February, 2008
Overcoming Bad Influences
We safety people try our hardest to influence behavior constructively. But in trying to change behavior, we are fighting a lifetime of conditioned training. Most workers learn early the habits of hurrying, neglecting anything that slows production and ridiculing those who take due caution in their daily work habits. This conditioning is often reinforced by [...]
Building the Business Case, Part 1 of 4
It’s high time we all understood something vital about our profession: To protect our workers, we must be more than just safety technicians. We must also be business people. I’m here to tell you how.
A Dose of Reality
Employers are in business to do one thing: make money. If they don’t make money, they don’t stay [...]
Responding to Unrealistic Recommendations, Part 1 of 3
A health and safety committee in which workers participate can make an important contribution to safety by identifying hazards and recommending measures to correct them. But safety committees occasionally get carried away and make unrealistic recommendations. For example, the committee may recommend large-scale safety engineering, equipment or training measures that your company simply can’t afford. [...]
How to Turn a Negative into a Positive, Part 2 of 2
In delivering bad news, we have a tendency to sugarcoat it in a misguided attempt to protect the recipient-and ourselves. But in so doing, we garble the message and ultimately inflict even greater damage. This week’s piece is designed to turn things around and make the delivery of bad news a positive experience for both [...]
Using Police Techniques to Sniff It Out: Part 3 of 3
Last week, we looked at how supervisors can borrow police techniques to recognize when workers are impaired by drug or alcohol use. Today, let’s look at what action supervisors need to take once they suspect that a worker is impaired.
Unpredictable Behavior a Red Flag
Supervisors often prize worker predictability over productivity, says Thomas Page, a retired [...]
The North American Standards, Part 2 of 2
North America is now the home of two voluntary Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems standards: ANSI/AIHA Z10-2005 and the Canadian Standards Association’s CSA Z1000-06. Last week we looked at the former. Here’s a brief overview of the latter.
CSA Z1000-06
Less than 10 months after the introduction of ANSI Z10 in March 2006, the CSA announced [...]
Compliance Risks of Software and Other Training Products, Part 2 of 2
Does the use of computer- and video-based training programs satisfy OSHA training requirements? Let’s address that question now.
The 1997 OSHA Interpretation
In 1997, OSHA issued a Standards Interpretation addressing this question. Such training can be valuable, “in the context of an overall training program.” But, the Interpretation continued:
“[U]se of computer-based training by itself would not be [...]
How to Turn a Negative Into a Positive, Part 1 of 2
A couple of years ago, Radio Shack let thousands of people go. Of course, mass layoffs are a part of life in corporate America. But what stood out about the Radio Shack situation was that the company delivered the bad news to employees via email! This is just one dramatic example of how much people [...]
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