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How did that accident happen? Motion induced blindness

So, here you are.  Steadily driving your way home along a motorway, mile after mile and junction after junction, perhaps in kind of semi aware state casually glancing at the sat nav, speedo or rear view mirror.  Every now and then you find yourself simply gazing at the view ahead and seconds turn into minutes and then half an hour passes without you realising it.

Motion induced blindnessmotion induced blindness

It should do because almost everyone that I’ve spoken to has experienced it, particularly on long and familiar journeys with a steady pace and light traffic, the M5 heading past Bristol and into the Southwest is a good example on a weekday afternoon, clear of bank holiday traffic.

The truth is this drifting state is dangerous and its not just when you’re on a motorway.

We often wonder when we come to look at an accident just how it happened.  We are given the gift of 20/20 hindsight of course and its always hard to put yourself in that persons position to the extent that you can truly appreciate the thought processes they went through.  You are there to try and identify the root causes – that’s why its worth knowing about motion induced blindness as a principle and also raising it with your staff as an issue before these accidents have a chance to occur.

Visual and optical phenomena and safety

So, how do we get this message out there to vehicle fleet drivers, fork lift truck operators, motorcyclists and a whole other raft of people who might benefit?  As usual, by training and education – and a very neat graphic courtesy of the internet.

Stare at the central yellow dot and keep looking, do the other three dots then start to disappear?  That’s motion induced blindness.

Now imagine yourself at a busy crossroads waiting to pull out with pedestrians and other waiting to cross – can you spot that motorbike approaching?

Or perhaps you’re a a forklift truck driver in a busy warehouse passing by aisles and with pallet movers and pedestrian pickers all around you.

What next?

Use the video above in your training sessions when you have fork lift truck refreshers or new driver training, hold a toolbox talks for those who drive as part of their job (road users or otherwise) or ask us to complete a toolbox talk on your behalf to raise awareness.

How to combat motion induced blindness

You may still be wondering, why the jet fighter image at the top of the page? Fighter pilots are taught a technique to overcome this weakness in the way we process our view of the world around us and its very simple but very effective – you keep you head moving.  Don’t believe me?  Keep moving your head whilst re-watching the video above and you’ll see the difference – make sure that’s a key part of your training session.

As always, we hope you’ve found the information above interesting and feel you can use it to make a positive change in how you actively manage risk in your workplace.

About: Roger Hart  is Managing Director of Outsource Safety Ltd, a consultancy specialising in ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001 Management Systems.  The company employs 10 staff and works for hundreds of retained clients across the UK in all sectors from Defence and Aerospace to Education and Museums with a specialism in the contracting, construction and renewables sectors, www.outsource-safety.co.uk

Contact us on 01453 800 100 if you need expert help with health and safety for a fixed cost or use our contact us page.

Posted by Roger Hart

Hand arm vibration – are you doing enough?

vibration white fingerHaving read of a recent case where a company was fined £200,000 plus £27,724 costs for a HAVS incident has made us revisit the vibration issue here in the office.

Each of us already know that the emphasis from HSE and our insurers is now firmly on health as well as safety.  We reported nearly two years ago that occupational deafness has become the new whiplash with claims rocketing and payouts of well over £10,000.

Vibration monitoring and assessment

We liken HAVS to COSHH and DSEAR as one of those areas which many of us know that we should tackle head on but we often find a number of other more pressing things we need to do instead – if this is you read on or make contact with your retained consultant to have a 5 minutes chat and find out more.

The truth is that many of us have made a good attempt as assessing our vibration risks and in many cases have felt that it wasn’t quite s bad as we had feared once we had got started.  However, as its something most of us don’t tackle every day that familiarity soon wears off and we find ourselves back as square one making he same old excuses.  Its also worth remembering that this dates back to the 1990’s and so we have very little in the way of excuses when it comes to defending cases or demonstrating our own safety management qualities to the Board.

Although the risks are certainly real the damage takes a long time to manifest, what we have to remind ourselves of is that this, like occupational deafness, isn’t going to reverse itself and the consequences for the person can be life changing.

You have in essence two choices; complete your own assessments or call in ourselves as external experts to complete this for you.  We can often work from manufacturers data and so costs are competitive and even if you do have specific processes which require vibration to work we can always monitor these individually and arrive at not just an answer in terms of exposure but also good advice on how you can control and reduce exposure.

So, don’t stick your head in the sand and hope this will go away or kid yourself that you’ll get around to it soon – if you need help contact us and if you’re too busy to be able to complete internally just ask your consultant, we’ll be glad to help out.

Posted by Roger Hart

Scaffold inspection – a need to know more…

Both industrial and construction sites we visit and support often have scaffolding in place and regardless of if you are a client or an experienced contractor, its nice to have sufficient knowledge to complete a quick assessment or to just be able to spot when something is amiss.

