What does the coronavirus mean for the fire safety sector?
For risk management professionals the Coronavirus Emergency has prompted myriad concerns to seek out practical solutions on the hoof in a fast-moving national crisis, both on a micro level and a macro level. Informed grassroots pragmatism aside, however, we should be reminded that for more than a decade the NFCC (National Fire Chiefs Council) has been developing their strategic intentions for the fire and rescue services in the event of a flu pandemic.
Emergency preparedness for such a crisis as this, of course, has been a dominant responsibility of the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat from which stems the framework for National Resilience to advise community planners, local emergency responders and local business continuity plans. So, too, the British armed services has its own dedicated DFR (Defence, Fire and Rescue) – a single, integrated, regionally based fire risk management organisation.
These are the national strategists. At the micro level of community safety, which concerns all hands-on risk management practitioners at the workface, the following topical viewpoints will be found, we trust, instructive.
Seeing how other chemists do their work can be an eye-opening experience, in more ways than one
Seeing how other chemists do their work can be an eye-opening experience, in more ways than one
[Mineworkers want mining firms to heighten safety standards to prevent coronavirus spread] (www.myjoyonline.com/business/…}
The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress says it is deeply concerned by the novel coronavirus pandemic and its potential consequences on the health and safety of its members.
GMWU said the operational and business implications of the disruption caused by the pandemic for mining companies and the industry at large is also a major source of concern.
“The Union notes the bold and concrete steps taken by the Government of Ghana so far in response to the fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus and wish to commend the Government especially the President for the show of leadership.
“The Union also commends all employers, our social partners, within the mining industry for proactively developing response measures targeted at preventing the spread of the virus which we now know is present on our soil,” General Secretary of the Union, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, said in a press release issued on Thursday.
CHIRP Maritime Releases Annual Digest
The Digest contains a summary of reports and insight articles covering a broad spectrum of maritime disciplines and was published thanks to the generous donations of 17 sponsors from the international maritime community.
“The reports this year are as varied as ever, but some are sadly familiar,” says editor Captain Alan Loynd. “Basic mistakes are still being made, despite our efforts. In an era when young seafarers may not always have more experienced colleagues to guide and monitor them at all times, we offer a means for them to learn from the mistakes of others and absorb the lessons which may help them to avoid making the same mistakes.”
He continues: “We firmly believe everyone who works at sea deserves to return safely to their family at the end of their tour of duty. This should be the ambition of every ship manager, every administrator and everyone else who supervises the business of shipping, but there is still a long way to go. Seafarers’ lives matter, but there are still people who do not fully embrace a safety culture.”
The Digest has sections on human factors, deck safety, engineering, pilotage, navigation and safety culture and includes examples from commercial shipping, yachts and fishing vessels.
How Skogen’s Festival Foods Created an Award-Winning Food Safety Culture
At our 2020 Midwinter Executive Conference, we honored Skogen’s Festival Foods with the FMI Food Safety Innovation Award. Festival Foods has demonstrated a responsibility to strengthening its food safety culture using a multi-pronged approach. It understands food safety is critical to its business operations and has worked to integrate food safety practices within its overall business strategy. Festival Foods sees the value in technologies, programs, education and initiatives that help move the food safety and regulatory needle forward.
A Multi-Prong Food Safety Program “With the multi-pronged approach, we focus on technology and data collection, internal food safety culture, education, and continued collaboration and partnership with our state and local regulators,” said Festival Foods’ Stephanie Teclaw, quality assurance & regulatory affairs manager. “By focusing our efforts in these areas, we are better aligned to be able to detect and prevent issues in our operations, develop and foster a strong food safety culture that begins at the top, and build partnerships with our regulators that allow for progressive change forward.”
‘Weak engineering management’ led to Columbia Gas disaster, federal prosecutors say
Columbia Gas of Massachusetts on Monday formally took blame for failing to safeguard against overpressurization that it long knew could lead to “a dangerous and catastrophic” event like the explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley in 2018 — and killed an 18-year-old.
