“I did everything right. I don’t understand why it happened.”— Aleksandr Akimov, Chernobyl engineer You’ve probably heard of the new HBO miniseries, Chernobyl. The show is a fairly accurate retelling of the events preceding and immediately follow the nuclear disaster that occurred in Pripyat, Ukraine on April 26, 1986. Like any dramatized television production, it [...]
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” — Dale Carnegie Perfect lives don’t exist. We’ve all experienced loss, misfortune or pain. No one is a stranger to emotional stress. And emotional stress affects work performance, particularly safety. A study conducted by the U.K. Royal [...]
“I hated being pregnant, but I never minded being in labor. I knew I would get a prize at the end.” — Chris Schmidt, mother of four Things have been a little crazy in Saint Louis for the past week. Founded in 1967, the Blues Hockey Club has finally won a Stanley Cup. Everyone feels [...]
The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore. -Vincent Van Gogh There are some professions that top the list of dangerous jobs year after year: commercial fishing, loggers, roofers and trash collectors. The average fatality rate for all jobs [...]
“If the government wanted people to drive safely, they’d mandate a spike in the middle of each steering wheel.” — Gordon Tullock We call economics “the dismal science.” Economist Gordon Tullock certainly reinforced that idea when he applied the economic phenomena of risk compensation to driving safety and suggested that we would all drive more [...]
“Safety is a common denominator across all aspects of life...” Doug Bourne After working in a manufacturing environment for 2 years, I have developed a great appreciation for a good safety culture. Adhering to solid safety practices and policies, while irritating at times, kept us all going home at the end of the day in [...]
“Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions.” — James C. Collins When she was just 21 years old, Candace Carnahan lost her leg in a workplace incident. One day, during her third summer working at a paper mill, Candace took a shortcut that she’d seen everyone else take hundreds of times before. [...]
“If your house were burning down and you could take away one thing, what would it be?”…”I’d take the fire.” — Jean Cocteau, interviewed by André Fraigneau The images of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral burning broke my heart. I am grateful that people and organizations around the world have vowed to contribute to the [...]
“As they depend, not upon the agent, but upon fortune, they cannot be the proper foundation for any sentiment” — Adam Smith We all believe that people should follow safety rules all the time. Not because there is a harmful outcome every time someone violates a safety rule or commits an unsafe act. Because usually [...]
“Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.” — Alan Moore It is human nature to seek knowledge - we have evolved as curious creatures. Being able to build an accurate picture of the world is one method we employ for survival. When you’re looking for knowledge, what [...]
