Among the articles in the November 2018 issue of ISHN Magazine, we have a list of ways to improve safety processes, offer some perspective on human error and leadership, and much more.
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.”
For operations that produce toxic or explosive dusts, it is a priority to keep the workplace safe and compliant. Industrial dust collectors equipped with integrated safety monitoring filters (iSMFs) can isolate dust particulates to ensure that no measurable weight of emissions is discharged.
Did you know that more people have hearing loss than diabetes, cancer or vision trouble? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, occupational hearing loss, which is caused by exposure at work to loud noise or chemicals that damage hearing, is the most common work-related illness.
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.
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.
Time is money. It’s an old saying that we have heard a thousand times, but why is it so memorable? Perhaps because it’s true. The problem with this maxim is that to save time, people often lose sight of safety
Warehouse hazards create more accidents because of the massive quantities of products of all different sizes, shapes and weights stored on shelves, floors and anyplace else someone can find a place to put a box, pallet or carton.
Like so many things in life, our most productive work experiences are often a result of our willingness to try something new. In his 1962 book “Diffusion of Innovations,” Everett Rodgers popularized a theory outlining how innovation moves through a social system.
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.
OSHA’s General Industry’s standard for the Control of Hazardous Energy (LOTO) 29 CFR 1910.147 addresses one of the most important safety regulations to protect workers from injury: lockout/tagout. The standard requires workers to isolate energy during servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment to prevent the unexpected startup or release of energy.
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.
Just by putting “Congo miners” in the title here will have most readers flipping to the next page. I learned this lesson years ago writing an article about workplace safety, or the lack thereof, in China. “Why did you write this article?” asked a reader. “I don’t read ISHN for articles about China.” Another reader opined: “Everybody knows nobody values life in a country like China.”
Class action lawsuits regarding reproductive health rights were recently filed against Walmart, the U.S.’s largest private employer, in Illinois, New York and Wisconsin. Many other employers such as Amazon, Merck and Novartis face similar lawsuits, too, relating to pregnancy discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodations and violations of EEOC rules.
Simply stated, process safety is a management system implemented to prevent major incidents involving hazardous materials. It is necessary for managing complex process operations. An effective process safety management system focuses on three important aspects of your business:
In a recent safety excellence workshop, our firm facilitated a brainstorming exercise with a group of safety professionals interested in solving a particular problem they were experiencing in their safety journey. Their safety process was boring them to tears and they worried it would grow stale and become irrelevant with the workforce.
Twenty-five years ago, as a young safety professional, I struggled to find a set of leadership practices I could call my own. In 1996, I wrote about many of the leadership practices I was already using but found more clearly established in Servant Leadership (Sarkus, 1996).
STABIL’s StripGrips is specifically designed for floor stripping. To keep workers safely on their feet while stripping floors, StripGrips feature STABIL’s proprietary Thermo Plastic Elastomer and replaceable pads. TPE provides a flexible, lightweight upper which keeps the StripGrips secure over workers’ footwear of choice. StripGrips pads can be removed easily for cleaning.
COFRA’s new model UTICA I/75 C/75 SD PR is comfortable with a seamless upper made of TECHSHELL, an innovative, very tough, water repellent and breathable fabric. It is made of yarns that are resistant to abrasion and woven directly into the fabric in order to guarantee maximum resistance to friction.
Red Wing Shoes recently released the BRNR XP boot. The boot features a: lightweight nano composite toe cap for intense protection; a slip-resistant Griptek sole that can take workers from the mine shaft to the oil rig; and is built with a polyurethane midsole for superior durability and protection.
Growing up wearing sneakers for style and comfort, today’s class of skilled tradesmen and industrial workers are looking for similar safety shoes that echo their personal style while standing up to the rigorous and demanding needs of the jobsite.
Tingley’s Pilot General Purpose PVC Knee Boot is a full safety boot with several unique features - Calf Relief Expansion (CRE)™, a steel toe that meets ASTM F2413 M I/75 C/75 for toe impact and compression, electric hazard (EH) rated, 100% waterproof protection, self-cleaning, cleated outsole, and Steel Puncture Resistant Midsole.
LIFE®OxygenPac, LIFE®SoftPac, and LIFE®StartSystem are portable and wall mountable Emergency Oxygen units for onsite first-aid and safety programs. The units feature constant reading supply gauges, provide the regulatory minimum of 6 LPM, and the recommended 12 LPM to deliver 100% inspired oxygen (Norm & High), and LIFE® CPR Masks to fit adult/child.
Pelican Products, Inc.'s slimmest AAA safety certified flashlight - the Pelican 1975 LED penlight and its non-certified counterpart, the 1970 LED penlight. Engineered with an aluminum core and a nearly indestructible polymer shell, the 1975 LED penlight boasts multiple safety certifications for safe usage in nearly any environment.
Streamlight®, Inc. has introduced the Vantage® II helmet light, a low-profile, lightweight flashlight that attaches in seconds to slotted industrial hard hats. The new hands-free light, which is powered by a single lithium battery, delivers a powerful 350 lumens, and combines a safety taillight so industrial professionals can navigate or be followed in low light conditions.
Mayhew Steel Products, Inc. announces new ProPneumatic Four Piece Heavy Duty Tool Set, part No. 37326. This versatile, heavy duty pneumatic tool set is uniquely designed for an array of niche automotive applications. Made in the USA and backed by a lifetime warranty, the set includes a cold chisel, rivet buster, hammer, and taper punch.
Ergodyne released its new ProFlex® 230LTR Leather Knee Pads, built for protecting the long-term knee health of workers in trades like welding, construction, flooring, concrete work and more. The new addition provides an option previously unavailable in the safety gear manufacturer’s knee protection offering.
AccuFIT 9000™ is a new RFT that uses a single mode of operation to perform fit tests on all respirator types including N95. Based on time-proven CNC Particle Counting it is both a ‘stand-alone’ device, or connects to PC’s and tablets using WiFi, Ethernet or USB to run 4 tests simultaneously.
ASAP vertical lifeline is a temporary vertical lifeline designed for belaying and to protect against falls from height. It contains an ASAP mobile fall arrester, an ASAP'SORBER energy absorber, two OK TRIACT-LOCK carabiners, an ANNEAU open sling, an AXIS 11 mm rope with sewn termination, a weight, and a BUCKET bag. It is available in two lengths.
Guardian Fall Protection announced the 8’ Diablo Cable SRL-LE, a wearable self-retracting lifeline designed for use in leading edge construction applications. The lightweight Diablo Cable SRL-LE features a direct-to-harness mounting system and unique integrated shock absorber system for a low-profile, comfortable fit.
Honeywell’s Miller Aircore™ Patriotic Steel Harness is for construction workers who prefer to wear their patriotism on their sleeves while gaining optimal safety and comfort for at-height applications. The unique stars and stripes look also has the advantage of high visibility and easy identification on a jobsite.
The V-FLEX™ full body harness is the first in a new series of harnesses by MSA, designed for superior comfort and mobility. The V-FLEX uses MSA's new, exclusive racing style design. The design routes webbing across the chest for a secure, more comfortable fit and reduces the need for adjustments throughout the day so workers can the focus on the task at hand.