source.colostate.edu/csus-rese…
The Research Safety Culture Program — an initiative that includes an interactive website and videos designed to promote safety and compliance across the Colorado State University research landscape on and off campus — is receiving a prestigious national award.
CSHEMA — Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association — is awarding the Research Safety Culture Program the Marketing – Single Media Award for the Research Safety Orange Folder, an interactive resource designed to assist with onboarding and training researchers at CSU. CSHEMA is a national organization for environmental, health and safety professionals in higher education.
The Research Safety Orange Folder was developed by Research Safety Culture Coordinator Anthony Appleton, Communications and Events Manager Lauren Klamm and Web and Content Specialist Emma Mannino. They will receive the award on July 26 at the CSHEMA Virtual Conference.
“This award confirms that research safety takes a village – from researchers discussing their needs to research support being easily accessible to open communication leading to collaboration – the Research Safety Orange Folder required people from across Colorado State University,” Appleton said. “In the end, I believe we created a resource that is the manifestation of our Principles of Community, at least from a research safety perspective.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX that its environmental review of a new tower at its Boca Chica launch site in Texas is incomplete and the agency could order SpaceX to take down the tower.
An FAA spokesman said on Wednesday that the agency’s environmental review underway of SpaceX’s proposed rocket assembly “integration tower” is “underway,” and added that “the company is building the tower at its own risk.”
A May 6 letter from the FAA to SpaceX seen by Reuters said recent construction activity on one of the two proposed towers “may complicate the ongoing environmental review process for the Starship/Super Heavy Launch Vehicle Program.” The FAA letter said the tower could be as high as 480 feet.
Based on the environmental review, the FAA could order SpaceX to take down the tower. “It is possible that changes would have to be made at the launch site, including to the integration towers to mitigate significant impacts,” the May 6 letter said, adding the FAA learned of the tower’s construction “based on publicly available video footage.”
Topics:
Introduction to research paper Seven features of safety in maternity units The premise of the study Understanding the process behind data collection for this study The Finding of the paper Six Features/themes of patient safety Rules & procedures vs social control mechanisms Patient feedback Refining the Safety findings Commitment to safety and improvement Staff improving working processes Technical competence supported by formal training and informal learning Teamwork, cooperation, and positive working relationships Reinforcing, safe, ethical behaviors Systems and processes designed for safety -regularly reviewed and optimized. Effective coordination and the ability to mobilize quickly Generalization of processes isn’t always helpful
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The federal government has closed its investigations into safety concerns about snow and ice removal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport that led the FAA to threaten record fines.
In a letter this week to Robert Kennedy, Cleveland’s chief of airports, the Federal Aviation Administration said that changes made at the airport since the FAA and Cleveland entered a settlement plan five years ago warranted an end to its monitoring as of July 1.
“The city of Cleveland has made substantial improvements in the processes, equipment, staffing, and management of the implementation of the snow and ice control plan,” wrote Susan Mowery-Schiak, the director of the FAA’s airports division.
“We agree that CLE is establishing a safety culture that would allow it to sustain its compliance,” Mowery-Schiak wrote. “In consideration … the FAA hereby releases the city of Cleveland from the conditions of the [settlement] and will close the four related FAA enforcement investigations.”
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/…
A year-long Australian population study has found that full time workers employed by organisations that fail to prioritise their employees’ mental health have a threefold increased risk of being diagnosed with depression.
And while working long hours is a risk factor for dying from cardiovascular disease or having a stroke, poor management practices pose a greater risk for depression, the researchers found.
The University of South Australia study, published in the British Medical Journal today, is led by UniSA’s Psychosocial Safety Climate Observatory, the world’s first research platform exploring workplace psychological health and safety.
Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is the term used to describe management practices and communication and participation systems that protect workers’ mental health and safety.
As it currently stands, SpaceX only possesses a license for suborbital flights.
Before a license can be approved, the FAA needs to conduct an environmental review of the launch site and plans to ensure launches won’t have a significant negative impact on the surrounding area.
The news comes after SpaceX recently landed itself in hot water after it was found that the December SN8 launch reportedly ignored at least two warnings from the FAA before the prototype exploded.
