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Working from home... alone!

3/13/2018

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Home working has more than doubled in the US since 2005.  In fact, the Huffington Post recently published an article about why the working from home trend is going to continue to grow or even explode.  The social, economic and environmental arguments for this shift are very strong.  In many major cities, a two hour commute each way is now seen as normal.  Not surprisingly, people are exhausted much of the time and they require higher incomes in order to pay for the rising costs of commuting.  This has led as many as 50% of the companies in America to at least offer some kind or work from home option.  Two of the most common types of home workers are telecommuters and digital nomads.
Telecommuters – People in this category continue to have a work space in the office, but they are allowed to work part time from their home.  What kinds of jobs are able to do this: sales, computer technologies, financial, arts, design, media, military, legal, community services, architecture and engineering to name a few.  The key cost saving benefits include reduced office space requirements, lower staff turnover, higher morale and greater productivity.
Digital nomads – This group does not have many of the traditional things employees get given to them, like a desk, office or telephone. Instead, they work exclusively from a remote location. Typically this is their home, but it’s also common for people to travel and work at the same time.  Organizations who utilize this approach see many benefits, such as lower fixed over-head costs and access to a much larger talent pool than geographically based recruiting allows.
It follows that if your staff are working from home, they are working alone and they need a lone worker safety system to protect them.  Just because someone is a home worker doesn’t mean the rules don’t apply. They do.
Do you have employees who work from home or on the road?  A key question for you to consider is the risk associated with your home workers.  Ok Alone has written a hazard assessment guide designed to help you assess this risk.  For example, it provides a very practical way of determining how frequently your lone workers need to check-in.  You can download the guide here.

This blog was written by Ok Alone.  Bailey Technical Services is pleased to share with permission. 

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What can the petroleum and aviation safety industries learn from each other?

10/13/2016

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The Canadian Petroleum and Aviation industries are two industries that must take additional precautions when it comes to safety; the consequences of an error during operations can be disastrous for the environment, extremely expensive, and sometimes tragically fatal. These industries use different approaches to safety management.  In recent years, both have seen continual improvement in their injury statistics, reflecting the success of their respective safety management systems. Despite this, we still see many incidents occurring that are preventable. This had me thinking, are there any methods, tools, or cultural norms that the management teams in each industry can learn from one another?
 
First, we should look at how each industry manages safety. The Petroleum Industry in Canada has long had a voluntary approach to safety management. Driven by industry organizations, Petroleum companies have implemented Safety Management Systems using a number of different models. Safety regulations across Canada are objective based. Petroleum Workers are taught to use a 'questioning attitude' and hone their critical-thinking skills to solve a problem.  Many Petroleum companies adopt safety programs as incentives to reduce their worker compensation rates, but these are voluntary, and have varying degree of robustness across each province.
 
Alternatively, certificate holders in the Canadian Aviation industry are given significantly less autonomy in how safety priorities are managed. In particular, the Canadian Aviation Regulations specify the Safety Management System that must be implemented, and Transport Canada provides significant oversight and direction to aviation certificate holders. Employees in the aviation industry rely on checklists when performing tasks, and look to superiors for direction. Aviation workers have an understanding that every task or decision is critical – lives are at stake – resulting in quality assurance checks and detailed procedures for most tasks.
 
Now, I would like to first explore what the Aviation industry could gain from adopting some of the Petroleum industry’s safety management techniques. I believe that while the Aviation industry needs checklists and objective structure when it comes to safety, the importance of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in an emergency situation should not be eschewed. There cannot be a bullet on a checklist to manage every incident, and there may be an incident where there is little guidance or even contradictory goals. In these scenarios, it is imperative that employees are comfortable using their own judgment and independent thought to make the best decision. You may think that this already happens, but look at it this way: there is little incentive for airline companies to provide training surrounding critical-thinking skills and emergency training that is over-and-above what is required by law. Doing so would impose additional costs on the companies and make them less competitive, especially since the benefits of that training are extremely difficult to measure in a monetary sense.
 
An example of where critical thinking should have been applied in addition to pre-determined safety checklists is when an audit found that the weight and balance had been miscalculated for several flights. Through a series of amendments to the form, combined with no training on these amendments, the crew neglected to account for the residual fuel on board. This all appeared to abide by the checklist, however a simple common sense check would have triggered an ‘Oh, wait’ moment, and perhaps forced the ground crew to ensure that the additional fuel wouldn’t put the plane over its limit.
 
