Love your eyes!

Seems we’ve had a recent resurgence of eye injuries….could be people aren’t wearing their safety eye protection. Glasses, goggles, face shields are all critical to preserving your vision. After all you only have 2 eyes. When you lose one, you lose peripheral vision and the vision in the remaining eye is affected as well. You are probably more likely to develop problems with the remaining eye, resulting from eye strain and overwork. With vision in only one eye, you may not be able to continue working and providing for your family. Some typical eye injuries are welding flash occurring in people walking by a welding operation that has not been screened, metal chips from cutting and grinding without proper guarding, wood dust from sawing, dust and other contaminants in the air around you. If you are a prescription eye glass wearer, you can (and should) get your prescription made up using safety lenses and frames. Most opticians offer a selection. Some styles come with detachable side shields so they can be worn during non-work hours. They can be obtained with the new transition lens which rapidly darkens or lightens to provide better vision anywhere on the job. Give it some thought. Some employer’s and/or unions have coverage for eye glasses so the expense should be minimal. Contributed by Sandy Shelnut, Editor Oh, yes, and well worth it!!!

Beginning October 19 and 20 for 3 weeks, CSSI will conduct the following training:

• OSHA 30 hour Construction Industry Standards Training. The cost is $400 per person (discounts for more than 1 attendee from one company are available) The course will be conducted in our training center at 425 Union Street, West Springfield, MA. Thursday and Friday, October 26 and 27; Thursday and Friday, November 2 and 3, and Thursday and Friday, November 9 and 10. Class starts at 9 am each day with 1 hour for lunch. A full 5 hours of training is required, so we’ll likely finish around 3:30 or 4 p.m. The course instructors are Sandy Shelnut, RSP, and Roger Mee, both OSHA Authorized Instructors. Both have a strong background in construction as well as safety and bring their personal experiences in the real world to bear on the classes they teach. There will also be some guest speakers on certain topics. Please call early as enrollment is limited. As always, we reserve the right to cancel classes due to lack of participation.
• How to survive an OSHA Inspection: a 2 hour seminar on the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees; focused inspection; multi-employer workplaces; first hand experiences related by our instructors about inspections in which they have participated. Class dates are November 10, 17 or 24. Class time will be 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sign up now to reserve space early. Cost is $60 per person. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers.
• Powered Industrial Truck Training (OSHA required) If you don’t have it yet, call us.
• Rigging Training for Project Managers: A short course about the equipment required for a successful rigging operation and why we place so much emphasis on inspection. The course is designed for the non-rigger to provide understanding of basic operations and selection of materials.