Carlile terminal manager credits team for safety award nomination … “I believe I was nominated because of our terminal’s overall safety record,” Sibley said. “We’ve met and even beaten all of the safety goals set by our regulatory department during the past five years, including lost time and recordable injuries. I can’t take all the credit – my team knocks it out of the park with the safety culture in Tacoma.”
“We’ve met and even beaten all of the safety goals set by our regulatory department during the past five years, including lost time and recordable injuries. I can’t take all the credit – my team knocks it out of the park with the safety culture in Tacoma.”
Sibley said he fights complacency and keeps safety top-of-mind by implementing the message “on a constant cadence” of daily safety briefings with all personnel and clear signage throughout the terminal.
“Safety now has become culture. Safety and safe practices in Tacoma have practically become instinctual and safety leads itself,” he said.
FDA Reaffirms Commitment to Safety, Security of its Public Health Laboratories
SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mission to protect and promote public health by ensuring the safety of the nation’s food supply, as well as the safety and efficacy of medical products, has always relied on a rigorous analysis of the scientific data available and a strong commitment to safety. We are dedicated to helping ensure the safety of the American public through our work and the safety of all of our staff by continuing to support and strengthen a culture that prioritizes workplace safety.
FDA staff across the nation work diligently to help ensure the safety of FDA-regulated products. I’ve seen this same dedication in their shared commitment to protecting each other and prioritizing safety across the agency, including our laboratories across the country. As we work together to build upon our strong safety charge, I’ve recently stood up a new cross-agency working group with support from the FDA’s senior leadership to optimize and further foster a holistic, cohesive, and collaborative safety culture. As part of their charge, the group will review our current organization structure and reporting relationships that support our safety program. This working group will explore best practices and incorporate and leverage the expertise of the existing safety councils within our agency to optimize ongoing efforts. The group will focus broadly on several areas in the safety space to include occupational safety and health, environmental safety, and laboratory safety; and will look to best practices in industry to determine if they can complement our regulatory organization. This effort is meant to strengthen the already robust safety measures that staff and senior leadership have implemented. I look forward to continuing my work with the FDA’s senior leadership to bolster an already strong culture of safety and security within the agency.
HP to promote road safety campaign to curb accidents
Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister Bikram Singh on Wednesday said the road safety campaign would be promoted as a mass campaign to establish road safety culture to check accidents in the state. After the meeting of State Transport Development and Road Safety Council, Bikram Singh said around 95 percent road accidents were caused due to human errors.
“Out of these 62.86 percent accidents are caused by over speeding which could be reduced by making people aware of road safety.
The department has carried out a comprehensive road-safety awareness campaign in the state and districts which has resulted in a decrease of 7.62 percent road accidents, 5.13 percent in death rate and 11.65 percent decrease in injured persons,” he said.
Singh said a total of 3110 accidents took place in 2018 in which 1202 persons lost their lives while 2873 accidents took place in 2019 in which 1146 persons were killed. State Transport Minister said the Transport and Police Departments will jointly make efforts to make Himachal Pradesh a safe state by making people aware of wrong habits like over speeding, drinking and driving, overloading and over taking.
Doug Banning’s Legacy of Safety Earns Him 2020 Pipeline Leadership Award
One of Banning’s biggest achievements was in prioritizing a culture of safety — before it was popular and expected. As a pioneer in this respect, Banning helped spread the gospel of safety throughout the pipeline industry, and it’s one of the things he is most proud of in his career.
“As a company, we pushed a process to make safety personal,” he says. “Our campaign ‘What I Live For’ highlighted how safety impacts family members and the important people in our lives, and that really made a difference in our safety culture. Making that connection was important in sustaining our safety culture.”
In addition to driving transformation at Miller Pipeline and MVerge, Banning’s contributions to the industry are extensive, including his work with trade organizations and initiatives to improve workforce development and service quality.
Stand Tall: AWEA Launches Sixth Annual Safety Campaign
Washington D.C. - The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today kicks off the U.S. wind industry’s annual safety campaign. Stand Tall, this year’s October campaign, will focus on sprains and strains. With a record 120,000 Americans employed in bringing affordable, clean wind energy to communities across the country, workplace safety is more important than ever. AWEA’s safety data shows that sprains and strains from handling, lifting, or carrying are among the top injuries in the wind turbine generator.
To get the word out about best safety practices, AWEA today launched an on-demand webinar in which Adam Simoes, Workplace Services Director, Occupational Therapist, County Physical Therapy, LLC discusses the importance of dynamic stretching and provides details on the benefits for wind workers. The webinar also provides an overview of sprains and strains, symptoms, and ways to prevent injury.
