www.qualityassurancemag.com/article/f…
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Peanut and Tree Nut Processors Association (PTNPA) hosted its annual Technical Forum June 29 and 30 in Chicago. The focus was “Leading a Culture of Food Safety,” and the conference saw corporate and regulatory agency participants and presenters alike discussing the rapidly changing nature of the technology, collaboration and adaptability required to constantly manage and continue to enhance a safe, stable food supply. The PTNPA Technical Forum 2021 attracted industry leaders and representatives from around the globe.
“The PTNPA Technical Forum brings together business owners and managers, quality assurance and compliance specialists and prominent food safety and regulatory experts to openly discuss current challenges, resources and opportunities. We are proud to be an industry that embraces collaboration to create proactive programs and effective solutions resulting in supply chain improvements and innovative products — all with food safety as a priority,” said Jeannie Shaughnessy, executive director and CEO, PTNPA.
www.freightwaves.com/news/safe…
Developing a safety culture isn’t easy, but establishing one sure does make your job a lot easier down the road.
Reliance Partners Director of Safety Robert Kaferle continues the conversation from his previous article, Safety check: No carrier thinks it’s ‘unsafe’, further explaining the importance of proactive safety amid a high-risk environment.
Kaferle and fellow Director of Safety Brian Runnels are part of Reliance Partners’ risk services team, which works closely with motor carriers to identify potential gaps in regulation compliance and offers strategic guidance for corrective action. Both Kaferle and Runnels have a combined 70 years of trucking experience, with both holding CDLs and CDS certifications. Having been behind the wheel as well as safety department heads, the two are familiar with struggles and safety needs of motor carriers large and small.
“Being proactive takes more work than being reactive, but doing so gives you way more benefits than what reactive measures deliver,” Kaferle said. “At Reliance Partners, we operate on a proactive-versus-reactive consulting model. Most people wait until they have a problem before seeking help, but by then it’s often too late to mitigate the issues at hand.”
www.miningweekly.com/article/s…
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Gascoyne Resources has reported a slight decline in gold production during the June quarter at its Dalgaranga operation, in Western Australia, compared with the March quarter. The ASX-listed miner on Friday reported that gold production for the three months to June had reached 17 416 oz, down from the 19 195 oz produced in the previous quarter. ADVERTISEMENT
Gold sales for the quarter reached 17 993 oz, generating revenues of A$45.2-million, compared with the A$19 073 oz sold in the March quarter for revenues of A$47.5-million. For the full year ended June, Gascoyne produced 77 278 oz of gold, meeting its guidance expectations. ADVERTISEMENT
“Our full year production result of over 77 000 oz has been achieved on the back of an improved safety culture, while overcoming a number of operational challenges in the June quarter, including unseasonal inclement weather, availability of personnel and short-term mine plan adjustments,” said Gascoyne MD and CEO Richard Hay. During the quarter under review, Gascoyne inked a binding agreement to acquire Firefly Resources and consolidated ownership of shallow, higher-grade gold deposits as well as a large exploration package within trucking distance of Dalgaranga.
Fishing and offshore aquaculture are some of the riskiest jobs in Europe. According to the European Maritime Safety Agency’s data, a total of 173 lives were lost between 2014 and 2019 in 89 fishing vessel accidents. More than half of the incidents occur on trawlers and most casualties are attributed to human action failure - including poorly trained, inadequately equipped and even overworked personnel onboard.
To improve working conditions and safety on fishing vessels, the Emilia-Romagna region on Italy’s Adriatic coast is maintaining a dialogue between the fishing community, coastal municipalities, private associations, trade unions and other stakeholders.
In Cesenatico, euronews spoke with FLAI CGIL Pesca Emilia-Romagna trade unionist, Marco Rinaldi, who believes that improving safety culture and reducing the amount of fishing could effectively reduce casualties at sea.
OTTAWA, ON, July 20, 2021 /CNW/ - The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, issued this statement regarding Transport Canada’s latest efforts to improve the safety culture of Canada’s rail industry:
“The Government of Canada is committed to the safety and security of communities across the country, which is why we continue to look for ways to improve rail safety.
“Today, Transport Canada launched a public consultation on the Let’s Talk Transportation Web page to gauge views on improving the safety culture within Canada’s rail industry.
“Safety culture comes from organizations developing shared values, actions and behaviours, along with a sense of collective responsibility and commitment to upholding the standard of safety.