For example, you’re a safety manager in an engineering business but work is being done to the roof, or you’re having an extension completed.  Or perhaps you’re a site manger in construction but you’d benefit from knowing a bit more.

Scaffold inspection – a need to know more…scaffold

With this in mind the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) – the leading trade association for the industry within the UK has just completed a 20 page guide which you’re likely to find very useful.

This 20-page document (free to download from the NASC Website or to be distributed by email to those who need it) is intended for use by anybody with responsibility for the management, use, monitoring and provision of scaffolding.

Sections of the document describe:

  • current scaffolding regulations
  • what to expect from operatives according to the level of proficiency they have attained, i.e. whether they have CISRS Part 1 or Part 2 or Advanced Scaffolder
  • scaffold design requirements and how to tell they’ve been met
  • the minimum personal protective equipment to be worn/used
  • handover certificates
  • scaffold inspection requirements.
Posted by Roger Hart

Air sampling for exposure to isocyanate (MDI, TDI and similar isocyanates)

lungs exposed to isocyanateExposure to isocyanates such as MDI, TDI or similar substances carries a very serious risk of long term health problems for skin and lungs if exposure is not properly controlled.  As occupational hygienists and qualified safety consultants we have many years experience of carrying out air sampling surveys to determine occupational exposure to many types of isocyanate used in paints, glues and foams amongst other substances.

 

If you would like to speak to one of our safety consultants or occupational hygienists about an air sampling survey for isocyanate exposure please contact us on 01453 800100.

ISOcyanate air sampling method

The methods closely follows the recommendations of HSE MDHS 25/3 and the principle is as follows;

A measured volume of air is drawn through a glass fibre filter impregnated with 1-(2-methoxyphenyl) piperazine mounted in a sampler and attached in the breathing zone of the exposed worker. The Methylene Di-isocyanate (MDI) is held on the filter for subsequent High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis using ultraviolet and electrochemical detection. The results of this analysis, coupled with the flow rate and time period, enable the exposure levels to be quoted as milligrams per cubic metre (mg.m-3) for application to the exposure limit published in HSE Document EH40/2001.

ISOCYANATES

all (as -NCO)

MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIMITS

8-HOUR TWA: 0.02mg.m-3

15-MINUTE REF. PERIOD: 0.07mg.m-3

NOTATION: SENSITISER

IDENTITY AND PROPERTIES

Isocyanate is the functional group (-NCO) which occurs in a number of substances and their reaction mixtures. The saturated vapour concentration at 25oC varies with the substance; refer to manufacturers data sheet.

Conversion factors:

di-isocyanate 1 ppm = 3.44mg.m-3 -NCO at 25oC

isocyanate 1 ppm = 1.72mg.m-3 -NCO at 25oC

Isocyanates react rapidly with all substances having ‘available hydrogen’. This includes alcohols, amines and amide groups in proteins. Isocyanates are soluble in many organic solvents and decompose at varying rates in water. Substances carrying the isocyanate group are not detectable by smell until many times the exposure limit (for example, TDI odour threshold is about 30 times the MEL).

OCCURRENCE AND USE

Organic isocyanates may arise from burning polyurethane. Only MDI is produced in the UK, by reacting methylene dianiline with phosgene in a closed process; other isocyanates are imported. About 60,000 tonnes per annum of isocyanates are used in the UK, of which about half is used for polyurethane foam, and the rest for surface coatings (paints, lacquers, inks, adhesives), foundry core binders and synthetic rubbers.

EXPOSURE

The number of persons who may be occupationally exposed to isocyanate is not known. In general, exposure can be minimised by using isocyanate prepolymers of low volatility. Control measures such as suitable extraction ventilation and use of airline breathing apparatus are needed where isocyanate aerosols or significant vapour concentrations may occur.

Exposures above 0.02 mg.m-3 isocyanate may be experienced in spray-painting large articles, with exposures briefly exceeding 0.06 mg.m-3, Respiratory protective equipment is required for these processes. In most foam plants, exposure is controlled to below 0.01 mg.m-3 isocyanate. Molten MDI can give rise to high exposures if the fume is not extracted.

MEASUREMENT

Methods based on air sampling through bubbler solutions and subsequent instrumental or colorimetric analysis are detailed in MDHS 25.

METABOLISM

The main exposure route is by inhalation of vapour, aerosol mist or dust. Isocyanate reacts rapidly with respiratory tract surfaces; its further metabolic fate is not known.

