Yes, this is a story about errors - plural - made by one person, me. I’m not going to beat myself up here. James Reason, professor emeritus at the University of Manchester (UK), and one of the seminal authorities on human error, reminds us that most errors are caused by good, competent people who are trying to do the right thing.
According to OSHA, businesses spend almost $1 billion per week on costs related to occupational injuries and illnesses. “In today's business environment,” according to OSHA, “these costs can be the difference between operating in the black and running in the red.”
The focus on human performance has quickly become no more than human error of yesteryear. I’m amazed at how many “neuroscience solutions” there suddenly are that can fix human (safety) performance.
An unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage, but had the potential to do so — are common but generally underreported. Knowledge is power, and information provided by near-misses is a tool to evaluate and improve safety.
One thing all portable gas detectors have in common is alarm tones. One alarm tone is used to indicate gas hazards, albeit with varied frequency or volume for Low/High/TWA/STEL warnings. An alarm for carbon monoxide sounds the same as an alarm for Lower Explosive Limit, oxygen, and hydrogen sulfide.
Imagine working 20 feet above the ground. Now imagine working on top of a roof over 50 feet off the ground. And now think about being 50 stories in the air while building a skyscraper. Fall protection equipment is an essential component of your safety.
Optional industrial safety certifications can help improve workplace safety and preparedness – and communicate the fact that a company goes above and beyond to keep their employees safe. Here are six safety certifications that industrial businesses should strongly consider getting.
Millions of patients are harmed each year due to unsafe health care worldwide, resulting in 2.6 million deaths annually in low-and middle-income countries alone. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most of these deaths are avoidable. The personal, social and economic impact of patient harm leads to losses of trillions of U.S. dollars worldwide.
At 10:30 in the morning the avenue is not busy. Rush hour has passed. The light changed, I got the pedestrian right of way signal, and started to casually walk to the island in the middle of the road. A line of cars and trucks waited at the intersection to turn left onto the avenue once pedestrians were all clear. I saw an SUV or pickup, I can’t recall, beginning to make its turn early – heading straight at me.
We sat down with Matthew Elson, CEO of SHE Softwares to discuss implementing safety programs, and a positive safety culture for workers. Below are excerpts from that conversation.