www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/…
While establishing a strong food safety culture is often a critically important task for the food safety team to lead, there is an important role for the human resources (HR) department to play as well.
In addition to screening for and cultivating employees who support food safety, HR plays a crucial role in opening the lines of communication about food safety within the organization and effectively communicating organizational food safety expectations across the organization. Their involvement in establishing and fostering a strong food safety culture cannot be overlooked.
By first partnering with HR to prioritize food safety through the hiring process, they can serve as highly visible leaders in the development and maintenance of your food safety culture.
For instance, when HR understands the importance of food safety culture, that will be reflected in the way they work with new hires. By also beneficially explaining the “why” behind food safety practices, they can play a significant role in cultivating food safety among employees from day one, while then nourishing those beliefs across the organization.
www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/New…
NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD, Portsmouth, Va. –
Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) Occupational Safety and Health Specialist (Code 106.24) Michelle Johnson is a champion for women on the waterfront. As the shipyard’s waterfront ombudsman, Johnson has put in countless hours to make America’s Shipyard a more inclusive workplace. “I assist women in the shipyard with everyday issues they encounter on the waterfront,” said Johnson. “By helping to eliminate any barriers women may face when performing their jobs or trying to grow in their careers, I am able to help women advance in the workplace.”
Johnson has been at NNSY for more than 30 years. She started her career at NNSY in 1986 after graduating high school, following in her father’s footsteps. “I am a second-generation shipyard worker; my father was one of the first Navy nuclear welders here at NNSY. I saw that he made enough money to support a family all while supporting the Navy and its mission. I figured, why not go into the apprenticeship and learn a trade myself so I could do the same,” said Johnson.
When Johnson began her career, the shipyard was far from the more inclusive workplace she sees today. “When I first came to NNSY, there were urinals in the women’s restrooms,” she said.
Today, Johnson is the shipyard’s Safety Deficiency Report (SDR) Program Manager. In this role, she tracks all safety deficiencies on a Combined Deficiency Backlog that is shared with all codes and posted on NNSY’s WebCentral. She communicates with building monitors and safety advocates from various codes to help abate deficiencies in their spaces.
Johnsons’ supervisor, NNSY Hazard Abatement and Analysis Branch Head (Code 106.24) Stephanie Twine said, “Michelle is a hard worker, team player, exhibits C.O.R.E. values in everyday work and is extremely dedicated. She enjoys working with codes and shops at NNSY to enhance the safety culture through communication and knowledge sharing. She is a true asset to Code 106 and to the whole shipyard!”
www.punjabnewsexpress.com/punjab/ne…
CHANDIGARH: A Seminar on ‘Advanced Traffic Management Systems and Road Safety in Punjab’ was organized by the Lead Agency to the Punjab State Road Safety Council (PRSC) at Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), Sector-26, Chandigarh. Road safety and Traffic management professionals and experts from all over India participated in the seminar as Guest Speakers. While giving the opening remarks Principal Secretary Transport K. Siva Prasad said “it’s high time for action to bring Road Safety culture and strict implementation to save precious human lives” and Director General, Lead Agency, Road Safety R. Venkat Ratnam said “we want to bring Road Safety Culture in Punjab through active participation of all stakeholders such as Engineering, Health, Traffic management, NGOs and People of Punjab and make a lasting contribution to road safety in the State.” Dr SS Chauhan ADGP Traffic stressed the importance of advanced and electronic enforcement in the State. Dr. Navdeep Asija, Traffic Advisor Punjab has put the light on current scenario of Road Safety in Punjab. Sanjay Goel, Chairman IIA Punjab Chapter has talked about the Smart Solutions for Traffic Management. On the other hand, Shabeer Mohammad, CEO, Sherwood Technocrats and Consultants Private Limited and Road Safety Communications expert has sensitized the participants about Road Safety Management. Swantantra Kumar also expressed his views on this occasion.
A local advocacy group for inshore harvesters is calling DFO’s decision not to extend the halibut fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence a “damning indictment” of the federal department’s safety culture.
That’s according to Merv Wiseman, an outspoken search and rescue advocate and member of SEA-NL.
SEA-NL says many harvesters were unable to catch their quotas in the area due to poor weather.
Wiseman says DFO is essentially telling harvesters if they don’t go to sea because of bad weather, they’ll lose their fish.
