National Weather Service Issues "Excessive Heat Watch"; State Officials Issue Heat Illness Prevention Alert

The National Weather Service has issued Special Weather Statements in regards to heat and an Excessive Heat Watch onTuesday, May 13, 2008. Such is the statewide concern over the potential hazards to employee health and well-being posed by this heat wave, state officials from the Divivision of Occupational Safety & Health, Department of Industrial Relations, and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency organized a conference call and issued alerts to employers and other stakeholders.

Although all employers have a duty to provide a safe and healthful working environment for employees, Cal/OSHA regulations now require any employers with outdoor worksites to provide training and have a written program on Heat Illness Prevention. Because of statewide high and possible record-high temperatures expected in the short term, and probably all summer, various California state officials have issued an alert to employers to remind them of the duties to provide Heat Illness training. The regulations, originally issued in 2006, require all employers with outdoor worksites to:

1. Provide heat illness prevention training to all employees, including supervisors.

2. Provide enough fresh water so that each employee can drink at least 1 quart per
hour and encourage them to do so.

3. Provide access to shade for at least 5 minutes of rest when an employee believes he or she needs a preventative recovery period. They should not wait until they feel sick to do so.

4. Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the heat illness prevention standard

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health has also provided the following information to help employers comply with the regulations:

TRAINING
Before employees can work outdoors, employers are required to provide them with heat illness prevention training. This mandatory training for supervisors and employees under the new standard includes the following information:
-Environmental and personal risk factors
-Employer's heat illness prevention plan and procedures
-They need to drink water frequently throughout the day.
-Importance of acclimatization (allowing the body to adjust gradually to the work in high heat)
-Types of heat illness and the signs and symptoms
-Necessity of immediately reporting to an employer any signs or symptoms
-Employer's procedures for responding to symptoms
-Employer's procedures for contacting emergency medical services. This includes alternative modes of transportation
-Employer's procedures for emergency communications. This includes the emergency response procedures such as location, local medical services, and communication alternatives.

Adjusting to the heat
One training component for employees on heat illness prevention is the importance of acclimatization, or adjusting to physical activity in hot weather. The body needs time to adapt to increased heat and humidity, especially when one is engaged in heavy physical exertion. Typically, people need four to fourteen days to adjust fully to significant increases in the heat. Cal/OSHA data reveals that most workplace deaths related to heat illness that occurred last year involved new employees who were on the job only one to four days and were unaccustomed to working in hot or humid weather.

While the heat illness prevention standard calls for employers to train employees on the importance of acclimatization, it is up to employers to determine what acclimatization procedures they will use. The best strategy is to allow employees, and especially new ones, to adjust to hot weather by gradually increasing to a full work shift and pace. On very hot days, other good strategies include timing the shift so that more work can be done during the cooler parts of the day, increasing the number of water and rest breaks, and using a "buddy system" so that workers and supervisors can monitor each other. Also, employees should be reminded of the cooling benefits of wearing loose fitting, light-colored clothing and a wide-brimmed hat, when it's feasible.

SHADE

Recent safety and health data shows that all the surviving victims of heat illness had access to some shade during work periods, lunch, or at breaks. Under Cal/OSHA's new standard, an employee working outdoors who wants to cool off must be provided with shade for 5 minutes at a time. Shade for heat illness recovery periods must be accessible to employees at all times. In industries other than agriculture, employers may utilize measures other than shade to provide cooling if they can demonstrate that these alternative measures are at least as effective as shade.

According to the new standard, shade means blockage of direct sunlight. Shade is sufficient when objects do not cast a shadow in the shaded area and there is sufficient space for the employee to be comfortable. Shade is not adequate when the temperature in the shaded area prevents cooling. You must avoid sources of shade such as metal sheds or parked cars that are hot from sitting in the sun. Also, tractors and other machinery do not qualify as sources of shade and have the potential to create an even greater hazard. If you have employees who work outdoors, consider some easy-to-assemble portable sources of shade, such as umbrellas, canopies, or other temporary structures. Buildings, canopies, and trees all can qualify for shade as long as they block the sunlight and are either ventilated or open to air movement.

WATER

The third component of the new standard requires an employer to provide employees, working outdoors, one quart of potable, fresh and cool water per person, per hour. In last year's case studies, Cal/OSHA data revealed drinking water was present at all worksites, even though 78% of those who succumbed to the heat suffered from dehydration. Therefore, it is critical to keep drinking water accessible and remind your workers to drink it frequently.

