Holiday Safety Tips: Safety in the Workplace

Today will end our Holiday Safety series. We hope you have enjoyed it and have learned some new tips on how to stay safe during the Holiday Season.

Remember, all of this information can be found on Travelers’ website: https://www.travelers.com/prepare-prevent/holiday-safety.aspx.

 

Here are some helpful hints to consider when putting up, taking down, and living with holiday decorations in the workplace:

• Make sure new hires are familiar with their surroundings and responsibilities. While they may have a lot of industry experience, your unique facility is still unfamiliar territory.
• Train employees in proper lifting techniques and ladder safety.
• Ensure that your candles are battery operated. Decorations also go hand-in-hand with potential accidents and injuries. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the top 4 highest days of the year for candle fires happen between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. So in a busy retail environment, or even in the office, faux candles may be best.
• Choose your decorations wisely. Many of them are combustible, or will burn. Things like paper, decorated trees and wreaths will increase the fire load in a small business. Keep them away from heat or other ignition sources.
• Use extension cords properly, and be sure you aren’t “daisy-chaining” them in order to extend a decoration or a theme to an area where the plug cannot reach. Aside from a potential trip and fall incident, this is also a fire hazard.
• Choose smart locations for any additional holiday displays and products. Be sure you are not covering up emergency exit signs, over-crowding aisle ways—anything that would make it difficult to get out in an emergency situation.
• Be sure decorations are secured properly and traffic can navigate easily around them, especially when it comes to big displays.
• Maintain appropriate inventory levels. Over-stocking shelves could lead to items toppling onto staff or customers.
• As a general rule, always take the time to scan your facility to make sure it’s safe for customers and employees. It should be a part of your daily process to open and/or close up shop.

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog; and remember, to think of us next time you need insurance!

Holiday Safety Tips: Packing and Storage

Christmas is only 9 days away!

It seems hard to believe, but 2014 is also just around the corner. This also means that in only a few short weeks it will be time to put away the holiday decorations.

It’s a sad time when the Christmas tree and stockings are put away, but it’s also a sad time if someone gets hurt.

Here are some helpful reminders from Travelers for you to remember when it’s time to take down the holiday decorations.

• Inspect and discard damaged decorations prior to packing and storing them.
• Disassemble, pack and store all decorations according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Store decorations in a dry location that is out of the reach of children and pets, as well as heat sources and open flames.
• Stack boxes in a corner or other stable location, and never higher than eye level to avoid injury or damage from toppling.

Visit Travelers’website to find more holiday safety information https://www.travelers.com/prepare-prevent/holiday-safety.aspx.

Tomorrow will end this little Holiday Safety series, and we will be discussing safety in the workplace during the Holidays.