Professional Safety - January 2019

FIGURE 2

RECORDABLE & LOST WORKDAY DATA
PRIORITIZE IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

15 (injuries involving impacts from large, Incident types are labelled by their keywords and ranked by the total number of OSHA
800-pound rolls of reinforcement mate- recordables and lost or restricted workdays (lost days) per incident type. Incident types
rial) and incident type 13 (slips and falls) can be broken down into subtypes when needed. For example, incident type 13 was di-
have the highest recordable counts and the vided into three subtypes to facilitate the design of countermeasures.
highest total lost workdays. Note that these
incident types are not the most frequent
workplace incidents; in terms of first-aid
visits, hand injuries are much more com-
mon than incident types 11 or 13, but hand
injuries usually require only first-aid treat-
ment. It is easy to get distracted by the large
volume of lower impact incident types, such
as hand injuries, and neglect to see the big-
ger risk presented by less frequent but more
severe incident types. By clearly classifying
and ranking safety incidents based on the
data, the company recognizes problems that
might otherwise have been missed.

6) Bolster Professional
Judgment With Real Data
cisions. This was especially important with the greatest gains can be found and most
When implementing a production im- the NLP techniques used in the case study immediate opportunities often reside. Take a
provement program on one of the com- since knowledge of company processes surprise finding, confirm it and take action.
pany’s manufacturing lines, it is possible and technologies was crucial in making the
to quickly determine whether the process many model calibration and analytical de- Conclusion
improvement program has been suc- cisions that these techniques require. With safety 4.0, OSH professionals can
cessful by checking whether production
has increased or decreased. Companies If the goal is to reduce lost workdays, understand workplace risks in new and
generally rely on a consistent and inter- then the data scientist must structure exciting ways. They will grasp the value in
pretable metric of production output to analysis so that the results provide the ac- the complexity and quantity of incident
measure their effectiveness and help teach tionable information needed to reduce lost reports and safety data. The tools the
them how to improve skills with more workdays. If the goal is to reduce serious authors used in these examples are just
experience. However, this is not always injuries and fatalities (SIFs), then make some of the many ways that can help OSH
possible with safety incident reduction clear at the outset that the analysis must fo- professionals better understand workplace
programs. Many incident types, including cus on identifying potential SIFs particular safety as part of their safety 4.0 program.
severe incidents, occur infrequently and it to the company’s operations. It is important
is difficult for OSH professionals to deter- to state priorities early and communicate Through converting the company’s vast
mine whether they have prevented these them clearly to the data scientist to receive stores of data into useful information, the
incidents or if they still would not have the actionable insights that are hidden in authors have gained confidence that they
occurred without safety interventions. data, especially freeform narrative text. are identifying the biggest risks, and not
getting distracted by the outliers or those
By relying on lots of real data with the help 8) You Will Be Surprised few distracting incidents that might have
of safety 4.0 techniques such as NLP, OSH Expect to be surprised. About 25% of the otherwise absorbed time, attention and
professionals can help ensure that the most effort. With a clearly defined and well-con-
important issues are worked on. The most safety 4.0 results will be surprising; the rest ceived safety 4.0 strategy, the company is
severe incident types are usually not the most will confirm, quantitatively, what was already confident that it is focusing on the right
frequent incident types. In the company’s suspected. The unexpected results that shake customer concerns and maximizing im-
data, hand injuries are much more common up your view of workplace risks are where provement in customer satisfaction. PSJ
than other incident types that are often much
more severe. It is easy to get distracted when Keith Bowers is founder of Bowers Management. He spent more than 20 years at Honeywell Inter-
dealing with the large number of lower-im- national in diverse roles where he gained the domain knowledge needed to successfully apply big data
pact incident types and fail to appreciate the tools. Bowers holds a B.A. from Colgate University, an M.S. from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A.
greater cumulative impact of the less fre- from Arizona State University. Bowers’ certifications include Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP and a Data Sci-
quent, more severe incidents. ence Certificate from The Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of ASSP’s Arizona Chapter.

