The Forest that is Health & Safety

Health & Safety in the workplace, ah, that saying that could bring shivers down your spine, yet making you show the thumbs up and a wink to the person that mentioned it.

Let’s be honest, as South Africans, who are they to tell us about health & safety? We cook our meat over open flames, dodge taxis in traffic as if we were driving stock cars around a race car track, and face fearless striking workers on a monthly basis.

We’ve always been pretty capable of amazing things! One could just take a step back and look at our history to see the proof of that!

"It's fine," or "Don’t worry about it," or "I’ll just take the employee to the hospital," or "Easy peasy,” is the response most of you have when asked what you intend to do when blood hits the fan. And yes, some of you could argue that there are no real risks at your workplace and that could very well be the case for you. But for the majority of the workplaces in South Africa, risks, hazards and injury hang over each workers head like a bad rain cloud waiting to shower it’s victim with misery.

The question you have to ask yourself is, how big a cloud is hanging over your employee’s heads, and do you have enough buckets, or deep enough buckets to catch the downpour of rain.

I challenge you to an adventure! ‘Klap’ on a pair of steel capped safety shoes, a ‘lekker’ hard hat and venture forth into the jungle of your workplace. Take heed of the dangers you might find there, you’ll find dangers lurking around every corner, ones you can see and ones you cannot see. And Murphy ’s Law will have it that the ones you cannot see, will be the most dangerous.

However, you will not be alone in your quest. During your expedition you’ll encounter the amazing people of the jungle called the "Employeelites". These brave warriors head out in the treacherous forest to hunt, gather, and work the land for their families’ survival. Some of them make it through the days unscathed; whilst others perish into the forest lost to the eyes of their loved ones, or are left stranded by their house unable to work due to a lost limb or two.

Take note of all you see in your forest, the dangers, the people, the bad fruit and the revitalising streams. Take this knowledge you have back to your place of safety and leadership. Use it to make your very own “Safe way through the Forest Guideline” for the brave Employeelites sweating away at your instruction. We cannot get rid of all the dangers yes, but you can remove or minimize them, or alternatively teach your Employeelites to manage them and to work around them.

Don’t be the typhoon that sends his Employeelites home with an arm or leg missing. Don’t take away the freedom of playing rugby or soccer with his son. Or take away the ability to bake their first cake with their daughter.

You have the power within you to be the greatest leader of your workplace, to rise up and outshine all those equal to you. To be worshiped in the eyes of the Employeelites. All you have to do, is do, and not ignore. It’s as simple as that.

So I say again, health & safety in the workplace?

Sounds different now, doesn’t it?

Countdown to 2014!

It's almost that time of the year again, where we head into the festive season, close off another year and look forward to the year that lies ahead.

From all of us at Skills we'd like to thank you for your continued support throughout 2013. We look forward to meeting up again with you in 2014 for another successful year.

If you and your loved are going away this weekend, please be sure to keep it safe.

Remember accidents hurt, safety doesn't!

Summer Sun Safety Part 5

Before we end off our Summer Sun Safety series, let's take a look at what we've learnt over the last few weeks.

It is important to know about the different rays the sun has and how they are harmful to your skin.
The tips to prevent sun damage include: Avoiding the strongest rays & covering up, make use of sun screens, use of protective eyeware & checking your medication.

A sun burn can sneak up on you though, especially if you're having fun out in the sun and you don't realise it. If you or any member of your family does get a sun burn, these tips may help you:

• Have cool (not cold) bath, or gently apply cool, wet compresses tot he skin to help alleviate pain and heat.
  
• To ease discomfort, apply pure aloe vera gel (available from your pharmacy) to the sun burnt areas.
  
• An anti-inflammatory, like ibuprofen, will also help lessen pain and itching.
  
• Apply topical moisturizing cream to rehydrate the skin and treat itching. (Do not use petroleum-based products, because they prevent excess heat and sweat from escaping. Also, avoid first-aid products that contain benzocaine, which may cause skin irritation or allergy.)

If the sun burn is severe and blisters develop, then call your doctor immediately. Do not scratch, squeeze or try to pop the blister until you've consulted your doctor as they might lead to infections and/or scarring. Also remember to stay in the shade until the sun burn has completely healed. Any exposure to the sun may will only increase the severity of the sun burn.


With that we end our series on Summer Sun Safety. Make sure you've educated your family as well so that they can protect themselves too!

Summer Sun Safety Part 4

We've helped you understand more about the different types of sun rays. We've given you tips on avoiding the sun and covering up. And we've taken a closer look at sunscreens.

This week we have another 2 tips to help you and your family survive the summer sun safely!

Use Protective Eyewear

Sun exposure damages the eyes as well as the skin. Even 1 day in the sun can result in a burned cornea. Cumulative exposure can lead to cataracts later in life. The best way to protect eyes is to wear sunglasses. Purchase sunglasses with labels ensuring that they provide 100% UV protection.

Double-Check Medication

Some medications increase the skin's sensitivity to UV rays. As a result, even kids with skin that tends not to burn easily can develop a severe sunburn in just minutes when taking certain medications. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if any prescription and over-the-counter medications your child is taking can increase sun sensitivity.

