“The only thing we have learnt from experience is that we learn nothing from experience.” — Chinua Achebe Back in December 2021, the BLS report showed that for 2020, the Year of the Pandemic, the total number of work-related fatalities in the U.S. was 4,764. That was significantly less than for the year before. The [...]
“That is not to say OSHA lacks authority to regulate occupation-specific risks related to COVID–19.” — Brett Kavanaugh It’s not often that the courts weigh in on safety issues. Thank goodness. As Sidney Dekker points out in his book, Just Culture, the involvement of the justice system is bad for safety. It leads to less [...]
“Maybe this virus has a silver lining.” — Katherine Plumhoff The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its workplace safety statistics for the previous year each December. The injury, illness, and fatality statistics for 2020 – The Year of Covid – just came out. The total number of work-related fatalities in 2020 fell to 4,764, over [...]
“As the pandemic drags on, following COVID-19 prevention guidelines can feel like more and more of a challenge.” — Jay Maddock, Professor of Public Health Tired of the pandemic? Tired of social distancing, of wearing a mask, of avoiding crowds? Who’s not? Get over it. The Covid-19 pandemic has come roaring back in the United [...]
“The amount of misinformation on the Internet – especially on Facebook and especially during times of crisis – is staggering.” — Benjamin Franklin We’ve returned to work here, although anyone who wishes to continue to work from home may. People stay separated, maintaining social distancing. The chairs in the break room are up on the [...]
“Be adventurists in the sense of being bold and daring. Be opportunists and seize this opportunity, this moment in history, to go out and save our country. It’s your turn now.” — Abbie Hoffman Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, we’ve been contacted several times by firms that are planning to jump into the business of [...]
“The term ‘triage’ normally means deciding who gets attention first.” — Bill Dedman Most people have no reason to worry about getting fatally ill from COVID-19. Despite early estimates of fatality rates being about 2%, Sharon Begley reports in STAT News that a new paper puts the estimate closer to 1.4% overall: 0.5% for those [...]
“Is there anyone here on staff who you think is non-essential? If you had to give up one name, who would it be?” — Conan O’Brien During emergencies, managers often feel compelled to order employees to stay home because of the emergency situation, but then go on to exempt "essential employees designated for mandatory operations." Really. [...]
