Volvo Wants To See Road Safety Inequality Addressed Globally /Volvo would like UN delegates to address a large inequality in road safety, as official data shows a significant gap in the number of traffic fatalities between developed and developing countries.

Every year, an estimated 1.35 million people lose their lives in traffic accidents, with the World Health Organization (WHO) claiming that traffic fatalities are three times more likely to happen in developing countries than developed ones.

“Global data shows that there is a significant inequality in road safety,” said Volvo Safety exec Malin Ekholm. “Those safety gaps need to be addressed through technology, but also by creating and enhancing a global safety culture. We need to understand and address the variation in seat belt usage, while infrastructure should focus on improving the safety of vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists.”

One solution, as Ekholm suggests, would be for countries to promote safety belt usage by introducing and enforcing seat-belt laws that cover not only front passengers, but rear-seat ones as well. The problem is getting people to respect these laws, as they are often ignored even in countries where they are enforced.

EPCOR Utilities Inc. (EPCOR) today filed its annual and fourth quarter results for 2019.

“As we enter 2020 we look back on a decade of growth and transformation for the company,” Mr. Lee continued. “A decade of working to build a proactive, zero-injury safety culture has resulted in a rate of incidents that is now less than half what it was in 2009. Similarly, a diligent focus on operational excellence has resulted in improved reliability, with water main breaks and electricity interruptions in Edmonton cut nearly in half over the last ten years. Our people established and built a major utility business in the United States – first in Arizona and New Mexico, and now expanding further into Texas. In Canada, our footprint extends across four provinces, and our Energy Services team reached one million customer connections served in 2019.”

Safe truckies to be rewarded by new Victorian program

“FOR every incident involving a truck, there are dozens of examples of professional heavy vehicle drivers that live and breath safety every second they are behind the wheel and on the job.”

Those are the drivers that a new program for the transport industry that aims to unearth so the safety culture that operators enshrine within their organisations everyday can be promoted and celebrated.

That’s the view of Victorian Transport Association chief executive officer Peter Anderson, who has put his support the VTA Driver Salute program.

The program, launched by Victorian Minister for Roads, Road Safety and the TAC Jaala Pulford, acknowledges and rewards heavy vehicle operators and drivers that demonstrate best-practice safety in the course of their duties.

It is sponsored by leading truck tyre manufacturer and retailer Goodyear and Dunlop Tyres, and is powered by DriveRisk, a driver behaviour management company that uses video technology to help operators and drivers change behaviour and identify risk.

Safety EQ: Harness the Power of Emotional Intelligence

The success of any safety professional is not tied solely to the ability to conduct assessments, recite standards and regulations, or the possession of a deep technical knowledge. A successful safety professional must have this knowledge, these abilities and possess effective leadership skills to influence actions and behaviors.

What makes a CEO say yes to a high-dollar safety improvement? What makes a front-line supervisor stop and have an effective safety conversation with an employee? Perhaps most importantly, what makes an employee wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) after the safety supervisor is out of sight?

Safety professionals must possess strong technical knowledge and be skilled in the science of safety. What is missing is learning the art of safety—that skill set that helps us lead, communicate and engage employees. The single most powerful skill a safety professional can have is emotional intelligence (EQ).

Rwandan Road safety campaign taken to 20 protestant churches

The year-long national Gerayo Amahoro campaign dedicated to influencing a road safety culture was this Sunday extended to 20 other religious denominations under their umbrella ‘Protestant Council of Rwanda (PCR).’

… While addressing the congregation at Pentecost Church of Rwanda (ADEPR) in Remera, Gasabo District, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, commissioner for Public Relations and Media and Rwanda National Police (RNP) spokesperson, said that road security status requires efforts of all groups to change minds of road users on safer road usage and prevention of fatalities caused by wrong human decisions.

More than 5,000 road accidents occur in Rwanda every year killing over 500 people while other 2,000 survive with serious injuries, according to statistics.

Boeing’s New CEO Takes Control With Company’s Integrity in Doubt

The opening gambits by Boeing Co.’s new boss show the risks Dave Calhoun is willing to take to reset the deeply troubled planemaker.

Calhoun, who officially takes charge Monday, pushed to release humiliating internal messages last week even though they may darken public perception for years to come – with Boeing’s own employees suggesting rot in a once-vaunted safety culture and mocking designers and regulators on the ill-fated 737 Max. He also was heavily involved in the decision to drop Boeing’s long-held opposition to simulator training for Max pilots, said people close to the company.