WRITTEN PROCEDURES

The new standard requires an employer's heat illness prevention procedures to be in writing and made available to employees and to representatives of Cal/OSHA upon request. These written procedures must include:
-How an employer will comply with the heat illness standard requirements.
-How to respond to symptoms of possible heat illness, including how emergency medical services will be provided.
-How to contact emergency medical services, and if necessary, how employees will be transported to a point where they can be reached by an emergency medical service provider.
-How they will ensure that, in the event of an emergency, clear and precise directions to the work site can and will be provided as needed to emergency responders.
-Employers are encouraged to integrate their heat illness prevention procedures into their Injury and Illness Prevention Programs (IIPPs). All the elements of the Heat Illness Prevention standard must be implemented to prevent serious illness to your workers. By protecting your employees from heat illness, you promote a healthier and more productive workplace.

To learn more about the shade, water, written procedures and training requirements of the Heat Illness Prevention Standard, visit http://www.dir.ca.gov/.

Boss or Team Coach?

Say the word coach and virtually everyone will form a mental picture. It may conjure up an image of little league, your days as a high school athlete, the debate team or even the trainer you hired to help you get into shape. Most of us have been coached at some point in our lives with varying degrees of success.

In recent years, many of the concepts coaches use to develop winning teams are being translated from the playing field to the workplace. Coaching techniques are being employed as another tool employers can use to build a winning workforce and maintain a competitive edge in a tightening global labor market.

When working with an athlete to achieve peak performance coaches know they must find the right balance between challenging and nurturing individuals, often as they simultaneously attempt to create a winning team from disparate talents and personalities. The most successful coaches somehow manage to make that delicate balance look effortless. The workplace provides a similar set of challenges. For some managers coaching is an instinctive personal style that they fine tune through practice and experience. For many managers the concept of coaching will require a shift in how they view the management role and perhaps an adaptation of their instinctive personal style.

How do the skills coaches employ translate into the workplace? Coaches begin by first assessing the talents and skills of an individual and how those skills and talents fit into the big picture whether it is a team or an individual sport. Great coaches never stop there, they continue to evaluate, assess and review that initial picture as the individual matures and the needs of the team change. And a great coach recognizes and acknowledges the value of each member of the team whether they are the star quarterback or in a supporting role.

But can coaching skills work in the business world? Yes, but first you may need to shift your perspective. In a coaching focused work environment the old top down command and control view of management is passe.

The manager in a coaching work environment is not required or expected to play the role of the all knowing wizard, controlling every aspect of when, where and how the work gets accomplished. Freed from the need to control and fix everything that happens in the business, managers can focus on creating a more collaborative work environment. Well coached employees begin to assume greater responsibility for how their work contributes to the overall goals of the organization and are encouraged and expected to think and work more independently. When the approach is effectively applied the end result will be a more engaged, happier and productive workforce.

Sounds good but how to make it happen?

First, that shift in perspective. Start looking at your employees in a new way. Not as people who need constant management and control but as members of a team who are ready, willing and able to do a good job. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if your need to be in control has more to do with your own insecurities than employee lack of skill or willingness to do a good job. Remember, coaches know that once the players are on the field it is their skill and determination that determine the outcome and your job is to stand on the sidelines as head of the support team.

Look at each individual, not just what you want to accomplish. Every employee has strengths and weaknesses. It is the coach's job to figure out how to capitalize on the strengths to the benefit of the organization and what training or development needs to happen to improve weaknesses. Coaches learn to look for natural talents and capitalize on them. Sometimes players get shifted around the field. At first glance your may see a poor performing employee but you may just have a terrific employee in the wrong position. A natural sales talent stuck behind a computer alone all day is not a winning strategy for the employee or the business.
Coaches know when and how to cut someone from the team. If the positions you have available just are not a good match for the individual and keeping them on the playing field is just too costly then let them go. Just because someone isn't a star gymnast doesn't mean they might not be a star tennis player. Give them the opportunity to move forward and shine in a different place. Be sure you do everything possible to maintain their dignity in the process.

People make mistakes. Good coaches recognize a failure can be the best possible teaching experience. People given the opportunity to make mistakes without fear of being berated or belittled are more likely to push themselves to grow and take on new challenges. Coaching means helping employees figure out how to fix things that go wrong so they can prevent making the same error again.

