Tag Archives: safety management software

Insights from NAEM Part III: Technology, Empathy and Diversity

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Highlights from the NAEM conference on EHS and sustainability featured expert knowledge on machine learning, change management and workplace diversity, all of which will be important themes in the post-pandemic world.

The EHS & Sustainability Management Forum from the National Association of EHS&S Management (NAEM) demonstrated the importance of balancing cutting-edge technology innovation with human empathy, dignity and inclusion, which will become an increasingly important theme in 2022. Here is a summary of some select sessions:

The Human Side of EHS&S

While conversations about data and digital transformation dominate the marketplace, it’s easy to neglect the needs of the humans who make up the workforce in EHS&S. The morning roundtable discussion on the human side of EHS&S explored how technology and change management need to operate hand-in-hand for organizations to find success.

The role of digital technology as both a tool and a goal was an important theme. … Read more...

COVID-19 Delta Variant: 42% of Workers Are Worried about Returning to the Workplace

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Due to the Delta variant of COVID-19, more workers than ever are concerned about returning to work.

As the Delta variant continues to proliferate and workers head into the Labor Day weekend, 42 percent say they are worried about returning to the workplace for fear of contracting COVID-19. This marks a substantial jump from June 2021, when only 24 percent had that concern.

“With headlines about the rise of the Delta variant, breakthrough cases among the vaccinated, and an overburdened healthcare system in much of the country, COVID-19 concerns that were subsiding just two months ago have risen,” said Rebecca Ray, PhD, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board, a think tank.

Conducted in August by The Conference Board, the new survey captured the thoughts of more than 2,400 U.S. workers on topics including return-to-work anxiety, factors driving them to pursue new job opportunities, opinions about … Read more...

The 10 Signs of Worker Fatigue

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Worker fatigue increases the risk for injury and deteriorating health (infections, illnesses and mental health disorders).

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has touched all aspects of society, including how we work and it is leaving many of us suffereing from or battling worker fatigue in the workplace. Emergency responders, health care workers, manufacturing workers, supply chain workers and others providing essential services to the community have been especially stretched thin, working longer hours than usual, working more shifts or even over-night and leaving less time to sleep and recharge.

Under regular circumstances, adults need 7–9 hours of sleep per night, along with opportunities for rest while awake to ensure optimal health and well-being. Long work hours and shift work, combined with stressful or physically demanding work or a change in work routines, can lead to poor sleep and extreme fatigue. Fatigue increases the risk for injury and deteriorating health (infections, illnesses and … Read more...

Is Your Workplace Safety Culture Lagging, Leading or Transformational?

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When a workforce buys into safety, good things happen. When everyone from the CEO to the rookie shipper/receiver comes to work each day recognizing how important safety is to them and their colleagues, the number of fatalities, injuries and near misses invariably starts to plummet.

As any EHS professional will tell you, increasing engagement in safety is easier said than done. Competing priorities, such as rigid product ship dates, unforgiving supply chain schedules and other factors tied directly to the bottom line, can have a negative impact on safety practices and the safety culture. It’s only when buy-in occurs at all levels – from the C-suite to the newest employee – that culture can be transformed. 

Fortunately, robust new technologies and modern workplace health and safety approaches like Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) are providing companies with a greater ability than ever before to increase engagement levels across the enterprise. … Read more...

Manufacturing: Surviving our New Normal

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By early 2020, manufacturing had regained much of the momentum it lost after the 2008 recession. Then the pandemic hit, bringing with it staffing and supply chain woes.

(The following is an excerpt from our report, The New Retool: Pivoting Manufacturing To Be Ready for Anything.)

As the COVID-19 pandemic exploded around the globe, it’s not surprising the industry that makes personal protective equipment (PPE) rapidly ramped up production. The demand for N95 respirators and a range of other vital protective equipment like faceshields, gloves, atmosphere-supplying respirators (supplied-air respirators (SARs), self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) and combination SARs/SCBAs) and protective garments initially overwhelmed supply.

A video from the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) – “Beyond the Mask” – shows how the PPE industry responded to the unprecedented challenges posed by the worst public-health crisis in a century.

“Beyond the Mask” reveals the behind-the-scenes work involved in getting PPE into … Read more...

Are You Ready to Build a Principle-Based Safety Culture?

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Is worker safety and health the foundation upon which everything else at your organization is built?

Empowering a workforce to achieve and sustain safety performance success begins with one critical question: Is safety a core value at your organization? Or, better yet, is it the organization’s principal value?

Is worker safety and health the foundation upon which everything else is built? It’s easy to test, to see and to feel when you achieve it.

The benefits of creating a principle-based safety culture are many. You feel it because it is real, it’s the norm, it’s the way things are done around here. You know a company has achieved it when:

  • You read it in things such as vision and mission statements.
  • The senior leadership team is engaged and actively demonstrating their value.
  • You see plant managers and their direct teams on the manufacturing floor, engaging with and learning from the
… Read more...