Esteemed fire chief and attorney Curt Varone has underscored in many of his articles a critical point for all fire service leaders: You can’t expect a transactional solution to solve a transformational problem.
Varone makes this point when talking about why too many fire departments are still finding themselves beset by charges of sexual harassment, sexual assault and bullying. More than two decades of policies and procedures and training classes have not had the desired impact on many fire departments.
We’re seeing a similar phenomenon in the fire service regarding our efforts to reduce the risk of exposure to the chemicals, chemical compounds and carcinogens found in the smoke and off-gassing from structure fires. We’ve done the education. We’ve developed and implemented operational policies and procedures (e.g., initial contaminant reduction/gross decontamination and removing contaminated gear on the scene). So, we should be well on our way to significantly reducing those occupational cancer risks for firefighters, right? … What they found can best be summed up with this statement from the study: “While firefighter attitudes were overwhelmingly favorable toward cleaning gear (knowledge), their actual decontamination and cleaning behaviors (doing) did not follow at the same level.”
While the firefighters who participated in the study reported positive attitudes, beliefs and perceived norms about decontamination, both on scene and back at the fire station, showering after a fire was the only decontamination process that occurred regularly. Initial contaminant reduction, use of cleansing wipes, routine gear cleaning and other behaviors all occurred less frequently.
https://www.theredstonerocket.com/military_scene/article_0d08c34c-df3b-11eb-ae82-bf9616791107.html
With June being National Safety Month, the Space and Missile Defense Command took a day to focus on safety as well as the physical and mental health of its employees.
SMDC hosted a Safety and SHARP Awareness Day to promote awareness June 29.
“Safety and SHARP continues to be priority focus for the command’s leadership,” James Johnson, deputy to the SMDC commander, said. “We appreciate the team’s efforts today to share the latest information and themes with the workforce. Safety is a mindset and needs to be incorporated throughout our daily activities – at work, home or while traveling.
“We also want to ensure everyone is working in a safe environment where they are treated with dignity and respect.”
news.kuwaittimes.net/website/a…
KUWAIT: The Occupational Health and Safety department at the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) visited the Kuwait American School (KAS) in order to assist them in preparing their campus and facilities according to the health safety and security protocols for the return of their students.
ACK’s initiative with KAS was initiated by conducting a safety audit of the school campus and developing a comprehensive guide booklet for them with all needed health, safety, and security protocols for the school to adopt for anticipated students’ return to school campus in September 2021.
On another note, ACK’s journey with COVID had many milestones and landmarks including being the first college to have students on campus to continue their practical sessions in 2020. The setup for these practical classes took a lot of preplanning, safety auditing and effort to embed all needed protocols ensuring the risk of cross-infection is minimal.
The implemented strategy resulted in the success of their efforts, hence, the college wanted to take that experience and learning curve of having students on campus at a time of COVID-19 and help assist schools in preparing their campuses with all needed health, safety, and security protocols.
On June 28-29, the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (USACC) and USAID Mission to Azerbaijan in partnership with Azerbaijan Investment and Export Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDA) are co-organizing the Hazard Analysis Critical Point (HACCP) Training Course for food processors and manufacturers in Azerbaijan.
The goal of the program is to help food processors and manufacturers in Azerbaijan, including individual entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses and women-owned enterprises to learn and implement HACCP principles, minimize food safety risks starting from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product, as well as introduce food safety culture within food production, procurement, handling (warehousing), distribution and consumption level. The candidates are selected by AZPROMO, SMEDA and USAID PSA Program.
Fire/EMS had the privilege of hosting the National Fire Academy (NFA) 2-day class, Fire Safety Culture: Who Protects Firefighters from Firefighters, this week. This class is designed to help fire service personnel identify their present fire service safety culture, explain how culture drives safety behavior, identify risk management strategies, and develop a fire service safety culture intervention plan to reduce injury and death to firefighters in their respective organizations. In addition to several of our own members, fire service personnel from surrounding departments attended the class. The NFA only supports six direct delivery classes in Kansas annually. We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to host two of these classes this year, with the second class scheduled for August 2021.
knightcenter.utexas.edu/how-to-re…
“How To Report Safely is an important resource for women journalists and allies alike. Almost all journalism safety courses cover major threats like how to survive a terrorist attack, treat a bullet wound or what to do in a natural disaster. These are vital topics. However, what is often missed is a more nuanced discussion of the risks that come with our gender identity, and what we can do to mitigate them,” said Nadine Hoffman, IWMF deputy director.
