Don’t Fall into Summer

Just because there’s no snow on the ground doesn’t mean slips, trips and falls take a holiday. There are just as many, if not more, ways to take a fall in summer. Working around wet surfaces by a water feature, not cleaning up spills as soon as they occur, slippery, wet or uneven pavement, poor choices in footwear, loose gravel — all can be factors in a fall.

Moving soccer goals and picnic tables, maintaining playgrounds and facilities, mowing and trimming landscape, and managing day camps can be high-risk activities for even the most experienced staff. Summer job tasks, especially those done by seasonal staff, can multiply the odds of an injury. Be sure to train your seasonal employees for the tasks they’ll be doing and to help them understand your agency’s safety rules and requirements such as:

Mower safety — Those acres of rolling green lawns, gentle hills or ponds bordered with vibrant green are restful to the eye but tricky to maintain. A rollover can be fatal — and avoided. View WorkSafe’s Mower Safety and Rollover Prevention video and read PDRMA’s LRN Alert 17-02 — Mower/Tractor Rollover Prevention. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) safety standards for tractors and riding mowers include the following:

• 0° to 15° slope — can use riding mowers or tractor mowers.
• 15° to 22° slope — should use tractor mowers.
• 22° and greater slopes — use string trimmers, push mowers or specialized equipment such as Ventrac's 4500 Series, designed for safely mowing steeper slopes.
• Within 5 feet of a drop-off — maintain a buffer zone. Use only string trimmers and push mowers inside this zone.

PDRMA recommends attaching a slope indicator (clinometer, inclinometer) to mowers to determine exact angles easily and offers a one-time, $40-per-member reimbursement when your agency purchases a slope indicator. Contact your Risk Management Consultant for details.
 
Ladder safety — According to the National Safety Council, ladder falls generate 175,000 Emergency Room visits yearly. PDRMA’s best practice is to use ladder alternatives to minimize this risk. Download The Richard Lee Story video from the PDRMA website so your staff can see the impact of a fall from a ladder on Lee’s life. Download LRN #1646 — Ladder Alternative Reimbursement Program to learn how to qualify for up to a $500 annual reimbursement from PDRMA when your agency purchases a ladder alternative.  

Job Task Training Guides — Full-time, part-time and seasonal staff all can benefit from job task training since it’s likely been nearly a year since the last time any of them have done these tasks. PDRMA has more than 20 Job Task Training Guides that provide a quick 10-minute training session on specific tasks such as moving bleachers or picnic tables; golf cup cutting; refuse collection; tree planting; and turfacing a ball field.