7) Set Clear Goals for Data Scientist Geoff Walter is corporate director of enterprise safety for Owens Corning, where he is responsibile
It is not necessary to be a data scientist to for leading and managing the global safety function. Prior to this, he spent 19 years with Honeywell
International in various OSH roles of increasing responsibilities. Walter holds a B.S. in Occupational
use safety 4.0 tools. However, the authors Health and Safety from Illinois State University and an M.B.A. from University of Findlay. Walter is a
recommend working closely with one, pref- professional member of ASSP’s Greater Detroit Chapter, and is a member of the Society’s International
erably one who has data science and safety and Management practice specialties.
experience. Without safety experience, a
data scientist may apply the wrong tools
and make less-than-optimal analytical de-

assp.org JANUARY 2019 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 49

CHECKPOINTS

ROBOTIC SAFETY GUARDING

By Shawn Mantel

Robotic automation for industrial applications is rapidly growing due to the reliability of programmed robots,
as well as the low overhead costs compared to traditional manufacturing processes. Some of the common
robots used in the manufacturing processes are cartesian, cylindrical and spherical robots.

Robots are reliable and consistent, written with some inherent flexibility or provides higher strength, fixed sec-
but failures can occur such as loss of gray area due to the wide range of man- tions and a high-visibility safety yellow
air pressure, power failures or glitches ufacturing processes. A level of common finish. Both guards require the use of
in the controls. A controlled environ- sense and manufacturing experience solid plastic, metal or wire-mesh panels,
ment should be developed to minimize must be factored in when closing the gap determined by the distance between
the human-factor decision making due between the gray area and the guarding the hazard and the personnel per the
to the inherent trust between robot being designed. appropriate safety standards, as well as
and human. type of material being processed. These
When designing robotic safety guard- guards are designed with access doors
A controlled environment for robot ing, several factors must be taken into for personnel and material handling
automation safety is a development account such as footprint, robot reach- entry, and various accessories needed to
of robotic safety guarding, which is a ability, human interaction and type of create a complete barrier.
hard-sided barrier or fencing integrated material being processed. A layout must
with electronic safety devices to create a be developed using the safety standards Once the physical barrier is designed,
controlled system taking a standard bar- as it relates to the operational interaction the specifications for the electronic safety
rier to a true safety guard. This guarding as well as any potential interaction the devices can then be determined. These
is designed to define a clear, unobstruct- robot could have with a human. This lay- devices include safety interlock switches
ed area for the robot to function properly out will determine the shape of the robot for door and removable access panels,
and protect workers from hazards due cell including length, width and height of safety light curtains and safety laser
to robot activity, material handling and the guarding required. A determination scanners for frequently accessed areas
production debris. Hazards that can is also made for the material type of the and all the required safety controllers,
occur if robotic safety guarding is not in structure and panels needed. relays, cables and hardware to design the
place are pinching, crushing, wrapping, proper safety circuit. A wide range of
cutting and nip points as well as collid- The hard guarding is most commonly sizes, protection coverage, durability and
ing with the robot or the robot losing designed with either T-slotted alumi- safety levels are offered to properly fit the
control of a part. Designs are created us- num extrusion or prefabricated steel. needs of each particular application.
ing a combination of OSHA, ANSI, ISO The T-slotted material is a lightweight
and Robotic Industries Association safe- yet rigid material with a high-aesthetic The fundamentals of robotic safety
ty standards. These safety standards are look, and is completely modular for guarding are fairly straightforward on
custom designs. Prefabricated steel the surface, but require a lot of technical
detail. Creating the proper design, choos-
A controlled environment should be developed to ing the right products and implementing
minimize the human-factor decision making due to everything together as a system is critical
to the protection of personnel and the ro-
the inherent trust between robot and human. botic automation equipment when devel-
oping a safe and controlled environment.
It is highly recommended to partner with
a company that specializes in providing
a turnkey solution due to the challenges
companies face such as lack of time, skill
level and knowledge of the ever-changing
safety standards. Companies that offer
design through nationwide installation
services of machine safety and automa-
tion applications can provide a level of
consistency throughout the entire pro-
cess, as well as a single point of contact to
minimize communication issues. PSJ

Shawn Mantel started his industrial career as
part of two startup companies in the T-slotted ex-
trusion and machine safety guarding market. He
grew the business as an integral partner. After 22
years, Mantel started his own business, PowerSafe
Automation, a machine safety guarding and au-
tomation company based out of Indiana. Mantel
is a member of ASSP’s Michiana Chapter.

