1. The obvious thing – sunblock. You don’t have to be a global warming fanatic to know about the potential damage of your skin due to sun exposure. Use sunblock liberally and frequently. Grease stains are easier to get out than cancers.
2. Eye protection is underrated. Sunglasses can ease significant stress on the eyes, and prevent wear and tear on all the little eye-parts that many of us take for granted.
3. Consume liquids. I saw this being followed, but maybe water to beer in a two-to-one ratio would be a little better. Too much alcohol is a compounding problem – you may get dehydrated and you may also forget item #1 above.

I saw a number of people today neglecting 1, 2, or all 3 of these rules.  You don’t want to be one of them later today. Ouch!

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

Before I moved to the Atlanta area, I connected in ATL dozens of times. You don’t even have to travel to or from the south to still find your way to the Atlanta airport as part of your trip. I met a passenger the other day who started her morning in Jackson, MS and was trying to get to Omaha. While it might seem logical that she was in Atlanta at that point, she got there by way of Memphis, and from Atlanta was headed to Milwaukee. Obviously, this is not the path from her original ticket, but once her first leg of the trip got disrupted it went downhill.

Yesterday I was heading to Milwaukee via commuter plane to catch a flight home. We were a little late pulling away from the gate when the attendant informed us that we still had to go through de-icing, and so some of our connections were in jeopardy. Almost everyone on this flight was connecting to somewhere else, and there was this collective groan that emerged with the announcement. It was a groan of discontent. I heard the person behind me ask his row mate, “Do you think that’s really necessary?”.

It was sort of painful to walk up to the gate in Milwaukee and see the jetway pulled away from my Atlanta-bound flight, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

When I buy a ticket, or when my company buys me a ticket, the money spent isn’t just for transportation from point A to point B. I am paying for the gate agents, the airport gate fees, the maintenance of the plane, the luggage handlers, and most importantly, the experienced experts who make the calls regarding the safety of a flight. In a weather situation like yesterday’s, I pay them to make the decision to de-ice, even though it will create scheduling ripples throughout their system. They don’t want to delay flights, but they don’t want disaster either. I sincerely believe that if the people on the plane yesterday could vote on the de-icing process, I would have been on the short end of the vote.

On the other hand, why the airline books tickets with a 25 minute connection, in Wisconsin, in February, is beyond me. The boarding process is underway before you even get there.

Do you have a peeve about safety practices that you believe don’t protect you? Would you want to put plane de-icing up to a vote?  Not me, thanks.

The words rang true for me today: Let’s be careful out there!

I play instruments. Keyboard and guitar primarily. Loss of even one part of one finger changes everything. But even day-to-day living is challenged by the loss of a small part of your hand, and loss by accident can be avoidable. There are things we can do to increase the likelihood that we will avoid injury to those precious digits.

1. Protect them in the cold. Keep you hands in your pockets, wear gloves, just take precautions in cold weather. Frostbite is nasty.
2. If your work is tough on your hands, wear protective gloves. The exact glove you need depends on the task at hand (oops, sorry for the pun!) but your hand can be protected while you manage many hand-intensive tasks.
3. Good grooming. Keep your nails trimmed and avoid picking at cuticles or biting your nails. Very bad habits as they can lead to infection.
4. Don’t reach in! A good friend tried to unclog his snow blower after the engine was shut off. Unfortunately there was some stored energy in the impeller system and he lost some fingers. Ouch.
5. Don’t multitask when using a knife. Cutting vegetables, trimming meat, or whatever you do with a knife requires concentration. If you can’t focus on the task, put the knife down.

Do you have a particular hobby that requires unique protection? Let us know what steps you take.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

As we move into the remaining weeks of the year, we tend to participate in activities and work that only occur in the last six weeks. It would be easy to overlook the little things, but it would be a better idea to think about the potential hazards and take the right precautions.

1. Outside decorations. Many people hang lights or other decorations on the outside of their homes. Make sure you use the right type and length of ladder. Don’t overextend it, set it to the right angle, and remember three points of contact.
2. Outdoor electrical decorations. If you have decorations outside, you need to make sure you are using the right electrical wires and plugs. Protect electrical components from moisture and use only items that are approved for outdoors.
3. Indoor electrical decorations. The big things here include running extension cords and plugging too many things into one outlet. Many modern lights and decorations run with cool LED technology, but there are still lots of electrical decorations that run hot. You need to protect against burns and the potential for fire if a hot bulb is too near something flammable.
4. Cut trees. There are several approaches to keeping a cut tree hydrated while you keep it in your home. If you do have a tree and then travel, consider taking the tree out of your home before you leave.
5. Candles. One year we had a fired in our house. My parents had a wood cabinet in the family room, and the top was decorated with pine roping and pillar candles. The pine had dried out and caught fire as one of the candles burned low. The fire was put out before anything burned besides the cabinet. We only burn candles in glass jars now.
6. Traffic. Shopping, errands, airport runs to pick up family, all put you out in traffic more than usual. And frequently at times when traffic is crazier than normal. We don’t go out the day after Thanksgiving anymore. Nothing is happening that can’t wait, and no savings worth the additional hassle. People are stressed, and that’s when they make mistakes.
7. Food. Different kind of watch out here, but this is as important as any. Not only is it important that you manage your calorie intake, but you also need to be paying attention to food handling. Keep preparation surfaces clean, cook meats thoroughly, and use common sense with storage and re-use.

