E-Newsletter

Savings / Safety Tips for November 2018 from All Safety Products, Inc.

Lucky or Protected?

Sometimes injury numbers don't tell the story Organizations with low numbers of on-the-job injuries can be proud of their record. But number of injuries alone doesn't tell the whole story.

Safety expert Don Groover, writing in Safety and Health Magazine, points out that, in dangerous situations, luck plays a part. Groover gives this example: An observer stands below a worker on a high platform. The worker is using a hammer. The hammer falls and misses the observer. There are zero injuries on the job that day but, the fact is, the observer was lucky, not safe. The exposure to danger was still there.

The key is creating a work environment and a safety culture that recognizes exposure, not just injury. In that example, you could say that the workers were in error, either because of the way the hammer was used or because of the position of the observer. While that might be true, Groover points out that the pool of exposure points is more important. "A focus on exposures is a radical departure from a focus on hazards or unsafe actions," Groover writes.

The key is focusing on the factors that cause vulnerability to dangerous situations before the injuries occur or, with luck, don't occur. "When a person is exposed, the outcome is out of their control," Groover says. They could have good luck -- or bad. The significance of safety exposures becomes clearer when seen over time. Groover gives the example of a worker who climbs on a unit to install a strap on a shipping container. When he steps back, he stumbles and falls five feet. He is uninjured. He is lucky and the company has zero injuries but their exposure, when considered across the system, is huge: An employee climbs up twice for each unit loaded. About 25,000 units are loaded per day, equalling 50,000 exposures per day or 18 million exposures per year. Given this immense number of possible falls, relying on perfect execution each time from employees reveals a much bigger risk than merely calculating injuries per day.

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Use Cleaning Products with Caution

Whether you are getting your house spic and span for Thanksgiving or doing janitorial work, use cleaning products safely to minimize chemical exposure. Cleaning supplies can contribute to chronic respiratory problems, according to the American Lung Association.

This is especially true of products like ammonia and bleach which, when combined, produce a toxic chloramine gas. Some seemingly benign products can react when used together. An air cleaning machine might help clear out your uncle's cigar smoke, but the ozone it produces reacts badly with air fragrances. Together, the ozone and fragrance can produce formaldehyde and dangerous fine particles, according to the lung association. Keep rooms well ventilated and use fragrances sparingly, if at all, especially around people with breathing problems.

One way consumers and companies can limit exposure to harmful cleaning chemicals and dangerous particles is to look for the Safer Choice logo on cleaning products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an extensive chemical safety program that has certified more than 2,000 cleaning products. To be awarded the Safer Choice label, products must meet stringent human health and environmental criteria. They also must meet high standards for cleaning performance.

The EPA warns consumers that products labeled green or natural might not necessarily be safer. Generally, these products substitute a plant-based chemical for petroleum and label the product natural. The result is a natural product that is chemically identical to those made from petroleum, according to the EPA. The potential health and environmental impacts are actually the same.

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Delicious Recipe: Thanksgiving Apple Pudding

The mother of Thanksgiving and her 1863 apple pudding She was a woman of her time and ahead of her time. Sarah Josepha Hale was born in 1788 and, in spite of the era, became a self-taught professional woman, a writer, poet and editor, advocating education and professional work for women.

But she was also a creature of her time. When her husband died at age 34, just two months before the birth of their fifth child, she donned mourning black and never again took it off. She didn't believe women should have the vote, but should remain the secret and silent influencer of the male vote. But her influence on culture was far from secret or silent. In fact, Hale became a vocal supporter of a national Thanksgiving.

For 17 years she wrote letters to five presidents about the idea. She wrote books and articles recounting New England Thanksgivings. In 1863, she finally caught the ear of President Abraham Lincoln, convincing him that a national day of thanks might bring the war-torn country together. Besides writing books and editing an influential women's magazine, Hale also promoted Thanksgiving through cookbooks.

Here we offer one of her desserts, courtesy of Tori Avey at toriavey.com.

Thanksgiving Apple Pudding

Ingredients:

6 very large green apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 lemon peel, cut into slices
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 large eggs, well beaten
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 9-inch uncooked pie crusts or 9-inch round puff pastry crusts

Instructions:

1. Fill medium sauce pan with 6 tablespoons of water.
2. Put in sliced apples and the lemon peels.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover the pot.
4. Let the apples cook for 25-30 minutes till very soft.
5. Remove the lemon peels from the pot and mash the apples while they're hot until they have the consistency of applesauce.
6. Pour the mashed apples into a mixing bowl and allow to cool.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
8. Stir in the brown sugar, beaten eggs, heavy whipping cream, and lemon juice.
9. Reserve filling.
10. Line 2 pie dishes or pans with the 2 uncooked crusts.
11. Pour half of the apple pudding into each crust to make two puddings.
12. To make the crust a golden brown color, whisk together 1 egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water.
13. Brush a thin layer of the egg wash onto the visible edge of the pie crust.
14. Place the puddings into the oven and bake for 80-90 minutes, or until the pudding no longer wiggles in the center and is browning in places around the outer edge of the crust.
15. You don't want to undercook the pudding, or it will turn out mushy. If in doubt, err on the side of cooking longer.
16. Cover just the crust with foil if it is browning too fast.
17. Allow pudding to cool before serving.

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About All Safety Products We are all about trying to save you money when we are able to. It is our shipping policy to only charge you the actual shipping costs. Sometimes there is a shipping error on our website. We do review all orders for accuracy and pleasantly surprise our customers when we notify them of an adjustment in their favor. We make money on products, not shipping! 

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All Safety Products, www.allsafetyproducts.com, P.O. Box 6353, Lakewood, CA 90714