There are many different industry terms when it comes to the manufacturing industry. You’ve likely heard a few of them yourself, and at times it may be hard to know what these terms mean. This is especially true if they’re referred to in an abbreviated form, such as the term OEE. But what does OEE stand for? What is its significance? Here’s everything you need to know.

Question: I just took an EHS role with a company that is working on cleaning up its safety programs and improving its safety culture. So far everyone talks a good game about safety and having a “safety first” mindset but I’m noticing that sometimes when I bring problems to management, the responses I get are frequently things like; “We’ll work on the safety stuff when all the other fires are out” and “We’ll put money in the budget to handle that issue next year.” It seems like these responses are sending mixed messages and I’m never sure how to respond. What’s a good way to handle these responses?

Question: After every significant incident we complete the “5 Why” process. This is supposed to help us identify more accurate root causes that will help us find better solutions to prevent recurrence except, it rarely does either thing. Most of the participants haven’t gotten a lot of training in this process and are afraid to discuss the hard truths about why incidents often occur and even worse, their solution to almost everything is to “perform retraining”. How can we move past this and start to get some value out of this process?

Manufacturers of hazardous chemicals are required by law to include safety data sheets (also known as safety data sheets, or SDS) with every product they sell or ship. These safety data sheets provide information about the physical and chemical properties of the product— from toxicity levels to storage instructions and flash point temperature.

Safety training and education in the workplace is serious business. In fact, thanks to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employers are required to ensure all of their employees are given sufficient safety training as well as any necessary safety equipment in order to keep their workers safe.

Did you know that a mere 36% of U.S. employees are actively engaged in the workplace? 15% of employees are actively disengaged, but that still leaves 51% of employees coasting along without actively tuning in.

Did you know that companies spend more than $1 billion per week on direct workers’ compensation costs for non-fatal, disabling workplace injuries? Work-related deaths are even more expensive, ringing in at $151 billion.

Budget season is here. Unfortunately, when times are tight and profit margins are narrow, managers often look for reasons to narrow expenditures. Which means you’re probably going to get questions you don’t like, such as: what do companies spend on employee safety compared to our budget? Asked, of course, with the hope of justifying a smaller budget.

Whether you’re putting together a safety orientation for new employees or getting employees to comply with safety procedures, there are some moments that demand a rousing safety speech.

You’ve just kicked off your safety program. Or maybe you recently rebooted it. One way or another, your safety program is looking bright and shiny.