“These actions show a concerning lack of operational control and process discipline that is inconsistent with a strong safety culture,” FAA’s Space Division Chief Wayne Monteith wrote in a letter to Shotwell.
uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/avia…
The US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) space office head defended Elon Musk’s SpaceX at a Congressional hearing despite the company’s unauthorised launch of a Starship prototype in December ignoring warnings from a safety inspector.
During the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Wednesday, representative Peter DeFazio and others asked FAA associate administrator Wayne Monteith what SpaceX has “done to deal with the operational concerns” and “cultural issues,” flagged after the company’s unauthorised launch of its SN8 Starship prototype.
While Mr Monteith has criticised SpaceX in the past for its actions “inconsistent with a strong safety culture,” he defended the aviation authority’s decision to allow further flights of its Starship prototype rockets.
“We would not have cleared them to start flight operations again had I not been confident they had modified their procedures effectively and addressed the safety culture issues that we saw,” Monteith told the hearing committee.
Powered by three Raptor rocket engines and made of stainless steel, the Starship prototype stands about 45 metres (150 ft) tall, and represents an early version of the rockets that the company hopes would carry people to the Moon and Mars.
maritime-executive.com/article/h…
Korean prosecutors announced that they were indicting the CEO and 17 managers at Hyundai Heavy Industries on violations of health and safety regulations. They cited numerous incidents of safety violations at the company’s shipyards and said they would be investigating the safety culture and protocols at the headquarters and company’s operating locations.
In announcing the indictments, prosecutors said that there had been three fatal accidents this year and a total of five deaths at the yards in the nine months between September 2019 and May 2020. A total of 635 safety violations were also identified during regular and special safety inspections undertaken by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Among the fatal accidents, they provided details on the death of a subcontractor working at the Ulsan shipyard. They reported that the pipe fitter suffocated on September 20, 2019, while working on a tank installation and two other workers also died in other suffocation incidents. Another worker died at an underwater maintenance facility and a worker died after falling from a height of over 55 feet.
In addition to the CEO, the indictments were filed against current and former leaders of the company’s business divisions and field managers, as well as subcontractors and suppliers. The enforcement effort is part of enhanced safety regulations and can result in heavy fines.
before liftoff, Elon Musk’s SpaceX ignored at least two warnings from the Federal Aviation Administration that launching its first high-altitude Starship prototype last December would violate the company’s launch license, confidential documents and letters obtained by The Verge show. And while SpaceX was under investigation, it told the FAA that the agency’s software was a “source of frustration” that has been “shown to be inaccurate at times or overly conservative,” according to the documents.
“SPACEX USED ANALYTICAL METHODS THAT APPEARED TO BE HASTILY DEVELOPED TO MEET A LAUNCH WINDOW.” SpaceX’s violation of its launch license was “inconsistent with a strong safety culture,” the FAA’s space division chief Wayne Monteith said in a letter to SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell. “Although the report states that all SpaceX parties believed that such risk was sufficiently low to comply with regulatory criteria, SpaceX used analytical methods that appeared to be hastily developed to meet a launch window,” Monteith went on.
Launch violations are rare in the industry, even as private contractors have taken over work that once was the US government’s alone. SpaceX occupies a particularly dominant position, as it is now NASA’s only ride to the International Space Station and the Moon. The documents exclusively obtained by The Verge show how SpaceX prioritized speed over safety when launching on its own private rocket playground. Ultimately, the FAA didn’t sanction SpaceX, and less than two months later, SpaceX resumed flights in Boca Chica, Texas.
Creaking noises in high rise buildings are caused by developers using new technology to cut costs and a regulator that is slow to act, engineers say, prompting fears about fire safety and driving calls for a national review of construction products.
The Age has reported creaking noises that have tormented residents of Melbourne’s tallest towers, including Australia 108, Prima Pearl, Aurora, Melbourne Square and now Premier Tower – many constructed by building giant Multiplex.
Multiplex-built Premier Tower residents are now also complaining of creaking noises. Multiplex-built Premier Tower residents are now also complaining of creaking noises. CREDIT:WAYNE TAYLOR Multiplex has defended its buildings, claiming creaking noises are evidence the tower is working as intended by bending with the wind and residents should only be disturbed by loud noises during times of extreme weather.