He says “putting extra pressure on fishermen to make decisions contrary to safety is a recipe for disaster” that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have seen play out “too many times.”
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s division of marketing and development is one of the leaders in the United States in implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule.
In fact, the department has conducted 225 on-farm inspections and 95 on-farm readiness reviews so far this year.
“The department also performs USDA GAP/GHP, Harmonized, and Harmonized Plus audits. These audits review food-safety plans, records, documentation, procedures and practices of farms, storages, and distribution centers of fresh produce,” said NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher.
“In any year, the department performs over 300 audits and inspections throughout the state,” he said.
The NJDA, in cooperation with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, The Northeast Center for Advanced Food Safety, FDA, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, continues to develop educational and outreach programs to educate the produce industry on food safety.
www.neimagazine.com/news/news…
he draft statement concludes environmental and socioeconomic impacts from renewing the operating licence for 40 years would be small for most environmental resource areas, with small to moderate impacts primarily in groundwater on the plant site. The report details measures Westinghouse has implemented under a consent agreement with South Carolina to mitigate the effects of spills during past operations, and two new licence conditions regarding environmental monitoring to monitor, mitigate, and prevent future contamination. Comments will be accepted until 20 September. The NRC staff intends to hold a public meeting during the comment period to present its findings and accept comments. In 2017, NRC issued a confirmatory order to Westinghouse after the discovery in May 2016 of accumulated uranium-bearing material at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility. NRC said it would not issue a civil penalty or cite the company for violations because of the commitments Westinghouse had made under the order. The accumulation of uranium-bearing material in a scrubber system, which is designed to remove unwanted material from a number of plant processes, had been discovered by plant employees during an annual maintenance shutdown at the facility. Analysis of the material indicated that the scrubber contained the equivalent of about 100kg of uranium, exceeding the mass limit of 29kg set in its criticality safety evaluation. The scrubber, which had already been returned to service by the time the analysis was completed, was shut down again. NRC’s confirmatory action letter outlined Westinghouse’s commitments to ensure the causes of the uranium build-up were adequately identified and evaluated, and to implement appropriate corrective actions to improve the performance of its nuclear criticality safety programme. Some of those actions had already been completed and others had been incorporated into the new confirmatory order. “Under the order, Westinghouse has taken and agreed to take a number of corrective actions, including a survey of the safety culture among employees at the site, improvements and modifications to scrubbers and other systems to minimise the likelihood of a similar accumulation, and development of additional methods to provide early indications of abnormal accumulations,” NRC said at the time.
Dozens of people have been given ultra-low doses of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 due to an error at a Brisbane immunisation centre.
Sixty-six people have been contacted by Queensland Health on Wednesday, after the error was made at Kippa Ring Vaccination Centre before 9.30am on Saturday.
It is believed among the 66 people, six of them received the ultra-low dose. They are not yet identified.
“The Pfizer vaccine requires a process of preparation where saline is added to the vaccine vial and withdrawn to make up to six syringes,” Queensland Health said in a statement.
“An initial review indicated one vial was used twice, meaning the doses drawn on the second use were over-diluted.
File image of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines after dilution. File image of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines after dilution. Credit: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images “The error occurred within the first hour and a half of the clinic opening and immediate action was taken.
“Unfortunately there is no ability to trace which six of the first 66 patients through the vaccination clinic were given the ultra-low dose.”
The authority will work with all potential recipients of the low dose to attempt to get them to the optimal immunity level, however it’s not believed an ultra-low dose is harmful.
“I am incredibly sorry for any distress this has caused to those 66 people and their families. We will, of course, be supporting every single person impacted,” Metro North Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman Jackie Hanson said.
“I am incredibly grateful we have good safety culture at Metro North and that the error was picked up quickly as a result of those safeguards.”
Disaster nearly struck the International Space Station last week when a Russian module unexpectedly fired its thrusters shortly after docking. A retired space engineer is now sounding the alarm, saying NASA’s safety culture is showing signs of decay and that an independent investigation is necessary.
James Oberg is not one to hold back.
