As a 71 year old retiree, now occupying myself writing books on various subjects, I occasionally question some of the present day attitudes towards health and safety, both in the workplace as well in everyday living. I accept the need for health and safety controls and regulations to minimise the risk of personal injury, but it some respects, I think things are going too far.
When new safety programs or processes are rolled out unsuccessfully, there has almost always been a failure to determine either the factors necessary for success, the factors that can contribute to failure, or some combination of both.
People are hard-wired to take shortcuts due to the balance between energy intake (i.e. food) and energy output (i.e. effort spent on an activity) which means we automatically take the “path of least resistance.”
About 15 years ago, I read an important engagement story regarding a line worker with a major automotive manufacturer in the United States. The story evolved from an organizational push to gain more involvement from their workers at a time when it was critical.
A week ago, an e-mail newsletter article published by Information Week in honor of Halloween caught my attention. The title was 14 Creepiest Ways to Use Big Data.
When OSHA set quantity requirements for annual refresher training without setting stringent quality requirements, safety training began a never-ending downward spiral.
Almost every worker is now issued a smart phone. Some may even be provided with tablet devices. We’ve come a long way from two-way radios and flip phones. Smart phones and tablets can be a distraction or a production tool. One way that these mobile devices can encourage safe production at the work site is through the use of mobile applications.
Safety as an industry is somewhat slow to adopt new technology. Years after the release of a popular smartphone app that streamlines jobsite inspection, it is almost a given that a site safety manager uses the app today. After my initial chuckles about the Apple Watch release, I started to think about wearable tech’s application for safety. Specifically, how could a wearable device, like the Apple Watch, impact worker safety?
Safety as an industry is somewhat slow to adopt new technology. Years after the release of a popular smartphone app that streamlines jobsite inspection, it is almost a given that a site safety manager uses the app today. After my initial chuckles about the Apple Watch release, I started to think about wearable tech’s application for safety. Specifically, how could a wearable device, like the Apple Watch, impact worker safety?
Are your employees watching out for the safety of other people? It’s time to actually start a movement where we take safety beyond just at work and just about the regulations and the rules -- taking it to a point where we constantly watch out for the safety of other people to become as natural as breathing.
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