This is a great time of year for so many people, don’t let the energy of the season lead you to take shortcuts or make a mistake that could snowball into a problem.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

Driving is hazardous. It also can be time-consuming, particularly if you live far from work or take a crowded commute. And as I pointed out on my list last week, people sometimes compromise their safety in the name of expediency – they text while driving.

In the world of industrial safety, companies who excel do not depend on the law to tell them what they can or cannot do. They do the things that must be done to assure employee safety. No doubt, many factories are safer than they might otherwise be due to OSHA regulation and supervision, but the best don’t need that. You shouldn’t either.

You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there is a technological fix you can apply to prevent texting while in a moving vehicle. For Android phones, you can buy Textecution, which is advertised as something to put on your teenager’s phone.

Then there’s TXTBlocker, which again is advertised to parents. And Employers.

And coming soon, you can buy iZup (get it, eyes up) for Android and Windows smartphones.

Call records will easily show if you were texting near the time of an accident. But do you really need a software solution? What you really need is a personal discipline solution. If you, as an adult or parent cannot see or understand that this is a dangerous problem, then don’t lecture your kids. If you can, then teach your kids to manage it. Sure, you can pay for the software to prevent it, but there are always going to be new ways to work around software, and kids will figure it out.

Trust but verify. Check the phone records against the time you know your son or daughter was out. They will tell you and you can take the appropriate action. And in the meantime, lead by example. Don’t send or read text messages while you are operating your vehicle. It can wait. Text with integrity.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

When my son was first driving, he told me he thought he was a good driver. I told him he was, but that the real test is how he would handle the vehicle and himself when the unexpected happens. A tire failure. An animal runs in front of the car. Driving in a snowstorm. Now he’s 27, and he’s a better driver than he was before, because he’s gained experience and learned from that. He’s had many “moments of choice” when he had to call on his knowledge or experience to turn into the skid, or ease slowly to the side of the road, or take whatever maneuver the situation may have called for.

If you are in a job that has anything to do with people, especially leading or training them in any way, safety is part of your profession, whether you acknowledge it or not. You are in a position to help prevent accidents and injuries. For you, the moment of choice is happening constantly. You are looking at the equipment, the machinery, the workers, the office, the conditions all around you and trying to make them all flow together in a way that is good for your business. And the safest possible way is good for business.

Have you had a moment of choice today? I’ll bet you have. It may have been a choice regarding taking that cell phone call in the car, or even considering reading or answering a text message while driving. Maybe it was walking through a factory, you saw someone doing something that could be done with far less risk, and you took the time to point out the alternative, or you chose not to.

Did you have a moment of choice this week that you can point to as one that made a big difference, either for your own safety or those you work with? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

1. Litigation. There are lots of sites that tell you of the stupidest warning labels on things. Like the stroller warning that tells you to make sure there is no child in the stroller before folding it for storage (find this and similar warnings here).  As a result things are made safer all the time, and we become less sensitive to failures that could happen. Good that things are made safer, bad that we become less responsible for outcomes.
2. Legislation. Safer cars, safer braking, safer restraint systems – all good. OSHA regulations – also good. Thinking that as long as I follow the rules all the laws protect me – not so good. There will never be enough legislation (I hope) to force everything to be idiot-proof. As I’ve heard it said, we are always making better idiots.
3. Over-Parenting. How much is too much? Almost every parent finds themselves in a situation where their child is hurt and wonders what they could have done or should have done differently. I didn’t make a point of stepping in the way of my kids for everything they wanted to do that I felt was not totally safe, but I did say “NO” when they wanted to play on a friend’s trampoline, which the parents had placed way too close to the side of their house. Even when you try to prevent something, your child may try it anyway and will then learn that you were correct or that you were just too cautious.
4. We’re busy. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of hearing about texting while driving. It’s a bad idea, don’t do it. But in the rush to get through our busy day, it can easily feel like sending this one very important message can be done safely. Busy-ness is not a good excuse for safety shortcuts.
5. Convenience. I’ve stood on chairs hundreds of times in my life. But now when I need to clean the ceiling fan or change a ceiling light, I get out the ladder. It takes more time, but it is markedly safer.

