How many times do we see construction workers in potentially dangerous situations? How many times do we pass a job site and see a worker in an unprotected trench?

Any company that takes workplace health and safety seriously knows that it needs to get employees on board with its safety policies. If workers aren’t willing to follow along and take workplace safety seriously, it’s impossible to create the safest work environment possible.

Occupational health and safety is rarely a one-size-fits-all situation, even within the same company. Different jobs require different approaches to safety.

More than 60 hotel companies in the American Hotel & Lodging Association pledged to provide service workers with panic buttons as part of their commitment to the 5-Star Promise initiative, a promise in the hospitality industry to improve employee safety. The idea is simple: to give employees a means to protect themselves.

As the saying goes, you get more flies with honey than vinegar. Sometimes, though, when employees take truly dangerous actions that put themselves and others at serious risk, you need a disciplinary response to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

A bit of drowsiness might not seem like a big deal - until you realize that worker fatigue costs roughly $18 billion per year in the U.S. Those jaw-cracking yawns add up to poorer judgment, poor concentration, issues with memory and information processing, and reaction time.

When COVID-19 made its appearance last year, no other organization was looked to for guidance and direction more than the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). During the pandemic, OSHA still managed to conduct 21,674 workplace inspections[1] which resulted in levying $4,034,288[2] in penalties against companies just for COVID-related violations.

Being able to translate safety information into terms that business leaders will more easily understand and relate to is an important skill for EHS professionals. Understanding key business principles and when to apply them provides some synergy between the safety function and the business itself but it also solidifies the EHS professional as someone who understands the business side of things and how to incorporate safety into the overall business strategy.

The modern marvel of the conveyor belt is a mainstay in many production and fabrication facilities, enabling high levels of productivity for mass-production for more than a century. However, there’s a price to be paid for all this productivity: workplace accidents and injuries related to conveyors are common.

Employees deserve to work in conditions that are as reasonably safe as possible to ensure they are free from harm while on the job. This isn’t just wishful thinking, either; as an employer, you’re required by law to adhere to dozens, if not hundreds, of health and safety rules and regulations.