https://completemarkets.com/Blog/post/ScurichInsuranceServices/3600/OSHA-A-Valuable-Asset-For-Small-Business-Risk-Managment-And-Occupational-Safety-And-Health/
...yee morale.
It helps to manage liability insurance costs, including that of ...
https://completemarkets.com/Blog/post/ScurichInsuranceServices/3823/Beware-Of-Negligent-Supervision/
...id to prevent it.
To head off liability for negligent supervision, we'd rec...t supervision claims - and how your Liability insurance coverage can help prot...
https://completemarkets.com/Blog/post/ScurichInsuranceServices/2930/Emergency-Action-Plans-for-When-the-Unthinkable-Happens/
No one expects the worst to happen, but sometimes it just does. Whether it is a complete power outage or a fire breaking out in your break room, preparing for the unexpected should be part of your overall safety program.
While prevention should always be your first priority, preparedness may reduce the severity of the event and help maintain your employees' safety.
Emergency Planning is Your Responsibility
Every company should have a published, well-communicated and practiced emergency preparedness and life safety plan.
The National Fire Protection Association and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) provide codes, regulations and guidance on emergency action and fire prevention plans, including minimum standards. OSHA, in fact, requires a written emergency action plan for workplaces with 10 or more employees. Employers with fewer than 10 employees must still have an emergency action plan, but they may communicate the plan orally to employees.
Of course, a plan is only as good as its effectiveness, when put into action. How would your plan fare in a real emergency? Do your employees know what to do? These are questions to ask before an emergency happens.
Communicating, training and drilling are all essential elements to include in your emergency action plan, and can help make the critical difference in life safety outcomes.
Effective Planning Can Save Lives
In the first critical minutes of an emergency, taking the right steps can help save lives. Planning ahead and maintaining a well-trained emergency team can help make the critical difference.
Appoint, organize and train designated staff with their emergency response duties and responsibilities.
Document and distribute emergency procedures, including how to notify the fire department, evacuate employees and provide accommodations for those with special assistance needs.
Publish instructions for the use of emergency equipment, such as the voice communication system, the alarm system or emergency power supply system.
Post procedures for confining, controlling and extinguishing fires.
Post procedures for assisting the fire department in accessing and locating the fire.
Communicate your evacuation plan to all employees, visitors, vendors and contractors.
Distribute the plan to emergency personnel who will be responsible for taking actions to maximize the safety of building occupants, including the fire department and designated emergency management and supervisory staff.
Post your evacuation/floor plan exit diagram in clearly visible locations. Assign locations away from the building or job site for employees to gather.
Practice drills on a regular basis. Monitor and evaluate drill performance to consider improvements.
Include full, partial and shelter-in-place evacuations, designed in cooperation with local authorities, to familiarize employees with procedures.
Develop a roll call system to account for all persons and notifications to the fire department of any missing person.
Travelers safety professionals see a broad spectrum of businesses and facilities and understand the plans used to ensure emergency preparedness. Every day, we share our insights with our customers to help keep their businesses, and most importantly, their people, safe.
https://completemarkets.com/Blog/post/ScurichInsuranceServices/1320/12-Cheap-and-Easy-Summer-Home-Projects/
Homes take a beating on the outside, from wind, rain, sun, insects and snow. Summer gives you a chance to repair damage, protect your home and keep its face to the world looking bright.
Home maintenance is like housework, flossing and exercise: You might as well work it into your routine, because the penalties are worse than the jobs themselves.
Here’s just one example: Cleaning the gutters costs nothing if you do it yourself, and roughly $100 to $200 if you hire a service. Ignore the job, though, and a ruined roof or damaged foundation could cost you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to repair. Here’s why:
Leaky or overflowing gutters can rot fascia boards (the roof edge under the gutters), soffits and rafters.
Water may drip onto window trim, rotting it.
Leaky gutters let water pool at the foundation, causing basement leaks, mold and even foundation damage.
1. Paint
Fresh paint doesn’t just make your home look great. It’s a protective skin against UV light and moisture.
