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How Retailers Can Better Mitigate Black Friday Risks

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Black Friday Shopping Risks

With the biggest shopping events of the season, retailers face tremendous amounts of both risk and reward as sales and door-busters draw in eager consumers all week. In 2013, Thanksgiving deals brought in 92.1 million shoppers to spend over $50 billion in a single weekend, the National Retail Federation reports.

The National Retail Federation issued crowd management guidelines for retailers and mall management officials to use when planning special events, including Black Friday, product launches, celebrity appearances and promotional sales. General considerations to plan for and curtail any crowd control issues include:

  • Remind and retrain all employees about your store’s emergency protocols to address potential risks facing employees and customers.
  • Dedicate knowledgeable employees to communicate and manage crowds, from arrival to departure, and resolve any potential conflicts that may arise.
  • Strategically place sale items throughout the store to help disperse crowds and manage traffic flow.
  • Request the assistance of local law enforcement if large crowds are expected and arrange for additional security services.
  • Educate employees about relevant policies and procedures and advise them who to contact in the event of a situation.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration also issued a public letter to retailers urging companies to plan ahead for better in-store safety for both employees and customers. According to OSHA’s “Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for Retailers,” crowd management plans should, at least, include:

  • On-site trained security personnel or police officers
  • Barricades or rope lines for pedestrians that do not start right in front of the store’s entrance
  • The implementation of crowd control measures well in advance of customers arriving at the store
  • Emergency procedures in place to address potential dangers
  • Methods for explaining approach and entrance procedures to the arriving public
  • Not allowing additional customers to enter the store when it reaches its maximum occupancy level
  • Not blocking or locking exit doors

Brick-and-mortar retailers are not the only ones at greater risk. Companies that operate call centers must also be prepared for a drastic increase in customer inquiries and purchases. According to communications intelligence firm Cognia, 69% of U.S. contact centers carry out credit card payments over the phone and 84% record calls, making their archives particularly vulnerable to potential breaches.

“The first thing to highlight with respect to call center compliance at peak times is that this pressure is unlikely to create new issues, but will amplify existing ones. Attackers / threat actors (the bad guys) will also be aware that this is the time at which procedures are most likely to slip, and social engineering vulnerabilities that have previously been identified can be exploited,” said Tom Evans, Cognia’s chief security officer.

“There are challenges but, from a risk perspective, there is also an opportunity to fine-tune the risk management system under pressure. At these peak times, issues will be visible that would go undetected during business as usual operation,” Evans noted. “There is an opportunity to be proactive and to use the pressure around these peak sales times to identify bad practice that, during less pressured periods, is probably limited to one or two individuals or occasional occurrences, and therefore very hard to spot. Even the most dependable employee under the pressure on big queues may resort to a shortcut to get the job done. Identifying these means that controls can be put in place to prevent them being used again, and therefore the overall risk management position improved.”

To improve security and PCI compliance, Evans recommends that companies focus on areas that have lower security controls overall. For example, seasonal employees, over-spill call centers, and work at home agents may all be components of a contingency plan for peak periods that introduce vulnerability that can be mitigated.

Protect Outdoor Workers from Extreme Cold

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During this winter’s extreme cold spells, caused by a polar vortex creating frigid temperatures, workers are at added risk of cold stress. Increased wind speeds can cause air temperature to feel even colder. This increases the risk of cold stress for those working outdoors—including snow cleanup crews, construction workers, postal workers, police officers, recreational workers, firefighters, miners, baggage handlers, landscapers and support workers for the oil and gas industry.

The U.S. Department of Labor notes that what constitutes extreme cold and its effects can vary across the country. In regions that are not used to winter weather, for example, near freezing temperatures are considered “extreme cold.” Because a cold environment forces the body to work harder to maintain its temperature, as temperatures drop below normal and wind speeds increase, heat can leave the body more rapidly.

Wind chill is the temperature felt by the body when air temperature and wind speed are combined. For example, when the air temperature is 40°F, and the wind speed is 35 mph, the effect on exposed skin like an air temperature of 28°F.

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Cold stress can occur when the skin temperature goes down and the internal body temperature (core temperature) drops. This can lead to serious health problems and also cause tissue damage and possibly death. Exposed workers are vulnerable to hypothermia, frostbite and trench foot, the DOL said.

Some risk factors that contribute to cold stress are:

  • Wetness and dampness, dressing improperly and exhaustion
  • Predisposing health conditions such as hypertension, hypothyroidism and diabetes
  • Poor physical conditioning

The DOL recommends that employees working in frigid temperatures avoid alcohol, smoking and some medications to help minimize risks.

The best way to avoid cold stress is by wearing proper clothing. The type of fabric makes a difference as well. For example, cotton loses its insulation value when it becomes wet, while wool, silk and most synthetics retain their insulation even when wet.

Here are some clothing tips for workers in cold environments:

• For better insulation wear at least three layers of clothing: An inner layer of wool, silk or synthetic to wick moisture away from the body; a middle layer of wool or synthetic to provide insulation even when wet; and an outer wind and rain protection layer that allows some ventilation to prevent overheating.  Avoid tight fitting clothing.

• Wear a hat or hood to help keep the entire body warm.

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Hats reduce the amount of body heat that escapes from the head.

• Wear insulated boots or other appropriate footwear.

• Keep extra clothing (including underwear) handy in case clothing gets wet.

• Do not underestimate the wetting effects of perspiration. Venting of the body’s sweat and heat can be more important than protection from rain or snow, according to the DOL.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also issues guidelines. For example, because it is easy to become dehydrated in cold weather, employers can provide warm sweetened liquids to workers. Additionally:

• If possible, schedule heavy work for the warmer part of the day. Assign workers to tasks in pairs so that they can monitor each other for signs of cold stress.