Those steps are just the start as Calhoun settles into a 36th-floor suite at Boeing’s Chicago headquarters, entrusted with turning around a company that has been widely censured for its arrogance, failure to take responsibility after two crashes killed 346 people, and unrealistic estimates of when the Max would be cleared to fly again. The bungling cost former CEO Dennis Muilenburg his job, and the bad news is far from over: Boeing is expected to reveal one of the largest writedowns in its history this month along with fourth-quarter results.

“The company has a unique opportunity to get all the bad news on the table now,” said Jim Schrager, professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. “It’s time to get this right and make the turnaround.”

Why Anti-Bullying Policies Should Be Leading Indicators

To have a credible safety culture, management must be responsive to concerns of visible and hidden, verbal and non-verbal abusive conduct.

To earn credibility with employees, management must be responsive to a variety of workplace concerns.

One important worker concern is workplace bullying, or what Tennessee, California, and Utah laws refer to as “abusive conduct.”

The December 2019 issue of EHS Today covered many topics, including leading indicators, workplace violence and safety culture. Each of these is connected to an organization’s anti-bullying policies.

Many organizations do not have such policies. Some have policies but do not communicate or enforce them.

Contributing Editor David Sparkman wrote “OSHA Embraces Leading Indicators” and gave as much detail as anyone could put on a single page in the magazine. As I read about this interesting new strategy, I wondered whether OSHA and employers recognized an anti-bullying policy as a leading indicator.

Planning for patient safety: Strategic planning, goals and measurementOutlining defined goals and metrics through strategic planning prevents medical errors from reaching patients in the prehospital environment

BRINGING ORDER TO DISORDER SHOULD BE THE OBJECTIVE Setting a course for an organization that aligns with its mission, vision and values brings needed order to what would otherwise be described as disorder. Leadership plots the organization’s journey through defined processes that establish goals for the present and the future. The success of an organization depends on the leadership team consistently working with the crews to meet the defined goals utilizing defined metrics. Patient and employee safety culture is a key component.

EMS has made significant strides in organizational leadership; but not all leaders have defined and aligned plans to support their efforts. Those who have established goals which are supported by measurement, allow leaders and their teams to succeed both from a business and safety culture standpoint.

Advocates call for T control board extension

A three-member group of outside safety experts issued a report in December that blamed the absence of a strong safety culture at the T partly on turbulence at the top of the agency, particularly the high turnover of general managers. The report also criticized the control board for holding too many meetings each month and drawing the attention of top managers away from the jobs that they need to be doing.

After the release of the report, Gov. Charlie Baker promised to file legislation this month creating a successor to the control board. He said the measure would address two of the safety panel’s concerns – reducing the number of monthly meetings (current law requires three a month) and appointing one member with safety and operations experience.

Safety of Work Podcast Ep. 5 Can increasing uncertainty improve safety?

Topics:

Our safety practices are always about reducing uncertainty. The paper we’ve chosen to use for today’s discussion is Promoting Safety by Increasing Uncertainty. The paper uses major accidents to frame its arguments. Differences of opinion is a type of uncertainty. Increasing uncertainty in practice. Feeling uncomfortable with increasing uncertainty. Encouraging people to speak out.

Quotes:

“If you don’t understand the question or you don’t understand the problem well enough, then you’ve got very little chance of coming up with a good solution.”

“We need to take action that deliberately encourages introduction of contradictory information…breaking consensus, not forming consensus.”

“The responsibility is on the organization to provide the right psychological environment for people to speak up.”

Resources:

Grote, G. (2015). Promoting safety by increasing uncertainty–Implications for risk management. Safety science, 71, 71-79.

Stop labelling kids from poor backgrounds ‘unlucky no hopers’ and let them take risks says Princess Anne

Princess Anne has warned against labelling children from deprived areas as “disadvantaged” no-hopers and says we need to be more willing to let kids take risks.

The outspoken Gloucestershire Royal fears they way society relies on statistics can put children into boxes and make assumptions about their life chances based on the figures.

And the horse-loving Princess says a health and safety led culture holds children back by stopping them from developing their own natural risk-taking ability.

Leading questions: Fletcher’s Ross Taylor on restructuring, safety

Q: What was your worst job?

A: During my university holiday work one year, I was working out on a dam construction site and when the sewage treatment settlement tank pump system broke I volunteered with two others to manually dig out all the sediment. That’s a nice word for it. I got triple time for it but I know I felt at the time it really was not worth it. I am now sure it wasn’t worth it.

Q: If you could change one thing about the workplace what would it be?

A: People getting injured. If I could eliminate all safety risks, I would. But instead, we have to eliminate the belief they are unavoidable and create a safety culture that keeps all our people safe every day.

Safety Leadership: Demonstrate your personal safety ethic

One challenge leaders often have is that although they may articulate that they understand why safety is important, it can be a struggle to show that safety is authentically part of “who they are.” In other words, they have difficulty showing that it’s rooted in their personal safety ethic.

