ISHN

PPE asset tags: Keeping a digital eye on safety equipment

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Why is it important to digitally track PPE? Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a vital part of workplace safety. By digitally tracking long-term PPE more efficiently and effectively, it’s possible to maintain safety and compliance goals while reducing resources spent managing your PPE program.

How to help new employees stay safer

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0500

A worker who knows all the ins-and-outs of their position and has spent years on the site will be more efficient than someone who has just started. But, learning on the fly in situations like this could be riskier than you may think. Research from Toronto’s Institute for Work & Health shows that workers who had been at a job for a month or less had three times the risk of suffering a lost-time injury compared to those who had been at a job for over a year.

Too many biases to even name impact safety

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 -0400

One of the biggest wake-up calls I had recently was when I realized the detrimental impact biases have in the world of safety. Most people recognize that biases exist in “the other guy” but fail to see these preconceived notions in themselves. SPOILER ALERT: We all have them, and they are putting all of us at risk.

Seeing hazards is a learned behavior

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 00:00:00 -0400

HSE audits, permits to work, job safety analyses (JSAs), pre-task HSE reviews, safety observations, ‘hazard hunts,’ management / leadership walk-abouts, hazard IDs, . . . what do all of these ‘tools,’ or processes, have in common? While it is not a complete listing, it does represent a subset of widely-used and generally accepted tools used by organizations to help manage HSE risk on an ongoing day-to-day basis.

Top 10 tips for safety committee success

Thu, 16 May 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Most Safety Managers know that safety committees are a good idea, and many states require them by law. But is your committee doing all it can and should be doing? If you answered No, you’re not alone. Here are our top 10 tips to start improving today!

5 ways to incorporate wellness into your daily lifestyle

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Wellness is more than just something that we can “do” as a one-off thing for a short-term boost. It’s a way of life, which is why it also needs to find its way into your lifestyle. Unless you make it a habit, it’ll quickly be forgotten and you’ll be back to your old bad habits in no time.

Worker safety tips: The power of empowerment

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

The employee empowerment process is something we usually see discussed in the pages of Forbes or Bloomberg Businessweek, but empowerment is just as important for you and your workers as it is for the C-Suite. In fact, given that safety is on the line, it may be even more important. We’ve spoken to safety managers in various industries about how they empower their workers.

5 steps to creating a safety culture

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400

One of your biggest challenges as a Safety Manager may be creating a culture of safety throughout your organization. Making it a company-wide effort instead of just “your job” can be an uphill battle, but it’s a policy that will pay off in the end. Whether you already have companywide buy-in or if you’re just beginning to introduce the idea, maximize your success by including these five steps in your safety culture planning:

Complying with the EPA’s Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Final Rule

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400

To enhance safety and environmental protection, the EPA’s Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Final Rule, which became effective federally last year, requires identification including the words “Hazardous Waste,” a description of the container’s hazards, and the date the accumulation started on each container.

5 easy steps to successful PPE testing

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Reminding workers to wear their PPE is a big part of keeping them safe. But as a busy safety manager, the last thing you want is to be your company’s new CNO – Chief Nagging Officer! You can make your job easier while making your workers happier and safer by implementing an easy PPE Wear Testing Program.

Tips for recognizing & managing stress in the workplace

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Most of us have had at least one boss who tells workers to “leave their personal problems at the door!” But that advice was never very realistic. And in this day of texting, social media, and a phone in everyone’s pocket, it’s even less likely. The communication age makes it more important than ever to make stress management a high priority both to keep workers safer and to avoid hits to your company’s bottom line.

Achieving compliance with new OSHA fall protection regulations

Mon, 04 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0400

Now that the OSHA rule on Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems (29 CFR 1910 Subparts D&I) has been effective for more than a year, organizations are still working to understand and implement required changes to fall protection projects, policies and programs.

Leading by values, not priorities

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0400

To be a professional in the Environmental, Occupational Health, Safety and Security Career field is not something to be taken lightly. Professionals in this career field have to have a caring mentality about them. I personally am very lucky to love what I do for a career and take it very personally. I truly believe that it is possible for a culture to exist where people do not get injured by simply going into their profession.

6 ways to implement a safety culture within your workplace

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Injuries in the workplace cost American companies billions of dollars every year. According to OSHA, it is estimated that employers spend 1 billion dollars a week on workers compensation costs in the United States. That is just the money going towards workers compensation. There are also costs that come from the days that injured employees miss work. Injuries and accidents that force injured employees to miss at least six days of work cost employers in the United States about 62 billion dollars a year.