The retired “rocket scientist” and mission controller worked at NASA from 1975 to 1997, where he served as an expert on orbital rendezvous. His expansive knowledge of the Russian and Chinese space programs has led him to testify before Congress on several occasions, and his 2002 book, Star-Crossed Orbits, exposed the shortcomings that existed in the U.S.-Russian relationship while the ISS was under development.
Naturally, the recent incident with the ISS caught Oberg’s attention, prompting him to write a guest post for IEEE Spectrum.
Related Stories NASA’s Year-Long Simulated Mission to Mars Would Probably Kick Your Ass Launch of Boeing’s Starliner Delayed Indefinitely Due to Vexing Technical Glitch SpaceX Starship Stacking Produces the Tallest Rocket Ever Built “While the proximate cause of the incident is still being unravelled, there are worrisome signs that NASA may be repeating some of the lapses that lead to the loss of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles and their crews,” he wrote. “And because political pressures seem to be driving much of the problem, only an independent investigation with serious political heft can reverse any erosion in safety culture.”
MARTA, GDOT, and OSHA are all involved in a brawl over MARTA’s safety culture.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Authority) are at loggerheads over the results of a recent safety investigation and report by the GDOT on alleged safety violations at MARTA.
One issue that sparked the investigation was the death of a MARTA contractor in 2018 when, while sitting in his vehicle, was struck by a northbound train. The GDOT said that MARTA had not implemented effective safety monitoring and protocols after this accident, and had allowed safety offers to work long shifts without required breaks. And, the GDOT report said that the accident that caused the contractor’s death resulted from human error.
The investigation and report also concluded that there is a toxic culture at MARTA that creates a hostile environment for those who report safety violations. In fact, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is looking at a report by a MARTA worker who filed a whistleblower report regarding some of the items that are also in the GDOT report. Moreover, a MARTA safety officer who says they were fired for speaking up against safety violations has initiated a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court.
MARTA has cried foul over the GDOT report. The agency said that the GDOT didn’t have jurisdiction over labor-management issues, and OSHA does, which is why MARTA is working with OSHA. Those who reviewed the GDOT report said that they could not verify the allegations. In addition, MARTA says that GDOT investigators did not interview MARTA safety managers, nor did they pay attention to information MARTA provided about the situation that offered a different perspective.
NORFOLK (NNS) – Cmdr. Charles Wilhite assumed the helm of the Naval Safety and Environmental Training Center (NAVSAFENVTRACEN) during a change of command ceremony here July 30, relieving Cmdr. Cary Isaacson. Guest speaker Rear Adm. F.R. Luchtman, Commander, Naval Safety Center (NAVSAFECEN), lauded Isaacson on his accomplishments as NAVSAFENVTRACEN’s commanding officer.
“Cmdr. Isaacson has done a tremendous job in ensuring every Sailor and Marine was superbly trained mentally, physically fit and prepared to meet the heavy demands of the training center course schedule,” said Luchtman. “He and his team have contributed vastly to an improved safety culture and safety environment within our Navy and Marine Corps. When you look at the accomplishments over the last few years, it becomes readily apparent.”
Isaacson credited his staff for their efforts ensuring the fleet’s training needs were being met despite the challenges faced.
“This staff’s dedicated efforts have allowed the fleet to continually receive the occupational health, industrial hygiene and environmental training during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Isaacson. “The staff hosted the 29th Annual Joint Safety and Environmental Professional Development Symposium in an online platform as they have in years’ past, but this particular conference far exceeded all previous attendance records. With the pandemic, there was an inability for personnel to attend resident training and in-person conferences, making the symposium more important than ever.”
he Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand (FPSC) has released the Food Safety Culture fact sheet.
The resource provides tips and practical actions for improving food safety culture among businesses of all sizes.
Michael Worthington, chairman of the FPSC, said his board identified food safety culture as a key area for the improvement of fresh produce food safety across the supply chain.
“The Food Safety Culture fact sheet was developed with produce businesses, both large and small, in mind. We wanted to build a convenient resource to help guide best practice at every level of operation,” said Michael Worthington, chairman of the FPSC.
“The FPSC believes that implementing a robust food safety culture is of paramount importance to the continued wellbeing of our industry and the community. The actions individuals and businesses take has a crucial impact on improving food safety culture and raising awareness through educational resources is a key step in achieving this improvement.”
