8/13/2018 A few weeks ago, the nation was celebrating the memory of Senator John McCain. Many stories were told about his life of service; however, one grabbed my attention. It was the tragic event that occurred when John McCain was on the USS Forrestal: an aircraft carrier that suffered a Read more…
7/30/2018 When I was a student (many years ago) and working on an assignment in a chemistry laboratory with another student, an incident occurred that could have resulted in a very serious injury. In one of the fume hoods a large glass bottle was used to collect spent acids. The Read more…
Week of September 5, 2017 – Workplace Violence Workplace violence (WPV) is defined as any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide. It can affect Read more…
3/14/2016 The terms, leading and lagging indicators were first used in the financial world. While a leading indicator is designed to help determine or predict the future, a lagging indicator provides information as what went right or wrong. Thus, a leading indicator uses information prior to an event or occurrence, Read more…
3/9/2015 Last month the news reported, once more, another case of road rage that resulted in one person taking another’s life. It occurred in a residential neighborhood in Las Vegas, Nevada that began with a traffic altercation and ended with an exchange of gunfire. In the end a 44-year-old mother Read more…
12/28/2020 It happened a number of years ago; when Las Vegas was building casinos so fast that even the local residents couldn’t keep up with what was going to be the latest and greatest theme-related high rise on the strip. These structures are big, and contractors were getting sizable bonuses Read more…
8/8/2016 Within the field of occupational safety and health, there has been a growing concern regarding complacency. Accident investigations (in private industry and government operations alike) are showing an upward trend where “complacency” is listed as a contributory factor. Many perception surveys now ask workers if they have become complacent Read more…
7/18/2016 After an unfortunate incident, it is common to discover through diligent investigation, that there were indicators, missed signals, and dismissed alerts that preceded the event. And if these “signals” were only heeded, disaster could have been averted. All one has to do is review some of history’s most famous Read more…
7/5/2017 All of us, at least a few times in our professional lives, have been assigned a work task where we needed to complete a checklist; perhaps this may involve numerous checklists on a daily basis. One example we can relate to is our annual physical exams. We are given Read more…
1/4/2016 It happened on a Christmas Day, when a 33-year-old man from Indiana was visiting Southern California. He was in San Diego, at a place known as Sunset Cliffs. As the name implies, this location is a place where many go to watch the sun set as it gently disappears Read more…