50 PSJ PROFESSIONAL SAFETY JANUARY 2019 assp.org

PRODUCT PULSE

Field Laptop Smart Tag

Dell’s Latitude 7424 Rugged Notebook is designed to Dynotag introduces its
withstand inclement conditions such as in manufactur- web- and location-enabled
ing and military applications, and for workers on-the- smart tag that stores user’s
go such as emergency responders and field engineers.
According to manufacturer, device provides a reliable, information. Tag can be
fast and high-performance processor, and can with- based on different tem-
plates for purposes such as
stand drops, blowing dust, vibration, functional sharing emergency contact
shock, humidity, salt fog, explosive atmospheres, information or tracking
solar radiation, freezing and thawing, changing assets. Each device has a
altitude, and blowing rain, dust and sand. Product unique web address that
reportedly can with- can be entered into any
stand thermal web browser to view tag
temperatures of contents. The web address
-20 °F to 140 °F. is provided in a QR code on
www.dell.com the tag for convenient ac-

Online Safety Program cess via smartphone.
www.dynotag.com
MyMomentum from Arbill is a cloud-based, mobile soft-
ware solution for organizing a safety program in a single Thermal
system. The system stores all safety requirements and Display
documentation in a single location and makes it available
to all employees with an Internet connection. Product Mask
allows the company to document and perform inspec-
tions on their smartphones within the system. System 3M Scott Fire
reportedly assists in tracking training, compliance dead- and Safety’s
lines, behavior-based safety, lost workdays, days since last Sight Pro
injury and employee recognition.
www.arbill.com Package is an
in-mask ther-
Confined Space Inspection mal imaging
solution that
Flyability introduces the collision-tolerant Elios UAV de- provides hands-
signed for high-definition video inspection of confined free situational
spaces, hazardous environments, inaccessible places and awareness to
complex, cluttered or indoor spaces. According to manu- firefighters and
facturer, the drone’s design was inspired by insects’ ability first responders.
to maintain stability after an in-flight collision. Unit allows Product mounts
user to perform visual inspections or survey damage while to the side of
keeping crews out of harm’s way. Device’s protective frame face piece and
keeps it collision-tolerant, which enables user to access tight combines cam-
spaces without needing to focus on avoiding obstacles. Ac- era and display
cording to manufacturer, this frame also allows device to fly inside of face
close or in direct contact with humans without injury risk. piece to elim-
inate the need
www.flyability.com to hold or lift
camera. Accord-
ing to manufac-
turer, features such as automatic video recording, hot and cold
tracking, single-button power off, temperature measurement
and adjustable display provide firefighters with improved sit-
uational awareness. Hot spot tracker identifies hottest part of
the scene and provides indicators within an area to improve
decision-making capabilities, according to manufacturer. Hot
spot feature is suited for overhaul, search and rescue, and risk
assessment. Cold spot tracker assists in locating and pinpoint-
ing thread or valve gas leaks, such as in HazMat environments.

www.3mscott.com

Publication of this material does not imply testing, review or endorsement
by ASSP. To submit a product for this section, send an e-mail to professional
[email protected]. Be sure to include product and contact information, along
with a high-resolution product photo.