“As women and non-binary journalists, we face layered threats, and it’s critical to address them candidly, as Alison Baskerville did with empathy and deep expertise in this MOOC. While we have much more work to do to create an inclusive journalism safety culture, this is a critical step in the right direction,” said Hoffman.
“I really think [the course] has equipped me with the tools to be better prepared whenever I go out to report on a story,” one course participant said in final evaluations. “I currently work from home, so at times I don’t think of the dangers many journalists experience. This information will help whenever I do end up working in the field and I will definitely pass on this information to my colleagues.”
www.shropshirestar.com/news/busi…
Manufacturer Fabweld Steel Products has welcomed the latest addition to its team with the appointment of its first health, safety and environment apprentice.
Amy Truswell, who took up the role at the start of June, will be building a stronger health and safety culture across the company and developing FSP’s in-house expertise in this sector.
Amy will be working towards the safety, health and environment technician level three qualification, alongside securing certification in key disciplines such as IOSH and NEBOSH.
Wayne Carter, operations director, said that Amy’s role was integral to FSP’s development over the coming years.
“While Amy is studying towards her qualification, she will support the team with implementing health and safety protocol and supporting with our environmental analysis and development,” he said.
“However, the longer-term aim is to develop Amy’s position into a compliance management role to support our growth plans and business strategy. Having a specialist with the skills and expertise directly in the organisation will be vital as these issues become increasingly important in years to come.”
Attention, drone operators: the NASA UAS Safety Reporting System is open: and you can volunteer information guaranteed to be kept confidential, and not to get you into trouble with the FAA.
It’s Voluntary – But You Should Do It
The NASA UAS Safety Reporting System is part of NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). “The ASRS is a voluntary, confidential, non-punitive, safety reporting system that receives safety reports from pilots, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, cabin crew, maintenance technicians, and now UAS operators,” says NASA. “ASRS has been a part of the aviation safety culture for over 45 years and has collected and analyzed over 1.7 million safety reports to date. These reports describe unsafe occurrences, hazardous situations, and lessons- learned to help prevent others from making the same mistake.”
A Summit Addressing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Anti-Racism in 21st Century STEMM Organizations on June 29 - 30, 2021 About this event Please join the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) as we convene a 2-day national summit Addressing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 21st Century STEMM Organizations. We look forward to your participation as we: Discuss policies, strategies, and practices for confronting systemic racism Identify ways to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEMM settings Recognize the effect of systemic racism on the careers of individuals belonging to racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the STEMM workforce
“To promote a sustainable food safety culture in the entire organization, we ensure that all associates continually receive training on principles of food safety relevant to their roles, so they know the implication of their individual commissions and/or omissions to food safety,” said Alice Majani, Head of Supply Chain, East and Southern Africa, Upfield
Upfield is the manufacturer of the Blue Band range of products namely, Blue Band Fat Spread, Blue Band Peanut Butter, Blue Band Mayonnaise, and the recently launched Blue Band Instant Porridge in Kenya.
www.qualityassurancemag.com/article/w…
Earlier this spring, Quality Assurance & Food Safety magazine surveyed employees of food manufacturing facilities, including farms, to get a sense of what food safety culture looks like on a practical level.
For World Food Safety Day today, we’re sharing a sneak peek at some of the results from a recent survey we conducted on food safety culture. Among the questions, we asked respondents what food safety culture meant to them. Below are some of the more than 40 anonymous responses. To see the full results from the survey, check out the May/June issue when hits mailboxes and inboxes later this month.
