The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exists to ensure safe and healthful working conditions.  It does this by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.  Occupational health and safety courses are the best way to educate yourself on OSHA’s rules, regulations and procedures so you are well prepared.

If you are found in violation of an OSHA regulation, you are subject to a fine, but how do you know what the regulations are?  By taking an occupational health and safety course. There are more than 1,130 inspectors in states under federal OSHA jurisdiction and you never know when one may show up at your facility unannounced.  If you are found to be in serious violation of OSHA regulations, you can be assessed a fine of up to $5,000, or even $7,000 for a serious violation.  A serious violation is defined as one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.  Taking an occupational health and safety course will help you identify and eliminate violations and avoid financial penalties.

Recordkeeping is very important in terms of adhering to OSHA guidelines.  Good health and safety training courses teach you how to keep proper records and stay compliant with OSHA’s recordkeeping manual.  It is essential that data recorded by employers be uniform and accurate to assure the consistency and validity of the statistical data which is used by OSHA for many purposes, including inspection targeting, performance measurement.  Occupational health and safety courses teach you all you need to know about this kind of recordkeeping.

To register for this class click here.

Although CPR and first aid certification are important no matter where you live, Arizonans high drowning rate and growing elderly population are an extra incentive to learn how to save lives.  In Arizona, CPR and first aid training are more critical than in some other states due to the high rate of water-related injuries and death as well as a large elderly population. 

 In Arizona, drowning is the number one cause of unintentional injury death of children from one to four years old.  Most of these deaths occur between April and August, when outdoor activity is at its peak.  The majority of victims are children up to 12 years-old and two out of three drowning take place in backyard spas and pools while the adult caregiver thought the child was indoors.  By completing Arizona CPR and first aid training, you can give a child an increased chance of complete recovery from a drowning event.

 By the year 2020, studies show that more than 1 in 4 people in Arizona will be over age 60.  According to the US Census Bureau, over the last decade those Arizonans over age 85 increased at 82% – faster than any other age group.  And this growth trend is expected to continue, with the over-65 age group quadrupling by 2030. Arizona has long been seen as a great “snowbird” state, with thousands of seniors flocking here each winter.  This aging and elderly population is known to suffer a higher rate of cardiac arrest and other heart ailments for which CPR could be the difference between life and death.  This is yet another reason why Arizona CPR and first aid certification is so important.

Since CPR was first invented in 1960, it hasn’t changed very much. But in the last few years, there have been a few advancements in CPR and first aid training methodology; making CPR easier and more effective.

When CPR was first created, it required you to check the victim’s pulse, give mouth-to-mouth breaths alternated with chest compressions. After two short breaths you performed two quick chest compressions and then went back to breaths. For some people, this method was a little off-putting and some people were simply afraid to do it wrong and cause further injury to the victim.

Today’s CPR methodology is known as Continuous Chest Compression CPR. It’s a simpler and easier method that eliminates the mouth to mouth breathing. In this new method, chest compressions begin immediately and continue until medical personnel arrive on the scene. The recommended number of compressions is a quick 100 compressions per minute. So far, this method seems to be creating slightly better outcome rates than the old method. According to a new study by the University of Michigan Health System, chest compressions before defibrillation in sudden cardiac arrest victims is equally successful as immediate treatment with an electrical defibrillator.

Regardless of the methodology, you have to learn how to do CPR before you can save a life so enroll in a CPR and first aid certification course today.

For information about CPR and first aid certification/ CPR and First Aid Training or To register for this class, click here

Bystander CPR, provided immediately following sudden cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival. Unfortunately, less than one-third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. You can change this sad statistic when you complete CPR and first aid training.

When it comes to CPR and first aid certification, there are no age minimums or maximums. All that’s required to become certified is the physical strength to actually perform the required tasks. In fact, studies have shown that young children – even as young as 9 years old – can learn and retain CPR skills. The first step to getting certified is to find a CPR and first aid training course in your local area and get enrolled. The next step is to actually attend. Then, you’ll be ready to go out and help a family member or a bystander in need.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) was developed in the 1960s and was said to be invented by James Elam and Peter Safar. Leonard Cobb held the world’s first mass citizen CPR training – called Medic 2 – in Seattle, Washington in 1972. He went on to help train more than 100,000 people the first two years of the programs. These days, CPR and first aid certification training has changed some from the old days. The new methodology recommends continuous chest compressions instead of a combination of breaths and compressions. Not only is this method easier, but it also seems to be increasing the cardiac arrest survival rate.

To register for this class, click here

Summer means picnics, barbecues, parades and fireworks displays, especially around the 4th of July. Summer also means an increase in injuries from backyard grills, bonfires and fireworks. In 2006, an estimated 9,200 people were treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries, 36 percent of whom were under 15 years old.