However, residents claim the noises persist during low wind and are so disruptive they cause sleep deprivation and mental health problems.
“It was extremely loud yesterday but occurs even when there is minimal wind,” said one resident living in Multiplex’s newest development, Premier Tower.
Structural engineer and researcher Scott Menegon said creaking noises can occur as a result of developers using new technology to build flexible towers while continuing to use old products, such as wall and ceiling systems, that are not designed to bend.
morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b…
EAST Midlands Railway (EMR) bosses stood accused by the RMT union today of “playing fast and loose” with Covid-19 safety over the bank holiday weekend. Serious overcrowding at London’s St Pancras station and on trains across the franchise’s network were cited by the union as evidence that passenger and staff safety are of little concern to the company, as it “repeated the mistakes” the union said were made in December. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Either through incompetence, or a safety culture coming a distant second to the culture of corporate greed, trains across the network are being reported as over capacity, with zero social distancing.”
www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/1…
What the British Government needs is a slice of Emmental cheese. In fact several slices. Swiss cheese has holes in it, but usually no two slices are the same. What it also needs is a “safety culture”, also sometimes called a “just culture”, as used in the aviation industry worldwide and increasingly in the practice of medicine. This is the right answer to Dominic Cummings. It was invented, incidentally, in Britain. It has doubtless saved many lives.
Something went badly wrong in the initial response of Boris Johnson’s Government at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic more than a year ago. Even the Daily Telegraph, scathing about Cummings’ display before joint House of Commons select committees, could not deny that what went on was a “shambles”.
www.helsinkitimes.fi/lifestyle…
The number of fatal water accidents decreased significantly in 2020. 30 people died in water transport. Most accidents occurred when a rowing boat or small motorboat capsized or tilted. The use of life jackets is one of the most effective ways to prevent drowning deaths in waterborne traffic.
In 2020, there were a total of 2,204 waterborne accidents. 30 people died in waterway accidents, which was 16 less than in the previous year. All fatal water accidents were pleasure boating accidents. Although the majority of deaths occurred in inland waters, overall there were exceptionally few fatal accidents in Finland’s inland waters last year.
Victims who died in waterborne accidents were 28 men and 2 women. Just over half of those who died in waterborne accidents were men over the age of 54.
“We hope there will be a more lasting change in the boating safety culture. The importance of life jackets for safety and human life cannot be overemphasised, and middle-aged men in particular have something to do with it. Show the power of “the watermark”, wear a life jacket and make sure your loved ones do the same! ”Encourages Traficom director Henri Wallenius.
CATHEDRAL CITY, CA – Just a month after the new Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City opened, a metal gate near the casino’s loading dock collapsed, crushing a 41-year-old construction worker under its 3,000-pound weight.
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation that followed the Dec. 7, 2020, tragedy found the project’s contractors – Penta Building Group, No Limit Steel and The Raymond Group – failed to conduct inspections to discover hazards, instruct employees on how to recognize workplace dangers, and install caution signs to warn workers about potential hazards. The three contractors face $64,169 in combined penalties.
“Required oversight and communication related to workplace safety and health could have prevented this tragic loss of life,” said OSHA Area Director Derek Engard in San Diego. “This case is a painful reminder of why employers must make complying with workplace safety standards a priority.”
The Penta Building Group is a general contractor with offices and operations in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and Reno. The Raymond Group provides wall and ceiling construction services in Southern California. No Limit Steel is a contractor based in Los Angeles.
OSHA offers compliance assistance resources for the construction industry and the management of multi-employer construction projects.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.
www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your…
A Marine Corps culture that lawmakers called one of mission over safety came under attack during a recent House Armed Services Committee readiness subcommittee hearing looking into failures that led to July 30, 2020, sinking of an amphibious assault vehicle and resulted in the deaths of nine service members.