HEALTH EFFECTS (Human data)

The isocyanate group (-NCO) is the functional group which causes the adverse health effect. Heavy exposure has been associated with bronchitis. There have been numerous reports on asthma due to isocyanates, but the levels which can induce sensitisation are unknown although there are anecdotal reports suggesting that peak exposures may be important. Sensitised individuals may react with severe asthmatic symptoms at very low concentrations of isocyanate, in some cases below 0.02 ppm. The development of sensitisation may occur within months of exposure, or only after years of symptom-free exposure. Sensitisation may result in the development of bronchial hyper-reactivity, and the affected individual responds to non-specific stimuli such as cold air and exercise. In these individuals, recovery may not follow cessation of exposure. Health surveillance is appropriate. {EH 16 ISOCYANATES: TOXIC HAZARDS AND PRECAUTIONS ISBN 0 11 883581 5 HSE Books (1984)}

BASIS FOR SETTING THE LIMIT

The critical health effect of isocyanates is respiratory sensitisation and in the absence of dose-response data a no-adverse-effect level cannot be established. Consequently a maximum exposure limit was considered appropriate. This was set at 0.02 mg.m-3 (8-hour TWA) isocyanate, with a 15-minute reference period MEL set at 0.07 mg.m-3 isocyanate.

Posted by Roger Hart

Understanding noise exposure terms

Noise exposure terminology – Take a look at our explanatory video below and check below that for our glossary:

Exposure action values (EAV): Levels of noise exposure to noise at which certain actions need to be taken. The values are:

  • Lower exposure action values (LEAV):
  • daily or weekly exposure of 80 dB:
  • peak sound pressure of 135 dB;
  • Upper exposure action values (UEAV):
  • daily or weekly exposure of 85 dB;
  • peak sound pressure of 137 dB.
Exposure action values and noise exposure limit values
Daily or weekly personal average noise exposurePeak sound levelActions
Below lower exposure action valuesLess than 80 dB
(A-weighted)		Less than 135 dB
(C-weighted)		Reduce noise levels as far as reasonably practicable.
Lower exposure action values80 dB
(A-weighted)
or aboveCannot take the effect of hearing protection into account		135 dB
(C-weighted)
or aboveCannot take the effect of hearing protection into account		Undertake risk assessment. If any employees are identified as being particularly susceptible to noise, health surveillance should be implemented.

Make suitable hearing protection available.

Establish a maintenance programme for equipment supplied to reduce noise risk such as noise limiters and hearing protection.

Provide training.

Upper exposure action values85 dB
(A-weighted)
or aboveCannot take the effect of hearing protection into account		137 dB
(C-weighted)
or aboveCannot take the effect of hearing protection into account		Implement the actions required by lower exposure action values (above).

Establish and implement a programme of control measures.

If these measures are not sufficient to reduce exposure below 85 dB then:

  • suitable hearing protection must be worn; and
  • a health surveillance programme implemented.
Exposure limit values87 dB
(A-weighted)

Allowed to take hearing protection into account
140 dB
(C-weighted)
Allowed to take hearing protection into account		Must reduce to below limit values.

LAeq: The ‘equivalent’ continuous noise level that would deliver the same noise dose as a varying level over a given period, and is a good way of describing the average level of noise.

LEP,d: Daily personal noise exposure level. It is averaged over an 8-hour period rather than the actual time in the work environment.

LEP,w: Weekly personal noise exposure level. It is averaged over a period of 5 days (40 hours) by measuring the noise exposure on each of 7 days, then dividing the result by 5.
Limit values: See ‘Exposure limit values’.

Noise dose: See ‘Noise exposure’.

Noise exposure: ‘The noise dose’, which can be calculated, takes account of the actual volume of sound and how long it continues. Noise exposure is not the same as sound level, which is the level of noise measured at a particular moment.

Noise limiters: Sometimes known as volume regulatory device (VRD), controls noise exposure from amplified music. Modern noise limiters can be fitted with anti-tamper relays connected to external switches to improve system security.

Noise measurements: Decibels (dB) are used for measuring noise. A-weighting is used to approximate to the frequency response of the human ear. C-weighting is used to measure peak, impact or explosive noise.

Occlusion effect: Occurs when an object (like an unvented earplug) completely fills the outer portion of the ear canal. This changes the way sounds are produced in the ear canal, especially noises produced by the body (for example breathing, swallowing and noise travelling through bone and tissue.) The result is these noises appear louder.

Simple listening checks: An easy way of establishing whether there might be a noise problem. Where it is difficult to hold a normal conversation without shouting or where there is live amplified music (as in a pub, club or pop concert) it is probable that the noise is above the lower exposure action value.

Single number rating (SNR) value: Method of indicating the degree of protection offered by a hearing protector.

Sound restoration: Device in earmuffs that reduces ambient noise levels to allow relayed communication or other signals at a reduced level.

Three-decibel rule: The sound intensity doubles with every three dB increase. Thus sounds at 88 dB are actually twice as intense as they are at 85 dB and 115 dB is 1000 times as intense as 85 dB.

Tinnitus: Buzzing, ringing or tone in the ear. Temporary tinnitus is a warning; a sign that ‘you got away with it that time.’

VRD: Volume regulatory device (see noise limiter).

We carry out all noise assessments requirement using our experienced safety consultants.  If you have a need for noise assessment please call us on 01453 800100.

Posted by Roger Hart