I’ll never forget the summer I broke down not once but twice on the same long car trip. I was traveling alone, hundreds of miles from home, and had to wait in the hot sun for help to arrive. Thankfully, the kindness of strangers — and a little service for my car — helped me reach my destination safely. But let me tell you: It was no fun being stranded on the side of a busy highway.

You just might be able to avoid this fate by taking a few preparations prior to your trip. The Car Care Council recommends conducting a pre-vehicle inspection before taking your summer road trip:

>> Schedule a tune-up to help the engine deliver the best balance of power and fuel economy and produce the lowest level of emissions.

>> Check the brake system and make sure the battery connection is clean, tight and corrosion-free.

>> Check filters and fluids, including engine oil, power steering and brake and transmission, as well as windshield washer solvent and antifreeze/coolant. Dirty air filters can waste gas and cause the engine to lose power.

>> Check the hoses and belts that can become cracked, brittle, frayed, loose or show signs of excessive wear. These are critical to the proper functioning of the electrical system, air conditioning, power steering and the cooling system.

>> Check the tires, including tire pressure and tread. Underinflated tires reduce a vehicle’s fuel economy and uneven wear indicates a need for wheel alignment. Tires should also be checked for bulges and bald spots.

>> Check that the gas cap is not damaged, loose or missing to prevent gas from spilling or evaporating.

“A pre-trip vehicle check can determine how road-ready your vehicle is so you can take steps to have the problems fixed before heading out for vacation,” said Rich White, executive director of the Car Care Council. “Having a thorough inspection done on your car will give you peace of mind as you travel and help make your journey safer.”

The Car Care Council also leads the “Be Car Care Aware” consumer education campaign, which promotes the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair to consumers. For an electronic copy of the council’s Car Care Guide, visit http://www.carcare.org.

But after writing that blog post, I thought, “What about the trainer?” Ineffective trainers can ruin an otherwise effective safety program. In the same way many that employees have suffered through irrelevant and ineffective safety training classes, some also have suffered through training on relevant topics with irrelevant, ineffective trainers.

In considering this, I was reminded of how critical it is to utilize only the most professional, prepared and effective safety trainers. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), those who conduct training should have the following characteristics:

A thorough knowledge of the topics to be taught. Trainers should be subject matter experts. It is impossible to impart what you do not know.

A desire to teach. All the knowledge in the world does not automatically make an effective trainer; effective trainers have a desire to impart their knowledge to others.

A positive, helpful, cooperative attitude. As Winston Churchill said, attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. A positive, helpful and cooperative attitude can be the difference between a student learning and a student mentally checking out of a safety training class. A trainer who has the right attitude can mean the difference between life and death for the student.

Strong leadership abilities. The importance of leadership attributes in trainers cannot be overstated. Trainers must be able to guide a group of learners toward a pre-determined objective. Only strong leaders are able to do this.

A professional attitude and approach. According to the NSC, safety training programs should be developed with a five-phase approach: assessment (of need and current employee performance vs. desired employee performance); design; materials acquisition and/or development; delivery; and evaluation. When the training is approached and prepared appropriately, safety trainers can leave an indelible impact on students.

Exemplary behavior that sets a positive example. I live by the principle that everything counts, and I believe my behavior is a direct reflection of not only my personal attributes but also my professional attributes. Behavior that does not model professionalism is not only detrimental to the safety training program, but it also is detrimental to the overall safety and health program.

Trainers are the face of your safety training program. Choose wisely as the wrong choice may spell disaster for your training initiatives and possibly for your overall occupational health and safety program.

EHS Today guest blogger Jason Townsell, CSP, was named the 2010 Future Leader in EHS. He works for AECOM as a program safety manager at San Diego International Airport. The postings on this site represent the author’s personal opinions and statements and do not represent or reflect the opinions, positions or strategies of AECOM Technology Corp. or its subsidiaries or affiliated entities.

OK, so maybe a trip to Europe isn’t in your budget this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look forward to some well-deserved time off from work. Of course, if you’re too busy and stressed on the job, you might not be able to enjoy your vacation – or you might even be reluctant to plan it at all.

No matter how busy you are or how many responsibilities are currently on your plate, both at work and at home, you deserve to take a vacation. Taking a break from work can help you feel refreshed and newly motivated. The trick is to manage your time wisely before and after you head off into the sunset.

