Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Safety is a process, and as such, needs to be managed. This section offers resources to create a viable safety program, sell it to senior management, train supervisors and employees in using it, and then track and report your progress. Look also for ways to advance your own skills in these areas, both for your current job, and those that follow.
Is your refrigerator connected to the Internet yet? What about your car, your thermostat, or your garage door opener? What about your workplace? Are your punch presses and dough mixers and forklifts connected to the cloud? And if they are, are you using it to make your workplace safer? Here’s how the Internet of Things […]
You probably have a smartphone already, and your tablet, your television, and your car may be almost as smart. But what if you had a smart hard hat, smart safety shoes, and a smart high-visibility vest? You could increase your safety IQ just by getting dressed! In all seriousness, wearable technology is coming soon to […]
It seemed like a good idea at the time: Reward workers for working safely by providing cash and goods that they could earn as incentives. Even better, put peer pressure to good use by rewarding workers in groups; workers, wanting their premiums, would encourage one another not to cut safety corners and to stay safe. […]
When you’re trying to motivate workers, it makes perfect sense to use both carrots and sticks—right? Unfortunately, when it comes to safety, the most obvious “carrot”—an incentive program that rewards workers for working safely—can easily go wrong. For example, rewarding a team of workers for not having any reportable accidents can result in the workers […]
Three Mile Island. Chernobyl. Exxon Valdez. What do those incidents have in common? One of the principle causes of each disaster was fatigue due to work-related scheduling. As many as 30% of all fatal accidents are believed to result from worker fatigue—and most of those happen on the nightshift. But there are some research-supported interventions […]
Shiftwork has been associated with a number of adverse health effects, from heart disease to cancer. Employers have tried many strategies to help shiftworkers stay safe, well-rested, and healthy, but these strategies have fallen more into the “common sense” category than into the “scientifically validated best practices” category. Now, thanks to a literature review published […]
Adrian Mitchell, an apprentice diesel fitter in Tasmania, Australia, was retracting a 3-inch hose in May 2013 when the hose control became stuck in the “on” position. The hose, which was equipped with a heavy metal fitting at its loose end, began to whip around. It hit Mitchell in the side of the head—but his […]
It could have been the last day of work ever for 51-year-old Anthony Ryecroft. The maintenance fitter, who worked at a steel mill in Cumbria, England, was repairing a roll-up door in his employer’s warehouse when it fell. Ryecroft was struck on the head, and he and a coworker both suffered badly broken legs in […]
In October 2009, the General Accounting Office issued a scathing report criticizing OSHA for undercounting work-related injuries and illnesses. As a result of that report and other factors, OSHA has stepped up enforcement of its injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Because of this increased emphasis, employers need to take extra care in determining […]
On December 11, 2010, boxmaker Beverly Brown was walking down a vertical staircase at a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Decatur, Alabama, when she lost her balance and fell. Her only obvious injury was a cut on her lip, so Brown was taken to the plant’s medical room, where she was given an antibiotic […]