Safety Tidbits 8/11/08

Number Crunching
9 – Percent of voters who think Congress is doing a good job.
25 – Percent of Chinese population that is overweight or obese. They are closing in on the U.S.
40 – Percent decrease in housing starts, year to date from 2007 levels.
43 – Percent increase in SUV sales in China in May 2008 compared to May 2007.
65 – Percent of professional truck drivers who said they wear seat belts according to a recent FMCSA survey.
3,800 – Number of high hazard worksites that OSHA will be focusing on in 2008.
$420,300 – Amount of MSHA fines leveled against a Utah company for flagrant violations.
$93 Million – Amount collected in fraudulent Medicare claims by hospital-equipment suppliers using dead doctors’ signatures according to a recent congressional investigation.
9.6 Billion – Decrease in the number of miles driven in May 2008 versus May 2007.
$12.7 Billion – The amount employers spend annually for overexertion sprains and strains in direct costs alone.

"Learn the wisdom of compromise; for it is better to bend, than to break".

Give them a BRAKE!
Many states have increased fines for speeding in Work Zones and there is a good reason for it. Road construction workers are working in close proximity to moving vehicles and that spells trouble. In 2006 alone, 1010 people were killed in Work Zone crashes and another 37,688 were injured. Those injured or killed included some drivers and passengers of motor vehicles. SLOW DOWN in WORK ZONES!!!

From the IT boys - Turn off your computer monitor at night to save energy
Screen-saver mode doesn't do much to cut energy use. Here is some useful information on energy consumption: At $.105 per kilowatt hour (kwh), just turning off a 75-watt monitor outside 40 hours a week saves $4.38 a month (42 kwh). This saves 750 lb. of CO2 (greenhouse gas emissions) by burning 450 fewer pounds of coal each year! Flat screen monitors consume about one third this much energy. So, please turn off your monitor when you go home for the day. IT asks our employees to leave work PCs on, because they install updates at night so that they don’t impact your productivity during the day. Turn off your home computer when it is not in use too. Some typical consumption levels for computer equipment and household appliances:
• CRT Monitor 75w • Desktop Computer 60w
• Flat Screen Monitor 25w • LaserJet Printer 7w
• 32” Television 90w • Coffeemaker (brewing) 980w
• Coffeemaker (warming) 2w • Microwave 1950w