Workplace Safety Culture

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How confident are you that a costly, serious safety event isn’t just around the next corner? If your organization has ever been surprised or caught off-guard by a sudden deterioration in its safety performance, it may be that you’re simply not getting the whole picture when it comes to operational risk.

A tricky thing, disciplining employees. Every safety pro has a story about discipline:“I had to terminate a woman in 1987 because her body odor was so repulsive, affecting other workers (and her boss… me),” says a pro who requested anonymity. “I remember progressive discipline... You bet I asked the HR manager for assistance.”

Not long ago gloves were considered just another uncomfortable piece of PPE that one was obliged to wear. Leather was the material of choice for premium protection, while less expensive fabric offered basic hand coverage.

Impacting organizational culture is a long-term, never-ending endeavor. Many companies struggle with maintaining and sustaining cultural initiatives because their impact may not be felt for several years. Culture, as an organizational construct, is a subjective factor not directly measurable by any instrument, survey or metric. Yet, everyone is impacted by culture and can describe when it turns bad.

Although it’s an intricate piece of equipment with a number of components — including a facepiece, a breathing tube and a blower that passes contaminated air through a HEPA filter — a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) depends heavily on something fairly ordinary in order to function well: a battery.

Have you ever been in “The Zone”? “The Zone” is described as a tunnel-vision experience and an extreme focus. “The Zone” is reported by athletes, soldiers, and researchers.

From R&D specialists to the disposal crew, products and projects often require a village of workers onsite. While some of these workers may be part of your organization, successful businesses often require third-party contractors to better manage resources and deliver quality results.

In his mega-popular book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell centers his thesis on the claim that experts come to the point where “they just know.” They develop intuition, based on diligent practice. So experts get the answer without having to go through a step-by-step process of analysis.

Workers who use hand and/or power tools can expose themselves and co-workers to personal injuries and illnesses such as: lacerations, crushes, burns, amputations; fractures and musculoskeletal disorders; skin and pulmonary illnesses; sight and hearing damage; and electrical shocks.