Author Archives: Alison Grenkie

About Alison Grenkie

In my role as an Intelex Product Marketing Manager I get to write about all things EHS and Quality. I'm particularly passionate about safety and sustainability in the resources and energy sectors, including oil and gas, electricity generation and distribution, mining and more. I love sharing ideas, best practices and other insights that can help companies boost their bottom lines while building a better world.

How to Develop an Enterprise Mobile Strategy

Posted on by
Reply

Enterprise Mobile Strategy

Digital technologies have moved from the shadows of business operations to the center stage, where they now touch every corner of the business and play an important role in corporate strategy.

This drastic shift has far-reaching implications for companies and requires people to think in a fundamentally different way about technology and business. Digital technologies were once cost centers; they are now emerging as profit centers, offering a seemingly endless array of new possibilities for optimizing and transforming business operations.

It is impossible to overstate the impact that mobile technology has had on the way that we access information, the way we communicate with one another, and yes, the way we do business. These changes, coupled with an increasingly mobile workforce, are forcing organizations to reevaluate almost every aspect of their day-to-day operations.

blog-img-impact-of-mobileMany organizations are still searching for information and best practices to inform a strong enterprise mobile strategy. … Read more...

The Mobile Advantage: How Technology is Changing EHSQ Management

Posted on by
1

mobile-advantage-headline-bannerThere was a time when handling a mobile device in the workplace was deliberately avoided – it may even have resulted in some stern words from your boss. Not too long ago the very idea of swiping a smartphone on the job, in the field, or on the plant floor would have been unthinkable.

blog_img_enterprise_app_marketTimes have changed. Very quickly, mobile has proven itself invaluable (and some would say indispensable) in our personal lives.

More and more, we’re seeing that businesses are finding ways to take advantage of the power of mobile technology to meet workers where they are. In fact, the mobile enterprise app market is expected to grow to $61 billion by 2018.

Environmental, Health & Safety and Quality Managers Lag Behind

But Environmental, Health & Safety and Quality (EHSQ) professionals are still not taking full advantage of the benefits that mobile offers.

Data from the manufacturing sector … Read more...

The Legacy of Labor Day

Posted on by
Reply

Construction_Road

In North America, the September long weekend has come to signal the end of summer and the chance for one last backyard barbecue before the fall. Its original significance is sometimes lost on us in the hustle and bustle of back-to-school preparations.

But Labor Day is a cultural holiday that commemorates an important moment in workers’ rights history and celebrates how far we’ve come. Labor Day is also one of the few holidays celebrated on the same day across all of North America, regardless of religious affiliation.

Labor Day’s Origins
Labor Day began in Toronto, Canada back in 1872. At the time, unions were illegal in Canada and workers often faced deplorable working conditions, long work weeks, and low wages. The late 1800s weren’t easy for those in the U.S. either, with the average American working a 12-hour day and a seven-day week, just to make a decent living. Workers … Read more...

MSHA Update: June Impact Inspection Results and More

Posted on by
Reply

Mining

The summer is often a slow time for industry updates. Not so for the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) this year. From the results of their June impact inspections and the legacy of the Upper Big Branch explosion, to the discussions around a new proposed rule and their upcoming 40th anniversary, MSHA’s been keeping busy. Here are the highlights.

The Results Are In: June Impact Inspections

MSHA announced this week that it issued 114 citations during the month of June, as part of a series of special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and six metal and nonmetal mines.

Impact inspections are specifically designed to target mines with a poor compliance history or compliance concerns. These types of inspections began back in April of 2010 following an overhaul of regulations designed to more closely examine mines with chronic violation records.

This overhaul was prompted by the … Read more...

Reducing Oil & Gas Methane Emissions: EPA Regulations & Data Collection

Posted on by
Reply

Alisons-blog-3

U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently committed to specific reduction targets under the Paris Climate Conference, a legally binding agreement among 195 countries. A significant aspect of their ambitious goal is to reduce methane emissions by 40-45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025 in oil and gas operations. This target was reaffirmed on June 30 when Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto joined the commitment.

