Category Archives: Health & Safety Management

Thought leadership and practical tips to help your employees stay healthy in their jobs and go home safe from work each day.

Should You Be Contesting That OSHA Citation?

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Going down the road of litigation isn’t always the right path to take when your organization is on the receiving end of an OSHA citation.

Your company has just been cited for a safety violation or workplace incident by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). What should you do now?

You have 15 days to respond and according to John Ho, the co-chair of the OSHA workplace safety practice at international law firm Cozen O’Connor, contesting an OSHA citation shouldn’t necessarily be your automatic response. There are many factors to consider when determining a course of action, he says, explaining that a decision should weigh issues that may have significantly greater liabilities than the actual OSHA penalties imposed.  

“Lawyers are expensive and usually you’re going to spend more money on litigation, even if you win,” Ho says. “To fight a $30,000 to $50,000 OSHA (fine) – the cost/benefit … Read more...

Blog: Looking Back on 2022 – EHS and ESG Make the Connection

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Concerns and connections between environment, health and safety (EHS) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) were dominant topics of interest for readers of Intelex’s online resources in 2022.

Visitors to intelex.com during this past year most often download reports and research on EHS and ESG, particularly insights that explored important links between the two practices. And it became a hot discussion topic in our blog posts and webinars conducted throughout the year and will continue as a key focus of our insights and analysis in 2023.

Our most downloaded content report for the year was the just-completed research with North American health and safety and ESG professionals that examined trends, top challenges and important opportunities in EHS and ESG. More than 1,200 Intelex website visitors have so far requested the report since it was made available in early November. Upcoming in 2023: stay tuned for our global report.

Other topics … Read more...

Worker Safety During the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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Worker safety is particularly important at this time of year as stresses, busy workplaces and seasonal distractions can contribute to greater on-the-job risks.

The holiday season – known as the “most wonderful time of the year,” according to Christmas carols – can be dangerous and stressful for many workers. Whether they are warehouse workers, delivery drivers, seasonal workers, retail workers or others, the holiday season brings with it a number of risks – from ergonomics to winter driving to customer temper tantrums to workplace stress.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has created a web page to address Workplace Holiday Safety. As noted by the agency on that page: “As the nation enters the holiday shopping season, employers must ensure that all workers are trained to recognize and prevent job hazards and implement safe work practices. OSHA has resources to help keep workers safe at every step, … Read more...

Why Human Error Isn’t to Blame: Understanding Variability in EHS Systems 

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Scapegoating workers and accepting the limitations of human judgement does nothing to reduce injury and fatality rates or to improve the efficiency of the EHS management system.

When we say that human error was responsible for an incident, it’s tempting to be comforted by the idea that one person’s poor judgement was to blame. If that person was doing something they shouldn’t have been doing, that seems to be a fairly obvious root cause that couldn’t be anticipated and doesn’t reflect the overall integrity of the management system, leadership or workplace. “Humans will always make mistakes,” we might tell ourselves, “and you can’t make a system foolproof when humans are involved.”  

Yet scapegoating workers and accepting the limitations of human judgement does nothing to reduce injury and fatality rates or to improve the efficiency of the EHS management system. People operate within the constraints provided by the culture and management … Read more...

ESG Reporting and EHS Management at Day 2 of the Intelex User Conference 

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Day Two of the Intelex User Conference in Nashville on Nov. 4 continued the discussions about the current state of EHS management, the growing role of ESG reporting and how best to support the frontline worker.

With experts from various industries in every breakout session, the discussions were rich with insights into how Intelex and its partners can continue to foster the innovation customers need to keep workers safe on the job and create a sustainable future for everyone. 

Managing an OSHA Inspection

When an incident happens in the workplace, an OSHA inspection frequently follows. 60 percent of inspections take place in construction, manufacturing, retail and health care, while almost 40 percent of all OSHA inspections are at organizations with fewer than nine employees.  

While your organization and OSHA both have the goal of keeping workers safe and ensuring the continuous improvement of the safety management system, it’s important to … Read more...

Intelex30: How ESG Reporting and EHS Management Systems are Responding to a Changing World 

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Some organizations will face the reality that spreadsheets and manual methods for collecting data will not be able to keep up with the requirements of ESG reporting and EHS management.