Columbia president Mark Kempic took the witness stand in US District Court, swore an oath, and told the judge he was pleading guilty to a criminal felony charge, on behalf of the company, because it was guilty of reckless disregard and flagrant indifference to minimum safety standards.
The guilty plea, along with a $53 million fine and a promise to leave the state were among the conditions of a negotiated plea bargain designed to bring legal resolution to a community still reeling from the disaster.
Leonel Rondon, 18, was killed in the blasts that overtook Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover in September 2018.
Flames and explosions forced residents and business owners from their properties; 131 buildings were destroyed.
It all was avoidable, federal prosecutors said.
The company failed to monitor for overpressurization or heed warnings, and it knew at least one inexperienced field engineer was in over his head, federal prosecutor Neil Gallagher said.
The company’s reliance on inconsistent and outdated records and maps, along with lack of communication demonstrated “weak engineering management,” he said.
National Safety Day 2020 successfully concludes in Bengaluru
Against this landscape, this one-day power-packed confex, which was themed - ‘Shaping the Future of Occupational SafetyHealth’ debated, deliberated and emphasized the importance of safety of industrial workers and zero accident in factories. The topics included - Ergonomics Risk Assessment, Safe Handling of Boilers, Major Fire Incidents in Factories, Hazardous Materials HandlingSafety in Transportation, Chemicals Accidents, Redefining Safety Metrics for Construction Sites, panel discussions on The Leader’s Role in Enhancing Safety Culture and Enforcement of Legal Mandate on Occupational Safety - Key Challenges and Responsibilities.
(Task Force To Tackle Gas Policy Implementation Irregularities) [http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2020/03/09/task-force-to-tackle-gas-policy-implementation-irregularities/]
The Rivers Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Dr Peter Medee has said that the state government will soon inaugurate a gas monitoring task Force in the state to complement the effort of the federal government in compliance to the new task policy introduced by the Department of Petroleum Resources. (DPR) The commissioner disclosed this during a technical workshop organised by the department of petroleum resources (DPR) for LPG Depot operators and gas users in Rivers State at the Horlikin Events Centre in Port Harcourt recently. The Commissioner said, “in realisation of the significant role and benefits of the state, especially in safety culture, monitoring and elimination of sharp practices in the LPG Depot operators, the Rivers State government will soon set up a gas monitoring task force, as an effort to complement the activities of the DPR and the security agencies to enhance effective management system in the implementation of the new gas policy in Rivers State.” The commissioner said the Committee when constituted, will help to enhance the implementation of the new policies by checking some infiltrations and irregularities.
Roadmap to accreditation outlined at Opportunities for Safety session
Ontario construction employers now have significant new opportunities to improve their safety culture and receive rewards and recognition, contractors learned recently at an educational forum hosted by the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) and the League of Champions.
The event, held in Mississauga Feb. 12, was billed as Opportunities for Safety: An Introduction to the New Ontario Safety Programs.
Safety incentives provided by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MOLTSD) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Bureau (WSIB) have changed, the contractors were told. The event featured presentations on Supporting Ontario’s Safe Employer Program (SOSE), the Health and Safety Excellence Program, and COR (Certificate of Recognition) 2020 to show where they fit on the roadmap to accreditation.
How Old Ammunition Gone Bad Nearly Blew up This American Aircraft Carrier
Key Point: Older bombs, bad storage and handling, along with human error can cause big problems. Thankfully the USS Forrestal was not lost, but many lives were.
Two deadly collisions involving U.S. Navy destroyers in June and August 2017 may have cost the lives of up to sixteen sailors, leading the Navy to declare a day-long operational pause to reflect upon its safety culture. That such similar accidents took place in such close proximity reflects stresses and failings common to the maritime fighting branch.