“The common instinct among a group of food employees that compels them to do the right thing despite it being more cumbersome or inconvenient. Prerequisite: They know what is the right thing to do.”
“Say what you do, do what you say, prove it. Everyone buys in to doing things the right way.”
“It is very important to me as I’m the QA/QC manager, but it is difficult when not all employees are able to see what could happen. They need to not only know why to do something but also the reason why you do something.”
“Buy in from all levels of employees (janitor to CEO) of ‘thinking food safety’ with all levels of decisions.”
“Lead by example. Encourage employee growth by allowing employee input and participation.”
“It means putting thought and effort into making certain that the foods we produce will not cause harm to anyone for any reason.”
“We are trying to imbibe safety culture in secondary school students and their teachers with the understanding that the government cannot do it all alone. As an organisation, we partnered with the state to train public and private school teachers and students in Lagos state. We have trained them on knowledge of first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation so that they can be lifesavers from their homes, promote safety and also imbibe the safety culture in schools and the environment.
The Lagos State government has been quite responsive and we enjoyed an authorisation from the Lagos State Safety Commission, Nigerian Red Cross and the World Safety Organisation in this exercise considered as our corporate social responsibility of giving back and impacting society positively”.
Jane Timken expressed dissatisfaction with racial justice education in schools and suggested curricula would be better served by focusing on support careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
As an engineering professor, I can attest that. Timken is misguided in that these issues are inextricably linked. Racism in STEM has manifested in the abuse of minorities as evidenced in the Tuskegee Syphilis Trials, establishment of the HeLa cell line from Henrietta Lacks without informed consent, the Detroit Water crisis, and the large scale buildout of chemical plants in Black and brown communities.
Inattention to diversity has led to seat belt designs that are ineffective for women and children because of their smaller stature and poor safety culture because of the divide between technicians that are often from minority groups and their managers (who are often white and male).
Engineering curricula are evolving to more closely address these deficiencies based on industry demands, where a focus on diversity is already well established.
Timken would do well to consult stakeholders before making offhand comments that do not have basis in fact.
Timken would do well to consult stakeholders before making offhand comments that do not have basis in fact.
Jessica O. Winter, professor, Ohio State University William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/05/i…
Attendees of IFC’s first virtual food safety event have heard how Africa is tackling the issue of safe food domestically.
The 9th International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Food Safety Forum covered domestic and trade issues, as well as food safety culture over two days in May and is still available to watch. IFC is part of the World Bank Group.
In her opening comments, Jumoke Jagun-Dokunmu, IFC’s regional director for Eastern Africa, said discussions will cover the potential for increased investment that can unlock business opportunities while increasing food safety for people across the continent.
“We believe that improved food safety is helping clients meet regional and export market requirements, attract investment, realize cost savings and strengthen their brands. So far, IFC’s food safety advisory program has helped over 200 clients attract $607 million in investment and generate $709 million in new sales,” she said.
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/2…
laudine El Araybi, the Director of Nursing at Al-Ahli Hospital and the Chairman of the Scientific Planning Committee said, “The seminar of the Medication Safety is offered to all healthcare practitioners. The seminar is designed for clinical providers involved in the medication process and it will help to update the knowledge they have in medication safety including in areas such as the theory behind medication errors, how often they occur, why they occur and how to prevent them.”
Alaine Adea, nursing educator at Al-Ahli Hospital, highlighted the importance of safety culture in improving the safe delivery of care, particularly the high-risk activity of medication administration to all guests.
Sandra, nursing educator at Al-Ahli Hospital said, “Nurses have a unique role and responsibility in medication administration, in that they are frequently the final person to check to see that the medication is correctly prescribed and dispensed before administration. This seminar is a reminder for all healthcare professionals on how we can avoid making medication errors.”
themalaysianreserve.com/2021/05/2…
The government must accompany its full lockdown plan in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 with pivotal measures as Malaysia’s death rate is alarming.
Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) head of research Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi said Malaysia’s success in managing Covid-19 should not be measured just by the number of infections per day, but by the country’s cumulative death rate, which last peaked this year at nearly 0.38% on February 19, 2021.