Though the families were briefed on the roughly 2,000-page investigation, nine months of silence and some of the findings left many families still asking questions. Two parents of killed service members testified. The hearing was called shortly after the Corps released its initial investigation into the AAV accident. “Our safety culture has got to improve,” Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Gary Thomas told lawmakers May 3. “I share your view on making sure we have adequate oversight and we are looking at adding additional safety specialists at the right place to ensure that our exercises are as safe as they possibly can be.”
www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/a…
It further stated: “The controls listed in the vessel’s risk assessment to mitigate the severity were not being followed at the time of the accident.
“The vessel’s safety management system was incomplete and was not being properly used or maintained on board Olivia Jean.”
Need for wide-ranging changes
A “weak” safety culture across the fleet of fishing vessels owned by Olivia Jean’s managers, TN Enterprises, was also cited.
Recommendations have been made to TN Enterprises, aimed at improving safety management on board its fleet.
These include the “utilisation and full implementation of a fishing safety management system, as recommended by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency”.
www.seehafernews.com/2021/05/1…
Three businesses in Northeast Wisconsin were selected to receive the Wisconsin Safety Council’s Corporate Safety Award.
Energies Holdings in Green Bay, Airgas in Appleton, and Holtger Brothers Inc in De Pere were among ten companies to receive the honor.
This is the 27th year the Safety Council has given out the award, which recognizes the companies who have exemplary safety records and commit to creating a world-class safety culture.
The Wisconsin Corporate Safety Awards are presented in partnership with the Department of Workforce Development and M3 Insurance.
dailyenergyinsider.com/policy/30…
PPL Corp. is looking to acquire The Narragansett Electric Company from National Grid USA.
The companies both submitted filings this week with the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers. The request follows PPL’s announcement in March that it had planned to acquire Narragansett Electric after it sold its U.K. utility business to National Grid.
“As we strategically reposition PPL as a U.S.-focused energy company, we see Narragansett Electric as a great fit for PPL,” PPL President and CEO Vincent Sorgi said. “We believe we are well-positioned to continue to drive significant value for Rhode Island families and businesses and to advance the state’s ambitious goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We look forward to partnering with the talented and dedicated team at Narragansett Electric to deliver energy safely, reliably, and affordably for those we serve.”
PPL intends to leverage its experience to build one of the most advanced energy grids in Rhode Island while supporting the state’s decarbonization goals. Also, PPL intends to bring its strong safety culture and natural gas strategy to bear in Rhode Island. Further, the company is committed to investing in infrastructure improvements that benefit customers and drive economic growth.
Narragansett Electric will have a Rhode Island-based president, as well as a Rhode Island-based vice president of gas operations. PPL has already established a Rhode Island transition team and is coordinating with National Grid on transition planning.
fox8.com/news/wash… WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — A House committee examined Monday the investigation into a deadly training accident aboard an amphibious assault vehicle that killed nine service members in California last year.
The report found the drowning deaths of eight Marines and one Navy sailor in July 2020 were the result of inadequate training, shabby maintenance, and poor judgment by commanders.
“We failed these brave young men,” Gen. Gary Thomas, the U.S. Marine Corps assistant commandant, told a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.
The second highest-ranking officer in the Marine Corps said their deaths were preventable in many ways, but it comes down to one issue.
“The Marine Corps safety culture must improve and that marines at all levels must make better risk decisions,” Thomas said.
Parents of the victims told lawmakers the servicemembers saw red flags a week before their deaths.
“Jack Ryan told me about his concerns with the AAVs and that they sink all the time,” said Peter Ostrovsky, the father of Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky. “It was hard for me to believe that statement, but now I know there was more to the story.”
About a dozen marines have since been fired, but Rep. Jackie Speier, D-CA, wants more accountability for reckless or gross negligence.
Exactly 35 years ago, on April 26, 1986, the biggest nuclear accident in history took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, killing dozens of people and making hundreds of people victims of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). Later, the disaster was attributed to a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture in the erstwhile Soviet Union.
The 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe is an ideal occasion to emphasise the imperative need for strict safeguards to prevent any possible nuclear accidents of that nature in future. This is highly applicable to an island nation such as Sri Lanka with large ports providing facilities to international freighter vessels.
