Articles
Practical advice and cutting-edge insight from our thought leaders on behavioral research, human error and safety science.
Featured article
Ten Feet Tall and Falling
Injuries in the construction industry are rarely caused by the most dangerous tasks—here’s why.
Read nowHuman Factors and Human Error
-
Distractions are a natural part of our daily lives. But they're also a cause of many daily fatalities.
-
The Safety Benefits of Awareness and Human Factors Training
When awareness is up, the injuries are down, damages are avoided, and less time is wasted on setbacks caused by mistakes.
-
A Fearless Look at What Really Causes Accidental Injuries and Fatalities
A look at the relationship between acute injuries and human error.
-
All Injuries Can Not Be Prevented
Mistakes are inevitable but their number can be reduced by addressing human error.
-
Anticipating error is not impossible—the right training can prevent many injuries and errors.
-
Complacency Deserves a Place on OSHA's Top 10
Complacency is one of the most common causes of incidents at OSHA-compliant companies.
-
Complacency: the Silent Killer
Complacency masks the amount of risk and the threats present in the workplace.
-
A discussion of how rushing, frustration, fatigue and complacency affect workplace health and safety.
-
Many companies know complacency is a problem but lack the right strategies to fight it.
-
An overwhelming majority of incidents are caused by these four “monsters” that reside in everyone.
-
Ten Feet Tall and Falling Must read
Injuries in the construction industry are rarely caused by the most dangerous tasks—here’s why.
-
The Buried Truth About Human Factors
A survivor's story of a trench collapse and its overlooked causes.
-
The Dumb Worker - A New Perspective
Human error is not synonymous with worker error—learn the truth about human factors.
-
Trucking Tired Workers to Safety
The transportation sector has led the charge on dealing with worker fatigue. But this problem affects all industries.
-
Unlocking the Code to Human Error
A journey into the world of safety and human error.
Common Injuries
-
Doing More of the Same Won't Reduce SIFs
The number of SIFs has increased in the past few years, and workplace deaths are up with no apparent new risks to explain them.
-
Reducing Serious Injuries and Fatalities
Influencing motivation and ability has by far the greatest potential for reducing SIFs because the individual is the only “system component” that is universally present in every situation.
-
The Case for Managing Human Factors at Heights
Safety regulations regarding working at heights aren't enough. Human factors like fatigue and complacency can still lead to employees falling.
-
Recommended steps to address back safety in the workplace.
-
Balancing Your Investment in Slip, Trip and Fall Prevention
How well a company balances physical hazards and personal actions is a great litmus test for their approach to safety.
-
Safety Has a Bad Case of 'The More Things Change'
New requirements and new rules aim to change the way people do their jobs, but people and their biases stay the same.
Beyond Compliance
-
Navigating HazCom: Lessons from Ancient Mariners Applied to Modern Workplace Safety
From the ancient Mediterranean sailors to today’s workplaces, understanding the true essence of risk is vital. Dive deep into the transformative journey of “risk” and its implications in today’s Hazard Communication.
-
The Hidden Connection Between Electrical Safety and Rushing
Although it is in our nature to want to work quickly, doing so leaves us vulnerable to accidents.
-
Looking to the Sky for Training and Managing Human Factors in Transportation
Most people aren’t aware of human factors or how they can skew their perception of risk.
-
Counting on Complacency in HazCom
Complacency and memory play a much bigger role in HazCom compliance than you think.
-
On Route to Safe Material Handling
Letting people rush around as fast as they want seemed like a recipe for an increase in both the number and severity of car crashes.
-
Developing Job Safety Analysis Mindset as a Personal Skill
How to turn the job safety analysis process into a habit to improve safety performance and form a JSA mindset.
-
From Déjà Vu to Setting Direction: Making Use of OSHA’s Top 10 Violations List
Use OSHA's Top 10 as an inspiration to make meaningful improvements in your organization's safety.
-
Giving Safety a Common Language Breaks down safety barriers
Common language can be a catalyst for workplaces that struggle to introduce an observation system.
-
Incident Investigation and Reporting
Using incident investigation data to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
-
Putting the Personal in Protective Equipment
Employees frequently omit to wear protective equipment—so how do you solve PPE noncompliance?