This needs to change if their organization is committed to changing its safety culture. Having a personal safety ethic means that safety is actively seen by both their leadership peers and front-line workers as a part of their agenda, and that they have the conviction to carry it out. This value for safety is perceived as transcending the traditional business culture because it has been made a priority.

So, what is a “personal safety ethic,” anyway?

A leader’s personal safety ethic is demonstrated by every action taken and not taken when it comes to safety

Always mind your safety, govt tells civil servants

The Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, has asked workers in the state civil service to always mind their safety and health at the workplace.

A statement on Wednesday said Mojola spoke at the 2019 Safety and Health Sensitisation for Civil Servants at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

The programme, with the theme, ‘Safety culture: A panacea for long life,’ was organised by the Lagos State Safety Commission.

He explained that the sensitisation was in fulfillment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s promise to prioritise the safety and health of all residents of the state.

Majola noted that a healthy worker would put in his best and improve the output of the workforce.

ICAO leaders appreciate historic contributions to African and global aviation

President Aliu also remarked on how the increasing use of drone technologies and the associated need for Unmanned Air Traffic Management Systems and Artificial intelligence in the context of emerging cybersecurity challenges was greatly increasing the complexities that agencies such as ASECNA are now confronted with, and that new and proactive approaches to human resources development would be needed.

“The airspace and aerodromes managed by ASECNA will require more and more highly trained, qualified and competent personnel in the coming years, managing many new types of aircraft and operations and at flight levels and speeds never experienced before in traditional aviation,” he noted. “And while they accomplish these significant tasks, they will also be responsible for assuring a sound safety culture and the application of the best quality management principles.”

In her remarks to the special ASECNA 60th event taking place near ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu further stressed that “a very high priority for civil aviation today concerns the capacity expansion needed in many States and Regions, in order to accommodate and safely manage the significant growth in air traffic being forecast.”

[Mr. Fix-it struggling with culture change[ (https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/mr-fix-it-struggling-with-culture-change/)

IT’S THE CULTURE of state government versus the Baker administration and the winner, by a knockout in the fifth round, is state government culture.

Think of the MBTA and the Registry of Motor Vehicles with their deeply rooted cultures of self-protection and risk avoidance.

Gov. Charlie Baker has staked a good measure of his credibility on fixing those two agencies which, unlike most state agencies, interact with a broad swath of the population in visible and critical ways.

Five years into his governorship, it is abundantly clear that the administration has seriously underestimated the task of implementing needed changes without simultaneously changing the culture of these agencies. Culture is hard to define but anyone who has worked in an organization of any size knows that culture drives the behavior of that organization and that changing that culture requires an enormous effort. At both the T and the Registry, Baker has made laudable efforts to fix longstanding problems, but those efforts, in largely ignoring the underlying cultures of those organizations, have compromised a broader public vision.

It’s not just that the shortcomings of these agencies are on public display (at the T on an almost daily basis), but in both cases recent independent reports have highlighted how the administration’s focus on certain priorities at each agency has had serious unintended consequences including, most alarmingly, for public safety.

The Unsafe Superstar At what point, if any, do needed skill sets justify safety compromises?

But there is a fly in this particular ointment. He does not like to wear safety glasses in the field, even on sites where the client has a robust safety culture. It’s not just the glasses, either. He has not yet made his 90-day probation, and you have already recorded several unsafe acts he has committed — and those are just the ones you know of. Other crew members have expressed concern, and three have said they do not want to go out into the field with him again.

You have on several occasions asked him to stop work and tell you how he can do the task more safely. His attitude was not cooperative. When you started writing him up, your boss called you into his office and told you the company really needs this guy. Then your boss said, “If you annoy him and he quits, that will cost you your job. Understood?”

So how do you resolve this dilemma? Your boss is not thinking clearly. Nobody is so important that a company can’t fire them. The new employee — superstar or not — is a liability to the firm and to himself. And now your boss is a liability, too.

Safety: all in a day’s work www.dvidshub.net/news/3540…

In addition to fire hazards and physical injuries, occupational safety applies to the environment Airmen work in. For example, Muhl described an issue with one of the aircraft hangars following safety inspections. It was potentially deemed unsafe and carried potential health risks, but closing it down was not an option. She presented her findings to leadership and they used that information to bring different units together to determine a solution. Mitigating actions were performed to bring the risk factors to the lowest level possible. Getting traction on this hangar issue and keeping it functional until a permanent solution is put into place was one of her biggest accomplishments, Muhl said.

For Muhl, safety is important because it prevents the unintentional loss of manpower and resources.