The fact sheet was written by Elizabeth Frankish, a food safety consultant and part of the team at the ARC Training Centre for Food Safety in the Fresh Produce Industry at the University of Sydney.
EPISODE SUMMARY
Today we discuss the safety of younger workers in the workplace. The research paper was brought about because of a finding that workers under the age of 30 are between 60 and 70 percent more likely to be injured on the job.
EPISODE NOTES
While there may be many reasons for this - this particular research paper looks at how younger workers are inducted into the workplace and how they learn about the safety practices and requirements that are expected. The findings are pretty fascinating - especially for people responsible for hiring new employees.
HTTPS://WWW.FOODMANUFACTURE.CO.UK/ARTICLE/2021/08/03/FOOD-SAFETY-TOOL-LAUNCHED-TO-HELP-MINIMISE-RISK
Campden BRI has developed a new visual tool to help food and drink manufacturers communicate and manage risk within their businesses and boost food safety culture.
www.businesstoday.in/latest/co…
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) on Tuesday said it has received the ‘Responsible Corporate Citizen Award’ at the India Green Manufacturing Challenge 2021 conducted by the International Research Institute of Manufacturing (IRIM).
The award was conferred to HCCB for its work in the field of green manufacturing, community development and corporate governance, and for adopting methods of green process and sustainability.
The company also won 7 gold awards conferred to its two factories in Bidadi (near Bengaluru) and one each in Sanand and Goblej (near Ahmedabad), Khordha (near Bhubaneshwar), Ameenpur (near Hyderabad), and Guntur (near Vijayawada).
The award is based on an onsite assessment against 15 indicators of green manufacturing barometer. The gold awards are based on a 200 to 800 points rating scale out of which factories scoring more than 700 points qualify for gold.
Commenting on the awards, HCCB CEO Neeraj Garg said, “As a company it has been our endeavour to go beyond the norms to strengthen our safety culture and ensure optimum utilisation of resources such as water, energy, packaging materials, effluent management, and asset utilisation. We are continuing to invest in our factories despite a very challenging pandemic situation.”
It is reasonable to assume, not a single employee aboard MCLB Barstow arrives to work each day hoping to get injured on the job, or get exposed to hazards that may result in an occupational illness. Rather, the expectation is quite the opposite. So much so, the expectation for an employer to provide a work place free of recognized hazards was codified in the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Under the OSHAct, regulatory requirements are published as Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The regulatory requirements almost exclusively focus on the responsibilities of the employer. Granted, an employer who strictly enforces each and every applicable OSHA regulatory requirement would in fact meet the intent of the OSHAct, but it misses the bigger picture. A safe work environment relies on the mindset and culture of the entire organization, not just an individual C-suite officer, safety representative, first-line supervisor, or employee. In order to shape the safety culture of an organization, employers have many options from which to choose. However, OSHA has developed five cooperative programs designed to improve an organization’s safety and health management systems. Active participation in one of these programs in-turn helps prevent fatalities, injuries and illnesses in the work place through collaborative efforts and continuous process improvement. Of OSHA’s five established programs, MCLB Barstow has been actively involved in the Voluntary Protection Programs since 2006 and STAR certified since 2008. It is almost certain, everyone aboard MCLB Barstow has heard about VPP and possesses a basic understanding of how it enhances our safety awareness and culture. What may be less commonly known is the significance of MCLB Barstow’s continued certification as a STAR site. In essence, MCLB Barstow’s long-term VPP STAR status (13 years and counting) demonstrates our employer’s dedication to cooperatively work with their employees, Union (if so represented) and OSHA to reduce or eliminate safety and health hazards and promote safe work conditions for each and every employee. To date, this dedication to safety has transcended six installation commanders and countless managers, supervisors, and employees. The fact so many personnel have come and gone from all levels of the organization and yet we are still able to maintain our VPP STAR status is a true testament to our organization’s enduring safety culture and all the employees’ contributions, past and present. More importantly, through management and employee involvement we have been able to consistently maintain Total Case Incident Rates (TICR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) well below the national average for our particular industry. In short, this means fewer employees are getting injured on the job or experiencing an occupational illnesses, which is truly the ultimate goal of the program.
www.actionnewsnow.com/content/n…
Boeing is slated to launch its long-anticipated Starliner spacecraft — which is built to carry NASA astronauts — on an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station, a follow-up to the company’s botched first attempt 18 months ago, tomorrow. It will be a decisive moment for Boeing and NASA, as the traditional aerospace giant seeks to join SpaceX in ferrying people to the station.