Now, what Aviation safety practices do I think the Petroleum industry could benefit from? As you may have guessed, it is to incorporate more structure and the use of checklists and quality assurance checks. This would bolster current efforts and leave less subjectivity. In the case of an incident, it could be easier to pinpoint the root cause, and put less pressure on individual employees. Human errors account for a staggering number of Oil & Gas accidents, and I believe that the introduction of simple checklists for non-routine tasks especially could help reduce these numbers. An example of where a checklist or second quality assurance check could have prevented an incident is when a new operator forgot to open a hatch during bottom-loading a railcar. When the operator realized that the top hatch was still closed and loading had stopped, by opening the hatch while under pressure resulted in significant injury to the operator.
 
Using checklists for routine tasks has a serious downside – they become routine and often are filled out without thinking. Similar to hitting ‘I agree’ to the terms and conditions on an internet site, we stop reading the fine print. When faced with a problem, many Aviation companies add yet another checklist. This often results in workers filling them out without due consideration, or the checklists become cumbersome and in some instances wrong!
 
How do we prevent this? The Aviation industry uses a comprehensive quality assurance program to check records, observe workers, and have a culture of accountability. Having checklists for critical tasks, enforcing compliance to accurately complete them, and implementing a quality assurance review are concepts that the Petroleum industry could consider.     
 
What do you think? Add your comments below.
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An Interesting Question about Root Cause Analysis

8/17/2016

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Several days ago I was dictating notes to Siri to remember for later. I asked Siri: “Do we do enough to get to the root cause during accident and incident investigations?” as a reminder to work on this article. Instead of adding this question to the notes in my phone, Siri responded: “That’s an interesting question”. I thought, really, that is an interesting question.
 
Recently, executives from a major oil company in Alberta released the findings of their investigation into a fire and explosion that killed two workers. The conclusion: ‘Human Error’. Really? The company alleges that they could not have done anything differently… What about providing more training before the workers were assigned to work in an area they didn’t normally work in? Or holding supervisors and workers more accountable for the work permitting process? Or assessing how recent layoffs would affect maintenance worker actions?
 
We cannot be getting to the root cause if the conclusion of an incident investigation is that ‘human error’ is the cause.
 
So, are we not using the right root cause analysis methods for our investigations?
 
I believe that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ method when it comes to root cause analysis.  I looked at three popular root cause analysis methods, ‘Five Whys’, ‘Fishbone’ and ‘TapRooT™’, and offer some thoughts on what type of incident or problem they work best for.
 
There is one component that I believe all three methods share: a Timeline or Sequence of Events chart. Regardless of the degree of severity of an incident or problem, there’s something powerful about taking the time to systematically list the sequence of events onto paper. Once this timeline is created, it often becomes very apparent where the mistakes or failures lie.  TapRooT™ calls these ‘Causal Factors’, while the Fishbone method uses these as spines that can’t be disproved as a possible cause. The Five Whys method uses these as factual evidence to answer the recurrent question of ‘why?’.
 
TapRooT™ is a 7-Step Investigative process that is very structured and provides objective guidelines to the investigation team. I use this method when I suspect that there might be a lot of emotion involved in the investigation; the TapRooT™ tree allows the facilitator to keep the investigation team objective. It is a very thorough and comprehensive process. I like to use this method when I suspect clients have already decided what the cause is – sometimes they are correct, but often, other overlooked causes are identified. However, TapRooT™ takes a fair bit of time to apply and requires a licensed facilitator. I find that TapRooT™ is not ideal for equipment failure events, or events where there is a rather simple sequence of events.
 
If the incident involves sequential events, and the investigation team is experienced and can keep subjectivity at bay, the ‘Five Why’s’ method could work best.. When you’re presented with a problem, the ‘Five Whys’ method repeatedly asks the question, “Why?”. Five is an arbitrary number, but a suitable rule of thumb to adequately get closer to the root cause of your problem. Each time you ask “Why”, you will inevitably be led to another question that will get you closer to your root cause.
 
Confused? Think about a young child who persistently asks “Why”. You are stuck in traffic, and this child asks, “Mommy, why are we stopped?”
Well, because there’s traffic.
“Why is there traffic?”
Well, because there are a lot of people on the road right now.
“Why?”
Well, because a lot of people are heading downtown around the same time to be at work on time.
“Why?”
Well, most employers want people to start work at the same time every day and to be on time.
“Why?”
Because people need to work to buy houses and food and toys for their children (like you!)
 
Five “why’s” later, and we have a LOT more information than we did after the first why. You can see how this logic can translate to an incident investigation. We need to dig deep when we ask why something happened, instead of just scratching the surface.
 
