Common Questions

Click on the subject area below for answers to common questions about Work Site Safety.

1. How can I get started?
2. How should I/my employer implement policy changes required by the North Dakota Work Site Safety Program?
3. Are safety games (competition) good for the work place?
4. How do I host a car safety seat checkup at my business?
5. How can my business host alcohol-free office parties?
6. How can I tell if I'm too tired to drive?

If your question wasn't answered, ask here!

How can I get started?

Order your free, easy-to-implement North Dakota Work Site Safety Program manual today! Contact the North Dakota Work Site Safety Program Office at 701-225-4677 or e-mail info@ndworksite.org. Upon request, you will receive your program manual and an employer pledge agreement for you to sign, date and return to confirm your participation. The pledge agreement indicates you understand that traffic crashes are the number one cause of death in the work place; and that wearing safety belts and not driving impaired are two proactive ways to reduce injury and death while driving.

How should I/my employer implement policy changes required by the North Dakota Work Site Safety Program?

The best way to inform employees of policy changes and/or the addition of new safety belt and impaired driving policies is personally. Consider hosting a safety meeting. Invite your entire staff, board of directors and any other company partners you feel appropriate.

Print the amendments to your business personnel policy manual and distribute to all employees. Explain the changes and/or additions, why they will be implemented and what the benefits are to making the changes.

If informing employees personally is not possible, utilize your company newsletter or schedule a safety coordinator to present the information to your employees.

Are safety games (competition) good for the work place?

Health and Safety - It's Not a Game!

Employer-sponsored "safety-games" or "safety contests" may seem benign on the surface, but there's a deadly motive to be seen when looking deeper.

Not satisfied with record profits, many U.S. companies are going after an even fatter "bottomline" by attacking health and safety.

First, there's the attack on the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. But, more insidious and immediately dangerous, employers are rediscovering an old scheme to con workers into undermining their own job safety.

In many companies, there's been a resurgence of employer-sponsored "safety games" or "safety contests" which are designed to "reward" employees for not reporting accidents.

In one business, management announced a new safety game. Here's how it works.

Each month, the names of employees are put into a pool for a drawing, but only if their department has not reported any accidents. If your department has reported an accident, you're not eligible. The prize for the drawing is $100. If more than three accidents are reported throughout the entire plant the drawing is not held. Instead, the money remains until the next month, so the "pot" can get larger.

The company objected to this "game" precisely because it makes a game of safety. It pits workers against each other. Some workers will "blame" someone who gets hurt for ruining their chances to win the prize. The focus is switched from the removal of unsafe working conditions to not reporting accidents. It places the blame on workers, as if workers have accidents on purpose.

There are other variations on this game. "Safety Bingo" turns up every once in a while. Workers are all given bingo cards and there is a prize. Numbers are only drawn each week that there's no accident. In the word versions of this game, management will post the names of workers who had accidents and thereby "ruined" everybody's chance to play bingo that week.

The worst aspect of these "games" is that they can easily turn into a divisive issue, especially when the company tries to put a stop to them. Common sense is overwhelmed by the game itself ... and members can become angry that their co-workers are "spoiling their chance to win." The best approach is to try to make people see reason -- that these "safety games" are nothing more than daredevil stunts that, for example, we'd never let our teenage sons and daughters participate in.

Businesses must quickly oppose these games by explaining why they are just plain bad. They undermine safety and unity by pitting workers who have had an accident against other workers. We can't afford to let anyone make a game out of safety.

Source: www.ranknfile-ue.org/stwd_bng.html

Car Safety Seat Checkups - Good Business

From an employers' standpoint, losing an employee for any amount of time or altogether due to a traffic crash is the most devastating loss for any business. The next most devastating loss is when an employee loses a child.

According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, car safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers (1-4 years old) in passenger cars. For infants and toddlers in light trucks, the seats reduce fatal injury by 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively.

Every model of car seat is unique and requires detailed instructions on safe installation. With the ever increasing amount of style and brand choices on the market, safe installation continually posts a challenge to well-meaning parents.

Car safety seats are inspected for the following:

• Does the seat meet federal safety standards? Has it been recalled?
  
• Is the car seat appropriate for the age, weight and height of the child?
  
• Is the child secured properly in the car seat?
  
• Is the car seat installed correctly in the vehicle?

Currently scheduled car safety seat checkups, in North Dakota, are listed below.

If you would like to host a car safety seat checkup at your place of business and invite your customers, employees and friends to attend, contact Carol Meidinger, North Dakota Department of Health and Education, 701-328-2493 or 1-800-472-2286 and press one. Offering car safety seat checkups at your place of business is an opportunity to show your employees how much you care about them and their families.

How can my business host alcohol-free office parties?

Office Parties and Alcohol Don't Mix

Office parties offer fun, food and relaxation among co-workers. These events boost morale, encourage teamwork and benefit the company by showing employees they are appreciated. They are an overall positive company experience, unless mixed with alcohol. Providing alcohol for office parties can lead to irreversible and, at times, deadly circumstances.

Allowing employees to drive home from an office party where alcohol was served can result in any number of consequences. In instances such as this, employers increase their liability to many laws concerning alcohol use and responsibility.

The only way employers can completely protect themselves, and their company, is to eliminate alcohol from any office sponsored party or activity. This includes not supplying alcohol bought with company dollars, as well as discouraging employees from bringing alcohol they have previously purchased to the event.

Prior to the upcoming event, protect yourself and your employees by sending a safe and sober message regarding office celebrations. Educate employees about the harmful effects of impaired driving to their work place, as well as their community. This safeguards business assets and contributes to the nationwide campaign to eliminate the devastating and preventable effects of impaired driving.

Coordinating an office party is both a generous gesture and an enormous responsibility. Leaving alcohol off the guest list will benefit both the employer and employees.

Tips for planning an alcohol-free office party

1. All employees should know the office substance abuse policy, including the policy on the use of alcohol at company functions.
   
   
2. Ensure that all employees are reminded of the policy prior to an office event. Use several mediums to communicate the policy to employees. Posters in breakrooms and mass e-mail messages are two effective means of communication between employer and employee. Also, encourage employee questions/concerns about the policy.
   
   
3. Try something nontraditional for your office party. Organize an event with a nonprofit organization or hold a soup kitchen fundraising event to benefit a favorite local charity.
   
   
4. Include a variety of beverages to suit different tastes. Hold a "mocktail" contest. (These are nonalcoholic drinks that look and sometimes taste like the real thing.)
   
   
5. Serve foods which are rich in proteins and starches. These foods stay longer in the stomach and keep your guests feeling fortified. Avoid foods which are very salty, greasy or sweet. These types of foods tend to make people thirsty and feel tired.
   
   
6. Designate a party controller. Train them to notice the signs of someone who has been drinking and give them the power to enforce the office policy on alcohol use. These individuals keep the peace at the event among those invited and discourage a possible party-crasher.