Doug Brown, academic manager of Post University’s MBA/Corporate Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, relies on his 20 years of experience in small business management and development to offer the following tips about managing your time prior to a vacation:

Replace time management with priority management. Decide on your most important tasks rather than your most time-consuming ones. Most of all, acknowledge that you are the one who maintains the control over your own time choices.

Recognize when you are at your best. Do you do your best work in the morning, the early afternoon, or late in the evening when the kids go to bed? Take note of your ideal working time, and then take advantage of that time to tackle your most important responsibilities.

Let go of the conventional business usage of time. Recognize your most productive time of day and use that for success rather than following the traditional business usage of time. For example, if the early morning is your best time of day for knocking things off the to do list, then little tasks like checking your email during those important hours can be incredibly harmful to productivity. Block off the last hour of the workday to check your email instead.

Consider making a “stop doing” list. Take your usual to-do list and streamline it for productivity by deciding what you are and are not willing to put on your to do list.

Schedule “good thinking” time. Block off personal time to think or brainstorm. Yes, this often occurs on the drive home from work or in the shower, but it can happen more if you allow yourself the time for it.

Take control of your time choices. The most detrimental mindset is to think, “I can’t control any of my day, therefore I’m not going to try.” Recognize your best time of day and make that time a priority for your personal productivity.

If you follow Brown’s tips and make smart use of your time at work prior to a vacation, you just might make an easier transition from business suit to bathing suit once vacation time rolls around.

My decision involved a large purchase that would consume quite a lot of time and money. I had two choices. From the beginning, Choice A just felt right. I had already mentally settled on it when Choice B came up — a seductive option with some flashy benefits, but also some major problems. Even as I tried to talk myself into Choice B, my intuition was sending me clear warning signals: Uh oh. And yet, because I can be stubborn and am not afraid of a challenge, I went for Choice B — which turned out to be the wrong decision and left me regretting not trusting my initial gut reaction.

Fortunately, my wrong turn only cost me some time and a little bit of money, and I was able to return to Choice A — what a relief. But this experience made me think about what happens when we ignore our gut instincts in more serious situations, the ones that add up to more than just money. Like workplace safety.

Almost every year, I come across an America’s Safest Companies application that in some way addresses “going with your gut.” If workers at these companies feel for any reason their work could put them in harm’s way, they’re authorized to stop the process immediately. Supervisors and company leadership also use our America’s Safest Companies application to address “doing the right thing” in their safety programs. In short, they put their workers’ safety and well-being first.

We could all do better, both in our personal and professional lives, if we followed our instincts more often. If we listened to those warning bells that tell us something is off, and if we have the confidence and courage to do what’s right.

So I urge you to trust your gut, whether you’re at work or off the clock. And if you feel your company deserves the honor of being named America’s Safest — by demonstrating strong management support for safety, employee involvement, low injury/illness rates, solid communication about the value of safety and comprehensive safety training/education programs — please submit an application by July 15.

Falls are second only to motor vehicle accidents in terms of annual injuries and cost. Whether they occur at the same level (trip and falls, stump and falls, step and falls or slip and falls) or from a higher level, falls typically are very unforgiving. Conducting a thorough job analysis is vital to safe operations when navigating fall hazards and attempting to correctly and safely use fall protection equipment.

Fall Hazard Causes and Analysis

One of the most important components of conducting a job hazard analysis is observing the operation as it is underway. This helps identify potential hazards and also allows supervisors to evaluate workers’ frames of mind.

Fall hazards can stem from various situations, including: a foreign object in the walkway, a design flaw in the walking surface, slippery surfaces, an unprotected edge, misuse of fall protection equipment, physical impairments/ailments and falling objects. These and other applicable causes should be taken into account and analyzed. Additionally, these hazards should be sought out during the observation component of the job analysis. Proposed fall protection equipment should be analyzed in order to determine its feasibility and effectiveness.

The accident history of the company and others within the industry also should be analyzed and drawn upon as part of the fall hazard analysis. In addition, the analysis should consider the implementation of existing protocols that can eliminate both foreseen and unforeseen fall hazards.

If the analysis identifies a deficiency in an existing fall protection protocol/equipment, the plan should be amended to address all of the fall hazards appropriately.

