When winter cold brings snowy or icy conditions all outdoor work—even walking—can become treacherous. Workers need serious traction to prevent dangerous and costly injuries, and nothing delivers traction like Diamond GripÔfrom ICEtrekkers. In just seconds, Diamond Grip attaches dozens of case hardened, alloy steel grippers to the bottom of a shoe or boot.

The Washington Post’s Wonk Blog has a piece this week on the burgeoning costs of regulations. WaPo’s Jim Tankersley writes, “If you’re a business leader or conservative economist who worries that the federal government is strangling the economy in red tape, 2012 was a banner year. If you’re a consumer advocate or an environmentalist anxious for the government to do more to boost public health … ditto.”

Progress in traffic safety is “at risk of being undone,” according to a safety group that has put together a 2013 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, a report card grading all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their performance on 15 basic traffic safety laws.

Bifocal safety eyewear is one of the fastest-growing segments in eye protection. And, just as the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work, neither does the one-diopter-fits-all approach. As a result, Gateway Safety has introduced a 10-unit multi-pack in the StarLite^® MAG line, which is Gateway Safety’s most popular and cost-effective bifocal eyewear.

After more than a year of development, safety professionals can now apply for the Certified Safety Management Practitioner (CSMP) from the Institute for Safety and Health Management (ISHM). The cert will be grandfathered during 2013, meaning qualified applicants can achieve the CSMP without taking an exam.

A+A 2013, International Trade Fair with Congress for Safety, Security and Health at Work, is experiencing continued growth: with 613,500 square feet of exhibit space by the beginning of December 2012, exhibitor registration already reached the record figure of the previous year (A+A 2011).

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis last week announced a final rule to strengthen safety in the nation's most dangerous mines. The rule, which revises the Mine Safety and Health Administration's pattern of violations regulation in 30 Code of Federal Regulations Part 104, has been submitted to the Federal Register for publication.

Positive thinking is deeply embedded in American culture, and in American business culture. I’ve worked with enough magazine publishers and advertising sales reps who would be seriously non-productive if not for their “can do, will do” spirit. But here is a counter-intuitive thought: Psychotherapist Albert Ellis, who died in 2007, was a pioneer of the negative path, and he once said the best way to address an uncertain future is to focus on the worst that can happen, instead of the best-case scenario.

In the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” a brief exchange occurs between a CIA subordinate and his boss at Langley HQ. The subordinate and his team are frustrated. The higher-ups are not with aggression pursuing leads that the team believes could track down Bin Laden. “I wonder,” says the subordinate. “how do you assess the risk of doing nothing?”

The Sunday New York Times (Jan. 20) had an article, “The Art of Adding Through Taking Away,” with the “art” both philosophical and pragmatic. The underlying theme should be familiar to many of you: it is a variation of Keep it Simple, Stupid (KISS), dumb it down, keep it short and sweet, don’t complicate matters, don’t over-think.