Category Archives: EHSQ Community

Key 2020 Trends in Health & Safety in the UK

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UK Health and Safety Statistics

Fact: This year has presented more than its fair share of challenges globally, particularly in the area of health and safety (H & S). On top of the fact that COVID-19 has claimed over 65,000 lives in United Kingdom to date, health officials and employers also had to address an increase in the number of work-related illnesses related to stress, anxiety and depression.

2020 will go down in history as a year unlike any other. Governments had to scramble to find solutions to a fast-growing pandemic; pharmaceutical giants had to dramatically ramp up efforts to develop and release a vaccine across the globe; and organizations had to pivot when it comes to their day-to-day operations as well as to their business continuity planning efforts.


Year-Over-Year H & S Trends in Great Britain


Despite the changes that businesses had to make to adapt to changes in the economic landscape, worker health … Read more...

Safety Tips for the First Day of Winter

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Winter storms and cold temperatures can be dangerous. Stay safe and healthy by planning ahead and preparing your home and vehicles.

Although winter comes as no surprise, many of us may not be ready for its arrival. If you are prepared for the hazards of winter, you are more likely to stay safe and healthy when temperatures start to fall.


Prepare Your Home


Staying inside is no guarantee of safety. Take these steps to keep your home safe and warm during the winter months.

  • Winterize your home.
    • Install weather stripping, insulation and storm windows.
    • Insulate water lines that run along exterior walls.
    • Clean out gutters and repair roof leaks.
  • Check your heating systems.
    • Have your heating system serviced professionally to make sure that it is clean, working properly and ventilated to the outside.
    • Inspect and clean fireplaces and chimneys.
    • Have a safe alternate heating source and alternate fuels available.
  • If
… Read more...

How to Find the Right Answers Listening to the Voice of the Customer

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Staying connected via online communitites

Over my career, I’ve relied heavily on online communities to get support and share best practices for critical software I use on a daily basis. The story of my time at Intelex has been no different.

When I started as a trainer 9 years ago, we had a thriving online community called Intelex Exchange that I logged onto daily to help speed up the process of learning how to use Intelex so that I quickly could ramp up so that I could train and coach others on it. Intelex Exchange also offered a great opportunity to interact with customers and other users of Intelex that I hadn’t had a chance to work with yet. I learned a lot from my experience with Intelex Exchange and it helped me grow as a trainer and later, in my other roles at Intelex.

Over the years, I feel like we’ve let some of … Read more...

Do You Know the Most Popular Gift Items to Make the Safety Professional’s Holiday Wish List?

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Holiday Gifts for Safety Professionals

When it comes to satisfying the safety-minded individual, holiday gift buying is more about practicality than material things. After all, there’s something to be said about prioritizing health and safety above everything else.

Even though it’s that most wonderful time of the year, shopping for near and dear ones can, at times, be most stressful. But what about shopping for safety professionals? Is that any different?

The answer to that is a resounding yes!

An article by EHSToday highlights the fact that safety professionals put an emphasis on understanding risks and hazards, not just following procedures. With a laser-focus on preventing workplace and safety hazards as well as managing the number of incidents, wouldn’t it seem logical that they would appreciate gifts that helped keep their teams (as well as themselves) safe on a day-to-day basis?

You bet it would!

Here are some popular gift items for safety professionals … Read more...

The Weather Outside Is Frightful: Winter Driving Safety Tips

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Winter Driving Safety Tips

Seventeen percent of all vehicle crashes occur during winter conditions.

It’s easy to forget after months of mild conditions that snow and ice demand careful driving and special preparation for your vehicle. Even the most experienced drivers can be challenged when it comes to driving safely in winter weather. We all can use a refresher when it comes to making our way through a winter wonderland.

Safe driving starts before you start your trip. Regular tune-ups and maintenance of your vehicle are the starting point for safe driving year-round. In winter, pay special attention to your vehicle’s battery, wipers, coolant, tires and other systems that can take a beating when the temperature drops. If you’re using snow tires, have them installed before the snow begins to fall. When you know your vehicle is ready for the road, clear your car of snow, ice or dirt from the windows, forward sensors, … Read more...

Revitalize Safety Management in 2021 with New Safety Trends

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2021 Safety Trends

2020 created challenges across industries and practice areas. These anticipated safety trends for 2021 run the gamut from artificial intelligence to professional development. What’s tops on your list for 2021?

For most of us, the end of each year has come to represent a time of reflection and reevaluation and a time to look forward. This year in particular, with its unique set of challenges, has forced us to reevaluate the way we’ve been doing business and propelled change in many areas, including safety management.


The Applicability and Value New Safety Trends


With 2021 around the corner, it’s exciting to see what the future will bring to the practice of occupational safety. A blog published by Pie Insurance, explores the top safety trends that are expected to make waves next year:

Mobile Applications:

  • The application of new technologies and upgrades to mobile applications help workers stay connected to their
… Read more...

How to Make Your Mark as an Influential Leader in the EHS Space

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What Makes a Great EHS Leader

While being a good leader takes work, being a great leader comes naturally to some, but for others, it takes a combination of dedication and insight. This applies to leaders across the board – the fields of environment, health and safety (EHS) are no exception.

So then the next question becomes: What makes a great leader?

Initially, EHS leaders were hired for their technical expertise. Now, they are being perceived as a part of the larger operational team, which can include human resources, finance, operations, quality and more.

As the role of the EHS leader has evolved, both in terms of breadth and depth, the role has become one that has greater influence and impact on the business. For this reason, companies look at the strength of these leaders, not only to help the business meet its EHS objectives, but also help it meet business objectives by engaging … Read more...

Leaders2Leaders: Health & Safety Leaders Are Changing Business for Good

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Health and Safety Leaders Improving Business

Episode 7 of the Leaders2Leaders video series focuses on how health and safety leaders can get other parts of the business on-side and encourages them to be vocal evangelists of the HSE message. 

Health & Safety is changing. It is now more complex and dynamic than ever. In addition to traditional concerns over safety, today’s professionals must deal with everything from pandemic planning to employee mental health to global environmental citizenship. An important part of the role of HSE professionals is breaking down siloes to build bridges from the business to employees and from HSE to other operating units of the business. 

“For me, it’s about teamwork and having representatives of teams from different areas of functions, regions, countries. That’s how we break the barriers,” said Ratna Morjaria, Global ESH Director, Evonik.  

“We have to open their eyes to understand what the organization is trying to do [to] understand the risk and the nature of the … Read more...

Project Management Checklist: Your Steps to Success

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Project Management Checklist

As famously stated by author Joy Gumz: “Operations keeps the lights on, strategy provides a light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.”

While that seems pretty logical and relatively simple, not everything is as simple as it looks. To highlight this, studies show that only 58% of business leaders claim to fully understand the value and applicability of project management. Translation: that leaves room for opportunity.


The Added Layer of Complexity in Safety Projects


From an end-goal perspective, most objectives of safety projects are similar to those in other aspects of business: delivering it on time, staying on budget and managing customer expectations, whether internal or external.

However, what makes safety projects that much more challenging is ensuring that worker safety will always be priority number one. Frankly speaking, that is no easy feat.


Must-Do’s for Safety Managers
… Read more...

Directly from the Source: How to Best Transform EHS Today’s Return to Work Survey Results into Action Plans

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There’s something to be said about hearing something directly from the source. No presumptions, no exaggeration—just pure, unadulterated facts. It’s for that very reason that surveys and focus groups play such a critical role in business in general and in EHS in particular. While this applies to most initiatives, this is especially true for return to work (RTW) programs, as they were developed quickly in response to the sudden outbreak of COVID-19.

For these programs, capturing employee feedback, particularly in the early stages post implementation, is critical. This is not only to improve processes where areas of improvement have been identified but also to course-correct where action plans are not working. Essentially, creating closed-loop processes will differentiate evolving RTW ones from their static counterparts.

To explore this further, we will look at the latest survey-focused report published by EHS today, Safety Professionals Prepare for the Post-Pandemic Workplace.


EHS Today’s Safety
… Read more...