Is heart-disease risk stemming from work stress or poor lifestyle choices? Is there a way to separate the two options and find the causation? I love to look into studies that try to show causation of correlation between work (which is a natural activity for humans), stress levels and risk of health problems. I want [...]
Safety and the environment are the top factors that go into rules and regulations regarding drilling on U.S. federal lands. At least, that is what was stated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, for what it's worth. For a number of years, drilling on the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) - the area [...]
Jared Smith of Avetta has been involved in the vetting and hiring of contractors for his company, and has provided advice for others when they are in the market for outsourcing some work to another firm. Contractors become part of the worksite as much as employees, even though they may be under different rules via [...]
Recently, Professional Safety magazine had a sit-down question-and-answer session with Jared Smith, co-founder of global technology firm Avetta (www.avetta.com), with the main topic being about hiring and vetting contractors for various jobs - including health and safety roles on worksites. The contracting economy has grown in recent years, in that it is becoming a new way [...]
If you have been following along with our current blog series about establishing a ergonomics management program in your organization, you know a little bit about Shewhart's cycle of continuous improvement. With Shewhart, you have to Plan a process for improvement, then Do the work to put the Plan in place, then you have to [...]
By now you have learned to make a plan. But you also know that a plan doesn't work when it's just on paper or in our heads. We have to just do it - execute on that plan. That is especially important in safety management programs in your workplace, even if you are in the [...]
If you have been pay9ing attention to this blog over the last couple of years, I have been spending some legitimate time and blog space about safety leadership and ergonomics. There is a reason - I think these two areas are the most vital to a successful safety environment and safety culture. One is more metaphysical, [...]
Ergonomics is a thing. You can see with the funky keyboards, special chairs and desks in office spaces all around the world. But for those who know anything about ergonomics and safety culture, the equipment itself doesn't mitigate injuries or musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) it takes a full safety program, or system, to ensure the ergonomics [...]
As we all know, safety (unfortunately) doesn't just happen.While humans are advanced of monkeys and can be trained and coached, they are not robots. They do make mistakes and sometimes do things that are unsafe, even if they know they are unsafe. Because of that relative unpredictability, safety always has to be managed. To help [...]
The human body is a workhorse, but it also can be fragile and needs to be cared for on a daily basis. Most of what a body does is supposed to be with maximum efficiency, or things will ache and hurt and will force us to change how we work. Over the years, it has [...]
