Scheduling Training
CHESS has a new email address for scheduling training and meetings with the consulting staff: calendar@chess-safety.com.
Many of you worked with Noel Schneider to set up training and other appointments for the consulting staff. Noel is leaving us this month for a different job. We’ll miss him, but we’ll take advantage of his departure to establish a single email address for coordinating appointments. If you need to schedule training or a meeting with us, or change training that has already been scheduled, call us at 651-481-9787 or email calendar@chess-safety.com
Prescription Eyewear
CHESS established an agreement with Essilor, a prescription eyeglass company, so that our clients can easily set up a prescription eyewear program. Essilor has rolled out a new system which will, we hope, make it even easier. Essilor has combined forces with companies such as RayBan, Lens Crafters and Target Optical, using an all electronically managed program called Sight Protect. It allows employers to easily add employees to the system and deactivate employees.
With the Sight Protect format, you can easily decide what is required, what is expressly not allowed, what the company pays and what the employee must pay for (if, they want premium progressive lenses, for example). Billing statements are clearer, and it will be easier to see all employees in the program, including when they last received safety glasses. Best of all, prices have not gone up under this program. An employee can get bifocal prescription safety glasses with antifog for under $160. Prices under the old program with Essilor will be going up if you don’t switch to Sight Protect.
For more information, contact John Hammer at 612-840-5171 or jhammer@essilorusa.com. You can find more information about the Sight Protect program at sight-protect.com
Lab Fees Going Up
Pace Labs announced a price increase earlier this year and now will be adding an 8.6% inflationary surcharge. We offer the benefit to clients of running any lab testing with Pace through our account, which provides a significant cost savings. We will continue to do our best to provide estimated costs, but actual costs will likely vary as we try to keep up with their changes.
MPCA Grants
The MPCA has limited funding for projects to reduce air emissions for smaller businesses. The grant deadline is July 27, with notification of grant approval expected within 60 days. The maximum award is $25,000. If you are considering a project that will reduce your air emissions, it may be worth looking at this. More information is available here: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/regulations/grants-improving-air-quality-through-pollutant-reduction
Other MPCA grant opportunities can be found here: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/about-mpca/contract-grant-and-loanhttps://www.pca.state.mn.us/regulations/grants-improving-air-quality-through-pollutant-reduction-opportunities
First Aid Kits
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has updated the requirements for first aid kits, effective in October. Some of the changes are:
- Foil blankets will be required. Foil blankets have multiple purposes (provide heat, wind break, waterproof wrap, treat hypothermia).
- Tourniquets: The new standard clarifies information on tourniquets (they are not the same thing as the bands used to stop blood flow, such as when donating blood)
- Bleeding control kits: These are packaged kits designed for use for severe life-threatening bleeding. They contain items such as a tourniquet, gauze, gloves, marker, and very wide bandage.
- Risk assessment: employers should determine the potential hazards in the workplace, the type of injuries that could occur and ensure that first aid kits have the supplies to address those injuries.
If you use an outside company to maintain your first aid kits, they will likely inform you of these changes, and may bring your first aid kits up to date.
Reporting Spills
Petroleum spills greater than five gallons and spills of any amount of hazardous material must be reported to the Minnesota State Duty Officer at 651-649-5451. This number is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The State Duty Officer and Fire Department (9-1-1) should be notified for any petroleum product spill over five gallons, any uncontrolled spill (regardless of location), release to the environment, when there is any risk to public health or safety, or when an employee has been unintentionally exposed to a hazardous chemical (including corrosives, irritants, flammable material).