Occupational, Industrial, and Safety Shares for your company or organization

Feedback, Continuous Improvement and Lessons Learned

6/11/2018 It is understandable that many people lump the organizational processes of lessons learned, feedback and continuous improvement within the same category. True, they do have similarities, but there are differences as each serving their specific purpose.  To begin, feedback is part of a larger, all-encompassing work process described within the department of energy’s DOE P 450.4, Safety Management System Policy.  The process was originally defined in such global ES&H protocol as the International Organization Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Fire Extinguishers, Nanotechnology and Chimney Bombs!

4/30/2018 Without a doubt, fire extinguishers (F/Es) are important safety devices.  And while they are useful to minimize an incident, prevention is still the main tool we have to protect workers and the public.  Therefore, S&H professionals always stress such proactive preventative measures as housekeeping, proper separation of flammables, combustibles and oxidizers as well as removing sources of potential open flames from these materials.  However, once a fire does occur, F/E’s, when used properly, can Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Field Sanitation and Toilets

4/23/2018 Every so often, I am asked a question regarding those portable toilets, commonly referred to as “port-a-johns” that are used at project sites. Typical questions revolve around the number needed at a site and whether there need to separate facilities for male and females.  OSHA regulations for portable toilet facilities can be found at 29 CFR 1910, Subpart J: General Environmental Controls – paragraph 141, “Sanitation” as well as under the Hazardous Waste Operations Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Railroad Crossing Safety

4/9/2018 All of us have crossed railroad tracks while driving. Some people drive cautiously while others seem to push their luck and even cross when the gates are closing.  Sometime cars will even cross when the gates are down as they do not see any train and therefore, think they are in the clear and take their chances.  The fact is, a train hits someone in America every 115 minutes, often with fatal results. According Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Anatomy of a Tragedy

3/26/2018 It was on March 11; a Sunday evening in New York City when a helicopter plunged into the East River, killing five people.  Only the pilot survived. For those not familiar with New York City, New York’s East River separates the Boroughs of Manhattan from Queens and Brooklyn, and therefore, the incident was not in a remote location.  As such, the crash was witnessed by many people and was even caught on smart phones Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Ticks and Chiggers

3/19/2018 Spring is around the corner (although one would never know it if one is living in NE US).  And it is the start of the season where insects inhabit meadows and wooded areas.  Many years ago when I was a teenager, I found myself at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. My friends and I began walking towards the lake when some locals told us to protect ourselves from ticks and chiggers.  Being Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

A Short History of Child Labor in the US

3/12/2018 There was a time in this country when young children – very young children – routinely worked legally. After the Civil war industry grew at such a pace that children, often as young as 10 years old (but sometimes much younger) were forced into the ranks of the working class. They worked not only in industrial settings but also in retail stores, on the streets, on farms, and in home-based industries. It was in Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Football Helmets and Concussions

9/23/2013 A few weeks ago, the National Football League (NFL) reached a settlement in the combined lawsuits of 4,500 former players: The NFL will pay out up to $766 million (plus legal fees) to help retirees whose brains were damaged by concussions. The terms apply to every retiree who presents “medical evidence of severe cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer’s or ALS,” or to those players’ families. Concussion, from the Latin concutere (“to shake violently”) or concussus (“action of Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

TSCA

3/5/2018 A major environmental regulation, known as the Toxic Substances Control Act or TSCA…..pronounced TOSCA, has been jokingly misconstrued for the opera of the same name, written by Giacomo Puccini; considered to be one of the most lethal operas of all time as all the main characters – heroes and villains – do not make it to the end of the story alive. It may be stretching a point a little bit, but nevertheless amusing, Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago

Chocolate!

2/26/2018 Chocolate! The sweetest of confections. And while it is accepted that chocolate can put pounds on you faster than you can put it in your mouth, within recent years there has been clinical evidence to suggest that there are actually some health benefits to this heavily delight. Chocolate receives a lot of bad press because of its high fat and sugar content. Its consumption has been associated with acne, obesity, high blood pressure, coronary Read more…

By Robert Brounstein, ago