A renaissance in safety and health thinking is taking place as rates for fatal and serious injuries and illnesses continue unabated. This movement is re-examining of some of the concepts that underpin the safety and health profession.

My first job out of college was as engineer # 3884 in a large oil refinery. Yield, cost, and throughput were all more important to the organization than the front-line people who were nameless numbers to the higher-ups.

Industrial process environments where workers must wear PPE gloves are becoming increasingly controlled. While protecting the wearer from chemical exposure, gloves for cleanrooms must not introduce any contaminants into the space.

The world’s top athletes wear high-performance fabrics to optimize their competitiveness and have better concentration on the task in front of them. Can high performance FR fabrics help your employees be safer, more focused and achieve a better safety culture?

Any potential risks posed by a machine should be largely eliminated from the start for economic reasons.  And a safety system should minimize unnecessary trips to maximize uptime. Here are five steps to consider when planning a machine build

In management literature, empowerment refers to delegating authority or responsibility. In other words, when a supervisor says, "I empower you," s/he means, "Get 'er done ASAP."

Unfortunately, while the new building allowed Citrus Systems to increase production of its fruit and vegetable blends, concentrated juices, teas and other custom products, it carried over the same antiquated dock equipment used in the old one. And that caused a noisy, painful problem.

We are taught to describe ourselves: “I’m an ‘Introvert’ which explains my discomfort working in big teams,” or “My co-worker is a ‘Judger’ which explains why she is so critical.” We have the impression that if we just “know” ourselves and others better our work together will be more collaborative and productive.

One safety culture dimension does not get the scrutiny and attention it deserves – perception gaps in organizations. It can easily get overlooked, and create problems that relate directly to safety, productivity, and morale.

Training is one of the most critical elements in safety. Providing workers with the required skills and knowledge to safely do their work is extremely important to OSHA. So important, in fact, that more than 100 of OSHA’s current standards contain specific training requirements.

ISHN interviewed Mark by email to learn more about this study and the future of wearable devices for safety applications.

Creating a safe working environment for employees goes beyond training these days, relying on technology to fill in the gaps where human instinct might fail.

To help reduce same-level slip, trip and fall incidents, OSHA recently a provision to the walking-working surface rules for facilities to conduct regular inspections of all walking-working surfaces. This, coupled with the new requirement to fix any hazards that are found will help prevent slip, trip and fall incidents.

More than one in three U.S. workers are now Millennials, having surpassed Baby Boomers and Gen Xers as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. Born between 1980 and 2000, they are also the first truly digital generation.

It’s something of a tradition in workplace safety to observe how different company cultures react to bad news about accidents, hazardous conditions, OSHA penalties, worker complaints and negative press. In my experience, most of the time defenses go up immediately.

In today’s industry, computer use and use of digital devices is not limited to the office worker, but occurs in every shop floor, laboratory and other production facility. Manufacturing and industrial operations have computers or other digital screens in many aspects of their operations.

Safety managers know the importance of correctly using eyewashes and safety showers to flush hazardous substances from one's eyes, face or body. They also know the true test of any safety program hinges on the level of a facility's preparedness before an emergency strikes.

According to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, last summer we saw sweltering weather conditions, with record-breaking heat in more than 40 U.S. cities. New workers, temporary workers or those returning from time off are especially susceptible to heat-induced illnesses.

Athletics scholars have studied heat-related illnesses (HRIs) and their impact on athletes of all ages at all levels. Their discoveries can help safety professionals prevent HRIs in the workplace.

Each June as part of National Safety Month, the National Security Council encourages extra care and precaution in maintaining personal and work safety. As you can imagine, heat is one of the biggest safety concerns in the summer.

Industrial plants are known for being loud, acoustically-harsh environments. The combination of high ceilings, reflective surfaces and the din from heavy machinery creates an optimal environment for reverberation and noise.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, workers' compensation fraud costs American businesses, workers, consumers and shareholders nearly $7.2 billion per year. There are several types of workers' compensation fraud, and fraud can be committed by just about anyone.

NIOSH's "Prevent Heat-Related Illness" poster states "Wearing PPE increases your risk for heat-related illnesses". Incorporating climate control into your employees' PPE could be the best way of preventing heat-related illness.

While increasing profits and lowering costs are still primary business goals; history and research have shown it is less expensive to support incentive programs that promote safety education and compliance than it is to dismiss them.

We all learned in science class that homeostasis is the self-regulating process by which our bodies maintain stability. One of the most important functions of homeostasis is the regulation of body temperature, which is called thermoregulation.

Eighteen tips to treating eye injuries in the workplace.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between safety footwear that costs less than $100 and those that cost more than $300? While elements like quality of leather, name brand and where it was made factor into the final cost, the largest differentiator is the quality and type of construction.

The safety challenges of the 21st century require an integrative approach that brings fresh thinking and sound practices from across industries and among areas of safety specialization.

Whether chemicals are toxic, corrosive, reactive, flammable, emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or are even potentially explosive, the danger of accidental contact, even for short periods, can pose a severe hazard to workers.

When it comes to choosing cut-resistant gloves, the first choice you need to make is which standard you’ll be using. For the most part, this comes down to your geographical location.

As safety continues to be a focus on jobsites, companies are turning their attention to low-level access lifts and other aerial work platforms.

Here are five considerations when developing or re-evaluating your organization’s emergency preparedness plan

Welders are generally well-versed in the face shields, ear plugs, respirators and protective clothing required by 29 CFR 1910, but the guards and barricades also required by this standard are often misunderstood and underutilized.

There can be serious consequences to using standard paper labels in an industrial setting. For example, exposure to moisture, abrasion, chemicals, heat, and even sunlight can lead to torn, smeared, discolored, unreadable labels, or labels that fall off.

The small town of Ovid rests in the far northeast corner of Colorado near the Nebraska border. The town retains a significant historical landmark: the gleaming white storage silos containing beet sugar from what once was the Great Western Sugar Company’s finest factory.

Looks like we’re going to have to outfit workers with wearable devices to monitor their blood pressure and heartbeat to be on the alert when stress levels driven by office and assembly line political chatter get dangerously high strung.

The statistics are well known. Each day three or four workers are killed due to electrical related accidents, according to NIOSH. A Michigan burn center found that 34 percent of patients injured on the job received flash injuries.

You want to see the OHS profession grow, right?  One way is to increase your engagements with current topics. Let’s explore how this works.

Some of us are blessed to step into an EHS role where “the table is set.” Top management daily walks the talk, and supports and publicly acknowledges our efforts. We operate in a Positive Safety Culture.

The dark, misty highway made the digital boards hard to ignore. They are also visible from a greater distance. You notice them sooner. Which of course is the point of outdoor advertising. But I thought, this seems like another form of distracted driving.

For several years I have been attending EHS expos. They generally are kicked off by a rotating group of speakers who have an impressive list of companies and organizations to which they consult on EHS matters.