Earth911 tells where to get free paint:
Many household hazardous waste (HHW) facilities around the country have product exchange rooms, sometimes called swap rooms or swap shops. These rooms offer safe, unopened HHW items for public consumption, keeping them out of the landfill and letting you save some money.
Call your city to ask about your local HHW facility. Other sources for cheap paint:
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores (find one near you) sell “gently used” tools and supplies for home projects at low cost.
See EcoBusinessLinks’ national directory of recycled and surplus building materials and suppliers.
Search online for a city’s name and “salvaged building supplies” or “recycled building materials.”
2. Mulch
Laying a 1- to 3-inch layer of mulch on garden beds spares a lot of weeding. Mulch smothers weeds by depriving them of oxygen and light and it holds moisture in the soil, saving water and giving plants a consistent source of moisture.
Mulch includes many materials placed on the ground to prevent weeds from growing, including rocks, gravel and plastic. Leaves, grass clippings and tree bark are organic materials most often used on garden beds. Hay and straw also are used in vegetable gardens. Organic mulch breaks down into nutrients that feed plants.
Be careful in vegetable gardens to avoid mulch with pesticides, herbicides or other garden chemicals. Also, used incorrectly, mulch can damage or kill trees and ornamental plants by depriving them of oxygen, so leave a 3- to 5-inch space around stems of younger plants and give mature tree trunks eight to 12 inches. North Carolina State University’s Cooperative Extension Service explains how to safely use mulch.
Free or cheap sources of mulch:
Grass clippings. Let them cool down before mulching.
Raked leaves. Shred first with a shredder or lawn mower so air and moisture can reach the soil beneath.
Shredded wood or bark. Electric utility companies and tree services may have cheap or free wood chips or shredded bark. Also, some cities collect leaves and branches, chipping them for use by local residents.
Cardboard. Ask recycling centers and appliance stores for free cardboard. Wet it down, cut it to fit and place it around plants, covering with soil or bark mulch. This is best in wet climates where cardboard breaks down into the soil. WikiHow gives instructions on using cardboard and has more ideas for cheap mulch.
3. Seal wood decks
The cheap way to approach this job is to do it yourself. It’s not difficult, although it’s nice to have help. You’ll spend a couple hundred dollars on supplies and rented tools. Do it annually or every two to three years, depending where you live. Ignore the job long enough and you’ll need to replace the deck, at a cost of thousands of dollars.
Read the entire article here.
Read more at http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2014/06/02/12-cheap-and-easy-summer-home-projects/#4f2LmYs5xjDE2Rbw.99
https://completemarkets.com/Blog/post/ScurichInsuranceServices/1285/Driver-collides-with-boy-on-scooter-in-Watsonville/
WATSONVILLE -- A 10-year-old Watsonville boy on a scooter was seriously injured Wednesday after he was struck by a driver of a Chrysler PT Cruiser in a crosswalk on Main Street.
About 3:25 p.m., a 19-year-old Prunedale woman was driving a purple PT Cruiser north on Riverside Drive toward Main Street when she accelerated to try to make a yellow light, said Watsonville police Sgt. Brian Ridgway.
A 10-year-old boy was riding a scooter behind his family in the crosswalk, and she struck him with the car, police said. The front bumper of the car hit the boy on his right side, and the boy was forced on to the hood and then the ground, Ridgway said.
Officers were near the crash and treated the boy. He was taken by helicopter to a San Francisco Bay Area hospital where he was in critical condition Wednesday night, authorities said.
The woman, whose name has not been released, has cooperated in the police investigation and has not been arrested. Alcohol use was not a factor in the crash, police said.
"This investigation in ongoing," said Ridgway.
Watsonville police ask anyone with information to call investigations at 831-768-3350 or leave an anonymous tip on the tipline at 831-728-3544 or by texting WATSPD to 888777.
Content provided by http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/copsandcourts/ci_25337290/driver-collides-boy-scooter-watsonville