May 2009 President's Note

Please don’t forget to check your calendars for your availability to help out at our Chapter’s Hearing Conservation booth at the Agriculture Safety Days on May 7th and 8th at the Paul Raridin Park in Pahokee. Our booth will have about 15 minutes of Hearing Conservation related activities oriented towards 9 – 11 year olds. Ag Safety Days consists of about 25 groups of 15-20 kids moving from topic booth to topic booth every 15 minutes or so to learn how safety impacts their lives. Goodie bags will be filled and fun will be had by all. Any Chapter members interested in manning the booth either day for a period of time can contact me at president@goldcoast.asse.org. Members manning booths will be provided breakfast and lunch; time slots are available from 8:00 am – 2:00 pm each day. Any activity ideas will also be gratefully accepted.

Don’t forget the approach of NAOSH week, May 3 – 9. The Society also has the Congressional Proclamation to use as a template to submit to your local government (or workplace) to show support for NAOSH. Information is available at http://www.asse.org/newsroom/naosh09.

Anthony M. Wegner
2008-09 Gold Coast Chapter President

Supermarket Recognized for Workplace Safety by Florida ASSE

Source: ISHN: Your Source for Safety, Health & Environmental Solutions

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recognized the Publix Super Markets for their commitment to workplace safety in a letter from ASSE President Warren K. Brown, CSP, ARM, CSHM, of Fairborn, Ohio, according to an ASSE press release.

Brown noted in his February 10 letter to Publix Corporation CEO William E. Crenshaw, that a Boca Raton-based ASSE member’s son who started a job at the Mercado Real Publix store, was pleased when he was immediately required to attend a two-day orientation, with day two devoted to workplace safety. His mother has been in the workplace safety and health business for decades in New York and Florida.

As a result, ASSE applauds Publix Corporation for putting employee safety as a top priority. Each year, close to 80 teenagers lose their lives from on-the-job injuries and more than 77,000 teens are hurt badly enough to end up in hospital emergency rooms.

“Publix demonstrates good leadership by focusing on safety,” ASSE Gold Coast Chapter President Tony Wegner said today. “ASSE members work day in and day out to make sure people who go to work each day return home safely and injury free. Smart companies like Publix make our job easier and show employees and the community that they do care.”

According to ASSE’s “Be Safe at Work: Tips for Teens” book mark, newly-hired teens miss work most often as a result of on-the-job muscle sprains or tears; fatigue from trying to balance work and school may contribute to injuries among young workers; nearly 70 percent of 14- to 16-year-olds injured on the job miss work, school and other activities for at least a day; a quarter of those injured teens are sidelined for more than a week; and, about one-third of fatal injuries to young workers occur in family businesses.

“Smart companies like Publix, and managers like those at the Mercado Real Publix store, help keep workers safe and help us, ASSE members, work towards making all workplaces injury free,” Brown said. “This focus on safety not only helps their employees, but their customers and their community.”

Based in Lakeland, Fla., Publix Super Markets is the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the U.S.

current newsletter

November 2009 (pdf)

Safe Transport of HazMats by Paul Thomas (pdf)

Liability Risk Management: A Claims & Loss Control Approach by Nora Delpaine & T. Pajak (pdf)