The Starliner was scheduled to launch from Florida Friday afternoon and dock with the ISS on Saturday. But when a new laboratory module from Russia, called Nauka, docked at the space station Thursday morning, the module’s thrusters began unexpectedly firing.
Though NASA confirmed no one was in danger and ground teams regained control of the space station after about an hour, Starliner’s take off will be delayed in order to allow mission control to “continue working checkouts of the newly arrived Nauka module and to ensure the station will be ready for Starliner’s arrival.”
Boeing is now expecting to launch no earlier than Tuesday, August 3, though the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base is saying that there is a 40% chance that poor weather will postpone the launch further. …
The flight also comes as investors and customers are keeping a close eye on Boeing as it continues to grapple with a series of controversies and scandals, most notably with its 737 Max aircraft, and questions about its internal safety culture.
codeblue.galencentre.org/2021/08/0…
KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 — Even as the various vaccines for Covid-19 are being rolled out, the world remains vulnerable, with the socio-economic impairment being arguably more destructive than the lives taken by the disease.
With the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioning against these vaccines being seen as a true panacea, allowing a return to past norms and other entities such as the Gates Foundation advocating preparation for future pandemics, more lasting and sustainable solutions are needed, lest we allow for a dystopian future for our children.
Prevention has always been better than cure, and over time, humanity has found habits, typically embedded in cultural norms, to be a more sustainable and even cost-effective means of managing threats to life and limb.
As it stands, the establishment of new cultural norms and behaviours, however painful, have been seen as a necessity for combating the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, such new habits haven’t been sufficiently embedded in society, made evident by rapid proliferation of the disease too soon after movement control restrictions are removed from communities.
There is therefore a need for a more proactive effort to establish a Safety Culture in society through its various institutional platforms, be it school, the workplace, places of government, media, religious establishments and others.
BROADVIEW, Ill. — In June, members of The Unified Group gathered from 12 different states to attend the 2021 Safety Directors Forum — the group’s first in-person networking event since the start of the pandemic. Attendees met at The Hotel Contessa in Texas after months of virtual meetings.
Gary Glader of The Horton Group, based in Orland Park, Illinois, began the forum with a presentation on improving the safety culture within organizations by creating positive relationships with employees. His topics included general contractors and safety, aging workforce issues/solutions, and OSHA compliance. Later, members broke into smaller groups to talk about their own safety cultures and share best practices. Robert Fisher of Air Comfort Corporation ended the first day’s session by sharing information on stress in the workplace.
On day two of the forum, Dave Ude of Air Controls and Scott Martello of Intech Mechanical discussed how they instill safety values in new hires while Dawn Bridges of Wiegmann Associates and Dennis Gardner of Johnson & Jordan Inc. discussed their safety communication within and outside of their organizations.
“Getting this amount of knowledge present in one room and professionals who are willing to share is amazing,” said member Brian Scott of Mechanical Service & Systems Inc.
www.auntminnieeurope.com/index.asp…
July 28, 2021 – A new study from Sweden has shown that MRI-related incidents tend to be greatly underreported. The authors warn that some unreported incidents may have catastrophic outcomes, and a major educational effort is urgently required.
“To enhance the safety culture across all sites, more easily accessible education is needed,” the authors wrote in an article published by European Radiology on 20 July. “Broadening collaboration among radiographers, radiologists, and MR physicists will also enhance the safety work.”
The researchers, led by Johan Kihlberg, PhD, a specialist radiographer at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV) in Linköping, interviewed staff at 13 sites across Sweden about the level of MR safety and MR-related incidents. They used a semi-structured questionnaire. The reporting rate of incidents was very low (38%), suggesting that about 100 incidents remained unreported.
NEW YORK (WWTI) — AAA Western and Central New York are urging drivers to use caution during the end of July, as the public has entered the “100 Deadliest Days.”
The “100 Deadliest Days” is a period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when teen driver crashes dramatically increase. With summer in full swing, and less COVID-19 protocols in place, AAA is warning teens to be more diligent to avoid tragedies.