Addressing Uncontrolled Fall Hazards

Uncontrolled fall hazards are those that are not, or cannot, be controlled. I am of the opinion that most (if not all) fall hazards can be addressed and controlled through a comprehensive analysis accompanied by a detailed work plan, which requires the utilization of a fall protection plan aligned with applicable OSHA regulations.

Most hazards go uncontrolled because they are not identified during the hazard analysis portion of the work plan. Identifying uncontrolled hazards may seem difficult; however, a safety manager who has done his or her due diligence in observing the work in progress and analyzing past accident statistics and other information, as well as analyzing other leading and trailing indicators, stands a good chance of identifying and addressing otherwise uncontrolled or unidentified hazards.

Uncontrolled hazards should be eliminated to the maximum extent possible.

Analyzing Impact and Acceleration Factors

Impact and acceleration are both very important factors in the identification and analysis of appropriate fall protection plans and equipment. Impact considers the force that will be applied on an employee during the fall arrest process, while the amount of acceleration determines the amount of impact/force that will be placed on the employee.

Acceleration and impact are major factors in the speed and force of falling objects that may strike employees working at lower levels. When analyzing impact and acceleration concerns, be sure to consider, identify and mitigate potential causes. The use and effectiveness of personal protective equipment (e.g. hard hats), toe-boards and overheard protection (e.g. canopies) of workers at lower levels also should play a role in impact and acceleration analysis.

Hazard analysis is vitally important to the overall safety effort as well as to the successful completion of a job hazard analysis. A thorough fall hazard analysis should indentify and control most, if not all, occupational fall hazards.

EHS Today guest blogger Jason Townsell, CSP, was named the 2010 Future Leader in EHS. He works for AECOM as a program safety manager at San Diego International Airport. The postings on this site represent the author’s personal opinions and statements and do not represent or reflect the opinions, positions or strategies of AECOM Technology Corp. or its subsidiaries or affiliated entities.

From teaching their kids to look both ways before crossing the street to wearing a bicycle helmet to exercising caution with strangers, parents address safety issue in all areas of their children’s lives. But when your son or daughter grows up and joins the work force, you obviously want him or her to work safely, too.

You’d want your children to wear the correct PPE while on the job; follow safety procedures; be protected from chemicals and environmental hazards; work in an environment engineered to prevent strains, back pain or carpal tunnel; and know they have the right to speak up if they suspect they are exposed to hazards. Most of all, you’d want your children to work for employers who value them, who care about their safety and who invest in the appropriate programs, equipment and training to keep them safe.

Every year, the American Society of Safety Engineers holds a Safety-on-the Job poster contest for kids aged 5-14. The contest aims to educate children about the importance of being safe at work and what occupational safety, health and environmental professionals do to prevent injuries and illnesses at work. “Hard hats … not just for decoration,” “Safety is not a game” and “Don’t monkey around on the job” are just a few of the safety messages shared by the 2012 winners. View the winning posters here.

It’s never too early to let kids know that working safely is an important part of life. If you take your children to work, whether for “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” or for another reason, don’t leave safety out of the discussion. Teach them not only about your job but what it means to be safe, to follow safety procedures and to respect the potential hazards you may face while at work.

During a press conference preceding the release of the National Safety Council’s (NSC) 2012 State of the Nation of Cell Phone Distracted Driving report, an expert pointed out that not all driving distractions are created equal. John Ulczycki, group vice president of strategic initiatives at NSC, explained that risk and prevalence play a big role in distracted driving. For example, drinking a cup of coffee while driving is common behavior, but it’s not very risky. Turning around in the driver’s seat to talk to your kids while driving is extremely risky, but it’s also not very common (let’s hope!).

Talking on a cell phone while driving, however, is both risky and prevalent behavior, which is why cell phone use poses such a risk to on-the-road safety. (To learn more about how risk and prevalence impact distracted driving, read Distracted Driving Report Claims Cell Phone Use Contributes to 24 Percent of All Crashes.)

This is when someone will often interrupt to say, “But what about hands-free headsets?” or “Does this mean talking to passengers should be banned, too?” I hear these questions again and again, and they often pop up in the comment sections of our distracted driving articles. The short answer is no, hands-free headsets are not a safer option, and no, talking to passengers does not present the same threat as talking on a cell phone.