assp.org JANUARY 2019 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 51

PRODUCT PULSE

Fatigue Wearable Technology
Monitor
Triax’s Spot-R Clip helps keep employees safe by
SmartCap’s LifeBand is a providing real-time workforce location by floor
wearable technology that fits and zone in the workplace. Device is small and can
in a worker’s hard hat or cap fit easily on a worker’s belt, allowing for quick haz-
to keep workers safe by moni- ard reporting by pressing the button on the bottom
toring real-time fatigue levels of the device. Product detects falls at the job site
via Bluetooth. Product uti- and sends immediate e-mail, dashboard or text
lizes current brainwave tech- notifications to designated supervisor, including
nology to determine wearer’s detailed information such as who, where and the
distance of the fall. In the event of an evacuation,
alertness on the job site. authorized personnel can trigger warning alarms
Device also provides alerts on workers’ device to alert employees to evacuate.
for incorrectly fitted caps and www.triaxtec.com
microsleeps stop them before
Exoskeleton
they happen.
www.smartcaptech.com Comau introduces the MATE wearable exo-
skeleton. Device uses spring-based passive
structure to support workers during their tasks,
and reportedly delivers lightweight, breathable
and effective postural support without the need
for batteries, motors or other devices that may
be prone to failure. According to manufacturer,
unit can replicate any movement of the shoulder
while adhering to the body like a second skin.
Manufacturer partnered with a noninvasive or-
thopedics company to ensure ergonomic design.
www.comau.com

Virtual Training Tool Tether Tech Pouch

Really-Virtual’s REAL Forklift is a group of prod- Ergodyne’s Squids water-resistant
ucts designed to train workers on proper forklift phone pouch and trap is made of clear
operation. According to manufacturer, training
platform is immersive and experiential, and in- touch-screen material that protects
cludes realistic forklift controls that are config- technology while still allowing use,
urable to the most common Class I and Class IV which makes it suitable for workers in out-
forklifts in the material handling environment. door settings or inclement weather. Steel
Interface is lightweight, portable and connects to grommet attaches pouch to tool lanyard.
a PC. Program provides a realistic forklift oper- Phone does not need to be removed from
ation experience for initial training, assessment, pouch to use, reportedly reducing the
evaluation, maintenance and positive behavior risk of struck-by injuries due to falling
reinforcement. items. Zipper securely holds cell phones
https://really-virtual.com and other devices inside pouch and clear
material allows for full screen or camera
function and access. Water-resistant ma-

terial protects devices from rain,
snow, dirt, dust and sand.
www.ergodyne.com

Hydrodemolition Robot

Aquajet Systems AB introduces the Ergo System hydrodemolition
robot. The robot reportedly offers four times the power of a hand
lance in a compact footprint that contractors can easily move around
a job site. Controller unit powers and controls the hydraulics, Power
head manipulates the high-pressure lance, and the spine or climber
systems support and maneuver the power head depending on project
needs. The climber attaches to standard scaffolding pipes and robot-
ically moves along it to deliver hydrodemolition forces for vertical

concrete removal and repair.
www.aquajet.se

52 PSJ PROFESSIONAL SAFETY JANUARY 2019 assp.org

CONTINUING EDUCATION

LEONID ANDRONOV/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS Almanama, Kingdom of Bahrain

January 28-31
ASSP Middle East Chapter
Professional Development Conference & Exhibition
This 5-day event features learning and networking opportunities, technical workshops,
an exhibition, a night out and seminars. The conference includes topics such as safety
leadership, risk management, process safety, security, environment and health, best
practices, sustainability, fire prevention and carbon dioxide safety.
Middle East Chapter; +973 17140144; www.assp-mec.org