Last week, timely detection of radioactive material in a ship docked at the Hambantota Port was ordered to leave immediately, thus avoiding a possible danger to the port or its
Inside the Chernobyl control room now employees. M.V.BBC Naples sailing under the flag of “Antigua and Barbados” entered the Port of Hambantota on April 20, while en route from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to China.
New Zealand’s two port unions have spoken out on Workers Memorial Day (28 April), demanding improvements to health and safety in New Zealand ports.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) represent thousands of port workers throughout New Zealand.
Leaders of the two unions say port workers are being killed and hurt due to systemic problems in the industry, and things have to change.
MUNZ National Secretary Craig Harrison says the string of deaths and serious accidents at Ports of Auckland over the last few years was a glaring example of the problem, which had recently been exposed by an independent report.
However, health and safety failures were endemic throughout New Zealand ports, with deaths and serious injuries in several container terminals and bulk stevedoring areas such as logging yards.
“There are a number of causes, including a profit driven culture not a health and safety culture, but a big problem is employers refusing to see Unions as the legitimate representatives of workers.”
Covid-19-related redundancies at Wizz Air “dangerously influenced” flight safety culture, a whistleblower has claimed, after the way in which staff were selected for redundancy left them worried to call in sick.
Last April London-listed Wizz Air laid off around 1,000 staff – around 20 per cent of its workforce – after a travel shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic put financial pressure on the group.
Pilots based in Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania were made redundant last April, with the majority of redundancies from Hungary.
Despite the redundancies, the budget carrier is bracing itself for a net loss of up to €590m for the full financial year. However, Wizz said it still had €1.6bn in cash, having taken a number of steps to shore up its finances over the last quarter.
Read more: Wizz Air dives to €590m loss as wait for recovery goes on
A Wizz Air pilot told City A.M. that the basis for layoffs “dangerously influenced” flight safety culture across the Wizz Air Group.
“People have been and are being pressured to work while sick, fatigued or extended duty periods in fear of sacking,” they said. “It is unacceptable and breaches regulations designed to ensure flight safety.”
www.irishexaminer.com/news/muns…
Medical staff at Cork University Hospital (CUH) claim they struggle to provide safe care to patients in a challenging work environment, according to the findings of a new study.
A report by researchers from University College Cork identified what they claimed was “a clear appetite for change” among frontline staff regarding patient safety culture.
The study sought to investigate the perception among healthcare workers of the safety culture in a large public acute hospital against a background of under-resourcing in the healthcare system.
Although the report does not identify the hospital in question, it has been established that it involved a survey of staff at CUH.
Pubs and restaurants could lose business without robust food safety culture
Pubs, restaurants and coffee shops reopening after lockdown face increased consumer concern over food safety and hygiene, the British Standards Institution (BSI) said today.
With tens of thousands of outlets expected to serve customers for the first time since Christmas from today, the BSI warned of a potential shift in confidence around food safety.
Consumer polling of 2,182 UK adults online, conducted by YouGov for BSI immediately after the Government’s Eat out To Help Out scheme, found that over half (53%) of consumers say they have become more conscious of food safety and hygiene at food outlets since the pandemic began.
Pubs, chain restaurants, and independent coffee shops and restaurants were the places that respondents were most concerned about.
Consumers indicated that this increased consciousness of food safety and hygiene would impact their choices going forward.
‘Team effort needed’ to drive changes at Shropshire hospitals following staff survey concerns
It will take a team effort to drive forward change and address concerns raised by staff at Shropshire’s main hospitals, its board has been told. Questions in the 2020 NHS Staff Survey were divided into themes and the results show that the overall ‘safety culture’ score for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was the worst nationally.
Concerns were also raised in many other areas which scored lower than the national average.
Addressing the trust’s board of directors at a meeting yesterday, its chief executive Louise Barnett said the results were ‘poor’ and it was important to take action.
She said: “It’s important for the board to understand fully what our staff are saying, for us to commit to actions that we can continue to take to build that culture and safety culture within the organisation.
“Overall, our aim of course is to deliver high quality care, and to do that by supporting our staff.”
Director of workforce Rhia Boyode said the results were a ‘disappointing read’ in many aspects of the report.