If it’s a multifaceted problem with many intricacies and unknowns, the Fishbone method may be the best. This method allows you to brainstorm possible causes under several categories. Often, we use Methods, Machines (equipment), People (manpower), Materials, Measurement and Environment.
Once all the possible causes are listed, we then systematically prove or disprove each potential cause.
 
Going back to our traffic example but using the Fishbone method, we could identify many causes for traffic:
Machines:
  • It is the daily rush-hour and the road is not designed for the volume
  • A road is closed for repair
People:
  • There is a concert / parade / event occurring causing congestion
  • There was an accident on the road
etc….
 
After brainstorming these possible causes for traffic, we then review each one and prove or disprove it.  For example, I might tune into the radio to determine whether an accident occurred, or have my passenger check online to see if a road is closed. If we can disprove enough of the potential scenarios, we will be able to single out the more likely cause(s) for the traffic.
 
Now, back to which is the best tool to use. If the problem is a sequential event, and the investigation team is experienced and can keep subjectivity at bay, the ‘Five Why’s’ could work best. For an incident involving complex human failures, TapRooT™ is my method of choice. If it’s a multifaceted problem with many unknowns and the investigation team may fall into ruts, the Fishbone method may be the best. All three methods share two essential similarities: an experienced, objective facilitator, and a detailed sequence of events charts.
 
What methods do you prefer to use for root cause analysis? Why? Comment below!
 
Next, I will be writing about what the Aviation industry can learn from Oil & Gas when it comes to safety, and vice versa – stay tuned!
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Do young workers have to suffer an injury to appreciate workplace risks?

7/30/2015

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The safety of young workers has been on my mind recently after incidents affected two young men I know.

The first was a discussion I had with a first year Engineering student who is currently working at a SAGD plant in Northern Alberta as an Operator. He recounted a story where purging piping was connected incorrectly and deadly sour gas was released. He and his co-worker quickly responded and no one was harmed. It became a funny story to tell friends! Whew.

Then last week, my son, also an Engineering student, suffered a work-related back injury. Little did I know that part of his burger-flipping gig involved lifting 80 pound bags of potatoes! While I have so far been impressed with the safety procedures and orientation process of this restaurant, the handling of these large bags was not covered by their procedures. Surely ‘Safety Sheila’ had mentioned to her son to ask for help to lift a bag that heavy?

Both of these were near miss incidents that could have had much more severe outcomes. 

As a parent, I actually hope my kids will have a few near-miss experiences in their life so they can appreciate the concept of risk.  Take my son who kept tossing grapes in the air and catching them in his mouth. Whenever I saw this, I would make him stop, and tell him all the horrors of choking.  Did this work? Nope, not until a grape lodged in his throat (thankfully not his windpipe) and he was sufficiently scared not to do this again.

The same is true for road safety… a minor accident can lead to behaviour change. It just takes one near miss at a crosswalk to make sure that the next time, you fully stop at a stop sign.  Crashing into the neighbour’s hedge because your bike brakes aren’t working may help act as a reminder to always check your brakes before riding. 

The back injury and the sour gas release were great learning opportunities for these young men. But do we have to have near misses at work for young workers to really appreciate the risks they encounter at work? 

I think the solution is to involve young workers in incident investigations so that they can truly appreciate the impact of workplace incidents through the experience of others. The ‘scare tactic’ and bloody videos are just not effective to this generation. We need to make it real - real experiences, real people.

Instead of high-level things such as ‘sprain’ or ‘exposure’, try ‘sprained back while lifting potatoes’ or ‘inhalation of H2S’.

Young workers should be taught to ask ‘what could go wrong’ before any activity - Drive through a yellow light? Or open a purge valve? Or lift this heavy bag? We need to make thinking about risk a natural part of the everyday thought process.

We need to train young workers to do risk assessments, and ask "what could go wrong?” before every activity so that it becomes a way of life.  If you’ve read this far, you probably care about young worker safety, so put your caring into action, by helping the young people you work with to recognize and manage risk – you may actually save someone’s life!
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Time for changes to 'Gas & Dash' legislation?

6/17/2015

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While Calgary is still reeling after the tragic death of Maryam Ashtiani, a victim of a 'gas and dash' at a local gas station, many are pushing for legislation to require mandatory pay before you pump.  

But will this new legislation address the root cause of this incident? I am not convinced. I believe changes need to made to prohibit retail and restaurant employers from docking workers pay when there is a theft under the employee's watch, or they make a mistake.

