Leading And Learning Through Safety

A news story from late 2022 brought up some good points about being prepared for emergencies and how learning and education are a big part of being ready.

In this episode, we chat about what I think 2023 will bring along with some holiday safety tips

This episode has me taking a look back and the good and bad of 2022 from a safety and people perspective

When our team performs work that varies from high to low risk, we have to assure that they stay calibrated to the real risk. It is easy to think of the relative risk rather than the actual risk of the work being performed. 

This week, a news story about child labor and safety violations leads to another discussion about managing contractors. From an HR and Safety standpoint, there is so much wrong with the entire situation. We chat more about these findings and all the checks and balances that should be in place.

Continuing on from last week . . . I found a new news story that continues to demonstrate that there dramatic changes that need to happen to help reduce SIF in the construction industry. 

A news story about a contractor that continually puts their team at risk starts the conversation about holistic leadership and contactor management.

This week we chat about a whistleblower claim that was settled by OSHA in which two people received damages and their jobs back. HR and HSE are about fair and consistent communication. Aligning our team and our organization with goals and tasks is easier said than done. This week, we explore more about alignment, clarity, and documentation

There was a new story about a workplace death from a respiratory issue that was not covered by OSHA regulations. What do we do when we encounter hazards that are new, not regulated, or do not have strong research yet? Sometimes, we have to find a new way to think about hazards and controls.

What is it that drives someone to accept more risk than they normally would? Stress can be a key indicator or risk acceptable. We talk more about that in this episode

Communication in the workplace can seem like an overwhelming exercise. So many people, so many needs, so many forms. We can as leaders learn to control the message and help focus our communication to be more effective. 

This week we talk about motivation. Motivation begins with good communication. Are there ways that we can better communicate to our teams to help create the motivation needed to work safely?

A headline about OSHA caught my attention this week and leads to a discussion on real leadership and how it had a direct effect on safety.  As the next generations are focused on organizational values, there could be a real turning point in tolerance for workplace harm.

This week, we start things off by talking about safety systems and how they can be intimidating but should not be. We then transition to a local news story about OSHA penalties for emergency management.

Temperatures are still high, so we talk about hot weather precautions. Then in the second half, we look at a news story where safety really is just a sense of luck.

I found a headline this week about a fatality. The lack of training on many fronts led to this terrible incident. We chat about the necessity of training and how we can reflect on the continuous improvement cycle of safety education.

This week we dive deeper into the OSHA Heat Stress law-making process and some of the principles that could come from the data gathering. As we explore the heat stress, the idea of a hazard becoming part of the culture emerges. How long does it take for an organizational culture to accept a hazard as just part of the work? How do you engage and empower your workforce to reset expectations and talk about those hazards? These topics and more in this week's podcast

Summer is back and the debate for OSHA to create a heat stress standard is on the rise. This week, we talk about the need for such legislation and why it has been too long in the making.

After a brainstorming session with an international group, I came away wondering if safety could be a key differentiator in recruiting and keeping top talent. Is your safety program something you feel would be worth talking about when recruiting? This week, we explore the idea of safety as a tool for promoting your company to new hires.

I came across an article about a fork truck accident which sparked my interest in how the media reports on work-related incidents.  The discussion continues as we chat through options and ideas for managing the total workflow traffic of a busy site.