What should happen to the small proportion of individuals whose unsafe acts are justly considered culpable? Below we summarize in a very simplified way what psychologists know about the effects of reward and punishment in the workplace. The principal issue here is the effectiveness of “sticks and carrots” in enhancing the likelihood of desired behavior and reducing the chances of unwanted...

In today’s work environment, many management teams need some guidance on determining if an unsafe act warrants re-training, accountability, or it was a system-induced error.  Here is a simple flow chart that can help establish what type of action could be called for based on the facts from the investigation. … HomeRead More »

Let the official record show… the term “just culture” originated in 1990’s from none other than Dr. James Reason. So all of these consultants using LinkedIn as their marketing platform, decrying a “just culture” is nothing new!   Most of us have been simply managing our safety and health efforts with the WORKERS who do the dirty and dangerous work AS OUR FOCAL POINT, and this creates...

Leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin; neither can be realized without the other.  Leaders create and manage the culture in their organizations by maintaining safety as a VALUE, communicating their safety expectations to the workers, setting the standard for safety through actions, not talk (walk the talk), and leading needed change by: defining the current state, establishing...

As more facts are coming to light regarding the runway incursion incident at JFK on January 13, 2023, it appears that a “safety system” used by ground controllers may have saved the day.  In the NTSB’s preliminary report on the incident, it is stated: The ASDE-X alerted the JFK ATC tower to the conflict, and the tower controller issued a takeoff cancellation to DAL 1943. The...

I will never understand why/how a location identifies a hazard, in this case, OSHA identified it, failed to take that learning, and did NOT APPLY it across the business where that hazard is present.  In this case, a federal workplace safety investigation at a cattle processing plant – now cited seven times by inspectors for endangering workers since March 2020 – found employees exposed to high...

OSHA determined that the employer of a 25-year-old welder – who suffered fatal injuries in an explosion in July 2022 – could have prevented the tragedy by following federal workplace safety standards.  OSHA learned the explosion occurred during welding operations while the work crew replaced old metal tanks with fiberglass ones at a saltwater disposal site for oil and gas fields.  The explosion...

This case is before the Commission on remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  Administrative Law Judge Keith E. Bell affirmed a citation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alleging that pallets of merchandise kept on racks at a distribution center were “stored in tiers” but not “blocked . . . so that they [were] stable and secure against...

If your management is only reactive to an accident, it is probably a built-in response because all the safety metrics are reactionary as well. When the sole safety metric is an injury rate, events that do not impact that injury rate do not garner a management response simply because they did not move the needle by which management is measured in safety.

This week OSHA published the Compliance Directive for Region IV’s Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for Safety Hazards in Auto Parts Industry – NAICS 3363XX (Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing).   Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that in 2021 the auto parts supplier industry had higher injury and illness rates – 3.3 per 100 full-time workers – than private industry...

A worker died of acute hydrogen sulfide (H2S) poisoning while responding to an alarming water pump involved in the process of extracting crude oil and natural gas. The worker was alone in the pump house, attempting to close process valves to isolate the pump. The pump unexpectedly energized either before the worker’s arrival or during his work, releasing water containing H2S gas into the pump house. ...

The Respondent operates a frozen poultry storage facility. The Facility is located within several hundred feet of residences.  Respondent uses 15,900 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in a refrigeration “process,” as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3, in a system of pipes and vessels at the facility (the “Process”).    On June 6, 2019, EPA inspectors visited the facility...