8/9/2021 A few years ago, a major defense facility suffered multiple lost time accidents due to employees slipping on icy sidewalks. And while these incidents took place during Winter and we are currently experiencing record-breaking heat conditions in the middle of Summer, one of these incidents caught my attention and Read more
5/17/2021 During the French Baroque period (roughly 1600 – 1750) there lived a prominent and quite successful composer and conductor within the Court of Louis XIV. His name was Jean Baptiste Lully. And as the story goes, upon the King’s recovery from a most severe illness, to honor the celebration, Read more
9/5/2011 As I sit in an airplane, thousands of feet in the air, I find it somewhat amusing that I am about to talk about the worst disaster in commercial airline history. While I have told this story a few times, I think the lessons to be learned from this Read more
10/24/2011 Recently, I was listening to a group of safety and health professionals that work at various locations within the DOE complex talk about some of their challenges. One person brought up a concern that grabbed everyone’s attention. Apparently, his group of S&H professionals were noticing an increased practice of Read more
11/8/2010 Mac’s face was turning as red as a beet. “Come on, Ethyl! Why are you making such a big deal out of this? No one was hurt, nothing was damaged, at least, nothing noticeable. No harm, no foul, right?! “Absolutely wrong, Mac.” Ethyl Mercaptan, Senior Safety Rep for Property Read more
11/23/2020 Just a short message this week. This one is quite sobering. It’s a message that cannot be overstated with the implication of never taking anything for granted. Last week, in the nearby mountains where I work, a young couple, boyfriend/girlfriend, were driving when another car hit them head-on. It Read more
10/26/2020 Human nature: According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, human nature is the fundamental dispositions and traits of humans. Human nature encompasses the physical, biological, social, mental, and emotional characteristics that define our tendencies, abilities, as well as our limitations. One of the innate characteristics of human nature is imprecision. That Read more
10/5/2020 Visit any city or town in the US and chances are you will find road construction. Lanes shut down, intersections crowded with vehicles, jammed to a standstill. People tend to get a little frustrated and, in many cases, decide to take matters into their own hands and break a Read more
9/28/2020 The mantra in the world of S&H is “ALL ACCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE.” And after so many years in this profession, I can say that this statement does hold considerable merit; yet there are examples where experts in the field of accident investigation have had to admit, that there are Read more
9/14/2020 Typically, our field crews have the luxury of performing tasks without having to work alongside another work crew that has been tasked to perform work that is unrelated to our assignments. However, there are circumstances when we find ourselves, unexpectedly, having other persons “invade” our work areas, setting up Read more