August, 2010
Pet Peeves & ‘Common Sense’
“Last Thursday’s article on pet peeves [by Dave Gouthro] refers to ’simple common sense.’ Well, I also have a pet peeve of my own: the term ‘common sense.’ Boy, do I dislike it. In a past situation, I was involved with improving Accident Investigation at a workplace. In reviewing existing investigations, a majority of them [...]
The Day My New Boss Docked Me
TRAINING BLOOPERS
True stories from safety trainers who wish they weren’t.
The Day My New Boss Docked Me
On the first day on my first safety job my boss walked me out onto a rather large pier on San Diego Harbor, when one of the deck boards (rotten) broke and I severely twisted my [...]
On a Wing and a Prayer
We all need some laughter in our day. Here’s a joke you can trot out at your next training session.
A photographer from a national magazine was assigned to cover the fires at a national park. The magazine wanted to show some of the heroic work of the firefighters as they battled the blaze.
When the photographer [...]
Helping Supervisors Win at Monkey in the Middle
As a kid, did you ever play “Monkey in the Middle?” Maybe you called it “Dodge Ball” or “Prison Ball.” The game involves one or more players stuck between two lines of ball-throwing opponents. Once a player is hit, he or she is “out.” The winner is the last one standing. [...]
Manual Labor
Here’s a training blooper submitted by a SafetyXChange member who asked to remain anonymous to avoid embarrassing his colleague.
A safety engineer on our staff reported an occupational back injury that resulted in time off from work. Another safety engineer investigated the injury and found that the accident had been caused by lifting a box [...]
10 Personal Safety Tips for College Students
The NIAAA statistics about college students and alcohol are scary, particularly for parents sending their child off to the first year at college. For many young people, this is the first time they’ve been solely responsible for their safety and security. And alcohol is not the only danger out there. Did you know that 80% [...]
4 Tips to Get Your Kids Back to School Safely
The few weeks before and after the kids head back to school can be very chaotic, making it easy to overlook health and safety best practices at home. But this is precisely when we need to be thinking about protecting our family. So here are a few tips from the experts to help you prepare [...]
How to Create a Property Protection Program
The safety director’s primary goal is to prevent illness and injury. Increasingly, though, we are being called on to protect the company’s other assets, including its property and the very viability of its business in case of disaster. That’s why auditing, emergency preparedness and response are so important.
Protecting Property Also Protects [...]
Tool1 – FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTION PROCEDURE
TOOL 1
FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTION PROCEDURE
Inspection of fire protection and extinguishing systems is crucial to the overall protection of any company’s assets. The following procedures address those inspections.
A facility manager should have the ultimate responsibility to ensure that fire prevention inspections are conducted. All inspections should be performed by a [...]
Tool 2 – FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTION FORM
TOOL 2
FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTION FORM
Facility: ____________________________________________ Month of: ___________________________________
1. Weekly Fire Protection Control Valve Inspection
(1. OS&Y, 2. PIV, 3. WPIW, 4. IBV)
Open (Y) (N) / Locked (Y) (N)
_PRIVATE __ Valve #
Valve Type
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Any valve closures: [...]