In New York State, there were 196 crashes involving teen drivers during the “100 Deadliest Days” over a ten-year span, which is down from 222 people from the years 2008-2018.
‘100 Deadliest Days’ for driving are Memorial Day to Labor Day as teen drivers hit the road, AAA warns According to the latest AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Culture Index, about 72% of teen drivers between the ages of 16-18 have admitted to having engaged in at least one of the following behaviors within the last 30 days:
Israel marked World Drowning Prevention Day hours after the nation experienced the deadliest day of drowning cases since the beginning of this year’s swim season. … “For the first time, the UN recognizes drownings as a global emergency,” said Paul Hakim, President of the Israel Lifesaving Federation, in a statement. “The situation in Israel today is very serious. The solution has been around for over 50 years in Australia and has been proven to be a lifesaver.” Australian Ambassador to Israel Paul Griffiths added, “Australia is proud to have in Israel one of its greatest exports – surf lifesaving!” “Our vision is to bring Australian water safety culture to Israel, while building communities and promoting social values,” concluded Hakim.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode, we take a deep dive into a research paper about using fear or shock tactics to inspire behavior change when it comes to health and safety communication. Motor vehicle safety adverts are one of the more common references for this type of method of communication. We discuss what the research has found on the effectiveness of communicating in this way and why it sometimes has the opposite effect.
EPISODE NOTES
The reason we are talking about this today, is because this tactic is often used in workplace safety videos and we ask whether or not it works for everyone, how well it works for workplace safety and whether its even ethical in the first place, regardless of its efficacy.
Topics:
Deciding to discuss shock tactics/threat appeals in the podcast Do they have a place in organization safety management? Ethics behind using fear tactics The research paper introduction About the authors How does fear connect with persuasion? Too much fear-mongering Adaptive vs maladaptive response to the message General problems with research in fear messaging Practical takeaways Six things that determine how people respond to the message: The severity of the fear Susceptibility Relevance Efficacy The wear-out effect The credibility of the message
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_21A/Jul24_1627137929CH.php
July 24, Colombo: Every year about 800 Sri Lankans die due to drowning and it is the second cause for unintentional injury deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.
Samitha Siritunga, Consultant Community Physician and National Programme Manager- Injury Prevention and Management of the Directorate of Non-Communicable Diseases of Ministry of Health said most of the drowning victims are belonged to the age group of 21-60 years which is the economically productive group.
In a message to mark the World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25, the health official said human behavior has been identified as a key risk factor for occurrence of drowning.
She said including a water safety culture within the country is crucial and, it is necessary to educate the public on water safety, establish barriers, improve swim skills, rescue and resuscitation training etc. Further, it is needed to identify new laws and regulations to improve the water safety in the country.
www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2021/07/2…
LOS ANGELES — The widow and two minor children of a 34-year-old Southern California Edison Co. contract worker are suing the utility, alleging negligence on the part of the utility caused the man’s 2020 electrocution death.
Stephanie Wickstrom, who was married to lineman Eric Wickstrom of Redlands, brought the complaint Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of herself and her twin sons against the Rosemead-based company, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
“SCE understood and knew that due to its flawed and dangerous safety culture, unsafe acts will occur and accidents and serious injuries will happen when third-party contractors were working on its facilities,” the suit states. “There had been a number of injuries and/or deaths caused by SCE’s flawed safety culture, including at least three injuries in 2018 and one death in 2018.”
An SCE representative could not be immediately reached.
In 2020, SCE had a contract with Wickstrom’s employer, Diversified Utility Services Inc., to maintain and repair distribution lines, the suit states. Wickstrom and other Diversified workers assisted SCE’s repair crews by doing emergency repair work on poles damaged by vehicles, the suit states.
A leaked audio recording of a group commander at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, lecturing airmen after sorties were canceled due to crew fatigue has raised concerns about the wing’s leadership style and safety culture.
The concerns became public July 17, when the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page posted an account by an anonymous author alleging a “toxic culture of leadership” in the operations group for Tinker’s 552nd Air Control Wing, which flies the Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, aircraft.
According to the account, AWACS crews last week were ordered to show up for exercise sorties with roughly half the sleep they needed. The writer said base leaders decided it was not safe to fly, calling off all three planned flights and allowing the crews to rest.