Safety Culture Plus

I attended several safety conferences this year speaking on various topics. I usually give away a book at each presentation. However, this year I decided to ask anyone who wanted a chance to win a book to sign up at either website http://ow.ly/x2je or http://ow.ly/x2jA by Dec 1, 2009. You could register at both sites if you wish, as the first site has many safety links and the second site is my blog.

I will have a drawing from all those who have registered since June 2009 and pick 3 winners. The winner will have a choice of the book that they which to receive:

I have provided the link to Amazon, so if you would like to review the content and reviews of these books you can. Just click on the book and you will go directly to Amazon.  You feedback is also appreciated.

Remember, you must register at either website http://ow.ly/x2je or http://ow.ly/x2jA by Dec 1, 2009 to win.

If you are not a member of the Linkedin safety training group, http://ow.ly/x2kw or social networking 101 group http://ow.ly/x2lw, you are welcome to join. It is all FREE. If you are also member of these sites, pass along this information to others.

You can also follow me on twitter @jamesroughton or @safeday

Enjoy!! If you have any questions you can contact me at jr@gotsafety.net. I enjoy networking opportunities.

As a Professional we have an opportunity to conduct training. And when you do conduct training and quiz the trainees on the subject manner, some trainees got the message you were trying to convey, while others just did not get it. Does this mean that you are a poor trainer? Or is it my technique? We all, from time to time need to step back and ask ourselves the following questions:

• Could it be the way my training program is developed?
• Did I deliver the training in a logical and consistent manner?
• Was the training provided in a good learning environment?
• Do we tend to know our subject so well that we have a hard time conveying our message to others?

I challenge everyone to think about these statements for just a minute.

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Check out the poll listed on LinkedIn and respond.

by Mike Hall, Mar 17, 2009

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), reversing years of foot dragging while the agency was controlled by the Bush administration, is moving quickly to protect workers from a serious lung disease caused by diacetyl, the artificial butter flavoring added to popcorn and other food products.

OSHA announced yesterday that it was fast-tracking a standard to protect workers from exposure to diacetyl by withdrawing a last-minute Bush-issued procedure known as an advance notice of proposed rule making. That notice, say safety experts, could have added two years to the standard-setting process.

To read the rest of the story click on the link below.

AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | OSHA Moves to Protect Workers from ‘Popcorn Lung’

Howdy Stout – Staff Writer

VPP looks out for safety hazards
Howdy Stout – Staff Writer

Safety hazards may exist anywhere. While industrial areas are seen to have more potential for serious hazards, there are plenty of opportunities for hazards in an office environment as well. (Photo by Margo Wright)

Preventing accidents before they happen is the goal of the Voluntary Protection Program’s Hazard Prevention Team. It is one of several teams operating as part of the 72nd ABW VPP program at Tinker Air Force Base.  

To read the rest of the story click on the link below.

Time Off

A veteran safety consultant once told me, “Always look in the employee restrooms.  If they aren’t clean and sanitary, then everything else they tell you is smoke and mirrors.”  His comment has held over many years.   This simple observation can tell you the regard management has for employees.   If the restrooms are vile (not old – but dirty and vile!) then you will may not be able to build much of a quality safety culture.   Housekeeping is much more than bathrooms but if basic human hygiene needs are not met, then the process has a long way to go.

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Begin the Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) process

The recent previous JHA blogs by Tommy Bristow puts emphasis on the need for the development of a JHA process.  You can’t sit and remain in the office developing programs.  As part of the process, you must begin to take direct action.   The initial loss data analysis should have identified several types of incidents that might be the critical few – see the Paredo Principle.  Scanning the OSHA 300, discussion of incidents with employees and managers, reviewing accident investigations and looking at insurance loss runs, specific departments and job titles may now stand out.  Based on this history and the risk assessment of severity potential, you should begin to target jobs/tasks and steps that are creating the loss-producing history.

You can now focus in on where losses are developing.  While the strategic plan that covers all aspects of your process must continue on a number of fronts,  the JHA allows you to begin a rifle shot approach to begin the control of specific losses or risk.  You must balance your approach between areas of risk (potential and severity) with existing losses as these two areas may or may not converge.   Some jobs may have no losses but be a high uncontrolled risk.

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There are still some OHS professionals who are uncomfortable with approaching workplace hazards that do not involve nip-points and energy-transfer.  In fact there are some who can’t cope with the industrial relations interplay with occupational health and safety.

When psychosocial hazards originate from poor management « Safety At Work Blog

Content, Context, Law of the Few

Not to be redundant, but it pays to keep a mental model running (actually several) to keep process obstacles in view – the obstacles of organizational politics and structure.  To recap ideas offered in “The Tipping Point”, a classic text by Malcolm Gladwell, you are working in three primary areas that overlap.   In one fashion, you are trying to start a safety epidemic:

Stickiness – you need content for your process that can stick! – Programs, procedures, protocols, methods.  Content is generally widely available through many sources but is it written and presented in a way that “sticks” with personnel?  Content for behavioral models, regulatory criteria, basic safety programs are there for the taking.  Per Gladwell, you’ve got to keep “tinkering” with your message and its delivery. 

You may have a great writing style and great ideas but if they cannot be conveyed, they are for naught.  Jim Roughton discusses various approaches in Chapter 7 of Job Safety Analysis.

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Regulatory Compliance and Building Your Program

In this age of total information and ease of access to virtually anything via the Internet, getting regulatory guidelines and criteria is simple…understanding the regs and implementing them is the issue.  As compliance is the “Law of the Land” any and all safety efforts must assure compliance as minimum requirement.  As part of your initial assessment, you must determine the level of compliance with various regulations. Your program implementation schedule should be based on the level of risk found during your assessment.

One point of beginning is to crosscheck the OSHA web site for any citations your organization may have had in the past as well as those that most frequently occur in your industry.  While you may or may not have found evidence of any past citations, checking the site and asking around your company may give an indicator of what went on in the past.   A safety director I know began the review of a newly purchased company and unfortunately found the previous owners would just pay the initial fine and move on…. no defense, change or sense of obligation. 

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