Since 2012, there have been 2128 Gas and Dash incidents in Calgary.  None of these resulted in injury.  In 2005 in BC, a young gas station attendant was killed in an eerily similar incident. Since then, his father has worked tirelessly on Grants Law in BC, and encouraging other provinces to adopt the same.

According to Maryam's husband and friends, the fact that she confronted the accused in a nearby Home Depot parking lot was not part of her nature. Her husband has surmised that she may have thought that she would have to pay for the stolen gas out of her paycheck. The Iranian trained engineer had only been working at the gas station for a few days, having recently been laid off from her job. 

The practice of deducting the cost of 'mistakes' from workers needs to be addressed. Employers may believe workers are more diligent if they know if is going to cost them some cash, but In my opinion it is a form of workplace bullying. Rarely does the worker have control over who pays and who doesn't. There is nothing this woman could have done differently to prevent the theft. There was no mistake here.  

This reminded me of a story my daughter told me.  While waitressing at a nearby pub, a group of men 'dined and dashed', leaving her with the $160 bill. The restaurant took the money out of her wages, and this was more than her nights wages and tips combined. She was devastated when she realized that she would have to work 2 nights for free because of these thieves. Flash forward to the next Saturday and another group leave without paying. She decides there is no way she is paying for these guys dinner and drinks, so she hauls her little 19 year old self down the street after these guys, confronts them and drags them back into the bar! Fortunately, they were just intoxicated, and were happy to pay up. When she told this story to us, I envisioned many different outcomes.  It is not ok for a young woman to put herself at risk for fear of being disciplined, fired or paying out of pocket. This practice of paying out of pocket for mistakes is  commonplace in the retail and service industry. 

I believe it comes down to creating a safe work culture in a workplace. A safe work culture is one with common beliefs, dedicated management commitment, and a functioning and effective management system. This would take the fear out of the equation about losing a job when someone steals $113 of gas, or $160 for a dinner, or a till is short $40. Workers would feel they could approach management to report the incident without fear of losing a job or being personally out of pocket. 

This is a common practice in the retail and restaurant industries... And it needs to change. Now. 
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Follow the Common Steps to Hire Professionals for Health and Safety Training

6/8/2015

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It is a legal duty for employers to provide information, training and supervision to workers to enable them to carry out their work safely. This training is not only important for front-line workers, but also to directors, managers and those in other key roles. With effective training, you will ensure workers are aware of the health and safety risk at the workplace, and demonstrate due diligence.

You just need to approach the professionals in Calgary or some other parts of the world for effective health and safety training. A few steps are described here that you need to follow when approaching the experts for the best training: -  

Step 1: - Decide the Needs of Your Organization in Terms of Training
You should know the training needs prior to approaching the experts. This will help you to get in touch with the professionals and provider the workers and employees of your organization with the best training sessions.

Step 2: - Know Your Training Priorities
You must not forget to consider the priorities of the training that the employees of your organization need. Check for the laws in your area and train the employees with the best trainings for their proper growth and awareness.

Step 3: - Choose the Best Training Methods and Resources
Selecting the effective training methods and resources will be beneficial for the employees of your organization. By doing this, the employees of your company will be aware of different aspects and complete their needed work with ease.

By following these common steps, you will surely be able to get professional assistance and train the employees of your company in an easier way. You just need to hire the experts and train the employees for the needed purpose. Search for the best companies and hire the professionals to train the workers of your company in an easier way. 
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Benefits of Environmental, Health & Safety Management System in an Organization

6/8/2015

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Compliance with provincial and federal Occupational Health & Safety legislation plays an important role in the success of any business and contributes in worker productivity and morale.

Here are a few reasons why a Legislative Compliance Management System is good for the organization:

  • Legislative compliance offers peace of mind while meeting regulatory compliance in a stress-free environment
  • By using tools to manage compliance requirements and risk assessment, the system allows the company to meet the benchmarks on time and in an easy manner
  • Empower the organization to allocate resources while ensuring that OH&S compliance is met

Other reasons to get Legislative Compliance Management System installed in your business:

  • Reduces the time and resources that are involved in meeting the compliance requirements
  • Generates awareness regarding regulatory requirements within an organization
  • Allows the users to view, assign and track compliance necessities
  • Keeps the authorities informed regarding progress and completion status
  • Maintains a complete audit history of all activities


With all these benefits, now it has become possible for the organizations to manage the compliance system on easy and instant clicks.
So, if you want to get an advantage of the compliance management system, you can approach the safety and health management consultants to establish it in your organization.


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Prisioners in the classroom...