Next week before schools close off for the year and families begin their journey's to their holiday destinations, we'll bring you the final installment of our Summer Sun Safety campaign with tips on how to treat a sun burn - so keep a lookout for that!

Summer Sun Safety Part 3

We've already taken you through the different types of sun rays and why they are harmful to us. And last week we started to take a look at ways to prevent sun damaged. This week is all about sunscreen.

There are plenty of good sunscreens to suit everyone's needs; including formulations for sensitive skin, scented creams, long lasting, water and sweat proof, as well as easy-application varieties such as spray bottles.

What matters most when deciding which sunscreen to use, you need to focus mainly on the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) rating.

For children from 6 months and older, choose an SPF of 30 or higher to prevent sunburn and tanning. Choose a sunscreen stating that it protects from both UVA and UVB rays. To avoid possible skin allergy, do not use sunscreens with PABA; rather use a product with the active ingredient titanium dioxide.

Teenagers might try self-tanning lotions to get a tanned appearance. These offer an ulternative to ultraviolet exposure, but with little to no protection from UV light.

For sunscreen to do its job properly, it needs to be applied correctly. Make sure to:

• Apply sunscreen whenever kids will be in the sun.
  
• Apply sunscreen about 15 to 30 minutes before kids go outside so that a good layer of protection can form. Don't forget about lips, hands, ears, feet, shoulders, and behind the neck. Lift up bathing suit straps and apply sunscreen underneath them (in case the straps shift as a child moves).
  
• Don't try to stretch out a bottle of sunscreen; apply it generously.
  
• Reapply sunscreen often, approximately every 2 hours, as recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology. Reapply after a child has been sweating or swimming.
  
• Apply a waterproof sunscreen if kids will be around water or swimming. Water reflects and intensifies the sun's rays, so kids need protection that lasts. Waterproof sunscreens may last up to 80 minutes in the water, and some are also sweat- and rub-proof. But regardless of the waterproof label, be sure to reapply sunscreen when kids come out of the water.

And remember to reapply sunscreen if exposed to sun at a long period of time, i.e. spending the day at the beach.

Next week we take a look at more ways to prevent you and your family from sun damage. If you have any tips to share, please post them in the comments below, or send them to us via our Twitter account or Facebook page and we'll share them with our followers!




 

Summer Sun Safety Part 2

Last week we explained to you the different types of sun rays and how they can be harmful to you this Summer.

This week we start taking a look at ways you can protect yourself and your family this Summer!

Avoid the Strongest Rays of the Day

Seek shade when the sun is at it's highest overhead and therefore strongest, usually between 11am and 1pm. If you need to be in the sun between these hours, remember to apply and reapply protective sunscreen. Most sun damage comes as a result of incidental exposure during day-to-day activities, not just from being at the beach.

Clouds and pollution don't filter out UV rays, so even on cloudy, cool or overcast days, UV rays travel through the clouds and reflect off sand, water and even concrete. Often, kids are unaware that they're developing a sunburn on cooler or windy days because the temperature or breeze keeps skin feeling cool on the surface.

Cover Up

One of the best ways to protect your family from the sun is to cover up and shield skin from UV rays. Ensure that clothes will screen out harmful UV rays by placing your hand inside the garments and making sure you can't see it through them.

As infants (under 6 months) have thinner skin and underdeveloped melanin, their skin burns easier and therefore need to be kept completely out of the sun. Dress them in clothing that covers the body completely and make use of hats with wide brims. Also make use of an umbrella to create shade.


Keep an eye on our social media pages to catch our next Summer Sun Safety installment, where we'll be taking a closer look at sunscreen.

Summer Sun Safety

With Winter on its way out and Summer on its way in, there's no doubt we're going to start taking advantage of the warm Summer Sun as much as we can... but we have to ensure we do so safely if we want to enjoy it to the fullest.

In this first installment of our Summer Sun Safety series, we take a closer look at the rays we love to soak up so much.

We all need some sun exposure as it is our primary source of vitamin D, which helps us absorb calcium for stronger, healthier bones. It doesn't take much time in the sun for most people to get the vitamin D they need. Repeated unprotected exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays can cause skin damage, eye damage, immune system suppression, and skin cancer. Even people in their twenties can develop skin cancer.

The sun radiates light to the earth, and part of that light consists of invisible ultraviolet (UV) rays. When these rays reach the skin, they cause tanning, burning, and other skin damage.

Sunlight contains three types of ultraviolet rays:

1. UVA rays make up the majority of our sun exposure, can cause skin aging and wrinkling and contribute to skin cancer, such as melanoma.
2. UVB rays are mostly absorbed by the ozone layer, but enough of these rays pass through to cause serious damage, such as sunburns, cataracts, melanoma, and may effect the immune system.
3. UVC rays are the most dangerous, but fortunately, these rays are blocked by the ozone layer and don't reach the earth.

Most kids rack up a lot of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18, so it's important that parents teach their children how to enjoy fun in the sun safely. With the right precautions, you can greatly reduce your child's chance of developing skin cancer.

In the weeks to come we'll be taking a closer look and giving you tips on how to protect your family from exposure to UVA and UVB, the rays that cause skin damage.