It is time to point to the elephant in the room and acknowledge 'Pencil Whipping' during data collection such as with Behavior Based Safety observations. Pencil Whipping is a euphemism used to describe when workers, supervisors, and, yes, safety managers, fill out observation cards, sometimes in ...

In my last article, “Safety Management by Walking Around, Part I”, the critical importance of work observations by managers (and others) was examined. Keep in mind that these work observations are NOT traditional low value inspections of work space, nor are they limited to observations of a ...

In my past blog, “The Value of Safety Observations, Especially Safe Observations”, I discussed collecting workplace safety observations – both safe and unsafe. What I wish to explore further is the structure of the safety inspection process that determines what observations will be collected. As ...

CASE STUDY: SOUTHERN COMPANY Southern Company achieved a 94% accuracy rating in predicting the likelihood of injury on a project. The safety profession has an unhealthy fixation on measuring purely using negative values. OSHA recordable and lost time injuries first spring to mind – both lagging, ...

Having done SafetyNet inspections for almost a decade, I like to explore the data collected – the “whys” of the observations. They allow me to glean insight into the ability to forecast and focus from what we see in the observations. Keeping good people from getting hurt is always the goal. I ...

In my previous blog I discussed the concept of increased inspections and safety observations leading to fewer incidents. However, inspections should not be done simply for the sake of doing inspections. A proper strategy should be employed ensuring observers are engaged in the most meaningful and ...