JANUARY 2019 Louisville, KY Savannah, GA
Emmitsburg, MD 1/28-1/29: Arc-Flash Safety for Utilities
1/20-1/25: Safety Program Operations. Train-the-Trainer. e-Hazard; (502) 498- •2/21-2/22 2019 ASSP Region IV Pro-
National Fire Academy; (301) 447-1000; 7978; www.e-Hazard.com.
www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfav. fessional Development Conference. ASSP
Baltimore, MD Region IV; (770) 937-7379; https://region
Houston, TX 1/28-2/1: Fundamentals of Industrial 4.assp.org.
1/21-1/25: ISO 45001: 2018 OHSMS Lead Hygiene. Chesapeake Region Safety
Auditor. Bureau Veritas; (888) 357-7020; Council; (800) 875-4770; www.chesa Tampa, FL
www.us.bureauveritas.com. peakesc.org.
•2/21-2/22 Influential Leadership Skills.
Boardman, OR San Diego, CA
1/22-1/23: Confined Space Train-the- ASSP; (847) 699-2929; www.assp.org.
Trainer. D2000 Safety; (800) 551-8763; •1/29-1/31 Implementing Culture
www.d2000safety.com. Indianapolis, IN
Change Through Grassroots Safety Lead-
Terengganu, Malaysia ership. Culture Change Consultants; (914) •2/26-2/28 2019 Indiana Safety and
1/22-1/23: 2019 IADC Drilling Health, 315-6076; www.culturechange.com.
Safety, Environment and Training Asia Health Conference and Expo. ASSP Cen-
Pacific Conference and Exhibition. Inter- FEBRUARY 2019 tral Indiana Chapter; (800) 824-6885;
national Association of Drilling Contrac- Webinar www.insafetyconf.com.
tors; www.iadc.org.
•2/5 Leadership for OSH Excellence MARCH 2019
San Ramon, CA
With or Without Direct Authority. ASSP;
(847) 699-2929; www.assp.org. •3/7 Annual Bay Area Safety Symposium

and Professional Development Con-
ference. ASSP San Francisco Chapter;
https://sanfrancisco.assp.org.

Orlando, FL Grapevine, TX Tampa, FL
1/22-1/24: Forklift Train-the-Trainer. 2/7-2/9: 43rd Annual NHCA Conference.
North American Crane Bureau; (800) National Hearing Conservation Associa- •3/11-3/14 Math Review/ASP and CSP
654-5640; www.cranesafe.com. tion; (303) 224-9022; www.hearingconser
vation.org. Exam Preparation. ASSP; (847) 699-2929;
Phoenix, AZ www.assp.org.
Brookline, MA
•1/23 Arizona Distracted Driving Sum- 2/11-2/14: Analyzing Risk. Harvard School San Diego, CA
of Public Health; (617) 384-8692; https://
mit. ASSP Arizona Chapter; (602) 427- ecpe.sph.harvard.edu. •3/12 ASSP San Diego Chapter 2019 Profes-
7946; https://az.assp.org.
Prior Lake, MN sional Development Conference. ASSP San
Las Vegas, NV Diego Chapter; https://sandiego.assp.org.
•2/12 2019 ASSP Northwest Chapter
•1/24-1/31 Seminarfest. ASSP; (847) Tempe, AZ
Professional Development Conference.
699-2929; http://seminarfest.assp.org ASSP Northwest Chapter; (952) 886-6223; •3/14 2019 Arizona Health and Safety
https://northwest.assp.org.
Bend, OR Summit. ASSP Arizona Chapter; (602)
1/28-1/29: Mid-Oregon Construction Tampa, FL 427-7946; https://az.assp.org.
Safety Summit. Oregon OSHA; (866) 453-
4480; http://osha.oregon.gov/conferences/ •2/18 Advanced Safety Management Bakersfield, CA
mocss/pages/index.aspx.
Methods. ASSP; (847) 699-2929; www •3/20 20th Annual ASSP Bakersfield
Events During January, February & March .assp.org.
Chapter Symposium. ASSP Bakersfield
Send event announcements to professionalsafety Webinar Chapter; (611) 589-2076; https://bakers
@assp.org. 2/19: CHMM Exam Preparation. Bowen field.assp.org.
EHS; (866) 264-5852; www.bowenehs.com.
• Current month advertiser Park Ridge, IL
• ASSP community
•3/21-3/22 Internal OHSMS Auditing

Using ISO 45001. ASSP; (847) 699-2929;
www.assp.org.

assp.org JANUARY 2019 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 53

VANTAGE POINT

ONLINE TRAINING

Can It Improve Safety Culture?

By Morgan Bliss and Jeff Dalto

Online training for OSH and compliance concerns is common, and there are many good reasons for this. It
makes it easier to provide training to people in distant locations or who work on different shifts. It reduces
the cost of training, and provides automated tracking and reporting.