“American wind power is always seeking to improve workplace safety culture as our wind workers head out every day to provide clean, reliable electricity for millions of Americans,” said Tom Kiernan, AWEA CEO. “AWEA is proud to today launch Stand Tall, our sixth consecutive October safety campaign, as we lead this concerted workplace safety effort.”
AIB to Conduct Regional Training
The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigeria, has revealed plan to conduct a training for all accident investigators in the West African region to showcase its world class Flight Safety Laboratory located in Abuja. The AIB Commissioner, Akin Olateru who disclosed this during a Regional Enlightenment Symposium held at Enugu, recently, said the training would be held before the end of 2020.
Olateru, who was represented by the General Manager, Public Affairs, AIB, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi described the symposium as, “another viable platform for all stakeholders to meet and deliberate on how to further grow our air transport system and promote our safety culture to meet global best practices.”
“Safety is the backbone of aviation and without it aviation loses its meaning. This is why every organ or unit in the industry works tirelessly to ensure the safety of air travelers. Until recently, the Nigerian aviation industry had no fatality for about five years.
Cultivating a Safety Culture Amid Constant Change
Developing a power plant safety culture takes time and constant effort, but the payoff is priceless, safety leaders at three major power companies said during a morning session at the Experience POWER virtual event on Sept. 30.
Jeffrey Mullins, safety and health consultant for the 2.6-GW coal-fired Gavin Power Plant owned by Lightstone Generation, kicked off the panel discussion by explaining the importance of establishing a safety culture. “The number one thing about safety is that its a 24-7 job.” It must be an ever-present consideration and a top priority that every worker must understand, he said.
However, ensuring that plant workers will always adhere to safety protocols is often complicated by changes in company ownership, employee turnover, and bridging expectation gaps, he said.
At Gavin, for example, a plant that American Electric Power sold in 2017 to Lightstone, a joint venture between private equity firms Blackstone and AcrLight, plant management shifted safety strategies to adapt to Lightstone’s smaller corporate structure. One “pro in a con” that the plant faced was that there was less of an “overhead structure,” which made it easier to enact change. But it also pushed the company to depend more on third-party services for specific needs, Mullins said. Because the plant began operation in 1973, some safety awareness was also lost when several long-term staff opted for early retirement when the plant was sold, he said.
Naval Safety Center cites summer safety campaign outcome www.dcmilitary.com/tester/ne…
“We must never accept any avoidable loss of life or loss of equipment as the cost of doing business,” said Luchtman. “Each one of us must work collectively as a force to adopt a safety culture and ensure operational readiness. It is imperative for everyone to look out for themselves and their fellow shipmates.”
The Safety Center serves as the safety conscience of the naval enterprise; enabling the Navy to foster a safety culture of excellence that encourages risk management, problem-solving and proactive thinking.
“With summer waning and cooler weather approaching, I encourage Sailors and Marines at all levels to ensure procedural compliance to prevent avoidable on-duty mishaps and reinforce the use of ORM to help reduce off-duty mishaps,” said Luchtman. “There remain areas of concern, such as pedestrian and off-duty recreational mishaps, that require our continued emphasis and awareness.”
Initiative promotes workplace safety awareness … Interaction provides better understanding of the law and requirements of the workplace health, safety and environmental issues, and gears to meet changes and challenges.
The Chamber members comprise those from the manufacturing, construction, logistics and retails’ sectors.
The Chamber will work closely with SHENA to create a safer, healthier and more environmental friendly working environment for employees and the public.
Lim said the Chamber will play its part and conduct a series of awareness and educational events. He believed that through continuous efforts, a safety culture can be instilled at the workplace.
Restaurants Welcome FDA’s New Era of Food Safety Blueprint
Full-service operators that have been following this issue are already aware that ensuring the safety of the food supply will focus on a digitalized supply chain. The new Blueprint is clear in outlining achievable goals to enhance traceability, improve predictive analytics, respond more rapidly to outbreaks, address new business models, reduce sources of contamination for food, and foster the development of stronger food safety cultures. Even some of the lessons of COVID-19 are instructive when it comes to ensuring the safety of the food supply.
There are four pillars of the FDA Blueprint all of which apply to FSRs. The first is Food Safety Culture. The vision is a direct digital connection between the consumer and the food they are served that will help establish a culture of food safety like never before. It includes the use of interoperable standards for globally unique identification and uniform baseline content to be physically and digitally tied to each food supply chain item because this addresses the needs of both full-service restaurant management and customers.