“The government should have implemented a strict MCO at the latest by the end of April 2021, especially then the cabinet ministers were clearly stating the likelihood of another wave of infections.
“The government’s indecisiveness at that critical time compelled Pejuang’s leadership to highlight the urgency for the need for a full lockdown to be implemented despite it being on the eve of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri,” he said in a statement today.
In the grand scheme of things, the government has to establish a safety culture programme for the people to truly adopt the “new normal” rather than just repeatedly urging Malaysians to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP), which has been shown to not be as effective, he added.
“Malaysians must be made to understand that the pandemic-free days of the past will likely never return and that our culture must change for us to survive and thrive moving forward,” he said.
www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/b…
The new hub, Better Business Hub, aims to protect Australian fleet, transport operators, and drivers by providing interactive, downloadable, applicable tools and resources to support their day-to-day activities.
With the Federal Government’s $300,000 grant administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), NTI developed “Business of Safety” – its first educational content series on the hub. The insurer also supplemented the content series by its in-kind contribution to match the government’s grant.
NHVR chief executive officer Sal Petroccitto said the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative had so far allocated $22.8 million through 89 separate grants over the past five years.
“Improving heavy vehicle safety and safety for all drivers is the top priority of the NHVR,” Petroccitto said. “I’m delighted we could support the NTI program to develop content and tools which will assist transport operators effect change and build a robust safety culture.”
www.henrycountytimes.com/2021/05/0…
For Milton Stokes, a Georgia Power lineman who works out of the Noah’s Ark operating headquarters in Jonesboro, coming to work and leaving safely is always his top priority.
As a husband and father to two girls, he knows the importance of getting home to his family every day. Early in his marriage and when his daughters were born, he worked as a firefighter in Macon.
“I made the transition from firefighting to line work to advance my family’s quality of life and because I knew Georgia Power is a safety-oriented company,” he said. “That is one of the big reasons I knew it would be a great fit for me.”
Georgia Power Lineman Milton Stokes worked as a firefighter before joining Georgia Power. Many of the lessons he learned as a first responder have benefitted him in his current position. Special photo
Stokes started his career at the utility in the apprentice program and learned the ins and outs of maintaining and restoring utility lines and infrastructure, and the importance of maintaining a safety culture day to day.
“To ensure that everyone goes home safely every day, you learn early on to never be afraid to ask questions,” he said. “It’s better to ask too many than for someone to get hurt.”
“At the fire department, we called ourselves a ‘brotherhood.’ At Georgia Power, we believe in being your brother’s keeper and to always be looking out for one another’s well-being. Everything we do is safety-oriented,” he went on to say.
A solid Safety Management System (SMS) will drive an organization’s safety culture. A business-like systematic approach to managing safety risks, a SMS provides an organized way to set goals, make plans and measure a business’ performance. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) organizes the SMS concept around four pillars: policy, safety risk management, safety assurance and promotion. Safety expert, Fred Roggero (Major General USAF Ret.) President & CEO of Resilient Solutions, Ltd., a customer-focused professional services company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, provides his perspective on these pillars below.
Tunis/Tunisia — A partnership and cooperation agreement was signed recently between Vivo Energy Tunisia and the Education Ministry on the implementation in primary schools of educational programs and projects in several fields such as road safety education, encouragement of entrepreneurship, reading and the environment.
Education Minister Fethi Slaouti underlined during a ceremony held on the occasion, the importance of the partnership with Vivo Energy in stepping up efforts to launch programs and initiatives that will enhance the attractiveness of public schools and build the individual and collective skills of future generations for a better future.
Vivo Energy Tunisia Managing Director Mohamed Bou Griba explained the importance of devising value-added educational programs and contributing to the development of students’ skills in public schools so as to boost cooperation with the Education Ministry and ensure the continuity of community projects.
Cooperation between the two sides dates back some ten years through the “My safety on the road” program, which aims to teach children responsible behaviour and road safety culture through awareness campaigns.