It helps deliver a standardized, con- organizational culture, consisting of strengthens safety culture. This is why
sistent training message. It gives learners the attitudes and patterns of behavior National Safety Council (NSC, 2013) in-
more choices for where and when they exhibited by employees and manage- cludes training as one of four barriers to a
can complete the training, and it allows ment. Organizational learning, training, company’s safety culture.
OSH practitioners to devote time to oth- employee involvement, communication
er important safety tasks, including al- and management commitment have a To ensure that OSH training is con-
lowing them to make the best use of their large influence on the safety culture of an tributing to a positive safety culture, con-
instructor-led training time. organization. sider these questions from HSE’s (2005)
safety culture assessment:
Studies show that online training is Does Training Affect Safety Culture?
as effective or more effective than in- So, can OSH training help create your •Are employees confident with the re-
structor-led training. U.S. Department sults of their training?
of Education (2010), Clark (2010) and safety culture? Absolutely. Let’s look
Thalheimer (2017) have all shown the at another definition of safety culture. •How accurate are employees’ percep-
effectiveness of online training and, in DeMaria (2017) claims “a good safety tions of hazards and risks?
fact, shown that what is truly import- culture can be promoted by senior man-
ant is not the training delivery method agement commitment to safety, realistic •How effective is safety training in
(online vs. instructor-led) but rather the practices for handling hazards, contin- meeting needs?
instructional methods used (e.g., delib- uous organizational learning, and care
erate practice, constructive feedback, and concern for hazards shared across •How are needs identified?
active learning). the workforce.” OSH training addresses •How easily available is safety infor-
realistic practices for hazard recognition mation?
In the near-term future, new technolo- and selection of controls, contributes to
gies such as artificial intelligence, virtual continuous organizational learning and Can Online OSH Training
reality and augmented reality will pro- provides evidence of concern for hazards Improve Safety Culture?
vide even more opportunities for online that are shared across an organization.
or technology-assisted safety training. If traditional OSH training can im-
Given the widespread use and likely Of course, irrelevant and unhelpful prove safety culture, then so can online
future expansion of online training and OSH training puts workers at risk, dam- OSH training. Some aspects of online
other technology-assisted forms of train- ages trust and weakens safety culture. But OSH training can help improve an orga-
ing, it is reasonable to wonder whether effective, relevant and helpful training nization’s learning culture as well, which
online OSH training can have a positive helps protect workers, builds trust and will have a positive effect on its safety
effect on an organization’s safety culture. culture.
To answer that question, it is helpful to
know what safety culture is. A learning culture, as defined by
Grossman (2015), “consists of a commu-
nity of workers instilled with a ‘growth

What Is Safety Culture?
There are many different definitions

of safety culture and its interplay with
organizational culture. U.K. Health
and Safety Executive (HSE, 2018) ex-
plains how safety culture is a subset of

Vantage Point FIZKES/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

Vantage Point articles in Professional Safety
provide a forum for authors with distinct view-
points to share their ideas and opinions with
ASSP members and the OSH community. The
goal is to encourage and stimulate critical think-
ing, discussion and debate on matters of concern
to the OSH profession. The views and opinions
expressed are strictly those of the author(s) and
are not necessarily endorsed by Professional
Safety, nor should they be considered an expres-
sion of official policy by ASSP.

54 PSJ PROFESSIONAL SAFETY JANUARY 2019 assp.org

mind-set.’” The sense of community and TABLE 1
growth is also present in this definition
of safety from Conklin (2012): ACCESS MODEL

