Gas Stove Safety Tips

The stove is one of the appliances in your home that you likely use most. Stoves come in different types, and one of those is the gas stove. Gas stoves use propane or natural gas to ignite a flame at the cooking surface that directly heats cooking vessels. The flame and temperature are easily controlled, making it a favorite for those who enjoy cooking. But a gas stove uses a highly combustible gas, so with this type of system, you must take extra safety precautions

Pay Attention to Gas Odors

• If you smell an unusual odor around your kitchen that you can identify as gas, or you hear a hissing sound coming from the stove while it is not being used, your stove may have a gas leak. A gas leak can fill up the room quickly, and the slightest spark can set off an explosion that can seriously injure those in the immediate area. If you suspect the stove has a leak, turn off the gas supply to your stove and open the windows in the kitchen and nearby rooms. Leave the house immediately, and call the fire department or gas company to come to inspect your system before you use it again.

Inspect the Pilot Light

• A pilot light is a small flame that is constantly lit. It burns because a small supply of gas feeds it continually. When you turn up the gas to light the cooking surface, the pilot light is responsible for catching the burner on fire so you can use the stove. Typically you can look near the bottom of your unit and see the small blue flame burning. If the pilot is not lit, the slow gas feed through the line can fill your oven or even the room with gas, leading to an explosion hazard. If you notice the pilot has gone out, turn off the gas supply and open windows to clear the air. Once the gas has dissipated, turn the gas back on and relight the pilot according to your stove's instruction manual. Some gas stoves use an electronic ignition and do not have a pilot light; therefore, you won't see a blue flame on these models.

Clean the Burners

• Keep burners clean at all times on your gas stove, which is especially important since these types of stoves use an open flame. The flames can set particles of spilled food or other debris on fire and cause dangerous flareups, according to the Gas Stove website.

Keep Handles Turned to the Side

• Keep the handles of all pots and pans turned to the side, and never let them hang over the front edge. Since a gas stove heats directly with open flames, the entire pan can get hot, especially if the handles are made of metal. When handles protrude from the edge of the stove, they are more likely to be bumped accidentally and may even be knocked off the stovetop, causing burns and other injuries.

Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector

• If you have a gas stove, you should have a carbon monoxide detector in your home nearby. Carbon monoxide is present when any type of fuel is burned, and gas stoves are no exception. These detectors alert you if the level of carbon monoxide, which is odorless and colorless, gets too high in the house.

Tips for Avoiding Slips and Falls

Falls are the leading cause of injury in the workplace. Keep these tips in mind to avoid an injury:

• As you walk, keep an eye on the floor in front of you for spills.
• If you see a spill, never just walk by it. Always clean it up or call someone to clean it up.
• Wear nonskid shoes when you work in kitchens, outdoors, or any other place where you will commonly be walking on slippery surfaces.
• Never climb on shelving units or storage units to get things. Use only approved ladders.
• Never lean on railings, even if they look solid. They could be improperly secured, and you could fall.
• Always use safety harnesses when working at heights.

Tips for Lifting Properly

You may work with patients who need help getting around or at a factory where you're lifting boxes on a continual basis. No matter who or what you may be lifting, there are some key points to consider:

• If you are approaching a box and don't know what's in it, try moving it a little with your foot first to see how easily it moves. This will help you gauge how heavy the box is.
• Always wear nonskid shoes when you are lifting often or lifting potentially heavy objects.
• Never bend at the waist and lift the box up with your back. Keep your upper body straight and parallel with your lower legs. Grab the item and push up with your legs, not with your back.
• Never jerk your body around when lifting. You may feel fine after doing this once, but repeated occurrences can easily lead to injury in even the healthiest workers.