The U.S. has already begun acting on these commitments and this month the EPA issued a mandatory request for information that would help detect, measure, and mitigate emissions from the oil and gas industry. The environmental agency is also aggressively pursuing regulation of methane sources in the oil and gas sector. What does this mean for the industry, and how can companies engage effectively and prepare proactively?

To successfully address these mandates, oil and gas owners and operators must recognize that … Read more...

Safety Smart Companies: Three Workplace Hazard Observation Tips

Posted on by
4

Alison blog image

This week we continue to explore the themes being highlighted in 2016’s National Safety Month. Every June the National Safety Council (NSC) encourages us to raise health and safety awareness throughout our lives. Last week we talked about how “Safety Smart” employers can promote workplace wellness. In honor of this week’s theme, “Watch Out For Danger,” we’ve gathered some top tips for ensuring the success of workplace hazard observation programs.

 Make Proactive Hazard Identification a Priority

The safety industry typically identifies hazards by looking at history. We can understand what hazards are high risk by looking at injury statistics, for example. Similarly, standards, legislation and regulation are based on lessons that have been learned historically.

Proactive HazardsBut identifying a hazard after it has led to an incident is easy – after all, hindsight is 20/20. Anticipating a hazard with the potential to lead to an incident that has never … Read more...

Safety Smart Employers Promote Workplace Wellness

Posted on by
4

June is National Safety Month and an opportunity for all of us to raise health and safety awareness. This can be at work, at home, and in our lives in general. Last week we talked about employers encouraging their workplaces to “Stand Ready to Respond” in case of a workplace incident. This week, the National Safety Council (NSC) encourages us to “Be Healthy.” In our workplaces, this can be interpreted in many different ways, and employers have many different options for how they can choose to support the health of their workforce. Here are a couple ideas we’ve rounded up.

Help Your Employees Avoid Fatigue

Being tired doesn’t feel good. But in the workplace, being tired can also be very dangerous. The symptoms of fatigue include memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, errors in judgment, and slower reaction times. All of these symptoms can increase the risk of injuries and other … Read more...

Safety Smart Workplaces Stand Ready to Respond

Posted on by
1

first-aid-1400x530

Every year in June we observe National Safety Month. It’s an opportunity for the National Safety Council (NSC) and thousands of other organizations to raise awareness about the importance of reducing injury and death at work, on the roads and in our homes and communities. Each week has a theme, and this week’s was “Stand Ready to Respond,” highlighting the importance of first aid and CPR training.

Here at Intelex we’re especially interested in promoting workplace safety, which is why we’ve pulled together some critical information for companies who want to be “safety smart,” to help them stand ready to respond and ensure the safety of their employees on the job.… Read more...

How to Save $1.2 Million in Workers Compensation Dollars

Posted on by
Reply

Blog Image_PaceIndustries_450Pace Industries is North America’s largest full-service aluminum, zinc, and magnesium die casting company. Founded in 1970, Pace operates 12 divisions with 21 facilities and over 4,200 associates across the U.S. and Mexico. Today, their safety performance is a source of pride and a competitive advantage within their industry. But Pace Industries has learned a lot along the way.

Pace Industries focuses on building a strong safety culture in a number of ways, from committing to personal safety pledges to investing in safety by providing appropriate resources, training and education. “We challenged our leadership team to give our EHS personnel more responsibility,” says Kenny Sandlin, Vice President of Health & Safety at Pace Industries. “To give them authority, to empower them, but also to give them resources. Intelex was one of those resources.”

Barriers to Safety Excellence

Not too long ago, the majority of Pace Industries’ safety data was still … Read more...

It’s Time to Prepare for an OSHA PSM Inspection

Posted on by
1

Companies who are required to comply with OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard (1910:119) should be on high alert now that inspectors are being encouraged to complete more time-consuming, complex investigations.

The reason? OSHA’s new enforcement weighting system. Prior to this year, OSHA inspectors were measured on one primary metric: the number of inspections they completed. Logically, under this system OSHA inspectors were less likely to spend the time on a complicated and lengthy inspection, when they could complete several more straightforward inspections in the same period of time.

That’s now changing. Under OSHA’s new system each inspection is given a weighting, using a new measure called an Enforcement Unit (EU). Process safety management (PSM) inspections are now being given more weight than nearly all other types of inspections.… Read more...