ETCG1 idea, safety in numbers

[Christopher Sipes]

Eric,

In August 2013 I started having seizures, ended up having brain surgery and finding out that I have brain cancer. I still suffer from seizures every few months, including 2 Friday evening at home. Ever since I have begun having this medical issue I have made it a point at work to make sure anyone who works with me not only knows of my medical condition but what to do if I do have a seizure.

I think it’s very important for anyone with a medical condition to explain it to the best of their ability to their coworkers and what to do in the event of an emergency. I work at a Naval Shipyard, so our Emergency Services are not reached by dialing 9-1-1, there is a separate phone number we call for Fire/Rescue. We try to drill the Fire/Rescue phone number into everyone’s heads until it’s second nature to them to dial that number in an emergency at work.

We also drill on not only what to do in an emergency but where to meet up outside of our buildings in the event of a fire, earthquake, etc.

My workplace is OSHA VPP (Voluntary Protection Program) Certified and also won the Secretary of the Navy Safety Excellence Award.

I think it’s very important for any business to:

• Know their employees and any medical issues they may have.
• What are your most common injuries? What can be done to reduce those?
• Keep up with MSDS Sheets, made them readily available to all employees.
• Practice what to do in the event of an emergency.
• Encourage employees to be first aid knowledgeable and CPR qualified.
• Make safety a daily topic of discussion.
• Check fire extinguishers and fire alarms regularly.
• Explain why PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is required and enforce it.

I know you have done a few things on safety in the past. I hope I have at least given you a couple of ideas to touch on in future videos.

Stay Dirty!

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

Wow, thanks for sharing that. To be honest I hadn’t really thought about it. I used to work with a guy that had epilepsy. He would have seizers from time to time and we all pretty much knew what do to. That was years ago and I haven’t thought about it for some time. An important topic for sure.

Great topic suggestion. I’ll look into it. Thanks again.

[Author]

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