Under The Hard Hat

On today's podcast we review the EMR Model (Express, Model, Reinforce), what leaders can do to Express, Model and Reinforce safety in the field.     We also have some Safety Conversation Starters for leaders: How did you plan your work for today? What's different between yesterday and today? What is the most challenging task you have to do today? What's the worst thing that could happen today? Do you know what our company's top 3 safety concerns are? What is the most beneficial type of safety paperwork that we do? Why? How were you set up for success on this job? If I gave you $50k to spend on this job, what would you buy? If you were to do this job over, what would you change? How would you describe our company's tool and equipment program? How would you describe our company's safety culture? How can we better support you when you are working by yourself? Where does our company or leadership take short cuts? How do we SHOW that safety really is #1? If you were the safety leader for this comp

On todays podcast Kristin Heizman joins me to discuss Building Momentum - Leadership Influence in Safety.   We discuss why this topic is important and what we can do to create influence in safety across the organization.   We also discus the "EMR Model" which stands for Express, Model and Reinforce.

Today Josh Cook and Mike Goodman join me to discuss how they got into Safety as a career and other things that make them tick.   Thanks for listening and be safe!

Hearing protection and hearing conservation.   OSHA states hearing protection is needed at 85 decibels over an eight hour time weighted average.  There are some free apps available to measure sound on your phone.   Josh Cook and Mike Goodman joined me today.   Thanks for listening and be safe!

Welcome to Fire Prevention Week!  Today we discuss the four components that make up a fire.  Heat Oxygen Fuel Chemical Chain Reaction If you remove one of these components, the fire is extinguished.  Fire prevention at its most basic level is keeping fuel sources and ignition sources separate.     Thanks for listening and be safe!

Today we attempt to answer the question, "What is Safety?"   Essentially, safety is an outcome.  Outcomes must be planned for, whether daily on the job site or quarterly on the business plan.  

On todays podcast we discuss the 5th and final principle of human performance, "How leaders respond to failure matters."  We learned in previous weeks toolbox talks that people make mistakes and blame fixes nothing.  As leaders, we have a choice when failure occurs.  We can either blame and punish or learn and improve.  How you respond when failure occurs has a ripple effect on the entire team.     Thanks for listening and be safe!

We continue our discussion of Human and Operations Performance with a discussion about how context drives the behaviors of the worker.  Best example of this is you wouldn't scream like you do at a football game in a church service.  All job sites are different and behaviors on each type of job sites are different.  To that end, all General Contractors and Owners are different and have the most influence in setting the tone and driving behaviors on the job site.   Thank you for listening!  Be Safe!

Welcome back from the Labor Day Holiday!  We continue our discussion of Human Performance with Principle #3 Learning and Improvement are vital; Learning is deliberate.  Organizations have two choices when responding to failure; Learn and improve Blame and punish We discussed last week that blame fixes nothing and offers little to nothing to operations.  So really, the best thing we can do is learn and improve.  Learning is an operational choice toward improvement.   This also ties into the "Safety Differently" concept that "Workers are not the problem to fix.  Workers are the problem solvers."   Thank you for listening and be safe!

Today we discuss the second HOP principle, "Blame Fixes Nothing."  Emotionally, blame fixates on who is at fault, but not what.  Blame is an emotional response though and does little to improve the operation.  Blame makes error a choice in retrospect, and we learned last week that error is not a choice.   Blame is the opposite of encouragement and deterrence by blaming is not effective.     As leaders, our response to when errors occur and incidents happen matters.  Blaming the individual feels good in the moment, but does little else.  When an error occurs, we must focus on what went wrong in the process of doing the task or the work.   Thanks for listening and be safe!

As safety professionals we expect zero injuries, zero accidents and zero incidents on every project and every job.  Unfortunately, this is an unrealistic expectation.  Committing to zero is different than expecting zero.  We need to adjust our expectations and recognize that mistakes can, do, and will happen.  Accepting errors and mistakes means we are accepting our workers as humans and adjusting our expectations means we can see more clearly where the potential for error to occur and when error does occur it does so safely.   Thank you so much for listening.  Be a friend and tell a friend.  Like, subscribe and follow along, but most of all... Be Safe!

On this episode of the podcast we review the 4 Principles of Safety Differently (New View) as well as the 5 Principles of Human Performance.  As the weeks go on, I'll be diving into the 5 Principles of Human Performance because I think these are important in how we view and operate as safety professionals.     Thank you for listening and be safe!  

The majority of contusions and sprain / strain injuries come from manual material handling.  In an effort to reduce these types of injuries, we recommend you put those materials on wheels; such as:  Forklift Pallet Jack Carts Dollys Pipe Dollys  etc. Thanks for listening and be safe!

Welcome to #StoponRed2021 Week!  This is incorporated into our Defensive Driver Course as "Right of Way" violations.  Since 2008 there have been over 9,000 fatalities related to these violations and in 2019 alone over 800 deaths and approximately 143,000 injuries; that is nearly 400 deaths or injuries every day in 2019 #BytheNumbers.  Please visit the National Coalition for Safer Roads website to see how you can raise awareness and influence safer "on the road" behaviors.

On this episode we discuss Slips, Trips, and Falls.  These are the leading cause of injuries and deaths in the workplace.   Good housekeeping, keeping aisles and stairs clear, hanging cables and cords or taping them down, having good lighting and using handrails are all ways to prevent slips, trips and falls.

Today we discuss why vacation time is important.   Thanks for listening and be safe!

Speeding is one of the fatal auto accident contributing factors.  Speeding reduces reaction time, increases stopping distances and reduces that effectiveness of on the road safety structures such as guardrails, crash cushions, median dividers and concrete barriers.   Speeding is a behavior that we all must address when we are driving.  Speeding is common, to the point that some feel if they do not speed they are causing a hazard on the road.     Why do you think you speed?  What are some things you can do to avoid speeding?   Thanks for listening and be safe!

Today we discuss sunburns and what you can do to prevent them.

Today we go Under the Hardhat with Jeff Kaiser, Safety & Risk Coordinator with MMC.

On today's podcast Jeff Kaiser, Safety and Risk Coordinator with MMC, discusses Lyme Disease; how it's transmitted, what are the symptoms, how it is treated and what we can do to prevent it.   Thanks for listening and be safe!