The world has changed a lot over the last three years. In many ways, it’s become more unpredictable, with supply chain disruption, economic concerns and geopolitical volatility becoming part of our daily existence. Yet through it all, frontline workers are there to keep the machinery of the global economic engine moving, so keeping them safe while improving the way they work has never been more important.  

With that in mind, the Intelex User Conference returned in Nashville, Tennessee from November 3-4. For two days at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, we met with customers, partners and industry experts to dig into the present and future developments of EHS to see how we can support the needs of frontline workers everywhere. Since … Read more...

ESG’s Growing Importance Will Draw Upon EHS Leadership

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Survey results show intrinsic links between the two practices of ESG and EHS with both areas sharing many common concerns and similar objectives.

The role played by environment, health and safety (EHS) in the development and execution of environmental social and governance (ESG) strategies may depend on who you ask.

A recent Safety + Health Magazine webinar highlighted 2022 research from Vance and Bourne conducted on behalf of Intelex and shed light on how EHS and ESG leadership professionals are dealing with their evolving mutual challenges. The resulting report – Big Ambitions. Complex Data. Limited Visibility – analyzes a survey of 450 professionals who occupy EHS and ESG leadership roles in North American public and private organizations representing 17 business sectors. 

Survey results show intrinsic links between the two practices with both areas sharing many common concerns and similar objectives. During the webinar it was revealed that a vast majority … Read more...

Skilled and Experienced or a Proven Leader – What Type of Safety Manager Would You Hire?

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Here’s one professional who says a true safety leader shows commitment to excellence, a strong work ethic and personal accountability. Skill and experience are things you can teach.

When he was hired 12 years ago, Bill D’Amico wasn’t what most might have considered the predictable and obvious choice as global director of safety and health for pipe-joint manufacturer Victaulic Company of Pennsylvania.

But a 2010 fatality at a Victaulic foundry became a defining event and may have prompted company executives to think differently. Never again, ownership vowed, and was determined to recruit a safety leader who could radically improve safety performance and safety culture. Enter D’Amico.   

“I had zero safety experience, so why in god’s name would a global company of 5,000 people that just had a fatality hire someone who didn’t know a damn thing about safety or foundries,” he said, during an October panel discussion at the … Read more...

Why Is Driving Risky Business for Workers in Oil and Gas Extraction?

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Recent survey results from researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health showed that long work hours and commutes, insufficient sleep and a lack of employer policies in these areas increased the likelihood of one or more risky driving events.
Recent survey results from researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health showed that long work hours and commutes, insufficient sleep and a lack of employer policies in these areas increased the likelihood of one or more risky driving events.

Long work hours, lengthy commutes and insufficient sleep contributed to risky driving among oil and gas extraction (OGE) workers, according to On the road again: a cross-sectional survey examining work schedules, commuting time, and driving-related outcomes among U.S. oil and gas extraction workers, a study recently published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. In addition, insufficient employer policies in these areas were associated with a greater likelihood of risky driving.

Compared to all U.S. workers, OGE workers were more likely to die on the job during 2003–2013, according to a previous CDC study. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related death in the industry, yet … Read more...

New Research Shows EHS, ESG Compliance and Reporting Key Differentiators for Today’s Businesses

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Research from Intelex Technologies shows that EHS and ESG oversight and reporting are critical for helping companies attract workers, preserve their reputation and meet regulatory requirements.

The vast majority of environmental, health and safety (EHS) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) professionals believe that a higher level of EHS and ESG maturity in their organizations can drive new business, attract the best workers, and overcome regulatory compliance hurdles, according to findings released today from Intelex Technologies’ “Big Ambitions. Complex Data. Limited Visibility.” report.

Intelex, a leading global provider of cloud-based environmental, health and safety (EHS) management software, commissioned an independent market research firm to survey more than 450 EHS and ESG professionals across industries in both the United States and Canada on critical factors impacting their businesses. The survey, conducted in June 2022, showed that both health and safety and environmental oversight and compliance remain key concerns for today’s professionals.… Read more...