“Transport Canada is committed to taking the lead on developing a safety culture policy statement for the railway industry in response to a recommendation from the 2018 Railway Safety Act review, recognizing that safety culture improvements must be driven by railway companies with support by the department.
www.thisdaylive.com/index.php…
He, however, added: “When it comes to safety matters you credit it to NCAA and AIB-N. NCAA has oversight responsibility and AIB-N investigates serious incidents and accidents and makes recommendation to NCAA, which implements those recommendations. So, possible accidents are averted with the implementation of AIB-N recommendations.
“This is why it is important that the two agencies are working together. And that is why we have independent AIB-N so that it would be free to carry out investigations and come up with safety recommendations.
“Also, airlines have come to realise the huge cost of having an accident so they have also imbibed the safety culture and ensure that they operate safety and also abide by the standard set by the regulatory authority, which oversights their activities,” Olateru said.
Operators are facing a number of challenges while trying to regain their footing as COVID restrictions wind down. However, there are ways you can still invest in food safety technology, even while profits are recovering. Let’s look at what roadblocks are potentially introducing risk into your food safety program and how you can still create an effective food safety culture to protect employees and guests.
www.miningweekly.com/article/e…
An employee died in a mine-related incident at Harmony Gold’s Tshepong South mine, in the Free State, on July 15. “The safety of our employees is a major focus at all our operations and every effort is being made to embed a proactive safety culture to ensure we achieve our objective of zero harm and zero loss of life. ADVERTISEMENT
“After an extended period without fatalities, there can be no greater reminder of the importance of safety than the loss of one of our colleagues. We are deeply saddened by the incident and will ensure a full investigation into the cause of this tragedy,” CEO Peter Steenkamp says. The board of Harmony and the management team extended their condolences to the deceased’s family, friends and co-workers.
www.offshore-technology.com/news/63-o…
Dräger Marine and Offshore, marine and offshore services in the field of rescue and safety equipment, believes that the UK renewable energy and carbon capture sectors need to do more in order to avert safety incidents.
The call comes after independent research commissioned by the firm found that 63% of managers in the oil, gas, and renewables sectors outlined concerns in their organisation about the possibility of a major safety incident occurring over the next five years.
The research is part of a new report on the impact of Covid-19, Brexit, and health and safety culture in UK workplaces and warns of growing concerns regarding these factors within the country’s quickly expanding renewable sector.
The warning was issued after a significant amount of businesses involved in the study reported that safety has already been adversely impacted by Covid-19, with two-thirds of managers (66%), reporting that safety training or investment within their company had been cancelled or delayed due to the pandemic.
Dräger Marine and Offshore marketing manager Richard Ryan said: “The slow pace of progress regarding safety standards in the UK’s renewable energy and carbon capture sector is becoming a major cause for concern, and it has been made worse by significant Covid-19 delays to safety training and safety-critical maintenance work.
The Federal Aviation Administration today grounded Boeing 737 flights run by local cargo airline Transair.
It’s been investigating maintenance and safety issues with the carrier since the fall. The FAA says the suspension is not related to the crash of Transair Flight 810 off Ewa Beach on July 2nd.
The suspension, however, doesn’t prevent the carrier from flying completely.
Transair owner Teimour Riahi has two separate businesses – Rhoades Aviation holds the FAA license for 737s which are grounded. Trans Executive Airways has a license for smaller turboprop planes known as Short 360s and the FAA says those are still allowed to fly. Some former Transair employees are not happy about that.
“The company would routinely have us fly aircraft that were broken for long periods of time,” said one former pilot.
After a Transair plane lost both of its engines and crashed into the ocean, some former employees told KITV4 they weren’t surprised. They blame the company’s disregard for safety protocols.
It is the same issue that this current FAA suspension addresses – citing Transair with deficiencies in maintenance and safety practices.
The employees asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, but each one described a culture of complacency and lack of accountability at Transair.
“There’s zero safety culture… Spend as little money as possible, get the most out of these aircraft,” one pilot said. “When they start digging into the maintenance records of these aircraft, they’re going to find that corners were cut, that inspections were not done.”
Some employees were relieved to see the suspension of the 737s, but worry pilots are risking their lives flying the smaller planes.
Practical steps are being taken to promote food safety culture in Sindh, the provincial food minister has said. Hari Ram Kishori Lal is also the chairman of the Sindh Food Authority (SFA).