Porsche Korea (CEO Holger Gerrmann) announced on the 30th the participation in the “Children’s Traffic Safety Relay Challenge” to establish a traffic safety culture and social interest in children’s traffic safety.
“Children’s Traffic Safety Relay Challenge” is a participatory public information campaign launched by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in December last year, and was intended to form a social consensus on the establishment of a traffic culture that puts the top priority on preventing traffic accidents within the School Zone and protecting children. The campaign re-layed in which a participant shares the photo on social media with the official slogan selected through a national public contest and nominates the next participants.
CEO of Porsche Korea, Holger Gerrmann, shared the slogan ‘First (1) Stop, To (2) Look Around, Three (3) Seconds to Wait, to (4) Prevent Accidents,’ after being nominated by Jaguar Land Rover Korea Managing Director, Robin Colgan, and highlighted the importance of improving fundamental awareness of School Zones and establishing a safe traffic culture. As next chal-lenge participants, Audi Volkswagen Korea Managing Director, René Koneberg, and SFAC (Seoul Foundation of Arts and Culture) President Kim Jong-Hwi were nominated.
www.annistonstar.com/sports/re…
In the mournful days, weeks and months after February 18, 2001, NASCAR was faced with a challenge unlike any it had ever faced. It had to fill the massive void left by the death of its most popular and influential driver. And it had to assure similar tragedies would not occur again.
A popular narrative suggests the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. saved countless other lives. It was frequently raised this past February, on the 20th anniversary of his fatal accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500, the last fatality suffered at NASCAR’s highest level. That notion somehow makes the death a little easier to accept, as if adding martyrdom to Earnhardt’s legacy.
www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2021…
Now, much more comes into play and businesses should be seeking to utilize the rise of these five food trends in order to catapult themselves to greater success and deliver a service that the consumer demands.
A positive food safety culture Food safety culture is the way in which an organization values its food safety, and it is vital that these values are shared by both management and employees.
A business with a strong and positive food safety culture demonstrates to its customers that safe food is essential and a commitment.
Poor food safety culture can result in food hygiene violations, which can lead to serious repercussions, for both the business and its customers.
Particularly with doors of restaurants opening once again for outdoor eating on April 12, it is crucial for businesses to create a positive food safety culture. Businesses must actively consider presenting accreditations such as a Covid19 certification which will help customers to feel safer when returning to an establishment.
This month, SADD (Students Against Dangerous Driving) is running conferences in Wellington and Dunedin to enable young leaders to come together with other passionate teens, and road safety groups, to discuss ways to take action to prevent further harm on our roads.
At SADD National Conference, students will take part in masterclasses where they problem solve and actively design innovative, preventative approaches to challenges, such as navigating the Graduated Driver Licence System, distracted driving and avoiding risks on our roads.
Conference is being held during April in both the North and South Islands: www.sadd.org.nz/conferenc…
Wellington: St Patricks College, Silverstream, 21-23 April
Dunedin: John McGlashan College, 27-29 April
NZ Police, regional road safety partners and Fire and Emergency NZ will be in attendance to help students produce resources that improve wellbeing outcomes for all New Zealanders and build a road safety culture.
SADD National Manager Donna Govorko says, “Conference brings together like-minded youth who are committed to making a difference. The participants are empowered to lead others to understand how we can all contribute to Vision Zero goals - a 40% reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2030.”
… Safety culture and climate
You can have all of the best safety procedures and PPE in the world, but if your company does not have a safety culture, then you might as well not institute any safety measures at all. Safety needs to be a primary concern for everyone in the company, from the managers to the boss to the new hires who are being trained, otherwise safety procedures can quickly fall by the wayside and be considered unnecessary complications which only the sticklers follow.
Everyone on the team from the top down needs to promote a culture of safety, and also institute a zero-tolerance policy for breaking safety procedures. You can create a safety culture by emphasizing health and safety during training for new employees and maintaining a zero-tolerance policy when someone breaks safety policies. The United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, & Allied Workers also produces regular reports on the best ways to maintain health and safety in the industry. …