Children between the ages of 10 and 14 were at three times the risk of fireworks injuries than the general population. About a third of the injuries were from small firecrackers, 21 percent from bottle rockets and 20 percent from sparklers. In 2004, fireworks caused $21 million in direct property damage.

The National Safety Council advises that the best way to safely enjoy this 4th of July is to watch a public fireworks display conducted by professionals. However, if fireworks are legal where you live and you decide to use them, be sure to follow these important safety tips:

• Never allow young children to handle fireworks.

• Older children should use fireworks only under close adult supervision.

• Light fireworks outdoors in a clear area away from onlookers, houses and flammable materials.

• Light one device at a time; maintain a safe distance after lighting.

• Do not allow any running or horseplay while fireworks are being used.

• Never ignite devices in a container.

• Do not try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks; douse and soak them with water and discard them safely.

• Keep a bucket of water nearby to fully extinguish fireworks that don’t go off or in case of fire.

Information and recommendations are compiled from sources believed to be reliable. The National Safety Council makes no guarantee as to and assumes no responsibility for the correctness, sufficiency or completeness of such information or recommendations. Other or additional safety measures may be required under particular circumstances. Last Revised: 04/09

Chances are every driver on today’s roads has driven while distracted; multi-tasking, is, after all, the American way.  Although accident prevention and safety is of paramount importance, scores of people would probably admit to having eaten a fast-food hamburger, changed a radio station, talked on a cell phone or texted a message while behind the wheel.  And we’ve all seen someone applying makeup, reading a map, writing an email or squirting a package of sauce onto a burger while operating a moving vehicle.  Scary, scary stuff.

According to the US Department of Transportation, distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing.  And distraction, whether it’s visual, manual or cognitive; is a growing hazard on the road – just check out these frightening statistics:

• Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. (Source: Carnegie Mellon)
• 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction. (Source: Virginia Tech 100-car study for NHTSA)
• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. (NHTSA)
• The worst offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers: men and women under 20 years of age. (NHTSA)
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

Texting while driving has become a very hot topic thanks to Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone” crusade, and teens are some of the worst offenders.  A recent study by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group showed that 50% of teens admit to texting while driving.  A statistic made even scarier when you consider that teens have limited driving experience to begin with.  The NHTSA reports that the youngest and least experienced drivers – men and women under the age of 20 – are the worst offenders.  Oprah’s campaign has truly brought the texting issue, and accident prevention and safety, to the forefront of American media.

Some states and territories have enacted bans on hand-held devices or texting.  Arizona is not one of them despite the fact that an NHTSA survey showed that more drivers in Western States were observed manipulating hand-held electronic devices (2.1%) than in the other regions of the country (from 0.4% in the Northeast to 0.8% in the Midwest).  And the use of hand-held devices increased the most in the West, from 0.6 percent in 2007 to 2.1 percent in 2008.  Arizona safety training is clearly something that deserves more attention.

It’s time for us to get serious about accident prevention and safety.  Put down the phone, in fact, put it in your trunk so you’re not tempted to use it!  Talk to your family about the hazards of driving while distracted in any way.  Take an Arizona safety training course.  Sign up for an Arizona defensive driving course.  Do anything you can do to help make our Arizona roadways safer for everyone to travel.

Texting While Driving is extremely dangerous! In some states, it’s even illegal. Recent studies suggest that driving while texting is becoming more common for both adults and teens, which means more can be done to promote accident prevention and safety.  To help curb this dangerous trend, start by taking a defensive driving course. Such courses do not cost much and prevent needless auto accidents as well as save lives.

Driving is already challenging enough.  Adding texting to the scenario makes focusing on the road more difficult and, at the very least, distracts you from using your defensive driving skills. According to a report by Jennifer Guevin at CNET, a recent study found that “texting took a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds–enough time…to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.” Wow!  If we increase our speed to 75 miles per hour, which is common for many drivers, in 4.6 seconds we would have traveled 170 yards!!  That’s really scary!!!

In addition to taking away your concentration from the road, texting while driving also creates blurry vision. Staring at a phone light and then back to the road can cause you to see spots or blur your perception. Did you ever think that since you are texting with one hand, you can easily drop the phone on the floor? Dropping the phone just adds to the dangers behind the wheel. You may look down quickly to search for the phone and this action takes your focus off the road. Trying to catch the phone as it falls may cause you to swerve the car off of the road.

As you can see, texting while driving can be distracting and even impairs your vision. If you still have doubts about texting while driving, just watch this video. It was put out by the traffic council in the UK. The content of this video is graphic and we recommend you be 18 or older to watch it.