For full-service restaurants, COVID-19 was a pivotal point that illustrated that the industry could indeed adapt to new business models. This knowledge will drive Retail Food Safety Modernization, another pillar of the FDA Blueprint. Touchless retail experiences driven by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to grow in importance. In fact, there is every indication that highly automated restaurants with self-service ordering, self-checkout, and delivery technology will be vital for success in the future.
Ep 43: How is leadership development experienced? Topics:
Defining leadership development. The idea of taking on the mantle of “leader”. The six different ways of understanding leadership. Developing leaders who further the goals of the organization. Stretching people’s views of leadership. Practical take-aways.
Quotes:
“…And in some sense, they’re almost like stages that leaders go through in their evolution of thinking about themselves like a leader.”
“People didn’t fall in a category. THe researchers were just trying to see how far they could stretch people’s views of what leadership [is] and where they stopped.”
“Unless you can have an aligned and good understanding of those things, the researchers suggest…there’s not much point in getting started with leadership development activities.”
How field officers influence safety culture
Nobody in a fire and EMS organization has more influence on its daily operations than does the first-line supervisor – the company or field officer.
So it only stands to reason that the field officer is the one position in the organization that has the most influence over the department’s safety culture. As the saying goes, “It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.”
Your department should provide field officers with the appropriate policy and procedures necessary for firefighters, EMTs and paramedics to do their jobs more safely, effectively and efficiently. That’s the strategic direction. The tactical direction, making it happen, falls squarely on the field officers’ shoulders.
A safety culture and PPE use rely on determination and leadership. (Photo/American Ambulance Association) A safety culture and PPE use rely on determination and leadership. (Photo/American Ambulance Association) And if you are that field officer, how are you doing in that role?
Topics:
The two ways to improve safety. Why this is a reasonable model for studying the influence of safety. The theory of planned behavior. What you should never claim in your study. The reality of survey research. What mediators are and how they function. Takeaways from the study.
Quotes:
“They were lamenting in their systematic review that lots of attempts to intervene in behavior change weren’t based on theories.”
“So, what they’re really saying is, ‘ok, we know these might be different types of behaviors, but is it sufficient to lump them all together?’ And statistically, yes it is.”
“When we say that something ‘mediates’, we’re basically saying it’s like a multiplier in the middle.”
Michigan State’s Dean’s Update | August 21 … Physicians, and I am going to lump in medical students here, need to be leaders in this time, and we need to maintain and promote the standards of our profession. One struggle we have long faced is the need to correct the professionalism of our colleagues. It is not easy, but as a profession, we have to say something when we see something amiss in the behaviors of our fellow physicians and students.
Importantly, we have to remember that we all make mistakes, and reminders about social distancing and mask or shield wearing are about helping each other perform and behave safely. We are never about belittling or scolding each other. Organizations with a real safety culture correct mistakes and only punish recklessness or disregard for the needs of others. And, crucially, getting feedback that we are not in our mask or we are not spatially distancing, or our evening plans are not consistent with public health, should result in thanking the person who reminded us and by making the correction.
“Our commitment to safety and zero harm is ingrained in every part of our organization. ‘Done Safely, Without Compromise’ is not only QM’s health and safety motto, it serves as the foundation for our company culture for our employees, partners, clients and the communities we serve,” according to company president, Harry Kim, P. Eng.
“This has been an incredibly challenging year for safety professionals and for businesses everywhere,” said Canada’s Safest Employers project director Jessica Duce. “The list of finalists represents the best and brightest in workplace health and safety and honours those who have stepped up at a time when it mattered most. It’s our honour to acknowledge and celebrate this deserving group at the virtual awards gala on October 22.”
For the full list of finalists, visit www.safestemployers.com.
About QM Environmental
QM Environmental is a leading environmental and industrial services company with offices and qualified teams strategically located across Canada to provide end-to-end capabilities to the industries and customers it serves. QM Environmental is a customer-driven organization, backed by over 35 years of experience solving the country’s most complex environmental challenges through its strong culture of excellence in health and safety, integrity, and quality. QM’s services include: Environmental Remediation, Demolition and Decommissioning, Hazardous Materials Abatement, Emergency Response and Management, Training, Waste Management and Facilities, and Water Treatment.
No plans so far for local mask bylaw as other Alberta communities approve them: Scott
There are no plans for the Wood Buffalo area to bring in mandatory mask bylaws, similar to those seen in other communities across Alberta.
However, Mayor Don Scott says that could change if COVID-19 cases rise suddenly or if a mandatory order is brought in by the province.
