Ice Breaker! Safety Meeting Quiz

What does EHS stand for?

• Earthworms Have Spines

• Early Head Start

• Environment, Health, and Safety

• Environmental Health Surveillance

Answer explanation

Environmental, Health and Safety is a department within TH that works in coordination with other departments to help prevent injury/illness to employees, ensure environmental protection/sustainability, comply with internal and legislative requirements, and take every reasonable precaution to improve the overall environmental, health and safety culture at Toronto Hydro.

There are tons of great resources available from the EHS department that can help you with your day to day habits!

Office Safety: Circle all potential safety hazards at the office

Answer explanation

So for us, office safety is a big consideration. so with that in mind, let's look at the potential hazards in an office environment.

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1. Desk and file cabinet drawers should be kept closed when not in use.

2. Only one drawer of a file cabinet should be pulled out at a time in order to avoid unbalancing the cabinet.

3. Floors should be free of tripping hazards such as telephone cords, extension cords, paper cartons, etc.

4. Materials should be stored in a safe manner and walkways shall be kept free of obstructions.

5. Defective electrical cords, faulty equipment, or any hazardous condition should be reported immediately to the supervisor. Faulty equipment should not be used until repaired and returned to a safe condition

What is MSD?

• Medical Standards Department

• Manufacturing System Design

• Multi-dimensional Spiderman Displacement

• Musculoskeletal Disorder

Answer explanation

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs.

The main thing for us that we need to consider are Work or office related MSDs in which:

1. The work environment and performance of work contribute significantly to the condition; and/or

2. The condition is made worse or persists longer due to work conditions

Office Ergonomics: Circle what can be improved

Answer explanation

1. Your Head should be upright and over your shoulders.

2. The Top of the monitor should line up with your seated eye height.

3. Your Back should be supported by the chair backrest so that it promotes the natural curve of the lower back.

4. Your shoulders should be relaxed (but not depressed),

5. Your knees should have about a 90 degree angle when sitting.

6. Feet fully supported flat on the floor or foot rest (max 30 degree angle)

Better ergonomics can help you with...(check all that apply)

• Improved sleep

• Reduced stress

• Reduced headaches and health issues

• Improved mood

Answer explanation

So having consistently poor posture is kind of like constantly hitting yourself lightly with a hammer. Yea, doing it a few times here or there won't affect you much; but just think about how much you're working. 8 hours a day for 5 days a week adds up fast, and something will eventually break!

A lot of people don't realize that every system in your body is actually connected to each other.

So for example your musculoskeletal system is connected to your nervous system, cardiovascular system etc., and a problem in one can actually develop problems in others, and these problems sort of start compounding, making the situation a lot worse.

The good thing to know though, and what I really want you to take away from this, is that your body is constantly trying to repair itself, and making sure your ergonomic habits are good can go a long way in improving your overall health over time and actually giving your body the opportunity it needs to fix itself.

I strongly encourage you to print out a checklist and start trying to improve some of your ergonomic habits. You'll actually be really surprised at how much improvement you see, and how fast it happens.

So please reach out and I can definitely send you my checklist!