ICE Card Making 101 - It just Got Easier.......

Okay quick lesson in card cutting - two options....one is to use prefitted templates if making small numbers of cards yourself....this can get pricey but it works....next you can use a good color copier laser printable paper (about 100 weight) with a high gloss side ...print your cards.

There is a device called a Cardmate Business Card Cutter that reduces the amount of time needed to cut perfect business sized cards...about $100 but it is slick and you can check one out at http://www.spiralbinding.com/ or at better paper suppliers..... this thing would pay for itself if you were printing your own business cards as well.....

Just learned...Avery released yet another free business software program called the Avery Wizard 3.1 and it can be downloaded from www.avery.com This version works using macros in MS Word and has some added functionality when creating multiple cards for multiple people - you can do them all at once or a whole page at a time and save them in Word....nice. Teamed up with the above cutter.....you're there!

Even more good news..this same company offers card lamination pouches that accept the ICE Cards...if you have access to a laminator and want to do a bunch of these, they are about $4 for a box of 100.

Construction Workers and ICE

What could possible go wrong......you got up, went to work...climbed onto your rig as always and hey, no problemo.....except maybe the subcontractor has a few "new" guys on the job today that somehow didn't go through the normal orientation process.......you (and the new guys) could find yourself in a nasty world of hurt......

"Hope" is not an operative word in the safety field, so hoping it won't happen is not going to make it go away or not happen.....you need to actively identify and remove hazards whenever possible...and constantly be vigilant.

It is not just the safety managers job! The best contractors out there have safety as their highest priority.

Construction job sites are by nature in a constant state of change and therefore everyone involved has to be knowledgeable about those changes and prepared to take action to prevent accidents. Being prepared to deal with an accident that does in fact happen is essential as well.

Affixing an ICE symbol to your required on-site posted Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is one simple way to use ICE. Any visitors and subcontractor employees having ICE Cards wouldn't hurt....making safety high profile and easy to identify is smart!
More as we go along.......

Low Cost ICE Containers

No need to spend tons of cash on your emergency kit or ICE Kit...in this case a 5 or 6 gallon plastic pail outfitted with a Gamma Seal Lid ($7-9). Sturdier pails are stamped with .090 on the bottom.....this lid can be found online or in some paint stores....black is not food grade....so choose one of the other bright colors...this lid allows ease of opening or closing with one hand...just in case one is broken.....women will like these as you don't have to use a lid tool ($1 at Lowe's) to pop a well seated standard lid. You can set aside a real basic collection of emergency equipment like food/clothing /water purification /communications/cash/batteries/lighting/multi tools/heat tabs/fire starters and boat matches/handkerchief/plastic bags that you can store near your exit to dump in your car or keep in your car/truck. Packs are nice....not very waterproof but pails are inexpensive and widely available for free. Oh, and this floats...some of the kits and lists of contents out there are pure crappola.....don't rely on junk...if you can afford quality equipment - get it....we'll put some online.....

NYC Explosion - A Reminder

This week 7-18-07 had seen a major pipeline explosion in NYC hurtling debris and sending people scurrying for cover......it looks like barefoot as well....a busload of children were so very close to the gaping hole in the street.....this would be a good time for low tech devices and practice/training on what to do in an emergency....

Opening Files from ICE4SAFETY.COM

Just a quick note for those folks wanting to use the free tools located on the ICE website....the only "unusual" documents located there are the ICE Cards and Stickers created using the free Avery DesignPro 5 software that is available from Avery at www.avery.com .

In general, you wouldn't normally be able to open those files unless you first download the program that was used to create the document. You can later import those documents into a variety of other programs and convert them to PDF, JPG etc.

Programs used to create ICE documents are PowerPoint, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Publisher. Hope this helps.