It’s time to challenge the status quo, write ClickSafety's Peter Rice and Steve Bowers in “Focusing on the Right Things,” an online exclusive article posted to ASSE's website. “[SH&E professionals] must challenge the status quo for many reasons, especially as part of the mission to prevent fatal and nonfatal incidents. Today, safety professionals have tools and opportunities that never before existed in the history of the profession. We need to adopt and employ those tools and opportunities.”
Pointing to the construction industry as an example, Rice and Bowers note that while the industy’s recordable injury rates and days away case rates have dropped significantly in recent years, one critical performance indicator—construction-related fatality statistics— hasn’t followed this trend. “In 1992, the construction industry accounted for 14.1 deaths per 100,000 employees. Over the following 13 years, the industry lowered its death rate to 11.1 (2005), which equates to a statistical drop of only 21%.”
One tool to improve employer and employee focus on safety is e-Learning, they say, explaining how this approach can be used to train and retrain employees effectively and efficiently, and help employers thoroughly cover OSHA’s Focus Four topics. They also offer tips for selecting and delivering the best content.
Read the article here.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers