If we don't, maybe that could be part of the problem with our safety. I'm not saying this person in particular has all the answers, but don't you think it would be helpful from a safety perspective to pay attention to what is going on on the floor, which is where 90 percent of worksite [...]
Many people are OK with being followers. And while there are some who don't mind being leaders, and in fact might actually embrace the role, being a leader takes more than just standing in front of people and telling them where to go and how to do something. At the heart of having leadership, there [...]
Land mines are really effective in some parts of the world because there isn't the technology to find them before they go off and do a lot of damage to lives and limbs. As safety officers and workers, it would be nice to be able to know where all the dangers are before we encounter [...]
The oil and gas industry is one of the most dangerous verticals in the economy, for many good reasons. Those who work in the oil fields have a love for the work and they sacrifice much to get us the oil and gas that we need to keep our economy going. We should tip our [...]
Silica is not just a blessing and a curse in the United States and Canada. Our former occupiers are dealing with the same wonderful but dangerous material. Silica, which comes from silicon, which is found very abundantly in beach sand, has revolutionized a lot of industry over the last 100 years, and has a lot [...]
There are reasons to love flying in an airplane, and of course we all have our reasons for hating it and just wanting to load up our personal vehicle and drive cross-country. When we take a customer-satisfaction survey of airlines, there is a chance that we may have a small minority of people who like [...]
Yes, you noticed the shorter headline, didn't you? Unlike my ongoing blogs in October about all kinds of safety briefs, this month's installment will be just this post. I cannot promise that I won't have more later in the month, but these are the last ones currently on my desk that I really should get [...]
In business, there is a crisis, and there is an emergency. Based on the size of your business, an emergency can happen every few years, or it could happen every week. It all comes down to perspective. [Image courtesy of Jessica Lea/DFID - UK Department of International Development from Flickr, via a Creative Commons [...]
Safety is truly all about accountability. Whether we like it or not. There is no better indicator of accountability than when a worker is safe, or when there is an incident that causes injury or death. Either way, accountability can be given to all, or it can be investigated and discovered. Sometimes accountability is necessary [...]
Leadership is something I have written about here several times, thanks to the great work by Robert Pater, who is a regular contributor to Professional Safety magazine on the topics of safety leadership and safety culture. Leadership can be a natural characteristic fo some people, but it also can be something that is learned and taught [...]
