OSHA Publishes Small Entity Guide for Confined Spaces in Construction

OSHA’s new confined space standard protects construction workers against the many hazards found in these environments. To help small entities achieve compliance with the new standard, the agency has published a compliance guide. The guide addresses the most common compliance issues that employers face and provides helpful guidance. “Protecting Construction Workers in Confined Spaces: Small Entity Compliance Guide” may be downloaded from OSHA’s Confined Spaces page.

Lead Your Employees to Soar: PILOT Them to Higher Levels

By Elizabeth McCormick

©iStockphoto.com/Orla

Have you noticed that your employees or staff members seem stuck and unable to move upward? If so, it may be time to PILOT your employees, rather than merely manage them. Not only will you notice an increased amount of motivation among employees, you will begin to notice that they are contributing more, and becoming more involved and invested in your business.

When you PILOT individuals you help them realize their full potential and you become the type of leader that every business needs in order to soar. The following guidelines will help your team become more motivated and realize their potential. Many employees are not as successful as they have the potential to be, simply because they do not realize the power they possess. Being a PILOT for your employees will help them realize their abilities, which will help them become more effective, productive and be a catalyst to their growth. 

P—Potential

Leaders develop others’ potential to be a better person, to perform better in their job and to be better equipped to grow into leadership. Leaders develop leaders, but you may not understand how. To develop leaders, one must be someone that they can emulate. Show your employees that you are learning alongside them. Your employees want to learn from the way that you handle failure, and you can do so with grace and ease. When your employees see you fail, they see that you are still learning and working at becoming a better leader. As a leader, use your failures as learning experiences to share with your team. These experiences will create a culture that allows for creativity and educated risk-taking to allow failure and not fear it. People tend to learn more when they feel safe and secure enough to make mistakes.

I—Implementation

Have you ever had a meeting to discuss the meeting before the meeting? Are you spending more time getting ready to get ready? These behaviors occur when we become stuck in analysis paralysis. Turn your ideas into actions by taking action. There is a fine line between waiting for perfection and taking a calculated risk. Ask yourself, “Is the speed of implementing this more important than perfection?”  “What will we gain or lose from pulling this trigger? What will we gain or lose from waiting?” Then, ask yourself these questions: “Are you hitting the mark?” “What are the performance indicators we need to watch for?” Involve everyone on the team in the problem solving process and put everything up for consideration, and then discuss the pros and cons for each possible adjustment.

L—Leadership

It is usually good to be the first. Leading your industry demonstrates innovation, and innovation does not happen without first taking educated risks. Effectively leading means communicating in a clear and concise manner. As a leader, it is important that you clearly communicate the vision and inspire employees to perform their duties in the manner that is expected of them. The speed at which you act can determine the amount of time in which it takes for your products or services to hit the market. The sooner you take action, the faster your clients will be able to benefit from the products and services that you have to offer. As a leader, commit to a course while you communicate with your team and take the required actions to achieve your goal. 

Your communication and action will lead you closer to your vision. When employees see your drive and dedication to achieving the end result, they will follow and lead their team more effectively because they can clearly understand your vision and the actions needed to reach your goal. 

O—Optimize

As a leader, you must understand that you are responsible for the nurturing and culture of the organization and how it responds to risk, change and learning from failures on any level. To evaluate the strength of your team, you should evaluate how your team embraces change, welcomes change, initiates change, recommends change, and ask for ideas on how to change. If new ideas are raised in a meeting, do you properly explore them or shut them down immediately? Do you allow your employees to have a voice? 
At the close of every meeting, do you take the time to ask your employees if they have anything they would like to address? Do they have any feedback over what was covered in the meeting? Effective leaders understand the importance of asking these questions and actively listening to the responses. 

T—Tenacity

Too many people give up when they are so close to success. Do not give up on yourself as a leader, on your employees or on your organization. You are essential to their success. Be the pilot in command of your organization, not the copilot who follows along. 

Do you want your employees to willingly follow you? No one asks, “How can I be an average leader?” Every day you must show employees that you believe in the vision of your organization, your employees and the work that they are doing. To do this effectively, you must take the time to be the pilot in command and drive the action.

Elizabeth McCormick is a speaker, author, and authority on leadership. A former U.S. Army Black Hawk Pilot, she is the best-selling author of her personal development book, The P.I.L.O.T. Method; the 5 Elemental Truths to Leading Yourself in Life. McCormick teaches easy-to-apply strategies to boost employees’ confidence in the vision of your organization and their own leadership abilities. For more information, please visit www.YourInspirationalSpeaker.com. 

NYU Delivers Interactive Online Firefighter Training

©iStockphoto.com/Model-la

New York University (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering is working with major U.S. urban fire departments to create game-based online simulations to build knowledge on modern firefighting. With the use of the system ALIVE, which stands for advanced learning through integrated visual environments, the new firefighting offerings will include sessions on fire dynamics, fighting fires in buildings constructed using modern lightweight materials and training for urban high rises.

“Firefighters cannot train using live fire on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis—it’s impractical and too costly,” says Derek Alkonis, director of training for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. “However, firefighters need to understand how fires behave in structures and how assessing fire, heat, smoke and flow path can help them make better strategic and tactical decisions. Programs like ALIVE give us the opportunities to make mistakes without having to suffer real-life consequences.”

NYU reports that the training will be free, interactive, and will quickly and widely disperse accurate information to departments all across the country. “Without this online training, dissemination of this knowledge would be delayed, as we would have to wait for outside instructors to bring the information to the department,” says Ulysses Seal, chief of the Bloomington, MN, Fire Department.

An upcoming health module will center on minimizing cardiovascular risks caused by high stress, hostile temperatures and conditions, and heavy protective equipment. NYU reports the health module on ALIVE will train firefighters to understand the physiological strains of their duties, the factors that increase the risk of sudden cardiovascular events and evidence-based measures that may lessen the likelihood of a cardiac event during or immediately after emergencies.  

Pakistan Factory Collapse Kills 16

At least 16 people were killed Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, when a factory collapsed near the city of Lahore in Pakistan.

According to officials, as many as 150 workers could be trapped under the rubble after the building collapsed. Emergency services have begun the relief operation, and 45 injured people have already been sent to different area hospitals. However, rescue workers have expresses concern that the heavy machinery being used to dig could injure other survivors.

The factory, located in the Sundar Industrial Estate on the outskirts of the city, manufactured shopping bags. According to officials, two floors of the factory were fully operational while the third was being built, but the cause of the collapse is still unclear.

Click here for more information.

Listen to Safety Lately 11/2/15

Safety Lately is a look at the past week in the world of OSH. This week’s show covers keeping first responders safe in ambulances, a new initiative for young workers, and how green buildings can improve cognition.



You can download the podcast here.

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