Safety is a practice; it is a pro- Accountability Each employee goes through modules
cess. Safe and reliable perfor- Communication individually and is assessed on progress
mance is a process to be guided, Competence individually.
not an outcome to be managed. Efficiency Standardized information is communicated
Safety is wisdom. We create Specificity in various ways (e.g., text, audio, video,
safety, or more importantly, we Security games) and reinforced through assessment.
cocreate safety in the relation- The training program can help build
ship between workers, planners, competence and create a learning culture.
managers and the tasks being Employees can complete online modules at
accomplished in real time. their own pace.
Each employee is assigned specific training
Traditionally, learning management relevant to his/her job.
systems (LMS) have been used by OSH Employees can take their time with difficult
practitioners exclusively to assign training concepts and learn in a psychologically safe,
to employees. The only role employees had supportive environment without fear of
was to view their list of assigned training their incorrect answers being mocked by
and complete it. More recently, LMS have peers.
allowed greater power to the workers, al-
lowing them to rate and evaluate different ever-accelerating business environment. Grossman, R.J. (2015, May 1). How to create
training activities, giving a better sense of By embracing the change, continually a learning culture. HR Magazine. Retrieved
what is truly useful and valuable in safety learning and encouraging their organiza- from www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-maga
training. Workers are also able to create, tions to develop a learning culture, OSH zine/pages/0515-learning-culture.aspx
upload and share their own user-generat- practitioners will be ready to use online
ed safety training content. Organizations or technology-assisted training as part of National Safety Council (NSC). (2013, Dec. 5).
can encourage workers to use social media their efforts to influence a positive safety 4 barriers to an effective company safety culture.
style tools within their LMS to post, share culture for their organization. PSJ NSC Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.nsc.org/
and discuss training materials. 4-barriers-to-an-effective-company-safety-culture
References
All of these options increase the sense Thalheimer, W. (2017). Does eLearning
of community and growth called for in Clark, R.C. (2010). Evidence-based training work? What the scientific research says.
a learning culture. In addition, since methods: A guide for training professionals. Somerville, MA: Work-Learning Research
online OSH training can be completed Danvers, MA: American Society for Training Inc. Retrieved from www.worklearning.com/
anywhere, anytime and on any device, and Development. wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Does-eLearning
it acts as a form of embedded learning. -Work-Full-Research-Report-FINAL2.pdf
This means that the learning takes place Conklin, T. (2012). Pre-accident investiga-
wherever workers are and is an integral tions: An introduction to organizational safety. U.K. Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
part of their daily routine and activities. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. (2005). Safety culture (Common topic 4). Re-
In all these ways, online training helps trieved from www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/
an organization shift from a training cul- DeMaria, J. (2017, April 12). Organizational topics/common4.pdf
ture to a learning culture (Gill, 2017). safety culture. Institute for Safety and Health
Management. Retrieved from https://ishm.org/ U.K. HSE. (2018). Organizational culture.
In summary, online OSH training pro- organizational-safety-culture Retrieved from www.hse.gov.uk/humanfac
vides many benefits to an organization’s tors/topics/culture.htm
safety culture, including improved work- Gill, S. (2017, Jan. 10). From a training cul-
er access to necessary OSH information. ture to a learning culture. Association for Tal- U.S. Department of Education. (2010). Eval-
The main benefits may be explained ent Development. Retrieved from www.td.org/ uation of evidence-based practices in online
through the acronym ACCESS (Table 1). insights/from-a-training-culture-to-a-learning learning: A meta-analysis and review of online
-culture learning studies. Washington, DC: Author. Re-
Conclusion trieved from www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/
As we move into the fourth industrial evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

revolution, OSH practitioners will en- Morgan M. Bliss, CSP, CIH, is an assistant professor in the Safety and Health Management Pro-
counter new or repurposed technologies gram at Central Washington University. Bliss holds an M.S. in Technology, Environmental Management
such as artificial intelligence, machine from Arizona State University. She serves as Administrator of ASSP’s Training and Communications
learning, virtual reality and augmented Practice Specialty and is a professional member of the Puget Sound Chapter. Bliss is a member of the
reality that are already in use for online Society’s Industrial Hygiene and Academics practice specialties, and a member of ASSP’s Women in
learning and training in some compa- Safety Excellence Common Interest Group.
nies. These opportunities will help blend
both human and technological elements, Jeff Dalto is senior learning and development specialist at Convergence Training RedVector, a Vector
giving rise to exciting improvements in Solutions brand, where he writes the Convergence Training blog. He has more than 20 years’ profes-
how we as humans and organizations sional experience in learning and development, including more than 20 years in safety and safety
learn and adapt to stay relevant in the training. He holds a General Industry Safety Specialist certificate from University of Washington. Dalto
is a member of the ANSI/ASSP Z490.2 online safety training standard subcommittee.

