Stand Down for Fall Safety

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This week is the National Safety Stand-Down in the United States, which raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.

The National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction on May 3-7 is led by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to reduce injuries and fatalities from falls.

Each year, OSHA publishes a top 10 list of the most frequently cited violations it has recorded. The list for 2020 is largely unchanged from 2019, suggesting that little progress has been made addressing the most common workplace incidents, four of which are related to fall protection: fall protection (general requirements), ladders, scaffolding and fall protection (training requirements). OSHA logged nearly 12,000 violations for these four standards.

Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 401 of the 1,061 construction fatalities … Read more...

North American Occupational Safety and Health Week: A Commitment for Life

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Each year, during North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, thousands of individuals and organizations across North America join together to raise awareness about the importance of preventing injuries and illnesses at work. NAOSH Week runs from Sunday through Saturday the first full week in May. The goal during NAOSH Week is to focus the attention of employers, employees, partners and the public on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home and in the community.

Created by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering and championed by ASSP and other organizations in Canada, the United States and Mexico, this key observance is celebrating its 20th anniversary and encourages grassroots efforts at every organization in all industries to bolster workplace safety. (#NAOSHweek)

The Importance of Work Safety

Eighty-five percent of workers rank workplace safety first in importance among labor standards, even ahead of family and maternity … Read more...

ESG & IoT Create Smarter Businesses

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The rapid growth in capabilities of new technologies such as AR/VR, drones, robotics and the internet of things is accelerating the pursuance and performance of ESG.

There’s no doubt about it; businesses are becoming smarter. They are ramping up their environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies to score a win-win. They are increasing business profitability while boosting sustainability performance, building a strong social contract and embracing more progressive governance.

In a recent blog post we examined some global trends that are driving companies to focus on ESG, but we didn’t discuss the tools, techniques and technology that are helping to make it happen. This blog will discuss some of those tools and technology.

Over the next decade, technology will make it easier for companies to reduce their energy needs and carbon footprint. Renewable energy generation is skyrocketing, companies are investing in smart buildings and factories to reduce energy consumption … Read more...

Intelex Experts Examine How the Construction Industry Is Flexing its Technology Muscle

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The construction industry has been engaging more and more in technology solutions for challenges such as regulatory compliance, safety analytics, training tracking and more. Join our panel of experts for our latest Expert Connect session, “Construction Builds Technology Muscle” on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, from 10am-10:45am EDT

Chuck Pettinger, Ph.D., Process Change Leader – Implementation for Predictive Solutions Corp., will be our moderator. Chuck has over 30 years of experience designing, implementing and evaluating culture step-change initiatives. His major interests include developing large-scale corporate behavior change initiatives, assessing industrial safety cultures, using advanced predictive analytics to develop leading indicators and conducting organizational leadership workshops.

Chuck will guide our experts through a discussion about some of the technologies being used by world-class companies in the construction industry to protect workers and the business. Existing challenges like compliance and safety have been compounded by new challenges brought about by economic … Read more...

Workers Memorial Day 2021: Mourn the Dead, Fight for the Living

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Every year on April 28, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) commemorate Workers Memorial Day. Also known as the International Day of Mourning, this is the day we remember and honor the men and women who have lost their lives on the job. Many of these devastating losses were preventable if standards had been followed, appropriate controls existed and if safety and health programs were a priority.

In 2021, the DOL also observes OSHA’s 50th anniversary. Before the 1971 enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the creation of OSHA, many U.S. workers lacked basic protections from workplace hazards. Since then, OSHA and its many partners have helped transform U.S. workplaces and have reduced injuries, illnesses and fatalities significantly.

“Workers Memorial Day reminds us of the sacrifices many workers make to earn their wages and provide for themselves and … Read more...

Expert Predicts OSHA to Focus on Fatality Reduction, Health Initiatives Under Biden

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The number of fatal workplace injuries has remained relatively flat for years, while the number of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses has decreased slightly.

A more concerted effort to reduce fatalities and an increased focus on the “health” element in OSHA’s mandate are two directions we can expect the agency to take under its new acting head, Jim Frederick.

These were two of many predictions put forth by longtime health and safety leader Jim Thornton during a recent American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) webinar that looked at what to expect from OSHA under the new Joe Biden administration.

Frederick was announced as the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health in January. He previously served as assistant director and principal investigator during a 25-year run with the Health, Safety and Environment Department of the United Steelworkers Union, until he left in 2019. Meanwhile, OSHA’s top position, the … Read more...

Changing the World: ESG, Earth Day, Volunteers

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Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Barnard College in New York City and her MA and PhD degrees from Columbia University. She published 21 books but was known more for the force of her personality than the accuracy of her conclusions. Here at Intelex, we promote the accuracy of data and encourage allowing the data to tell the story, Margaret Mead relied on observations, rather than data, to reach her conclusions.

While I strongly support the use of data to come to well-researched and well-founded conclusions, I have to admit that my favorite quote is one from Margaret: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

The power of those words and of that conclusion never fails to get me in all the feels. The only … Read more...

Earth Day 2021: Intelexians Making a Difference

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At Intelex Technologies ULC, our employees believe they can make a difference. Here are some ways Intelexians are “Restoring our Earth.” 
 
Ian Dransutavicius Associate Project Manager, and Georgia Dransutavicius, Product Solution Consultant  
“Earth Day is important to our family because it reminds us that we are borrowing this planet from our children and all future generations. It is a chance for us to reflect on how we can make sustainable choices that benefit the earth in our everyday lives. We also celebrate the day as an opportunity to reconnect with nature and teach ourselves and family members how to be stewards of this planet. On Earth Day, we like to get outside for a hike, make a plant-based meal and look for ideas on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle.”
 
Saida Zenagui, Senior Consultant 
“Earth Day for me is about understanding how our choices can make an impact on … Read more...

Intelex HazardIQ for iNet – Advancing Connected Safety Across the Last Mile of Hazardous Environment Monitoring

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At Intelex, we have an ambitious vision to eliminate death on the job by the year 2050, a vision we share with our parent company, Industrial Scientific. It’s a vision that informs not only what we do and how we do it, it’s part of the culture that we live and breathe every day.

Our mission is to deliver safer, cleaner and more efficient operations to our customers with the highest quality and best customer experience, every time, without exception. We are making a significant step forward in that direction with our new connected safety solution, Intelex HazardIQ for iNet. 

In all high-risk industries, workers are subject to a variety of environmental conditions that create elevated risks to their health and safety. Prompt detection and mitigation of these risks is critical to not only keeping workers safe from harm, but for optimizing EHS programs to make them more proactive in eliminating risks in the first place. With the pandemic accelerating the trend … Read more...

Earth Day 2021: Restore Our Earth

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As the world returns to normal, EarthDay.org warns, “We can’t go back to business-as-usual.”

From April 20-22, join the world’s leaders in celebrating Earth Day 2021. By working together, we can prevent the coming disasters of climate change and environmental destruction. The theme of Earth Day 2021 is Restore Our Earth.

“At the heart of Earth Day’s 2021 theme, Restore Our Earth, is optimism, a critically needed sentiment in a world ravaged by both climate change and the pandemic,” said Kathleen Rogers, EARTHDAY.ORG president. “Restoring Our Earth is about solving climate change through the world’s natural systems, such as regenerative agriculture practices and reforestation, as well as through existing and safe technologies. Restoring our planet will also require the commitment of our world’s leaders to support climate literacy and civic skill building so that we can create a global engaged and active citizenry, a green consumer movement and an economy … Read more...