-foot-deep excavation with no protective systems in place, the agency said. The company faces $197,752 in fines as a result of the citations.

Landtek was chosen to work on new tennis courts and a synthetic turf field project in Verona in April 2016.

"Without needed protections in place, an excavation can quickly become a grave as thousands of pounds of soil collapse upon workers below ground,” Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office, said in a release. “The Landtek Group must re-examine its safety procedures and take all available precautions – including installing shoring or other means – to prevent unexpected movement or collapses of the soil that can lead to disaster."

The contractor was cited with a willful violation for exposing workers to cave-in hazards and eight serious violations for Landtek failing to prevent employee exposures to fall, atmospheric and explosion hazards, the agency said.

Landtek was also cited for failing to have a competent person inspect the excavation; have a written permit space program; train employees on safely performing their job duties and hazards associated with them; coordinate rescue and emergency services for workers entering a sewer manhole; and provide mechanical retrieval equipment in case of an emergency.

OSHA inspected the construction site at Verona High School on June 22.

Source: www.oshatoday.com

Ask Bob

Q: If multiple workers are on a job site on the same shift and will be sharing the use of the aerial lift how many daily operation checklists need to be filled out?

A: Good question. This is one that you and your company will need to make the final decision on. Here are the options:

1.  At least one pre-use is done by the first operator and documented at the beginning of the day or before the unit is used on the shift.
2. The first operator completes the initial inspection checklist and each one after that confirms it by using the original form filled out at the beginning of the shift and initialing it at the bottom following their inspections.
 
When I train trainers, I suggest everyone goes with option #2. That way each operator knows the machine is safe and doesn't have to trust that someone did the pre-use properly. If something happens, the operator using the equipment at the time is responsible for its safe operation including ensuring it was inspected before use.

Take a look at our aerial pre-use inspection forms available for download on your Dashboard in the member’s area of our website. These forms can accommodate several operators using one form per day.

OSHA's Top 10 "serious" violations, fiscal year 2016

 A "serious" violation is defined by OSHA as "one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard."

OSHA's Top 10 "willful" violations, fiscal year 2016

OSHA defines a "willful" violation as one "committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and requirements."

Source: www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com

Deadly Forklift Accident

SAN ANTONIO - A man is dead and another is in critical condition after a horrible construction accident downtown Monday afternoon.

Police said around 3:45 p.m two workers were inside a box that was being lifted to a window of a building on College Street and La Soya. While they were being lifted, police said the box tipped and they fell nearly 60 feet. One of the men, later identified as 53-year-old Gilbert Villanueva, died at the scene. The other man was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center in critical condition.

"It was a forklift lifting up a large box of construction equipment and the box tipped over, basically spilling both men out onto the street; one of them was hit by the box itself" said San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

Source: www.foxsanantonio.com

Last Chance Programs

We have lots of upcoming programs to choose from, but seats are limited. Click a link for more details and to register online!

What's Wrong With This? Photo

Can you tell what's going wrong in this photo?

Have a photo you'd like to share? Send it to us!

Answer to Last Month's WWWT? Photo

This worker is being elevated on a forklift without using an approved work platform securely attached to the carriage. He is standing on a pallet with no guardrails and risks a serious fall which could be fatal. The worker is not using a personal fall protection system when the height of this job certainly warrants one!

Have a photo you'd like to share? Send it to us!

Interesting Articles

• 7 things you need to know to survive an OSHA inspection...more
• Preparing for platform load sense...more
• Video: Thief uses stolen forklift, gets away with ATM in minutes...more
• Pedestrians and forklifts: two formidable enemies...more
• Buying fall protection equipment in 2017...more
• Worker crushed to death by falling forklift...more
• Supervisor jailed over reach truck fatality in Singapore...more
• Census of fatal occupational injuries summary, 2015...more
• Overextended boom caused truck to tip over on bridge...more

Client Testimonials

"Program was exceptional and without a doubt has saved many injuries and loss of life." Eric, Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services.

"This was a great program and will have a strong value for myself and my company." William, PSAV.

"Engaging and interactive!!" Peter, Schnitzer Steel.

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