“It’s possible that could happen in the future and council could bring a motion,” he said during a Wednesday interview. “But at this point, because we’ve had modest numbers, we’re just keeping an eye on it.”
At the time of the interview, Fort McMurray had 13 active cases and surrounding rural areas had seven. The region has seen 115 recoveries, with 62 in Fort McMurray. So far, no one has died from the virus.
Scott credited the community’s industrial safety culture for keeping virus numbers low, as well as guidelines adopted by the province, federal government and oilsands companies.
He also praised local initiatives, such as the distribution of 50,000 masks on public transit. Another 300,000 masks have been given out by the provincial government in the area.
“We’re a very safety conscious region and we see that with the sites, which have taken very aggresive steps,” said Scott.
In Fort McMurray, mask regulations have been limited to individual businesses. For instance, masks became mandatory in all Canadian Walmart stores on the same day as Scott’s interview.
Other Voices: The Link Between Diversity and Aviation Safety
Aviation safety is dependent on synergy, not just in the flight deck, but within the flight department as a whole. The hidden dangers of miscommunication and unconscious bias deteriorate our safety margins, limit our access to new talent, and hinder our operational functionality. It’s time for the third wave of aviation safety, and that must include unconscious bias training.
Following a series of fatal air crashes in the 1970s, the aviation industry became focused on how humans interact and communicate. A common trend of these crashes exposed the toxicity of the singular-captain mentality and revealed the necessity to educate aviators how to operate more collaboratively. New training protocols, known as Crew Resource Management (CRM), rapidly washed over the industry and became the international standard still in practice today. The initiative was so successful that the medical sector adopted its own form of CRM.
The second wave of aviation safety came decades later in the form of Safety Management Systems (SMS). This system is a comprehensive approach to safety which includes human factors training and the measuring of one’s flight department safety culture.
Each wave of safety system amalgamates the importance of human interaction, communication, and collaboration as essential components to aviation safety. Yet both systems overlook the fundamental structure that controls how humans interact and communicate—our unconscious bias.
`Before You Get Out of Your Car, Put on Your Mask’
As students prepare to return to Embry-Riddle’s residential campuses in Prescott, Arizona, and Daytona Beach, Florida for face-to-face fall 2020 classes, university leadership reaffirmed its rules for wearing face coverings at all times.
Face coverings are mandatory in all common areas on Embry-Riddle’s campuses, both indoors and outdoors, in classrooms, laboratories, residence halls and other facilities. In addition, EagleCards must be visible at all times, either on a lanyard or clipped to an article of clothing, and daily wellness checks are mandatory.
Wearing face coverings, in keeping with U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention guidelines, reflects Embry-Riddle’s strong safety culture and Eagle commitment to caring for others. Embry-Riddle’sfall 2020 Path Forward plan emphasizes the importance of taking personal responsibility.
“We’re working hard to provide a safe environment, but it’s up to all of us to make it work,” Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler said at a recent virtual town hall event organized by Student Government Association leaders. “When we look back on this time as history, how you as individuals reacted will say a lot about you as a person. It will go with you throughout life and in your careers – how you behaved, how flexible you were in adapting to a new situation and the choices you made.”
Terex Announces Second Quarter 2020 Results
John L. Garrison, Jr., Terex Corporation Chairman and CEO, commented, “We continue to vigilantly follow the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols to protect the health and safety of our team members and their families, while safely serving our customers. Our commitment to a Zero-Harm Safety Culture is resolute and I am proud of our team members’ rigor in following the necessary safety protocols.”
Mr. Garrison continued, “While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, global economic activity has gradually recovered but remains below pre-COVID-19 levels. In response to lower customer demand, we are closely aligning our production plans.”
Company Boards of Directors and senior executives of oil and gas companies should take notice of a May 14, 2020, guidance document issued by the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) entitled, “CSB Best Practice Guidance for Corporate Boards of Directors and Executives in the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry for Major Accident Prevention.,” And don’t be deceived by its title reference to offshore activities. Companies also need to pay mind to the guidance for onshore operations. Why? If there is an accident, government agencies will likely argue that the principles articulated apply equally as well on dry land.
Why issue guidance now? The guidance comes at the 10-year anniversary of one of the most significant offshore explosions in history—the Deepwater Horizon explosion that occurred in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore of Louisiana. The symbolic step of issuing the guidance just one week ahead of the 10 year anniversary of the May 20, 2010, Macondo blowout, fire, and explosion was surely intended to bring additional attention to its release.