During the SFA’s seventh board meeting he chaired on Thursday, it was decided that a grievance redressal committee headed by the food secretary will be formed to expedite the hearing of complaints against the authority, simplify the process of issuing licences and ensure the provision of minimum wages.
Lal warned all the officials that any negligence caused by them will not be tolerated at all, stressing that the rules and regulations of the SFA must be complied with as soon as possible.
SFA Director General presented the budget for the financial year 2021-2022 that amounts to Rs632.1 million, which was unanimously approved by the board. Briefing the meeting, the DG said that the SFA had collected around Rs188 million in revenue until June 30.
source.colostate.edu/csus-rese…
The Research Safety Culture Program — an initiative that includes an interactive website and videos designed to promote safety and compliance across the Colorado State University research landscape on and off campus — is receiving a prestigious national award.
CSHEMA — Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association — is awarding the Research Safety Culture Program the Marketing – Single Media Award for the Research Safety Orange Folder, an interactive resource designed to assist with onboarding and training researchers at CSU. CSHEMA is a national organization for environmental, health and safety professionals in higher education.
The Research Safety Orange Folder was developed by Research Safety Culture Coordinator Anthony Appleton, Communications and Events Manager Lauren Klamm and Web and Content Specialist Emma Mannino. They will receive the award on July 26 at the CSHEMA Virtual Conference.
“This award confirms that research safety takes a village – from researchers discussing their needs to research support being easily accessible to open communication leading to collaboration – the Research Safety Orange Folder required people from across Colorado State University,” Appleton said. “In the end, I believe we created a resource that is the manifestation of our Principles of Community, at least from a research safety perspective.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX that its environmental review of a new tower at its Boca Chica launch site in Texas is incomplete and the agency could order SpaceX to take down the tower.
An FAA spokesman said on Wednesday that the agency’s environmental review underway of SpaceX’s proposed rocket assembly “integration tower” is “underway,” and added that “the company is building the tower at its own risk.”
A May 6 letter from the FAA to SpaceX seen by Reuters said recent construction activity on one of the two proposed towers “may complicate the ongoing environmental review process for the Starship/Super Heavy Launch Vehicle Program.” The FAA letter said the tower could be as high as 480 feet.
Based on the environmental review, the FAA could order SpaceX to take down the tower. “It is possible that changes would have to be made at the launch site, including to the integration towers to mitigate significant impacts,” the May 6 letter said, adding the FAA learned of the tower’s construction “based on publicly available video footage.”
www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/07/1…
Regardless of the industry, if hazardous chemicals are on a job site the chance for accidental release is present if they aren’t properly controlled, which lifts the possibility of a potential disaster.
To combat deaths and injuries from industrial accidents, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires businesses that deal with a volume of hazardous chemicals at or above a threshold, set by the administration, must develop a process safety management program that follows a list of requirements from OSHA.
“These 14 components are a list of smart things you have to do to make sure bad things don’t happen. They are simple things like having a written plan, a way to store and compile information and hazard analysis,” explains Jeff Muto, chief marketing and strategy officer for Veriforce, LLC. “One thing interesting to us; they specifically call out contract workers. That is where the market feels the most pain.”
Written provisions for contractor safety, per OSHA, include evaluating a contractor’s safety performance before starting a project. Once a contractor passes clearance requirements, the company is responsible to inform the contractor of potential risks and health hazards. The contractor then must relay that information to the contracted team and train them appropriately.
Fines are levied against companies that are found out of compliance with safety regulations, with the charges reaching as high as $130,000 for repeat or willful violations, according to Muto.
Esteemed fire chief and attorney Curt Varone has underscored in many of his articles a critical point for all fire service leaders: You can’t expect a transactional solution to solve a transformational problem.
Varone makes this point when talking about why too many fire departments are still finding themselves beset by charges of sexual harassment, sexual assault and bullying. More than two decades of policies and procedures and training classes have not had the desired impact on many fire departments.
We’re seeing a similar phenomenon in the fire service regarding our efforts to reduce the risk of exposure to the chemicals, chemical compounds and carcinogens found in the smoke and off-gassing from structure fires. We’ve done the education. We’ve developed and implemented operational policies and procedures (e.g., initial contaminant reduction/gross decontamination and removing contaminated gear on the scene). So, we should be well on our way to significantly reducing those occupational cancer risks for firefighters, right? … What they found can best be summed up with this statement from the study: “While firefighter attitudes were overwhelmingly favorable toward cleaning gear (knowledge), their actual decontamination and cleaning behaviors (doing) did not follow at the same level.”
