Awakenings

Wordsmyth.net defines awakening as a “coming to keen awareness”.

The below articles are “awakenings” Dave Weber (our founder) has realized during his 43 year safety career.

Archive for Awakenings

Safety Awakening – Support “Accidental” Safety People

December 12, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – Support “Accidental” Safety People

Support “Accidental” Safety People There are many more part-time safety people then full-time safety people.   I sometimes refer to part-time safety people as “accidental” safety people.  They did not choose safety as a career path, rather they were assigned safety responsibilities by their employer. Most full-time safety professionals have purposely chosen occupational safety and health as […]

Safety Awakening – “What Has Happened, Will Happen”

December 5, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening  – “What Has Happened, Will Happen”

“What has happened, can and will happen again!“ – Too often, employers conduct only cursory accident investigations.  They don’t get to the underlying, multiple causes of the accident.  Without a thorough and comprehensive investigation and follow-up, any accident could happen again – with maybe more severe consequences the next time. Accident repeaters and unchecked accident […]

Safety Awakening – “Celebrate Near Misses”

November 28, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “Celebrate Near Misses”

“Celebrate Near Misses”   – When near misses occur, we usually say – “Wow,  we sure were lucky that no one was hurt or killed!”  Indeed, I’ve seen a number of near misses that could have easily resulted in an employee’s death had the timing of things been slightly different. Recently, a near miss occurred […]

Safety Awakening – “There’s No Substitute For Experience”

November 21, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “There’s No Substitute For Experience”

“When it comes to safety, there’s no substitute for experience”   – Many years ago I worked with a large trucking company.  They hauled grain and other products around the Midwest ( a very flat part of the USA). They were presented with a new business opportunity that involved hauling lumber to the west coast […]

Safety Awakening – “Safety Means Tough Love”

November 14, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “Safety Means Tough Love”

– Being a safety advocate means making decisions and choices that are not always popular.  Last week I heard about an unfortunate accident that reinforced this point. A female office employee at a metals manufacturer had a small piece of metal that she wanted to cut on the metal shear in the shop.  She had […]

Safety Awakening – “What” Is Right Trumps “Who” Is Right

November 7, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “What” Is Right  Trumps  “Who” Is Right

“What” Is Right Trumps “Who” Is Right – In my 40-year safety career, I’ve had many interactions with OSHA inspectors.  Also, for five years I worked for a division of OSHA and performed hundreds of inspections. One thing I learned from these experiences was that OSHA inspectors are not perfect – they sometimes make the […]

Safety Awakening – “Post-Incident Refresher Training”

October 31, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “Post-Incident Refresher Training”

–“Post-Incident Refresher Training” – The time immediately after employees are injured are when they are usually most receptive to safety training.  Employees should be reintroduced to a full refresher of pertinent training topics once they are stabilized and can return to the work-site. Employees are more receptive to the message of safety training once they […]

Safety Awakening – “Be A Safety Champion”

October 24, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening  – “Be A Safety Champion”

“Be A Safety Champion”  Workers’ safety has always been a sacred priority for me.   At a young age, I saw relatives seriously and permanently injured in on on-the-job accidents.  I’ve seen first hand the effect workplace  injuries and illnesses can have on a working class family. As a safety professional,  you must be the […]

Safety Awakening – “Safety During A Union Strike”

October 17, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “Safety During A Union Strike”

“Safety During A Union Strike”– In my 40-year safety career I’ve been the EHS manager at a number of union companies.  In two cases the union and management were unable to successfully renegotiate their contracts and strikes ensued.  One labor strike was with the “United Steelworkers” union in the USA, it lasted three weeks.  The […]

Safety Awakening – “Everyone Is Perfect”

October 10, 2014 No Comments
Safety Awakening – “Everyone Is Perfect”

“Everyone Is Perfect” – A few years ago I was in a meeting with a senior OSHA official.   He had visited the company where I was the EHS Director at to investigate a fatality. The investigator asked me if I’d ever given safety training to the deceased employee – I said “Yes”. The investigator […]

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