The guidance focuses on boards of directors’ and executives’ roles in ensuring implementation of effective safety management systems to manage risks of major accidents properly. The guidance points to a recent industry report [1] noting that process safety is one of the least discussed topics at corporate board meetings. Clearly, the CSB perceives this to be a sign that top-level management at oil and gas companies are not paying enough attention to these issues.
NBAF UPDATE | Safety is fundamental to our success themercury.com/opinion/n…
At a world-class science facility with a large animal biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory like the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), establishing a safety culture across all areas is one of USDA’s highest priorities.
Safety is a responsibility of every NBAF employee. We have hired teams of professionals who are dedicated to planning and facilitating all our safety efforts and others focused specifically on safety in our biocontainment labs. We also have established the NBAF Safety Committee comprised of volunteers across the organization to assist in education and awareness campaigns and ensure everyone at all levels has a voice in safety. These teams are essential to NBAF’s mission, but we want to incorporate a safety culture throughout NBAF, not just within a few critical groups.
We are working hard to develop that culture before the facility even opens. For example, we start every meeting of five or more people with a brief safety presentation — even virtual meetings. The topics range from the expected themes like biological risk safety practices and animal handling to general tips about weather safety and good health practices. Employee responses to these discussions have been overwhelmingly positive.
True cause of Grosvenor explosion must be found www.miragenews.com/true-caus…
The real cause of the explosion that rocked Grosvenor mine and severely injured five underground coal miners on 6 May must be fully understood before solutions are proposed, the Miners’ Union said today.
Initial findings released by Anglo American into the event have not addressed key questions about gas levels in the lead up to the explosion, adequacy of ventilation and the source of ignition, said CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland President Stephen Smyth.
“It is a distraction for Anglo American to put forward proposals about technical fixes when we still don’t understand what caused the event.
“It is critical that all evidence is gathered before the mine is sealed.
“The whole underground mining community deserves to know whether unsafe conditions were being tolerated at Grosvenor in the lead-up to the May 6 explosion.
“As the largest underground coal mine operator in Queensland, the question of safety culture and standards at Anglo operations is critical.
“We will only understand that by careful examination of conditions in the weeks and months leading up to the explosion.
See which Utah businesses are pledging to Stay Safe to Stay Open
The Salt Lake Chamber launched the statewide campaign, Stay Safe to Stay Open, in partnership with the Utah Department of Health, to change the safety culture of business and its interaction with customers in the community.
Businesses and consumers needed a solution to the problem of remaining safe and open during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to provide guidance that can be enduring despite the phase or state of the economic recovery.
The Utah Leads Together plan calls for creating a pledge and seal of approval that businesses could display in their establishments to announce that they are following state public health protocols. Stay Safe to Stay Open businesses take a pledge at stayopenutah.com to receive signage for their establishments that allow customers to know that they are following best practices to protect employees and consumers.
7 Ways to Improve Construction Safety Culture During a Pandemic
But Schlouch Incorporated’s successful construction safety culture didn’t happen overnight. It has been built with intentional consistency through years of experience.
“I like the book ‘Outliers,’ which talks about putting your 10,000 hours in before you get good at something,” Schlouch says. “I really believe in that.”
It’s a philosophy that Schlouch has relied on throughout his life, from his early days as a construction laborer at age 19 to starting his own company at 25 — in order to meet your goals, you need to purposefully work at it.
“Safety is often baked in as assumed, and it’s not assumed,” Schlouch says. “It is a constant that must be delivered every day, a block-and-tackle effort to really work safe.”
Two years after founding Schlouch Incorporated, he says he had a life-changing experience that permanently affected his views about construction safety.
Chinese wind player joins Global Wind Organisation
China General Nuclear Power Group’s wind subsidiary has joined the Global Wind Organisation (GWO).
As well as joining the safety organisation CGN Wind Power has invested in its own GWO-certified training centre in Tianjin.
The centre will provide safety and technical training for the company’s growing workforce and other third parties from the wind energy supply chain. CGN Wind Power has installed over 14GW of capacity to date and will commit to using GWO standards for its workforce where appropriate.
GWO members collaborate to develop and set minimum standards for safety and technical training.
The training is delivered by large employers like CGN Wind Power as well as a network of more than 350 independent certified training providers in more than 40 countries around the world.
Almost 90,000 people had a valid GWO training record by 31 December 2019.
Shuting Kang, executive vice president at CGN’s training department, said: “Safety is our priority and we take great pride in giving our employees the correct training to keep them safe at work.
“Now, by joining Global Wind Organisation, CGNWP can make a meaningful contribution for our whole industry’s safety culture, helping to embed safe work practices and standards in China and across the world.”