Politically correct or effective?

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Most truths about communication are timeless. With all the cultural and political tension we observe today it might seem this was written as a response to that tension. However, in fact, it is one more look into how to be the most effective safety motivational speaker possible. So how important is it to be politically correct?

Winter safety - hot and cold

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Winter across the world brings with it a variety of weather conditions. From the biting cold, snow, rain and wind of the Northern Hemisphere to the scorching temperatures and humidity of the Southern Hemisphere, it pays to be fully prepared for this winter season.

Words of encouragement – Improving a sick culture

Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:00 -0400

For many years I worked as someone who came into a company or organization which was in serious risk of going under. It seemed strange to me that almost without exception there was a significant resistance to making change / improvement in a culture that most all thought to be terminally sick.

Avalanche – unexpected disasters

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 00:00:00 -0400

For a recent job assignment I was driving from Copper Mountain, Colorado to Denver, Colorado to catch a flight to the Pacific Northwest. As I prepared to leave, with a significant amount of spare time to make this important flight, I checked the internet for road conditions.

OSHA’s beryllium rule reaches farther than many realize

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 00:00:00 -0400

OSHA’s recent decision to delay the effective date of its controversial beryllium exposure rule has generated a lot of attention in the industrial safety media, and rightly so. The beryllium rule is a perfect example of the government overreach that industry often highlights: policies made with good intentions that go beyond their stated goal.

Personal Effectiveness - Think ICE

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Last Christmas, I gave my husband Steve a page-a-day calendar with Insights from the Dalai Lama. Occasionally, Steve shares one of these daily insights with me.

A sad milestone for workplace wellness

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

By now most people involved in Workplace Wellness (WW) know that the claims made by the Safeway Organization, claims that formed the basis of the Wellness Provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and led to the explosion of what is now by some estimates an 8 billion dollar a year industry, were made up – never happened.

How well do your people manage their energy?

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Rob Archer, Director at LPP Consulting, kicked off 3M’s Safety Network Live in Bracknell (UK) on 27 September with a fascinating talk about stress and resilience – which featured the inner chimp, sex and bananas.

Developing high-performance cultures: Why not start with safety?

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 00:00:00 -0400

If a client came to us saying, “We know we have some leadership and culture issues: upward communication is poor, skill level of supervisors and managers in inconsistent, our people don’t un-derstand system thinking, and behavioral reliability is sketchy. We want to develop a high performance culture. How should we approach it?”

Is social media dead for safety professionals?

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 00:00:00 -0400

The social networking phenomenon has fostered many, usually misguided and ill-advised, attempts to capitalize on the popularity of the medium to boost sales, and to market to new (and usually younger) markets.

Sleepy, Grumpy, Dumpy, and Your Safety

Thu, 21 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0400

I’m not sure about you, but when I don’t sleep well, I can be pretty miserable. I’m not much fun to be around and I don’t work well – I can’t sustain my focus. We already know that sleep deprivation among workers is a billion-dollar problem across the globe. But how about the absence of sleep quality for your leaders – what impact does it have on subordinates?

Avoiding obfuscation

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Obfuscation is one of those interesting words that sounds like it means – to make obscure. Obfuscation is often associated with excessive wordiness and the use of technical jargon that is meaningful to “insiders” but not to others.

The ethics of dabbling

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0400

One of the on-going obligations I have is to complete the CLE (continuing legal education) necessary to meet my state bar obligations. This includes completing 6 hours of ethics training.

Three characteristics of strong safety leadership

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Suppose you want to accelerate the safety performance of your organization, but you have limited resources to get started. You can only invest in one of the following strategies to improve safety: You could build a stronger safety culture, improve your safety management systems, build an inherently safer facility, reduce at-risk behavior, or strengthen safety leadership.

How leaders can create safety detachment -- it’s insidiously destructive

Tue, 14 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Oftentimes, many of us like to discuss safety influence at the supervisory level where much can be accomplished to keep workers safe. But like you, I’ve seen what subtle actions can do when it comes to influence from the top – both good and bad.

Leadership creates culture

Tue, 07 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400

We know that “leadership creates culture;” any leader will tell you that. But oddly enough, “knowing” in this case doesn’t reach very far. What is required is finding the connection between what I do as a leader and the kinds of cultural attributes I would like to change. Here is an example from my experience: