By Ed Lowery
Director of Training Operations at Tennessee Valley Training Center
The ARSC Curriculum Committee has been hard at work on the latest revision of the BOP. Due to the workload, the committee has been meeting monthly since June 2021. There were approximately 326 suggested changes submitted for review by the committee, the review was completed in September 2021. Key updates include:
By Carrie Parashar
Project Manager at Alaska Safety Alliance
For many years I trained a course whose main subject was energy source hazard recognition. I’ll never forget the concepts taught. Partially, due to having trained it for a decade and partially because new hires rarely left that class without having a different thought pattern of how the world works and the control they can have over their own safety.
When things go wrong, it is so easy to make statements like “Things happen!” or “That’s bad luck!”. Is it though?
By Connie Fabre
President & CEO, Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA)
Giving awards to people for achieving safety milestones is a practice that has been in existence for many years and it can improve morale and boost team spirit in the workplace. I remember working as a process engineer in the early days of my career and one of the highlights of our work team was an annual safety reward dinner. It was a chance to get dressed up and to see people in a different way than in their usual work coveralls. The favorite saying people said to each other was “Hey, you look great. You really clean up well!” To see your workplace teammates dressed up and with a spouse or significant other, provides a more personal perspective of who they are and that can translate back to the job. When we have more empathy for each other, looking out for each other on the job becomes easier.
By George Kezerle, OHST
Director of Training & Course Development, ArkLaTex Safety Council
It doesn’t matter if you are preparing for home or business, the procedures are the same. One of the situations that are lacking in most homes and businesses is that there is a lack of preparation for an emergency and most important is that the plan is not exercised at least annually. In preparation for any emergency there is a need to address each of the anticipated emergency response scenarios. Let’s look at both home and business, first the home scenarios, then businesses.
By Alan Ferguson
Associate Editor/Safety & Health
www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/22113-supreme-court-blocks-oshas-ets-on-covid-19?page=2
By James Hinton
Director, EHS&Q
As safety professionals and leaders in industry, we all know that a safety program will only be as strong as the least-effective manager in the organization. As leaders, we all know how difficult it is to achieve a sustainable safety culture within our workplace because many of the leaders have lacked the skills and knowledge to support the safety team.
The low level and even brand-new leaders within the company are not always part of setting the overall goals and direction of the company’s safety plan but, they’re the people who ultimately help in either creating the culture you want and are responsible for the communication through the rest of leadership to the newest entry level worker in the field or plant and taking action to achieve the goals of the plans.
By Trish Ennis CSP, ARM, CRIS
Executive Director, Colorado Safety Association
A recent study conducted and published by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH, October 7, 2021 https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-10-07-21.html) finds that more than 50% of workers who are exposed to noise on the job do not always, or even frequently wear hearing protection. This information may not be a surprise to the professionals who are tasked with enforcing occupational safety rules, but it is important information. Interestingly, non-compliance was highest among women, young workers, and smokers.
This study, which looked at 39,508 adult workers between 2007 and 2014 was consistent with past research, although this is the first time a connection has been made between smoking, and non-compliance with the use of hearing protection devices. It is to be noted that the data was collected for a period of time that concluded seven years ago and was finally published in 2021.
By David Womack, Ph.D.
Safety and Health Manager, HSEQ & ARSC Owners Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Most of us know the components of a good safety and health management system. For example, see Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines, (Federal Register 54(18):3908–3916, January 26, 1989). What many of us may not realize is that several of these components are linked.
The base component of a good safety and health management system is a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs). SOPs streamline, optimize and reduce risk of error of day-to-day activities.