Chuck Noll’s leadership legacy

Leadership comes in many forms - including a NFL head coach. As this ISHN article clearly states, it takes courage and tact to be appropriately candid, but it is very necessary in order to hold people accountable and to set a standard of performance that will define your culture for safety.

ISHN.com 

The very recent passing of Chuck Noll, Hall of Fame coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has stirred the emotions and thoughts of many. Chuck Noll is the only NFL head coach to win four Super Bowls and may be the greatest NFL head coach of all time. Charles Henry Noll never received the credit he truly deserved but those closest to him realized his exceptional leadership qualities, almost instantly.

In the local press coverage, former players and those from the Steelers’ front office have had the most to share about Coach Noll. He had many outstanding leadership qualities but one of the most highly regarded was his candidness. Chuck Noll knew how to be very straightforward about performance but he wasn’t deeply offensive – he had tact. We can learn from Chuck Noll by being forthright and candid about safety-related performance.

1. Be as direct about performance issues by being as open and honest as possible.

2. Don’t make it personal or use name-calling to defeat someone.

3. Don’t wait to address performance issues - the earlier the better.

4. Don’t belittle someone in front of their peers or others.

5. Use your words carefully – some words cut deeply and humiliate.

It takes courage and tact to be appropriately candid, but it is very necessary in order to hold people accountable and to set a standard of performance that will define your culture for safety. Mike Tomlin, the current head coach of the Steelers, often uses a phrase that characterizes the Steelers’ culture of success, “the standard is the standard.”

The Steelers’ standard of success didn’t start with Coach Tomlin, it started with Chuck Noll. Learn to be candid about safety performance; it will go a long way in setting and defining your own standards of success.

To see the full article, follow this link. 

A Roadmap for Holistic EHS Management

A holistic approach is necessary for a safety culture to be created in a work environment. This EHS article details the type of approach desired to help ensure that everyone in the organization is a key component to the safety culture. 

Heather, Flickr.com

When it comes to their approaches to workplace safety and health, companies today can be lumped into one of three categories: reactive, managed and proactive.

Reactive companies focus on complying with regulations and applying lessons learned from their safety failures.

Companies that take a managed approached to safety leverage systems, policies and procedures to prevent incidents. However, this group considers incidents to be a natural consequence of operations – in other words, they believe that incidents are bound to happen every now and then.

Proactive organizations have the most mature approach to EHS. Companies in this category strive for a zero-incident environment by employing proactive safety management systems and behavior-based safety strategies. These companies operate under the principle that it's not acceptable to subject employees to any kind of avoidable danger and risk, and that it's not acceptable for the operation to pose any threat to the environment.

To read the full article, follow this link. 

OSHA Launches Summer Campaign To Prevent Heat Illness

As the summer months arrive, OSHA is taking a stand to raise awareness against heat illnesses. This CleanLink article details how they are educating employers and employees on preventative measures and cautionary actions. 

Kirrus, Flickr.com

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced the launch of its annual Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers. For the fourth consecutive year, OSHA's campaign aims to raise awareness and educate workers and employers about the dangers of working in hot weather and provide resources and guidance to address these hazards.

Workers at particular risk are those in outdoor industries, such as agriculture, construction, landscaping and transportation.

However, cleaning professionals may also be at risk of overheating while performing regular cleaning tasks such as emptying trash, sweeping parking lots, or washing windows outdoors — or during duties in facilities with inadequate air cooling systems.

"Heat-related illnesses can be fatal, and employers are responsible for keeping workers safe," said U.S. Secretary of Labor, Thomas E. Perez. "Employers can take a few easy steps to save lives, including scheduling frequent water breaks, providing shade and allowing ample time to rest."

Thousands of employees become sick each year and many die from working in the heat. In 2012...

Click here to read the full article.

How To Keep Crews Safe from the Sun

June is upon us and the sun's strength is growing. As we see and feel the warm rays, be conscious of the dangers that can come from overexposure. This Total Landscape Care article not only informs on melanoma but also gives advice for preventative measures to help ensure the safety of you and your team during the summer months. 

Total Landscape Care

As the landscaping season rolls on, the workload isn’t the only thing that increases.
The amount of hours landscapers and crews put into a day extends throughout the hotter months, but with longer hours comes the inevitable exposure to UV rays.

Time and time again the topic of sun exposure is addressed in landscaping businesses nationwide, but the question is, how much of that discussion is put into practice out in the field?

The Breakdown
According to a recent article from the Skin Cancer Foundation, in the past two decades, there has been a 20 percent increase in the number Hispanics with an incidence of melanoma.

The Department of Labor states that Latinos account for almost one in four workers in the construction industry. Additionally, there are more than 500,000 Hispanic workers in the landscape industry in the United States, according to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

In 2014 alone, the American Cancer Society estimates approximately 76,100 individual will be diagnosed with melanoma (43,980 in men and 32,210 in women). The organization estimates approximately 9,710 people are expected to die of melanoma (6,470 men and 3,240 women). The Skin Care Foundation reports one person dies of melanoma every hour.

“Overall, the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2 percent (1 in 50) for whites, 0.1 percent (1 in 1,000) for blacks, and 0.5 percent (1 in 200) for Hispanics,” the American Cancer Society states.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided a way for individuals to learn about specific skin cancer statistics for every state in the U.S.

What is melanoma?
There are different varieties of skin cancer, and not all of them are as dangerous as the infamous melanoma.

For instance, basal and squamous cell skin cancers are called non-melanomas, which are found on the outer layer of the skin.

To read the full article, follow this link.