Despite the ocean between us and the economic growth of Asia, Europe is the USA’s largest trading partner. Although it represents the “old country” or “old countries” to many Americans, it is undergoing constant change as a geopolitical area. Much of that change has a direct effect on American EHS professionals.
Moving from committee-based involvement to team-based success is a challenge that many organizations like yours are facing.
Real teams have a common vision, a well-defined mission, they work through processes, they have the resources to make important decisions on their own, and they have coaches to help guide them.
More than 26 percent of all non-fatal accidents in this country involve the hands and arms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Simply placing gloves on workers does not fully eliminate hazards to the hands. “Cut ’n sewn” gloves frequently used in the past, for example, were not ergonomically designed and in some cases actually increased worker risk.
Recent surveys of environmental, health and safety professionals confirm that while budgets and headcount are generally stable, responsibilities are growing. Most EHS managers report increased work hours and job stress. Often that stress arises from the need to keep up with urgent matters — employee incidents and injuries, OSHA reporting, recordkeeping and more.
We’ve all seen the TV shows set in hospitals where the patient’s heart monitor is beeping along and all of a sudden it quits and the nurse hollers out “Emergency, the patient has flat lined!” The doctor rushes in, rips back the patient’s gown and grabs a couple of paddles.
Hunter Douglas is a company known for shedding light on matters, quite literally. The well-known manufacturer of window treatments and coverings, including shades, sheers, louvers, blinds and shutters, makes a claim on its Web site that “Light can change everything.™”
Every day, around the world, some of the bravest souls on earth go below the surface, trusting the equipment they are outfitted with to get their work done and come out alive. Coal mining is unquestionably one of the dirtiest jobs around, and one of the most dangerous.
Wearing and using personal protective equipment (PPE) — properly — is more than just a good idea; it’s an OSHA requirement. Yet, 85 percent of safety professionals surveyed at the 2006 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress said they had observed people in their organization failing to wear PPE when they should have been.
A study conducted in 2005 by Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety found most business executives ranked workplace accidents involving slips, trips and falls as seventh on a list of the most common jobsite injuries. However, slips, trips and falls are actually the second-leading cause of workplace injury, and studies find the problem is growing.
An estimated 120,000 men and women suffer job-related foot injuries every year.1 Whether the work happens in manufacturing plants and steel yards or on construction sites and farms, the need for protective footwear remains an important issue in creating safer work environments.
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