Safety Simplified Blog

I recently assisted a company with their annual fall protection equipment inspections. It was a tedious and monotonous task but well worth it. Throughout the process we removed numerous body harnesses, connectors, self-retracting lifelines, and safety ropes. Each piece of equipment removed from service was a reminder of the importance of the pre-use and annual […]

Core Elements of an Effective Program The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) promulgated the standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout Tagout), Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.147 in 1982. The standard is responsible for preventing numerous injuries and fatalities since it went into effect in 1989. Lockout tagout is […]

Grain dust explosions often result in fatalities, injuries, and significant property damage. OSHA’s Grain Handling Standard 29 CFR Part 1910.272 addresses grain dust explosion prevention and includes a requirement for a written housekeeping program to address fugitive grain dust. Why Does Grain Dust Explode? Secondary explosions occur when the blast or pressure wave from the […]

Written Program Requirements The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Permit Required Confined Spaces standard 1910.146 establishes requirements for safe entry into confined spaces. According to the standard, employers requiring workers to enter confined spaces must develop and implement a written permit space program. The written program should contain guidance on space identification, entry procedures, the […]

Using a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) without evaluating fall clearance is like bungee jumping with a bungee cord that is too long. It places workers in a situation that can result in severe injury and death. Prior to using a PFAS employees must have a basic understanding of fall clearance. Calculating fall clearance takes […]

Harvest is the perfect storm, a critical state of affairs with negative and sometimes unpredictable factors including seasonal workers, combustible dust, equipment failure, worker fatigue, and vehicle traffic. While it is difficult to eliminate all of these factors, it is possible to define and implement strategies to control or reduce their impact. Strategies like incident […]

Commitment Changes Culture As a consultant I’ve learned that companies approach safety in different ways. Some balance the need for compliance with commitment to their employees while others focus merely on compliance. It’s hard to argue that maintaining compliance with OSHA regulations shouldn’t be part of an organization’s approach. I’d argue that focusing merely on […]

Throughout our lives we’ve all heard of the importance of leading by example. Whether it is the example set for children, colleagues, or subordinates, leading by example is an effective means to influence behavior. An organizations culture reflects its beliefs, values, and attitudes. Establishing an effective safety culture requires employees, regardless of title or position, […]

How do you build a safety culture in your company? You may be curious. You may be ready. You can do a google search and find more choices than a Starbucks menu board. Like your order of daily roast, it can be confusing for sure, not to mention expensive! I’d like to share several strategies […]

We Aren’t Born with It! “They need to be more aware of their surroundings.” This term is often used to describe the corrective action resulting from an employee injury. Using this term assumes that everyone is born with a certain amount of “situational awareness” that will provide a protective shield against exposure in the workplace. […]

What if someone told you that a simple investment could improve productivity, increase worker morale, attract better employees, improve the company’s image in the community, and save money. There is an investment that can guarantee all of these things. Investing in workplace safety can reduce and sometimes eliminate the direct and indirect costs associated with […]

Setting the tone for safety inspections. First impressions matter, especially when it comes to safety inspections. My impression of a facility starts to form the minute I get out of my vehicle. I can sometimes tell whether safety is a priority based on the visual appearance of the facility and interactions in the office. It’s […]

Online Learning’s and Hands-On Training My first exposure to online learning was in 1999. I was working in the corporate safety department of a company that had approximately 40 facilities in six states. Due to the size of the company our safety team couldn’t be everywhere at once. We often relied on managers and supervisors […]

Last year my colleagues at Safety Made Simple and I read Simon Sinek’s book “The Infinite Game.” The forward to the book reads, “The rise of great societies, advancements in science and medicine, and the exploration of space all happened because large groups of people, united in common cause, chose to collaborate with no clear […]

I recently assisted a company with their annual fall protection equipment inspections. Each of their facilities brought their equipment to a central location where we thoroughly inspected each piece. The effort spanned 12 hours over the course of two days. A monotonous task to say the least. At times I had to remind myself of […]

I recall spending time with an employee awarded the title of safety coordinator. He asked me how he could be effective in his new role. I was overwhelmed by the question. All sorts of thoughts were running through my head. After some reflection, I came up with several strategies that have served me well over […]

An Effective Model for Developing Safety Training I recently had an interesting conversation with two employees about safety training. One employee indicated that he remembers many of the stories, pictures, and videos that focus on negative outcomes and that he thinks about those outcomes before making decisions. We then discussed the ABC model of behavior. […]

I recently performed several safety assessments for a company. Over the course of three days, the assessments identified hundreds of hazards that will be tracked to completion. While this may seem monumental in nature the most meaningful and impactful aspect of the assessments was the conversations we had with employees. I call this “conversation-based safety.” […]