In the 1960s, the Navy also suffered a series of deadly accidents aboard its carriers. In their wake came major reforms addressing the inherent dangers of operating ships packed full of explosive munitions, fuel and jet planes. This three-part series will examine why each of the accidents occurred, how the crew responded and the lessons that were drawn from the tragedies.
Transportation Veteran Flynn to Succeed Anderson at Amtrak www.railwayage.com/passenger…
“Bill is a leader in Safety Management Systems and building a safety culture. The Board affirms that safety is our No. 1 priority. In selecting our next CEO, the Board felt strongly that our next executive leader needed to have experience in leading a culture change to support Safety Management Systems (SMS). Under Bill’s leadership, Atlas fully implemented the FAA Safety Management System well ahead of schedule, and consistently rated well in operational and safety audits.
New measures in place to boost safety in SAF: Safety chief
Mr Charles Chong (Punggol East) had asked for an update on the IGO’s work, if training safety in the SAF has improved since the office was set up, and additional safety measures introduced.
Asked about efforts to build a strong safety culture, BG Tan said in a phone interview with reporters last week that one of the challenges was ensuring safety consistently over different batches of conscripts, including NSmen who serve only a few weeks in a year.
He said surveys with both active and NS units found that units that embedded safety into their daily routine are usually the ones with the strongest safety culture, and by extension, a strong safety record.
Parliament: Military training poses risk, but Singapore must never give up on national service, says Ng Eng Hen
Parliament: SAF must aim for zero fatality, says Ng Eng Hen
Look back 2019: Aloysius Pang’s death ignited public debate on training safety in SAF “So what we have done at the SAF level is really push the services and the units to institutionalise safety as part of the units’ daily routine,” he said.
(https://www.unlv.edu/news/accomplishments/soumya-upadhyay-7)
Soumya Upadhyay (Health Care Administration) recently published “Hospital Staffing Patterns and Safety Culture Perceptions: The Mediating Role of Perceived Teamwork and Perceived Handoffs” in the Health Care Management Review, a recognized journal in the health care management field.
Let us toast to major SGR safety milestone
In Kenya, Africa Star Railway Operation Company (Afristar), has just marked 1,000 Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) safety days. That this is a key milestone in SGR operations cannot be gainsaid. For starters, Afristar had operated Kenya’s SGR safely for 1,000 days as at February 24, 2020. The company has inculcated a railway safety culture among staff through evaluation of employee adherence to safety regulations and procedures, performance appraisals, bonuses and promotions based on performance appraisal results and rewarding safety champions quarterly and annually. So far, 10 employees have been recognised as safety champions and another 27 awarded certificates for emerging winners in the Afristar Technical Skills competitions among SGR staff members. Safety culture can generally be described as ‘what the organisation does’ with respect to safety.
Building a safer world: Jacobs event to tackle construction risks
Professional services firm Jacobs yesterday brought together stakeholders from across the construction supply chain for its inaugural Safety Symposium at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
With 150,000 people working in construction in Ireland and the sector experiencing annual growth of 10pc, the event emphasised how a sustainable safety culture is critical to keeping people safe.
The symposium featured presentations and panel discussions from leading experts including Health and Safety Authority CEO Dr Sharon McGuinness, Jacobs global head of safety Catriona Schmolke, and culture manager Europe Tom Parsons who plays GAA for Mayo.
“Construction workplace deaths more than doubled last year from five to 12, and there really is no room for complacency,” said Dr McGuinness.
Nurses Want to Participate in Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs but Often Don’t Feel Welcome
Nurses think they should play a professional role in antimicrobial stewardship (AS) programs, but a culture of safety at hospitals that focuses on other kinds of providers often hinders nurse involvement. Investigators with Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, and the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, used a cross-sectional survey to gather data at 9 hospitals, ranging in size from 42 to 562 beds serving both pediatric and adult patients in 2 different metropolitan areas.