5/15/2015

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How can I turn a Prisoner into a Learner?
It hasn't happened to me for awhile, but I recall my last encounter with a classroom Prisoner! I was teaching an 8 hours Legislative Awareness course to a group of project managers and field coordinators.  The course focused on OH&S and environmental legal requirements that should be considered over the lifecycle of a project - from design to construction. 
I thought the topic was enthralling so imagine my surprise when one student was visibly unhappy to be in the room. He grunted when I asked for phones to be turned off, and I saw some eye rolling when I talked about the importance of Alberta Prime Contractor legislation. 
I decided to change tactics a bit, and started a group discussion on some prime contractor convictions. I asked him if he was surprised at the fine. "Yep, too low" was the response. 
Throughout the morning, I encouraged everyone to participate in class discussions - and gradually my prisoner became engaged, especially when he figured out that there was something in it for him! Due Diligence... Obviously one of my favorite topics.  Once this guy realized that his family may not be going on vacation to Disney, because he had to pay a fine for something he did at work, he became a Learner. 
As an instructor, it is my job to evaluate who in the classroom are the prisoners and work on changing them to learners. Usually this involves convincing them that you have something worthwhile to share, that they should know about. This will make the learning experience even better for the other students as well. 
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Online training... Not for everyone.

5/14/2015

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Last week I taught a 4-day compressed course on the Fundamental of HSE auditing. I have taught this course for a number of years in different formats... 4 day compressed, 10 weeks of 3 hours, and more recently online. 
My online courses are much more difficult to teach. Emails come in at all hours of the day with questions about course material that I often think students haven't read. Students then send follow up emails if I haven't responded within a couple of hours. Online students expect the course workload to be easier and to receive higher marks - they openly express their disappointment if this doesn't happen.  
So why take an online course?
The flexibility is the main reason... On vacation? Submit and assignment from the lobby of the Mexican resort.  Working shift? 4am discussion postings are perfect. Have a new baby? Scroll through the course readings while rocking a newborn.  
But students need to be aware of the drawbacks of an online OH&S course... If you don't have field experience you may struggle with the case studies. You won't have the advantage of chatting in groups during in class workshops. Marks tend to be a bit lower in online courses as you don't have the benefit of asking clarifying questions for assignments. Online courses usually require a fair bit of reading so if English comprehension isn't your strong point, you may be better off in a classroom. 
However, if you have some field experience and are a conscientious and diligent student, online is likely for you. You can work ahead and will love the faster pace. 
I encourage my students to think a bit about how they like to learn before deciding if online or a classroom course is for them. 
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What's up with roofers?

5/12/2015

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What is it about the residential roofers?
Do they have special powers so they are as sure footed as a Grand Canyon mule and special body rotating sensors to ensure landing on soft fleshy parts?
I walk a lot in our neighborhood and am not afraid to ask a worker to cover up an open floor, or fix a tripping hazard. Usually workers are happy to oblige. My walking friends alway enjoy these interactions with "Safety Sheila" - it is alarming how often this happens. 
Roofers... They don't seem to appreciate my feedback. 
The other day, I witnessed 5 men working on the roof of a Tudor style home - lots of steep pitches and gables. None were wearing fall protection. As I made my way up the driveway, they stopped to look at me.  I told them that they were making me nervous working so high without fall protection. I mentioned that it was such a lovely day, they would hate to ruin it by falling and getting hurt. There was a bit of chatter amongst themselves, I could hear snippets of "what did she say" "wants us to tie off"... They then all turned around and went back to work. I then yelled up, "it's against the law you know!"  This did not impress them either. 
I took some pictures and then called in to OH&S, knowing that by the time they showed up the job would be over or they would be investigating an accident.
Something is wrong with the system. 
In 2014, two of the nine OH&S convictions involved falls of roofers. Since coming into effect in October 2013, there have been a total of 6 Administrative Penalties against workers and contractors. Of these, 4 involved contraventions of the OH&S Code for fall protection. 
Surely this is a mistake, there should be more... I received more parking tickets during this interval! Maybe Calgary Parking Authority should expand their job scope to include fall protection? 
Why hasn't OH&S issued more administrative fines? Insufficient staff to perform spot checks on residential construction sites, and industrial projects are a priority. As soon as OH&S shows up to a site, workers hasten to comply. Workers, prime contractors and roofing contractors just aren't worried about it. And they should be. Just ask the 14 year old Edmonton boy who fell off a roof and sustained life altering injuries.  
I am going out for a walk... And won't stop chatting with workers along the way. 
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    Sheila Bailey, P. Eng., CRSP is passionate about issues relating to Occupational Health & Safety.

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