“We’re not here to get you in trouble, we’re here to help,” Muhl said. “We must promote a safe culture. I’m not trying to make your job harder or put any more requirements on you that aren’t already there. I just want you to use risk management and really think about what you’re doing and whether it’s the safest approach.”

Hospital Administrators Need to Put Patient Safety Above Profits, Health Expert Argues

Millenson: “As a study of clinician overconfidence in infection control delicately concluded, providers ‘do not recognize the need for training [for themselves] but express this need for others.’ In that context, we perhaps should not be surprised that 40% of respondents to a recent nationwide survey’ on hospital safety culture agreed that ‘hospital management seems interested in patient safety only after an adverse event happens.’”

Millenson acknowledges some push-back, noting that the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America in 2007 made the case that its members didn’t just add to costs but that there’s a genuine “business case for infection control. A dozen years later, infection control specialists still feel they need ‘an administrative champion,’” Millenson writes.

Opito sees a world of difference

These are poised to dramatically improve safety and productivity in our industry by helping people through personalised behavioural and psychological programmes that meet their emotional, mental, and physical needs.

Like Nasa, Opito are on a mission. Ours is to continue to optimise the energy industry’s global safety culture and ensure a skilled workforce for the future. We are driving this through industry-wide initiatives such as the Energy Skills Alliance, which met for the first time last month and also through our excellent employer and delivery partner networks – the training providers – across the world.

In 2020, we’ll continue working together to ensure innovation and developing technologies are used as effectively as possible in the delivery of learning and competence assessment.

‘California deserves better.’ Gavin Newsom rips PG&E plan that would ‘prioritize’ profits

The letter was extraordinary in part because PG&E has yet to actually release its new board of directors slate. Previously, the company has promised to replace at least five of 10 current board members to restore “trust and credibility” and improve its safety culture.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., responding to Newsom’s letter, said: “We understand and recognize the serious concerns expressed by the Governor and share the Governor’s urgency for action. We recognize the importance of adding perspectives to the Board that will bring about the right changes in safety, as well as help address the serious operational and financial challenges the business faces now and in the future.”

PG&E in late January after saying its liabilities from the 2017 and 2018 wildfires could hit $30 billion. The bankruptcy filing has prompted speculation that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. could be forced to sell off major parts of its business to repay its creditors. At the same time, the Public Utilities Commission and state legislators are wrestling with how to ensure that wildfire survivors are made whole but utility rates are kept in check.

How fast casual workers can avoid 3 common injuries

While many employers assume everyone understands how to protect themselves from injury, having a formal employee safety training program and developing a positive safety culture should be part of every fast casual restaurant’s operations plan. Some workers’ compensation insurance carriers offer their policyholders 24-hour access to an injured employee-hotline that connects injured workers with registered nurses who can provide guidance in real time over the phone.

[Harmony Gold reduces losses, vows to put miner safety first]

(https://howebusinessdaily.com/2019/11/11/fin24-com-harmony-gold-reduces-losses-vows-to-put-miner-safety-first/)

Commenting on the financial year, Chief Executive Officer Peter Steenkamp extended condolences for the lost lives in mining accidents and reiterated goals to ensure a safe work environment. The lives of 11 employees were lost during the year.

“I wish to extend my personal, heartfelt condolences to the families, colleagues and friends of the employees who lost their lives in mining accidents in FY19.

“Together with each and every employee, my aim is to ensure safe production, by preventing fatalities and embedding a proactive safety culture. It is important that every employee returns home each day – both safe and healthy,” he said.

For the year ahead, Harmony intends to focus on “safe, profitable production,” he added. “Value – rather than volume – will translate to shareholder returns in the long term,” Steenkamp said.

Safety leadership at every level

Establishing and maintaining health and safety in the workplace requires genuine commitment from an organisation – and that starts with your leaders. Ai Group explains. … A safety journey and positive safety culture is not reliant upon one person, it involves the entire business. A vision where safety is valued, enforced, and acted on daily is necessary. Valuing coming to work and working safely is a responsibility everyone should have regardless of business size, culture, gender, and industry.

To Err is Human

For this reason, both the FAA and the aviation community are constantly looking for ways to eliminate these problems entirely wherever possible. That’s the context for work that the FAA does in our CAST (Civil Aviation Safety Team) and GAJSC (General Aviation Joint Steering Committee) partnerships with the aviation community. It is also a fundamental premise of the FAA’s Compliance Program, which recognizes that we should never “waste a mistake” by punishing people who are trying to comply with regulations and risk management principles. Rather, the Compliance Program seeks to enable both the FAA and the aviation community to use unintentional deviations to learn what went wrong, identify the root cause, and develop a sustainable fix that makes the entire National Airspace System (NAS) safer.

spark.adobe.com/page/ixSt…

GeneralAviation Government