Fire Safety Tips

Some jobs carry an increased risk of fire, but understanding fire safety is important for any occupation. Keep these tips in mind:

• Have a fire plan in place for your worksite, and make sure your employees understand it fully. Having a fire drill every now and then is a good way for employees to keep escape routes, meeting spots, and procedures in mind.
• Avoid the use of so-called "power strips" whenever possible. They are often prone to overuse and can start a fire if too many appliances are plugged into them.
• Keep cleaning chemicals and other work chemicals in a well-ventilated room. Many chemicals emit vapors that are highly flammable and which can be set off with something as small as a spark from a faulty wire.
• Know where all the fire extinguishers are throughout your worksite and know how to use them.
• Remember that grease fires cannot be fought by dousing them with water. Oil is hydrophobic and also is the fuel source in grease fires. Water will simply splash the oil around and spread the fire even further.

Planning for a Safe Workplace

Falls, lifting injuries, and fires are dangerous and common in the workplace, but that's just the beginning. There are many possible safety issues that can occur at your office or factory. Sometimes the best workplace safety arises out of simple good planning and smart thinking.

Every single workplace should have a safety committee and safety plan in place. If you don't have safety committees at your workplace, then propose one. If you work at home, you are the safety committee. Working at home or for a very small business isn't a reason to get out of safety planning.

If you don't have a safety plan in place yet, follow these steps when you recognize a workplace safety issue:

1. Make sure that everyone else in your workplace is aware of the problem.
2. Notify your supervisor.
3. File any reports or documents about the problem.
4. Follow up. Telling someone there's a problem is not a guarantee that the problem will be resolved satisfactorily. Report it and later follow up to make sure the problem was addressed.

5 things safety leaders do to make employees mock safety

I have met parents who do at least some of these things; some of them do them all. It occurs to me that if parents with good intentions can make their kids hate sports, safety leaders are equally as capable of doing things that make their employees mock safety.

Five common mistakes of safety leaders:

They treat employees as equipment, not people

Safety leaders can get so caught up in the metrics and pressures of making their workplaces the safest in their industry that they forget these “exposures” are real people.  No human being is programmed the same. It takes innovative ways and many reminders to deliver a successful and sustainable message. If employees can’t learn from you, you are a waste of their time.

They talk (TALK) about change

Safety leaders are all about change. They can tell you every aspect of the organization that needs to “change here, change there.” The fact is that without buy-in from many departments or key decision makers, change is impossible. When change does not occur, safety leaders need to take a candid look at themselves and their own efforts to be part of the team. Successful safety leaders could be master politicians. Ineffective safety leaders are a joke.

They know it all

The safety industry is filled with “know-it-alls.” You can easily spot them because they often answer questions with a smug attitude that conveys the message: “What were you thinking, stupid?” A “know-it-all” does not have the capacity to grow as a leader. Why would a trainer or long-time employee want to waste their time trying to interact with someone who already knows everything?

Employees who appear to be following a safety know-it-all’s direction are probably looking for ways to push that person off the proverbial cliff. (These same employees are probably in the break room right now having a good laugh about safety.)

They are not an employee advocate

I have seen this time and time again: Safety leaders are on a quest to connect with their employees, claiming that they genuinely care about their concerns, input and well-being. However, when something goes wrong and people are called on the carpet, they blame the employees.  If safety is only cited during punitive actions, then employees associate safety with hardship. And if you are the safety leader, you certainly are not their advocate.  You are the enemy and they will laugh hysterically when you fail.

They don’t own it

I see this occur most often with newly appointed safety leaders who allow the safety manual or a safety policy to justify their existence. Here’s an example:  While doing a walk-through with a new safety manager at a plastic injection mold manufacturer, I noticed he had to remind employees to wear eye protection. After reminding them, he would try to be their friend.  He told one employee, “I know you do your job right and your chance of getting hurt is low, but I have to remind you because our insurance company requires us to have a safety policy and it says that eye protection is required in the shop area.”

Translation: “This stupid safety manual that we don’t even need in the first place says you have to wear eye protection. It is not me talking, but the insurance carrier. Don’t be mad at me, just put on your goggles so we don’t get in trouble.” It is no wonder this safety leader was never taken seriously. He ultimately was fired because the facility had no signs of safety improvement or a safety culture.

He didn’t see it coming. Do you?

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