8 E ight basic components that will help prevent accidents and injuries from happening 1. Hazard identification and risk control — Determin...
8 Eight basic components that will help prevent accidents and injuries from happening
1. Hazard identification and risk control — Determine which hazards are present in theworkplace and take steps to eliminate or minimize them. For example, chemicals, such as
pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers must be identified and placed in an area where they will be
safe if not used.
Some of the most common hazards faced by workers in nurseries include:
o Operating heavy equipment such as forklifts
o Operating power tools such as pruners and clippers
o Pushing and lifting heavy equipment such as loaded wheelbarrows or large containers
o Using sharp tools such as pruning shears and picking knives
o Working with pesticides
2. Safe work procedures — Describe in w
riting how to carry out specific tasks safely. How
these materials will be kept safe and can be used in the future before they expire.
There are chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, fungicides that are used in the
nursery. See to it that containers of these items are properly sealed before leaving them in
the storage cabinet. Chemical spills of pesticides may cause severe problems once they are
spilled out and can contaminate with other materials used in the nursery.
Verbal instructions are not prohibited but aside from them posting is necessary.
There are times workers do not take instructions seriously. Supervisors find it helpful to post
written reminders to avoid accidents to happen.
For tools and equipment, see to it that they are placed in the toolbox or room for
safety keeping.
For tools with sharp edges, apply oil on them to avoid rusting. For pruning shears,
clean the blade and apply oil on them and put them in a holster to be safe. Again never
leave other tools like pick mattock, axe, and budding knife in an area where they can cause 2
accident. Make it a habit to place them in a tool box or cabinet every after use.
Disposal of Pesticide Containers
Triple or jet rinse empty containers to remove all traces of the chemical. If possible,
return containers to the manufacturer or supplier, or call a representative of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or Department of Agriculture (DA) for
information on approved disposal methods. Material Safety Data Sheets may provide
disposal information.
3. Orientation, education, training, and supervision — Prepare workers for the job and
make sure they continue to work safely. This is particularly important for new and young
workers.
Occupational health and safety program should describe the type of education and
training that will be provided, especially if observed there is really a need to provide it most
especially, if there are new workers in the area. For example, paste on the wall the safe work
procedures to follow when performing hazardous tasks. Workers should also be trained in
the use of emergency equipment and procedures.
If new in the service, this is the orientation that you need:
o Rights and responsibilities
o Workplace hazards
o Safe work procedures
4. Safety inspections — Identify workplace hazards so that they can be eliminated or
controlled. Besides correcting any hazards that you observe from day to day, set aside time
for regular workplace inspections, and control any hazards you find during your inspection.
Because safety inspections are preventive in nature, they are an important part of your
overall health and safety program.
What is being inspected?
During an inspection, it is expected that the owner identifies unsafe conditions and
acts that may cause injury and apply corrective measures right away.
A checklist is used to ensure that the inspection is thorough and consistent with previous
inspections. Expect to do the following:
• Ask everyone what hazards are associated with the job that workers observe or that
would be performed in that work area.
• Observe how workers perform tasks. Are they following safe work procedures and
using PPE?
• Talk to workers about what they‘re doing. Ask about safety concerns.
• Ask workers how they perform their tasks.
• Record any unsafe actions or conditions that they observe.
5. Incident investigation— Find out why an accident or injury occurred so the causes can
be corrected.
Everyone in a greenhouse or nursery has a role to play in an incident investigation.
Workers must report incidents to their supervisors. Owners, employers, or supervisors must
initiate incident investigations promptly. If possible, investigations should include at least one
employer representative and one worker representative.3
6. Health and safety meetings— Provide an opportunity for workers and supervisors to
communicate any concerns about health and safety.
Good communication among employers, supervisors, and workers on health and
safety issues is vital for the success of a workplace health and safety program. The following
are some guidelines for successful health and safety meetings:
Expect that workers will be required to attend the following:
• Hold regular monthly meetings with workers to discuss health and safety matters.
• Focus your meetings on identifying and correcting hazardous conditions or tasks and
making health and safety a priority in your workplace.
• Post an agenda to get workers thinking about the topics to be discussed.
• Keep a record of each meeting, including what was discussed and who attended.
• Post meeting minutes for everyone to read.
7. First aid — Determine what level of first aid is required for your workplace, and make sure everyone knows what to do if someone is injured on the job.
All workplaces must meet the first aid requirements. Effective first aid treatment can reduce the severity of work-related injuries, which helps minimize the financial costs associated with extensive medical
treatment or the need to replace employees who are unable to work.
All businesses must keep a first aid kit onsite. Many will also need a first aid attendant. The
type of kit and the need for a first aid attendant will depend on three factors:
• the hazard rating for your business
• number of workers
• travel time to the nearest hospital
8. Records and statistics — Maintain documentation to help identify recurring problem, and
ensure that hazardous conditions are corrected.
Employers are required to keep health and safety records and statistics on file. Examples of
documentation include training activities, first aid treatments, and incident investigations.
Written records and statistics can help:
• Identify trends for unsafe conditions or work practices so you can take steps to
correct these hazards.
• Provide material for education and training.
• Provide documentation in case a DOLE representative requests it, or if an incident
occurs and you need to prove that you did all you could reasonably do to prevent it.
STORING PLANTS AND MATERIALS
Propagation nurseries must have a reliable supply of good-quality plant material. This
might be seed from reliable seed suppliers or from plants which can be readily used as
a source seed collection. It might also be cutting or grafting material from healthy,
correctly identified plants (―known varieties‖)
Seeds are alive and like any living thing they
can be harmed by adverse conditions. While some seeds may survive for thousands of
years under the proper conditions, others will lose viability quickly, even when properly
stored.
To maintain dormancy the following must be done.
1. Keep seeds in a cool, dark location with low humidity, like a refrigerator.
2. Label (seed name, source, year) and store them in a small resealable bag or empty film
canister that is, in turn, kept in a larger plastic container.
Once you are ready to sow, you can test the viability of many, but not all, seeds by
soaking them in water for a few hours. The seeds that are still living will sink to the bottom,
while the dead ones will float on the surface. This test generally works better for larger
seeds, but there are no absolutes.
Stored seed can be affected by:
1. Moisture content- Many short-lived seeds lose viability if they become dry-citrus
seed, for example, can withstand only slight drying.
2. Temperature- Most seeds will store for longer periods to lower temperatures. Each
decrease of 4.6ºC (9ºF) between 0º and 44ºC (32º and 112ºF) will double the seed
storage life.
3. Storage atmosphere. Some techniques of modifying gas levels(increasing carbon
dioxide) can be of value.
Types of seed storage
1. Open storage with no control. Storage in bins, sacks or paper bags. Fumigation
or insecticide/fungicide applications are sometimes necessary. Seeds of many annuals,
perennials, vegetables and cereals can be successfully kept this way. Apart from a few
exceptions (corn, onion, parsley ), seeds from these groups will normally retain viability for at
least a few years.
2. Cold storage with or without humidity control. Temperatures below10ºC (50ºF)
will improve the longevity of virtually any type of seed. Cold storage of tree and shrub seed is
recommended if the seed is to be held for more than one year.
3. Cold moist storage. Seed should be stored between 2º and 10ºC (35-50ºF) in a
container which holds some moisture – retaining material such as peat or sphagnum moss.
Relative humidity should be 80-90% . It should be placed in an area of the nursery that is
cool. The roots must be moist and are protected from direct sunlight, wind or extreme
temperature inside the nursery area.
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