Author Archives: Sandy Smith

About Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is the Director of Global Content and Brand for Intelex Technologies. Formerly the Content Director for EHS Today, she has been writing about occupational safety and health and environmental issues since 1990. Her work as a journalist and editor has been recognized with national and international awards. She has been interviewed about occupational safety and health for national business publications, documentaries and television programs; has served as a panelist on roundtables; and has been the keynote speaker for occupational safety and health conferences.

Expert Connect: Planning for Long-Term ESG Management Success

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Don’t miss our next Expert Connect session on August 4 about ESG management: “How To Position Your Business For Long-Term ESG Success.”

ESG – Environment, Social, and Governance – is an extremely hot topic among the financial community, business leaders, investors, governments and even the general public. For the capital-focused stakeholders, ESG metrics present a robust, non-financial way to assess risk exposure. For morality-focused stakeholders, ESG metrics help demonstrate how much a company concerns itself with being a force for net-positive change.  

“Whatever the reason, ESG management, reporting and performance needs to be top of mind for businesses around the globe. But where do you start? How do prepare for elevated investor scrutiny, potential new regulation, or elevated social pressure? How do you get a handle on your carbon footprint and report it to customers? How do you ensure a strong ESG posture versus your direct competitors and peers?” asked … Read more...

142 Workers Were Killed at Work in Great Britain in 2020/21

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Provisional data released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows that a total of 142 workers were killed at work in Great Britain in 2020/21, an increase of 29 from the previous year, though the number of deaths in 2019/20 (113) was low compared to recent years.

In statistical terms, the number of fatalities has remained broadly level in recent years – the average annual number of workers killed at work over the five years 2016/17-2020/21 is 136. The fatality numbers released by HSE relate to workplace incidents. They do not include deaths arising from occupational exposure to disease, including Covid-19.

Over the past 20 years there has been a long-term reduction in the number of workplace fatalities, demonstrating that Great Britain is one of the safest places to work in the world.

“Whilst the working world in which we now live has created new health challenges for workers and … Read more...

Amusement Park Safety: Fun Is Serious Business

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Roller coasters, ferris wheels, dodge ‘em cars, scramblers and rotors: Some of our greatest childhood (and adult) memories revolve around amusement parks and carnivals. However, it’s important to remember that fun can be serious business.

I realized that at a young age, when my father and I became stuck at the top of the double ferris wheel at the Ohio State Fair when I was five. The ride jammed for what seemed like hours; at this point, I don’t know if it actually was hours or 15 minutes. The event left an indelible mark on my brain and to this day, my palms start to sweat and itch when I think about riding on a ferris wheel.

As amusement parks and carnivals have reopened this year following universal shutdowns during most of 2020 and early 2021, many families rushed to take advantage of the summer fun that was denied them … Read more...

Digging In to Improve Mining Safety: Pain Points and Solutions

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Mining safety is on an upswing in recent years. Approximately 230,000 miners work across 11,500 metal/nonmetal mines in the U.S., while 64,000 work in the nation’s 1,000 coal mines. The mining sector employs 3.7 million+ workers worldwide and is structured according to the substance being mined, the type of excavation taking place (either surface mining or underground mining) and by the mine’s lifecycle/development phase. Environmental and safety concerns/priorities change based on the substance being mined, the type of excavation and the phase of the lifecycle.  

In 2020, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported 29 mining fatalities, making it the sixth consecutive year that mining fatalities were below 30. Among those fatalities, five occurred in coal mines, a historic low.

Three deaths occurred in Kentucky and Louisiana; two each in Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Texas and West Virginia; and one each in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington.… Read more...

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...

8 Checklists for 2020: A Quick Way to Check In and Level Up Your EHSQ Programs

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These checklists from Intelex offer practical advice about managing aspects of safety like slips and falls and electrical hazards, help you touch base with employees during these stressful times, offer insight into your organization’s preparedness planning, provide guidance on quality issues like voice of customer and 5S, and much more!

Don’t Be Shocked – A Checklist for Electrical Safety – While the objective of protecting the safety of their employees continues to be a strong focus for employers, there still needs to be more checks in place to reduce injuries.

Embrace the New Age of Digital Learning: Training Management in the Age of COVID-19 – Learning and training is more important than ever. When the world moves quickly, sometimes in unexpected ways, we need to make sure our training can keep up and give our teams what they need to survive and thrive.

Back to Work Checklist for Mindful Leaders – While strategic vision … Read more...

L2L: How Do You Get Executives on Board with Health & Safety Initiatives?

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Engaging leaders in EHS is key to changing workplace culture.

Safety leaders from five companies met in the UK as part of our new Leaders2Leaders programme, a new series of videos, content and resources for health and safety professionals. They discussed a number of topics, including the impact of technology on health and safety, regulatory compliance, barriers to visibility, maintaining a safety culture, dialogue and buy-in with executives, bridging organisational siloes and what health and safety professionals should focus on as a matter of priority. While these topics all are interconnected, the experts had a lot to say about each one.

Episode 4 of the Leaders2Leaders video series focuses on how to better engage key executives from across your organisation. How and what you communicate with executives should be predicated upon their role in the company.

Messaging Counts with Executives

In this episode, Paul Darby, Global Head of Health & … Read more...

HelloFresh Is Using Technology To Take a Huge Bite Out of a Multitrillion Dollar Industry

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When families are counting on you for dinner, an unreliable supply chain is not an option. HelloFresh focuses on every step of the farm-to-door journey, shipping meal kits to millions of Americans, each filled with all of the ingredients necessary to prepare three to five different meals.

I recently found out how HelloFresh is using technology to reduce waste, improve quality processes and streamline supplier relations, all while doubling orders and revenue year-over-year.

It’s estimated that 40 percent of the food supply in the United States goes to waste because of over-portioning and wasteful distribution. Because of the attention to correct portioning, HelloFresh reduces the dinner food waste of its customers by at least 21 percent, resulting in a staggering reduction of food waste each week.

The company has over 2,500 employees in the United States who provide millions of meals that are carefully planned, carefully sourced and delivered … Read more...

Application Spotlight: Training Management

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Training tracking software can help you manage risk and contribute to a strong and resilient safety and quality culture.

Experts agree that the time spent on training can be a leading indicator that offers insight into the effectiveness of your safety and quality management systems and training tracking software can make collecting those insights easy. Effective training is a vital component to manage risk and build a strong and resilient safety and quality culture, yet challenges persist in many organizations. The demands of a global diverse workforce, lone worker and remote worker scenarios and evolving industry regulations add complexity to training efforts.  

According to the article “Training Records: A Source for Leading Indicators,” on EHS Daily Advisor, “…Your training records can provide you with leading indicators you can use to evaluate the effectiveness of your overall safety program.”

For example, have employees completed their scheduled training? What percentage of … Read more...