Here’s the deal: When I pick up a cup of coffee while driving, I might take one hand off the wheel, but my mind is still on the road. If I’m engaged in a cell phone conversation, it doesn’t matter whether I’m holding a phone to my ear or I have my hands firmly set in the 10-and-2 position on the steering wheel. Either way, I’m distracted, and my brain cannot focus fully on the road while chatting to someone on the phone. Research has shown again and again that our concentration and driving ability (and, therefore, our safety) is compromised when we’re engaged in a cell phone conversation. Our brains cannot multitask in this way, no matter how much we want to believe it’s possible (and no matter how much someone might think he’s the exception to the rule).

Talking to a passenger is a different story, however. When you chat with someone else in the car, that person is capable of watching the road and being aware of the immediate surroundings — which is impossible for someone on the other end of a phone. Passengers can point out missed exits, merging cars, construction up ahead and so on. Most of all, talking to someone in the car does not take our attention to an external source like it does when we’re on the phone.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a perfect driver, but I am vigilant when it comes to putting away my cell phone when I’m behind the wheel. In the past, I’ve talked on the phone while driving and I know I was distracted. Have you ever hung up after a cell phone conversation and realized you had little memory of the miles you just drove?

This is why you might find me drinking coffee in the driver’s seat but never engaging in a cell phone conversation. What we know now — that talking on a cell phone is dangerous behavior, whether you use a hands-free set or not, and that the presence of other distractions does not excuse the risky, prevalent and dangerous distraction of cell phone conversations — should be enough to make us all hit the “off” button before hitting the road.

To learn more about distracted driving, read Why We Need to Hang Up On Our Distracted Driving Addiction, Don’t Let Excuses Be Your Distraction, Super Bowl Ad Encourages Distracted Driving and Dying to Text, and listen to the podcast Distracted Driving: Myth or Fact?

Moving boxes, lugging around bags of trash and recycling and filling up the car with items slated for the thrift store might be psychologically freeing, but it’s also physically taxing. That’s why experts from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) are warning people to be careful and smart about their spring cleaning this year.

“We all want a perfectly clean house with the snap of a finger, so we tend to rush through a numerous amount of burdensome tasks in a short period of time, and that’s where we put ourselves at risk for injuries,” said orthopaedic surgeon and AAOS spokesperson Lana Kang, M.D. “Whether it’s a fall caused after making a wrong step on a ladder or straining a back muscle, it’s best to pace yourself, complete one task at a time and take regular breaks.”

Follow these safety tips from AAOS to make sure you stay safe while dusting and decluttering your home:

Use proper techniques for lifting, carrying and bending to avoid back injuries. Separate your feet shoulder-width apart, keep your back upright and bend at the knees while tightening the stomach muscles. Lift with your leg muscles as you stand up, and don’t try to lift heavy objects by yourself. Use a sturdy step stool instead of a counter or furniture – such as a chair or the couch – when dusting high, hard-to-reach areas.

Use the height of caution when working at height. When working on a ladder, leaning too far to one side and reaching too far overhead can make you lose your balance and fall. Your bellybutton should not go beyond the sides of the ladder. Place the ladder on a firm, level surface and never climb a ladder without someone spotting you.

Use care with extension cords. Be sure they are properly grounded. To avoid tripping or falling, do not drape extension cords across spans of crossing walkways.

Cut injury risk when cutting your lawn. Use a lawn mower with a control that stops it from moving forward if the handle is released. Never pull backward or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary, and look for others behind you when you do.

PPE is a friend to spring cleaning. Wear protective gear such as proper eyewear, footwear and thick, well-fitted gloves that serve as a layer of protection to minimize cuts, scratches and chafing or injury from dangerous chemicals.

Read product labels for proper use of cleaning chemicals. Store all chemicals in places indicated on the package. They should remain out of reach of both children and pets. Never place chemicals into unmarked containers or containers labeled for a different substance.

Go easy on yourself. Take frequent breaks and replenish fluids to prevent dehydration. Be sure to stretch your arms, back, shoulders, knees and hips before starting your cleaning. Keep a cell phone within reach in case of accident or injury.

I will take note of all these safety tips during my own spring cleaning season – especially that last one about going easy on myself! Happy cleaning, everyone.