While the firefighters who participated in the study reported positive attitudes, beliefs and perceived norms about decontamination, both on scene and back at the fire station, showering after a fire was the only decontamination process that occurred regularly. Initial contaminant reduction, use of cleansing wipes, routine gear cleaning and other behaviors all occurred less frequently.
Topics:
Introduction to research paper Seven features of safety in maternity units The premise of the study Understanding the process behind data collection for this study The Finding of the paper Six Features/themes of patient safety Rules & procedures vs social control mechanisms Patient feedback Refining the Safety findings Commitment to safety and improvement Staff improving working processes Technical competence supported by formal training and informal learning Teamwork, cooperation, and positive working relationships Reinforcing, safe, ethical behaviors Systems and processes designed for safety -regularly reviewed and optimized. Effective coordination and the ability to mobilize quickly Generalization of processes isn’t always helpful
www.streetinsider.com/Globe+New…’+Safety+Management+System+Recognized+by+the+FAA/18657450.html
DENVER, CO., July 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – On Tuesday, January 6th, Air Methods (AMC), the leading air medical service in the country, received its letter of acknowledgement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accepting AMC’s Safety Management System (SMS). In the United States there are 1,977 Part 135 operators, and Air Methods is one of 21 to receive this recognition.
“At Air Methods, safety is our number one priority and the recognition by the FAA regarding our SMS program is a significant accomplishment. When you think about the complexity of our operations and what happens during a patient transport, the process of SMS is vital to bringing all those pieces together that make up a safe air medical transport mission,” says JaeLynn Williams, CEO of Air Methods. “This is not a requirement of a Part-135 operator but to be among the 1% of organizations to have achieved this level of SMS accreditation is outstanding. This is a testament to our level of commitment and innovation in the air medical safety environment.”
In line with the prevention of incidents and injuries, each Air Methods teammate is accountable for the performance of our Safety Management System (SMS). SMS defines teammate responsibilities and standards to manage and control the risks inherent in our operations – be it in flight, the workplace, occupational health, or environmental protection.
https://www.theredstonerocket.com/military_scene/article_0d08c34c-df3b-11eb-ae82-bf9616791107.html
With June being National Safety Month, the Space and Missile Defense Command took a day to focus on safety as well as the physical and mental health of its employees.
SMDC hosted a Safety and SHARP Awareness Day to promote awareness June 29.
“Safety and SHARP continues to be priority focus for the command’s leadership,” James Johnson, deputy to the SMDC commander, said. “We appreciate the team’s efforts today to share the latest information and themes with the workforce. Safety is a mindset and needs to be incorporated throughout our daily activities – at work, home or while traveling.
“We also want to ensure everyone is working in a safe environment where they are treated with dignity and respect.”
www.hellenicshippingnews.com/mca-colla…
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has collaborated with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to build on the existing Safety Climate Tool by making it more applicable to the Maritime industry. The tool is designed to assess the attitudes of individuals within an organisation towards health and safety issues, then deliver an objective measure of the safety culture. It comes as part of the UK Flag’s continued drive towards improved safety awareness, with the MCA supporting a maritime version of HSE’s safety climate tool. It has been shown that a poor safety culture is the root cause of many incidents within the workplace, and the remote nature of a lot of seafarer roles means an incident is often serious, even fatal. The tool has been designed by scientists at the HSE, with advice from experts at the MCA and shipping companies, to measure the perceptions of the workforce on health and safety issues. It will offer insight into the safety culture of the organisation to provide ways to continually improve and raise standards, with hopes it will lead to a reduction in the number of incidents.
news.kuwaittimes.net/website/a…
KUWAIT: The Occupational Health and Safety department at the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) visited the Kuwait American School (KAS) in order to assist them in preparing their campus and facilities according to the health safety and security protocols for the return of their students.
ACK’s initiative with KAS was initiated by conducting a safety audit of the school campus and developing a comprehensive guide booklet for them with all needed health, safety, and security protocols for the school to adopt for anticipated students’ return to school campus in September 2021.
On another note, ACK’s journey with COVID had many milestones and landmarks including being the first college to have students on campus to continue their practical sessions in 2020. The setup for these practical classes took a lot of preplanning, safety auditing and effort to embed all needed protocols ensuring the risk of cross-infection is minimal.