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• Allow workers to interrupt their work if they are extremely uncomfortable.

• Give workers frequent breaks in warm areas.

• Acclimatize new workers and those returning after time away from work by gradually increasing their workload. Also allow more frequent breaks in warm areas to help them build tolerance for working in the cold environment.

These and other safety measures should be incorporated into the organization’s health and safety plan.

Protecting Employees from Dangerous Chemicals

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Millions of workers in a number of industries are exposed to chemicals every day. While many of these chemicals may be harmful, only a small number are regulated in the workplace.

Because of this, employees suffer more than 190,000 illnesses and 50,000 deaths annually—all related to chemical exposures. Workplace chemical exposures have been linked to cancers as well as lung, kidney, skin, heart, stomach, brain, nerve and reproductive diseases, according to the United States Department of Labor.

An effective system for managing chemicals in the workplace is important. Ideally, a program would go beyond basic Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) standards for compliance and would attempt to reduce or eliminate chemical hazards at the source through informed substitution.

An online toolkit, provided by OSHA, can help businesses improve the safety of their workers by eliminating or reducing hazardous chemicals. Other benefits are also created, including:

  • Cost Savings—reduced expenses and future risks.
  • Efficiency—improved performance.
  • Industry Leadership—innovation helps a company stay competitive.
  • Corporate Stewardship—Advancing socially responsible practices.

Considering safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals is not new, but a good program allows employers, workers and decision-makers to identify solutions rather than continuing to focus on the problem. This approach can also reduce costs and keep businesses competitive. On the other hand, continuing to assess the problem has no economic benefit, according to OSHA.

“Informed substitution,” or replacing hazardous substances with safer alternatives, is the goal of a solutions-oriented approach to chemical management, OSHA said. It involves identifying alternatives and evaluating safety hazards, any potential trade-offs, and their technical and economic feasibility. A “safer alternative” is an option that is less hazardous for workers than the existing method or solution used. This could mean choosing not to continue an activity altogether. It also might include using chemical substitutes, products or process redesigns that eliminate the need for specific hazardous chemicals.

Seven Step Process

To help with the process, OSHA has developed a seven-step procedure to give employers and workers the information and guidance needed for informed substitution in the workplace.

In step 1, “engage,” for example, OSHA offers these considerations for developing a plan:

Key Questions

  • How will workers be involved in the team and throughout the planning process?
  • Who should be involved in developing the work plan and setting goals for transitioning to safer chemicals—managers, supply chain partners, customers, marketers, health and safety committee members, occupational health nurse or physician, occupational health consultant?
  • What goals should be included in the plan? Consider specific goals such as eliminate carcinogens, reduce the use of hazardous chemicals by a certain percentage in a set number of years, substitute chemicals of concern from government or sector lists, etc.
  • What policies, tasks, responsibilities, deadlines should be included in the plan?
  • What particular drivers should you be aware of in developing the plan (existing or new laws, consumer pressures, new science)?
  • How will external stakeholders be involved?

To read more and access OSHA’s seven-step plan and toolkit go to:

https://www.osha.gov/dsg/safer_chemicals/index.html

Soaring Temps Bring More Risks for Workers

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As the heat wave made its way from the southern U.S. to the northeast earlier this week, residents throughout that broad area struggled to find cool comfort. It’s easy to sit inside an air conidtioned office and watch the temperature rise on outdoor thermometers, but what about those that make their living working outside, often as hostages of heat? Many times, they’ll succumb to heat exhaustion at some point in their career, or worse, heat stroke.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), thousands of outdoor workers experience some form of heat-related illness each year. Just this week, a 42-year-old Alabama man died of heat stroke two days after working outdoors and showing signs of heat exhaustion. And, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health, he was the third victim this year in the state. Triple-digit temperatures also recently claimed two lives in Texas and two in Oklahoma.

From Little Rock, Ark., to New York City, officials blamed more than three dozen deaths on sweltering temperatures. Heat advisories were in effect Wednesday in 11 states, including Georgia, with temperatures in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas stuck well above the 100-degree mark.

So what can workers do (and employers encourage) to avoid succumbing to the effects of high temperatures? The American Society of Safety Engineers suggests the following:

  • Use cooling pads that can be inserted into hardhats or around the neck to keep the head and neck cool. Vented hardhats or neckbands soaked in cold water can also be used to minimize prolonged heat exposure and prevent the body from overheating.
  • Wear protective eyewear that features sufficient ventilation or anti-fog lens coating to reduce lens fogging from the heat. Sweatbands can also be used to prevent perspiration from dripping into the eyes.
  • Use gloves with leather palms and cotton or denim backs, which allow for an increased airglow and still protect hands. Also, choose gloves with a liner to absorb sweat preventing perspiration buildup. Some gloves also feature strips of nylon mesh or are perforated at the back of the hand for more airflow.
  • Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, breathable clothing such as cotton, recommends OSHA.
    Take breaks in cooler, shaded areas.
  • For workers exposed to extreme heat, proper hand protection from burns depends on the temperature and type of work to which workers are exposed.
  • To prevent dehydration, another hazard associated with exposure to heat, NIOSH recommends that workers drink five to seven ounces of fluids every 15 to 20 minutes. Drink cool water and avoid diuretics such as coffee, tea, alcohol or soda that actually deplete body fluid. Sports drinks are also good for replacing fluid in the body but use should be monitored due to the high sodium content.

Following these, and other tips, is just good risk management and illness prevention. For further information about protecting workers from the effects of heat, visit OSHA’s fact sheet on the topic.