We can’t eliminate all risk. But we can learn to do a better job of assessing risk and making choices that will lead to safe outcomes nearly all the time.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there!

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

I worked in factories that required eye protection, and in a few that didn’t and should have. Along the way I learned a few things about eye safety that could benefit us all.

1. Whenever using power tools and lawn equipment, glasses with side shields are a must. By design these tools take something and cut it, chew it, grind it, or chisel it into smaller pieces which are thrown into the air, frequently at high speeds.
2. Don’t look directly at the sun, or a solar eclipse, or Carrot Top. You could be scarred for life.
3. If you feel something in your eyes, try to flush it out, never try to scratch it out.
4. If you think you have a scratch cornea, get it checked out. You may have a need for care which, if missed, could lead to complications.
5. If you are going to spend time outside, invest in a good pair of sunglasses.
6. If you wear contact lenses, follow the instructions provided. Don’t over-wear lenses in an attempt to save money.

Don’t take your eyes for granted. Do you have any safeguards you like to recommend?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there!

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

In the midwest, when there were tornado warnings, we all moved to the basement. In the south, when the hurricane is approaching, you just move north. And in the snow country, you wear extra clothes, get good with a shovel, and keep an eye on the roads for ice.

Each type of weather, even a beautiful sunny day, requires some extra precaution. Sometimes that precaution is in the form of something you wear, like gloves or sunglasses. Other times it involves specific actions, like boarding up the house or putting  chains on your wheels to get through a snowy area.

Taking precautions takes time. But not too much. Just a simple inventory of a situation can make all the difference in your ability to successfully manage any risk. Drive slower in heavy rain. Wear sunscreen if you are going to be outside on a sunny day. Use your legs to lift that heavy snow shovel, not your back.

Sometimes the only thing between you and an injury is your willingness to think it through. Ask yourself what risks are at hand, and what you can do to minimize the impact of each one.

Do you consider the weather just to see if tomorrow will be good or bad, or does it impact the way you act each day?

As always, lets be careful out there.

But what insurance should you carry? How much and for what incidents? There are all kinds of sites that will help you understand the ins and outs, and why you should or should not have a particular insurance. And they don’t all agree on very much. There are some that will tell you that for life insurance, only choose term insurance. Whole life policies are a bad investment.  That may be true, depending on your particular circumstances, how you are saving, and how much monthly cash you have available for this purpose.

Just as important is to routinely look at your insurance in light of changes to your pay, your lifestyle, the economy, and even your outlook.  Here are some situations where you might want to consider re-evaluating your insurance purchases.

1. You have established a good emergency fund. Whether or not you are a Dave Ramsey fan, you have tried to save into a rainy day fund. You have likely encountered need for extra cash from time to time. A household emergency fund is for addressing some of the real life things that happen. Your refrigerator fails and you need to buy a new one. You have an accident and have to pay the deductible on your auto insurance. If your emergency fund is getting rich enough, you should consider raising the deductibles on your auto and homeowners policies. You can use the reduction in premiums to increase what you are putting in the fund!
2. A change in any family member’s life status. Sometimes a change means they are no longer covered on your employer-supplied health care plan. My son is only covered until age 23, and only if he remains a full time student in the meantime. We will go off family coverage at that point, but he will have to have his own coverage (or not – but that’s just crazy as he is diabetic).
3. Your cars are getting older. If you carry collision insurance, there comes a time when the cost of the insurance is just not worth it. The insurance company will total the car in a situation like this. Cancel the collision and put the money saved in the new car fund.
4. Age. As my family grows older, I need less life insurance. It’s time to reduce my term coverage as my youngest becomes self-sufficient.
5. Real estate values. Do you have replacement coverage? Does the replacement value automatically escalate each year? Is it enough or are you possibly over-insured? This might be worth looking at.
6. Accumulation of “stuff”. Have you documented the valuables in the house, including jewelry and electronics? Laptops, plasma screen TVs, and high value electronics may all be in the house when the fire hits. Is your coverage good enough?
7. Because you have choices. Why do you think Geico has those creepy eyes looking at you? And when your friendly HR rep reminds you that it is time for annual enrollment, do you look at the new choices or just the bottom line difference for same coverage? Change is hard sometimes, but there may be a value in considering a move from the PPO to the HMO. Of course YMMV.

What other reasons have you had to reconsider your insurance purchase? Please feel free to share you wisdom in the comments.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!