The implemented strategy resulted in the success of their efforts, hence, the college wanted to take that experience and learning curve of having students on campus at a time of COVID-19 and help assist schools in preparing their campuses with all needed health, safety, and security protocols.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The federal government has closed its investigations into safety concerns about snow and ice removal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport that led the FAA to threaten record fines.
In a letter this week to Robert Kennedy, Cleveland’s chief of airports, the Federal Aviation Administration said that changes made at the airport since the FAA and Cleveland entered a settlement plan five years ago warranted an end to its monitoring as of July 1.
“The city of Cleveland has made substantial improvements in the processes, equipment, staffing, and management of the implementation of the snow and ice control plan,” wrote Susan Mowery-Schiak, the director of the FAA’s airports division.
“We agree that CLE is establishing a safety culture that would allow it to sustain its compliance,” Mowery-Schiak wrote. “In consideration … the FAA hereby releases the city of Cleveland from the conditions of the [settlement] and will close the four related FAA enforcement investigations.”
As the country slowly beginning to emerge from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, workplace safety has taken on a much broader meaning.
The pandemic shuttered offices from New York to California amid well-founded fears of COVID-19 spreading rapidly among employees working in close confines. And now, with companies looking to reopen their doors in the coming days and months, concerns remain widespread about the safety of returning to the workplace.
In fact, 73% of U.S. workers fear that returning to in-person operations could pose a risk to their personal health and safety. What’s more, 75% would even consider quitting their job if they felt their employers’ actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were inadequate or inappropriate.
A simple “trust us” from employers is no longer adequate.
That is why — in addition to preparing for emergency situations, preventing trips and falls in the office, and broadly creating an inclusive safety culture at workplaces — companies must adopt a more holistic view of safety that prioritizes worker health.
The reality is that if one person comes into work sick with the flu, over half of surfaces in an office, including doorknobs, copy machine buttons, and refrigerator doors, can become infected. Strikingly, contamination of a single commonly touched area can infect between 40% and 60% of other surfaces in less than half a day — and in some cases within two hours.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/…
A year-long Australian population study has found that full time workers employed by organisations that fail to prioritise their employees’ mental health have a threefold increased risk of being diagnosed with depression.
And while working long hours is a risk factor for dying from cardiovascular disease or having a stroke, poor management practices pose a greater risk for depression, the researchers found.
The University of South Australia study, published in the British Medical Journal today, is led by UniSA’s Psychosocial Safety Climate Observatory, the world’s first research platform exploring workplace psychological health and safety.
Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is the term used to describe management practices and communication and participation systems that protect workers’ mental health and safety.
MIAMI, June 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Breakthrough Service was founded by Stephanie Leger, Luis Gallotti, and Lisa Miller with years of experience at Forbes Travel Guide, AAA, Ritz-Carlton, and Four Seasons. They came together to create a disruptive hospitality program revealing the authenticity of the modern luxe traveler. The expertise of Breakthrough Service is helping guide all luxury properties from the ordinary to the extraordinary with world-class audits and personalized training programs.
As the hospitality industry celebrates the coming out of a year that has accelerated a diverse trend in the hospitality industry, personalization is still a driving force. Breakthrough Service dedication helps leaders and front-line team members provide a different approach tailored to the modern luxury traveler. The hospitality horizon has changed, and the partners at Breakthrough Service navigate through the changes. They look at the guests’ journey and how other areas such as the property story, ambiance, and safety culture engage with the guests.
https://www.army.mil/article/248031/getting_to_know_the_garrison_safety_office
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The Fort Leonard Wood Safety Office serves as principal advisor for the garrison safety and occupational health-related matters of mission execution pertaining to Army regulations and other regulatory and statutory requirements.
According to Director Don Busbice, the Safety Office incorporates and communicates best practices and shared lessons learned to safeguard and preserve government resources against accidental loss.
“We have initiated a safety culture mindset,” he said. “It is the result of our ability to create relationships, answer questions with a solution and always incorporate a conversation to identify a remedy for any hazard along with the correct mitigation efforts.”
Busbice said the Fort Leonard Wood Safety Office serves all military and civilian units regardless of command; all activities involving government property and personnel occurring on or off post; organizations organic to Fort Leonard Wood; tenant units; and other Department of Defense services, units, activities and organizations on the installation.