Every season, we cheer the Browns, the Indians and the Cavaliers. We live and die, mostly die, by our sports teams. Since we just celebrated the home opener for the Indians, most of our thoughts are on baseball. It’s been called “America’s game” and its players “the boys of summer.” Here in Cleveland, some people call it racist.

The team has been called the Indians since 1915 and Chief Wahoo, with his leering grin, is the mascot. Every opening day since 1973, a group of Native Americans have protested the team name and more specifically, Chief Wahoo. They say the name is racist and the mascot, even more so. This year, 10 or so people demonstrated, holding signs that said things like “Stop Teaching Your Children Racism” and “People not Mascots.”

An urban legend – one embraced by the team’s front office – has been built around the origins of the name, one that claims the team (then called the Cleveland Naps) was renamed to honor former player and Penobscot American Indian Louis Sockalexis. Sockalexis was a fielder for an even earlier team, the Cleveland Spiders. He signed with the Spiders in 1897 but injured himself a few months later falling or jumping out of a second-story window when he allegedly was drunk. His game suffered as a result of his injuries and he only played two seasons. He died in 1913 at the age of 42.

Now, I can’t speak for the Indian’s front office, but I’m guessing that despite the urban legend, no one named the team in honor of a player who only played two seasons. Especially since Sockalexis, ironically, was himself the victim of racism, with fans taunting him from the stands because of his heritage.

I’ve attended a few season openers and I can tell you, racism is alive and well in Cleveland. I’m not going to get into the debate about whether the team name is racist (I lean towards not) or the mascot offensive (I lean towards yes). But the comments, often fueled by some pre-game lubrication at local bars, yelled at the protesters are offensive and racist.

Listening to them this year reminded me of an election year cover story in 2008. When president Barack Obama won the election, we put his image on the cover of the magazine. Historically, we either put both candidates photos on the cover as part of pre-election coverage, or we run the winner’s photo as part of a post-election look ahead at the new administration.

Republican or Democrat, I’ve never received the kinds of comments I received when President Obama was on our cover. The comments we received from a few readers were, frankly, so “out there” and vitriolic that our group vice president asked me if I thought we should notify the FBI.

And that made me think of a news story from January, in which Arizona Gov. Jan. Brewer had a heated exchange with President Obama and she pointed her finger in his face, a moment preserved by photographers. When I first heard about it, my reaction was shock. Regardless of political ideologies, the man is the elected president of the United States. I cannot imagine any elected official doing that to any of our previous presidents. Or, as in the case of a legislator a couple of years ago, booing during the State of the Union address.

I honestly believe that in some of these instances – certainly some of the comments made to the Cleveland protestors and the reaction to our 2008 cover – racism is at work. However, I also think that people are less civil now, perhaps due to the ability to post comments anonymously on Web sites and blogs, perhaps due to a breakdown in values, maybe due to general frustration and fear…I can’t say for sure.

As a coworker said to me the other day, “The Beatles got it wrong; all you need isn’t love. It’s common courtesy.”

A 2009 University of British Columbia (UBC) study found that when we daydream, our brains are more active than previously thought. In fact, the parts of the brain associated with complex problem solving are very active during daydreaming sessions. So don’t let anyone tell you that letting your mind wander at work is always a bad thing.

“Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like laziness or inattentiveness,” said lead author Kalina Christoff, Ph.D., UBC Deptartment of Psychology. “But this study shows our brains are very active when we daydream – much more active than when we focus on routine tasks.”

Considering that it’s Friday afternoon and my brain is already anticipating the weekend, this information couldn’t come at a better time. And when I feel my mind drift a bit, I’ll remember that we apparently spend up to a third of our waking lives daydreaming. When we’re in this important cognitive state, we might unconsciously turn our attention from immediate tasks to sort through our most important problems.

In fact, if you’re struggling to solve a complicated problem, you might well served to change to a simpler task and let your mind roam free.

“When you daydream, you may not be achieving your immediate goal – say, reading a book or paying attention in class – but your mind may be taking that time to address more important questions in your life, such as advancing your career or personal relationships,” said Christoff.

Now, researchers didn’t mention the safety implications involved when a construction worker starts to daydream while working at height. Safety must always come first, daydream or no. But for those of us not currently engaged in high-risk work, a little reverie isn’t such a bad thing.

So go ahead and indulge those daydreams. If the boss asks you why you’re staring into space with a dreamy expression on your face, be honest – say you’re problem solving.