Give them the ball and make them run with it. Coaches know they cannot fix everything and cannot provide all the solutions. Watching someone struggle to master throwing the perfect pass takes lots of patience but if you grab the ball away each time a player falters then they will never develop the skill or confidence do themselves. If you create a work environment where you never let employees run with the ball then you will find yourself overwhelmed by the demands on your time by the very people you hired to relieve your workload. If there is constantly a line-up of employees outside your office door who are afraid to act without your direct input then it is time to look at the direct or indirect messages you are sending to your team. Stop making all the decisions and rushing to provide solutions to every problem for them. If you hired good people chances are you are surrounded by good ideas just waiting to be heard.

Which leads to yet another under appreciated coaching skill, listening. Coaches who listen to their players on small issues are less likely to find themselves with major issues that interfere with the goals of the team. Coaches know they need to listen to good and bad news and that shooting the messenger will guarantee no one wants to tell them the truth. Always remember your team is on the playing field where the action is. Your skilled and experienced players are looking at the game from the playing field perspective and just may have ideas and solutions you never thought of.

Make your feedback constructive. Coaches don't just scream at their players that they are doing everything wrong and then walk off the field. At least not if their intent is to win the game. Be specific, offer suggestions and guidance and then give your players the opportunity to practice. What if the tennis coach said to a player that they swing the racket all wrong and then walked away? Nothing would be accomplished because without any feedback about what needs to change to improve the player's swing and no opportunity to practice new techniques nothing changes. The result? Two frustrated people and no progress toward achieving the mutually desired result, winning.

If you have never considered a coaching leadership approach in place of your current management style you may want to give it some thought. Making a commitment to coaching can shift the tone of the organization. Think back to any experiences in your life when you were coached and then contrast that to times when you were being managed or bossed. Which was most successful? If you have the opportunity to observe a good coach in action consider how those same techniques may improve your organization. Of course, growing up as the daughter of a coach it made me a believer that good coaching skills build more effective teams, sports or business. Thanks Dad!

Complying with the American Disabilities Act When Hiring - Part I

Job Applications
The American Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits various types of questions of job applicants. Any inquiries on job applications or in interviews regarding an applicant's health or disabilities are illegal under the ADA, as well as other laws.

Prior to recruiting, the employer needs to determine the Essential Job Functions (EJF). When determining the EJFs you must ask yourself if each of the facets of the position are fundamental or integral to the job, MUST be done on a regular basis or on a rare occasion, or can this function be moved to another position without having a critical impact on this job, and the degree of expertise or skill needed to perform the function.

Skills Testing
Pre-employment tests that measure such things as sensory, manual, or speaking skills are permitted under the ADA if the skill being tested is necessary to perform the EJF's, meaning that the test is job-related, and if the tests have been validated to ensure that they measure what they purport to measure. If you are using un-validated skills tests, you are opening yourself to liability for discrimination.

The results of such tests may not be used to screen-out individuals with disabilities. Pre-employment tests should be administered with reasonable accommodations for those applicants who request accommodation.

Interviewing Don'ts
The ADA prohibits pre-employment inquiries about disabilities, whether overt, hidden, or assumed

There are certain questions that are regarded as disability-related, and therefore illegal to ask in a job interview or solicit in background and reference checks:

• About physical impairments like scars, burns, or missing limbs.
  
• If he or she has a disability, for how long, the nature or severity of it, or how it occurred.
  
• About mental or physical impairments unless the applicant has disclosed it and the discussion is limited to determining if the person can perform the EJF's, with or without reasonable accommodation.
  
• If ever been injured on the job.
  
• How many days sick last year.
  
• Been addicted, in counseling or treated for drugs or alcohol abuse.
  
• Been treated for any other disease, medical condition, or disability, or on any medications.
  
• Been in counseling or received psychiatric care, history of filing workers' compensation claims.
  
• Whether there is any health-related reason the applicant may not be able to perform the job.
  

DO NOT assume that an applicant cannot do the job because of an apparent disability.
The applicant may be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. See next month's Challenge or contact Bonnie Royster, SmartSource Hiring System Manager at Your People Professionals 805.928.5725 for Part II Interviewing Do’s to Comply with the ADA.