The study, in the American Journal of Infection Control, draws on data collected from 558 nurses and includes comments from 91 nurses with 50 statements saying that **the primary barrier to AS programs are organizational factors that included a perceived lack of a safety culture. **
When they were asked about what support they received to participate in AS programs, 43% and 27.3% of respondents said that they received encouragement from nursing leaders and physician prescribers respectively.
“Nurses identified the top engagement strategies as formal educational offerings, empowerment techniques to enhance communication, and soliciting nurse input in antibiotic use discussions,” the study states. “Whereas nurses expressed a desire to participate in stewardship processes, a lack of knowledge, safety culture, and poorly defined roles limited their ability to steward. Ninety percent of nurses reported at least one barrier to stewardship, although 95% perceived that they functioned as stewards.”
Architects regret Ministry did not consult on new measures KOTA KINABALU: Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) regrets that the Human Resource Ministry has submitted the proposed new regulations to expand the responsibility for construction workers’ safety to include developers and designers to the Attorney General’s Chambers without prior engagement and input from construction industry professionals and stakeholders. …Tay said PAM suggests that both building industry and relevant authorities consider these larger factors that can help increase site safety culture and practice on building sites and improve the morale and well-being of workers in construction industry: Improve poor working and housing conditions for workers that contribute to low morale and work ethics. To improve site housekeeping practices, especially protection of work in progress, for example, when poured concrete is not yet set and work is suspended or abandoned suddenly during sudden heavy rainstorms. This is often a cause of site accidents and it is to be noted that the recent building collapse at Taman Desa happened during a heavy storm. Review current immigration policy to encourage retention of certified and experienced foreign workers who may go on to become knowledgeable supervisors, now grossly lacking in the market. Workers who have accumulated building experience working in Malaysia, are often not allowed to extend their work permit beyond 10 years. The contractors all-risk Insurance compensation for the death of workers should be increased from the current RM18,500 workman compensation for the death of a worker.
Safety culture is an important key to successful safety performance in the aircraft ground handling environment. The East Asia region has distinctive cultural peculiarities that require specific organization safety culture promotion initiatives.
According to KH Kwak, Swissport Korea’s head of quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) and training, there are some cultural traits that may increase the fear of repercussion throughout the ground handling industry in the Far East and other parts of Asia. These cultural features include respect for the rules, team and group culture, respect for superiors and the concept of “keeping face.”
“Asians may not actively express their thoughts or opinions compared to people of other continents. This phenomenon can be seen as a result of rigid up-and-down relationships among employees. However, many Asian countries have tried to solve these problems not only in the ground handling industry but also in various other fields,” says Jaeseong Lim, CEO of UBjet Aviation. “Also, Asian VIPs usually set great store by formality and escort service. Conversely, CIQ [China Inspection and Quarantine] officers are not cooperative to businesspeople. They are reluctant to provide a private jet’s passengers with special convenience, based on the idea that it’s unfair to give privileges to some people, even to corporate executives, as they are same with passengers who take a commercial flight. So, providing a seamless service for the passengers is difficult sometimes.”
Weigh in on WSU’s health and safety culture
In recent years, WSU has placed a renewed emphasis on integrating health and safety into all phases of our operations. Help us evaluate our progress toward a safer, healthier workplace by completing a short survey.
The Washington Department of Enterprise Services’ Risk Management Office in Olympia is requesting that all employees at Washington institutions of higher education, including WSU, complete the online safety survey. The results will help WSU evaluate its health and safety programs and improve our safety culture.
THE SURVEY CLOSES FRIDAY, FEB. 21 AT 4 P.M.
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.
Health secretary welcomes finding that NHS staff ‘happier than last year’
The latest NHS Staff Survey has stated that its employees are happier and more likely to recommend where they work than last year.
The 2019 survey was issued to over 1.1 million staff across 300 NHS organisations within England.
Health secretary Matt Hancock described ‘every area of morale’ as increasing.