assp.org JANUARY 2019 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 55

BY THE WAY

HNot Wasted TimeHistorically, procrastination has been viewed as a bad thing, but NOT THE
some of the brightest thinkers were known for putting off work. WAY
Leonardo Da Vinci was known to never complete a task he started.
Historians say that part of the reason he High tech?
never finished anything was because
his mind was so active. His notebooks Photo by Doug
and sketchbooks are filled with un- Stevens, Skokie, IL
finished pages of studies and notes on
different topics, including his famous Safety is serious business. But unsafe practices still occur and we hope
flying machine. these “Not the Way” images help you recognize and eliminate more
Novelist Frank Kafka was known
to spend the majority of his day nap- hazards in the workplaces you influence.
ping, and although his slumber seems
self-serving, some argue that he collected Destructive or Constructive?
his writing material from his dreams.
Poet and novelist Margaret Atwood Kintsugi, meaning golden joinery in Japanese, is the art of repairing
admits to procrastinating so often in the broken or cracked pottery with gold or silver. The 15th century art
morning that by the time she sits down to
write, it is 3 p.m. Sometimes, what seems form is said to have originated when a
like a detour ends up being an important Japanese shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa,
path for creativity and problem solving. received a mended bowl from a repair
Andrew Santella, author of Soon, a book about the history of service. He was displeased to find the
procrastination, emphasizes that procrastination is human nature broken pieces joined back together
and should be embraced. “When we procrastinate, we very rarely with unsightly staples. This motivated
just do nothing instead of the thing we’re supposed to be doing. him to find an alternative, leading to
There’s always a replacement activity,” he says. “If I’m not deceiving the Kintsugi repair.
myself, sometimes that replacement activity that we’re not sup-
posed to be doing ends up being more worthy, more wonderful The 400-year old technique high-
than the thing we were supposed to be doing in the first place.” lights the scars from breakage as part of a new design. By emphasiz-
Next time you find yourself drawing inventions in your sketch- ing the breakage as part of the object’s history rather than discarding
book instead of painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, allow the pieces, kintsugi celebrates the beauty of imperfection. Modern
yourself to embrace your procrastination and enjoy the journey. practitioners of the ancient art are inspired by the art as a message of
the resilience of humans. “When something’s suffered damage and
has a history it becomes more beautiful,” says artist Barbara Bloom.
PD-US
HARAGAYATO
WES WASHINGTON
“Perhaps this is what we
mean by sanity: that,

whatever our self-admit-
ted eccentricities might
be, we are not villains of

our own stories.”

Teju Cole

Admitting Errors tists to admit when a study cannot be rep- whose work has not held up feel they have
licated. A 2016 survey of more than 1,500 been treated unfairly, and to reduce the
In September 2016, psychologist Dana Car- scientists found that more than 70% of stigma associated with admitting errors.
ney announced that she no longer believed researchers failed to successfully reproduce Experimental psychologist Daniël Lakens
the findings of a study she coauthored in another researcher’s work and more than compliments the project. “Scientific papers
2010 to be true. Everyone makes mistakes, 50% failed to reproduce their own results. are regrettably not like software,” he says. “I
and scientists are no different. Admitting can update software I write, and the latest
loss of confidence in one’s own study is not A solution called the Loss-of-Confidence version is always the best version.”
common in the world of research, but after Project (https://lossofconfidence.com)
admitting this loss, Carney began to hear offers psychologists an outlet to announce By being open about errors and able
mounting support and praise for her admis- if they no longer have confidence in the to share, the project aims to change cul-
sion from other scientists and researchers. results of a study they published. The aim tural norms to live up to the pursuit of
This may be because it is difficult for scien- is to address the fact that some researchers self-correction.

If you have a cartoon, anecdote, joke or interesting safety item you’d like to submit for publication on this page,
send your contribution to [email protected]. Submissions will not be returned.

56 PSJ PROFESSIONAL SAFETY JANUARY 2019 assp.org

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