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July, 2006

Lessons from a Recent Negligence Case

Generally speaking, the law requires us to use care to protect each other against injury. The specific things we must do to meet the duty of care in a given circumstance depend on who we are and what our relationship is to the person we’re protecting:

When we’re acting as employers entrusted [...]

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Age-Based Discrimination Refuses to Die, Part 1 of 2

Dear SafetyXChange Members:
Here’s a question especially for you SafetyXChange members who are 45 or older. Did you ever feel that your current company or a company you’d like to work for denied you an opportunity because of your age? If so, you’re not alone.
Evidence of Age Discrimination in the Job Market
These should be promising [...]

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A Management Imperative, Part 3 of 3

So you’ve accepted the idea that safety auditing can be a valuable metric for your organization. Now you need to ensure that the audit will be effective. It’s essential that you strive for a direct ’cause and effect’ relationship between your audit and the performance of your OH&S management system. For the audit to be [...]

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What Employers Should Know about Contact Lenses, Part 3 of 4

In the first two parts of this series, we discussed from the employee’s perspective the safety issues that arise when contact lenses are worn in an industrial setting and how to care for lenses. This week, we’ll look at what employers need to know about employee use of contact lenses in the workplace.
Know the Regulations
There’s [...]

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A South African Perspective

I read the article in last Monday’s SafetyXChange newsletter describing Dr. Richard E. Kauk’s experience with an OHS inspector at an asbestos abatement project in Ontario, Canada.
As one who practices industrial safety halfway across the world, I would like to offer my personal perspective on the OHS/OSHA inspection process and Dr. Kauk’s article.
South Africa’s Proud [...]

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Applying the Wisdom of Peter Drucker

Dear SafetyXChange Members:
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
Peter F. Drucker
When Peter Drucker passed away last November, the Washington Post described him as “the world’s most influential business guru. Drucker and his philosophy of management influenced Winston Churchill, Bill Gates, Jack Welch and thousands of managers [...]

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How to Recognize Them

A local dentist and his wife took their kids to Disneyland. They returned home, heartbroken, without their two children. The elder child had disappeared from a crowded area of the theme park. The parents, frantic in their search, left the younger child in care of a stranger. The stranger and this child also disappeared.
Welcome to [...]

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A Management Imperative, Part 2 of 3

There’s an old saying: “If you don’t know where you’re going – any road will take you there.”
In order to manage safety or any other process at your organization, management must have a defined goal and a way to determine if it’s reaching that goal. In the safety context, there must be a set of [...]

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Caring for Your Contact Lenses, Part 2 of 4

Last week we discussed what employees should consider when deciding whether and what kinds of contact lenses to wear in an industrial workplace. This week, we’ll look at how to care for the contact lenses after you get your prescription.
The Four Materials You Need
There are four things you need at the workplace to properly care [...]

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The Substitute with a Chip on His Shoulder

I would like to tell you about an inspection experience I had about five years ago.
The Asbestos Abatement Project
I was performing an asbestos abatement project for my employer, a medium-size (380 employees) manufacturing facility in Ontario. The aim was substantial removal of material (friable) in the boiler rooms. The old boiler [...]

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