Matt Hancock ✔ @MattHancock Brilliant that NHS staff are happier and more likely to recommend where they work than last year: www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/Page/1085… …
Embedded video 381 3:32 PM - Feb 18, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 1,225 people are talking about this Themes and questions included equality; wellbeing; quality of appraisals; safety culture; level of pay and managers’ support in ‘personal crises’.
Mr Hancock said the findings feed into the Government’s ‘plans to make the NHS the very best place to work’ but also acknowledged that ‘levels of bullying and harassment are too high’.
In December last year, The Gin Guild produced a safety poster for distillers to highlight the dangers of handling ethanol solutions.
Created in collaboration with not‐for‐profit organisation the Solvents Industry Association (SIA), the guide was created in light of the increased numbers of “new and often comparatively inexperienced distillers”.
The guide was also aimed at ‘gin schools’ – particularly those using micro‐pot stills, some with open flames.
Speaking to The Spirits Business last month, Bombay Sapphire master distiller Anne Brock said: “There’s a huge interest in gin and I think one of the issues that we have is that people drink gin and it’s a safe liquid.
“Therefore, consumers don’t associate dangers with it. It’s something they use on a regular basis and in their gin and tonics at home. It’s very much about getting the message out that distilling can be safe but you have to take precaution.”
She added: “I think we need to educate a safety culture across the industry. This first step that The Gin Guild has taken is crucial and very important but we need to keep moving forward from here and making sure we continue to educate and make people aware of the dangers.”
TOPS aiming for stronger safety culture across air tour sector
Under this portion of the program, TOPS will give these part 91 operators 24 months before they will be officially audited. In the first year, the part 91 operators will have a mentor (an existing TOPS member) that they can turn to during the process of writing their own operations manual. At the end of the first year, Rose said an auditor will look at each operator and their manual, and perform a gap analysis that compares what is written in the manual to what the operator is executing.
He added: “The second year is where you get things going and start practicing what you preach. So at the end of the second year [the part 91 operator] would be audited to their own manual. And no two of those manuals will be exactly the same, but it still gives them a reference [and] a way of implementing safety practices that we consider basic.
“And the goal here … is this is a culture change. And culture doesn’t change overnight, it changes over generations. Each pilot that comes in [to a company] changes the culture. So we should start influencing a pilot’s strong safety culture from their first day in flight school.”
Rose believes that for consumers, when it comes to choosing a reputable helicopter company for an air tour, “the TOPS membership is a guarantee that [air tour] operators are doing things the right way; they’re taking the extra step and doing things as safely as possible.”
Actively Engaging Employees Using Five Pillars of Safety
Safety culture is the shared beliefs, experiences, attitudes and passions of a group of people. A world-class safety culture in a work environment is a way of life and a belief to send all employees safely back home every day—and in the process, help the company make money, showing to senior executives that safety makes good business sense. It is an outstanding safety culture that proactively manages employee and business safety decision-making. It is an environment that allows management and employees to make decisions based on what is the right thing to do both for safety and running the business. If you do the right thing, money will flow. Business will run profitably.
World-class safety is like beauty. It is difficult to describe but you know it when you see it. At one of the printing plants with which I was associated, the ventilation system broke down in the ink room. Rather than continue to run the ink mixing operation that created a lot of vapors, the GM shut down the printing operation until the ventilation system was fixed. That is a world-class safety culture.
NBC 10 I-Team: Defense against road rage
The AAA Foundation conducts a traffic safety culture index, which includes specific questions about aggressive driving and road rage.
95 million drivers admit to yelling at another driver. 91 million say they’ve honked their horn. 67 million drivers admit to making angry gestures, while 49 million say they’ve tried to block another driver from changing lanes.
“So many, unfortunately, view driving as a competition, a timed competition, how many car lengths can I get in front of that other vehicle,” said Imondi, who added that drivers in the northeast have experienced even higher percentages.