-
Safety then and now: the three attributes of an effective safety program.
-
Rethinking Risk Assessment: Adding the Third Dimension
Traditional risk assessments overlook a crucial dimension: human error.
-
If we can find signs that a workplace incident is more likely to happen, we can take steps to prevent it from happening.
The Science of Safety
-
Decision fatigue plays a significant role in workers’ ability to carry out proper LOTO procedures.
-
Safety Prioritization and the Pareto Principle
Use the 80/20 rule to solve more safety issues with less effort.
-
The Habit of Safety The science of safety habits
Forming, changing and reinforcing key safety behaviors with habits.
Safety Training Strategies
-
Tag In Supervisors on Lockout/Tagout Training
In rare instances, procedures like LOTO are overlooked due to blatant disregard.
-
What You Need To Know About Adult Learning
If EHS professionals want to improve the efficacy of their training sessions, they need to pay attention to best practices from the adult learning industry.
-
The Case for a Safety-Coaching Model
A teacher lectures. A coach makes people practice and reinforces safe behaviors.
-
Beating the Ten-Feet-Tall-and-Bulletproof Attitude
How do you keep the "10 feet tall and bulletproof" mentality from compromising your safety training?
-
All Hands on Deck Useful training methods revealed
The crucial difference between the most frequently used and most effective training methods.
-
Why injecting humor into training is so important—plus a few tips on making training more enjoyable.
-
Improving Safety Knowledge Retention Rates
Four steps towards building a framework for better retention of safety knowledge.
-
Leading Workers Out of the Cave
Addressing lack of engagement or outright opposition to a workplace safety program.
-
Ineffective training can lead to a host of problems.
-
Why Nobody Likes Safety Training
It isn’t the “safety” part but the “nothing new to learn” part that people object to.
-
Young and Old - Why One Size Fits All Doesn't Work
Effective positive reinforcement needs to be tailored to each employee.
Culture, Engagement and 24/7 Safety
-
Safety Culture’s Ink Blot Test
How to identify the soft spots in your safety culture.
-
The Supervisor's Crucial Role in Safety Performance
A safety program is only as strong as the least effective shift supervisor.
-
Avoid the “Blame Game” with Safety Issues
How to educate frontline supervisors about avoiding the "blame game" when discussing safety issues with workers.
-
Taking Care of the Safety Professional
With burnout always a possibility among safety professionals, who will take care of them?
-
Safety champions are a barometer for the health of your safety culture.
-
A strong safety culture requires more than traditional safety measures.
-
Nine Steps for Changing Your Safety Culture
Work on these nine steps and watch the safety performance of your organization improve.
-
Off-the-job Safety: The Elephant in the Living Room
Off-the-job injuries are expensive for employers—what can be done to prevent them?
-
If worker safety truly is the #1 priority, why isn’t more done to protect them outside of work?
-
Marginalizing workers can create social power structures that compete for control of the safety agenda.
Behavior-Based Safety
-
Behavior-Based Safety and the Construction Industry
Even in this industry’s ever-changing environment, it’s still possible to have great success with BBS.
-
Behavior-Based Safety and the Construction Industry
Even in this industry’s ever-changing environment, it’s still possible to have great success with BBS.
-
Better Methods, Better Results
Organizations can improve safety on and off the job by applying the right methods correctly.
-
Better Than Behavior Based Popular read
People accept the importance of behavioral component on the road, so why not in the workplace?
-
The behavior-based safety process depends on good observations performed the right way.
Business Alignment
-
Construction Safety in the Atypical Wake of Worker Turnover
Now is a great time to invest in safety training. Here's why.
-
Why Happiness is the Secret Ingredient of Worker Safety
Safety is one of the most reliable outcomes of employee engagement, which is really worker happiness in disguise.
-
Supervisors need plenty of coaching and training because some of their required skills are pretty complex.
-
Safer in Numbers: Team, Peer, and Personal Safety Improvements
Safety philosophies like HOP and BBS aren't an either/or proposition.
-
Safety affects every department, so managers need buy-in from everyone for new initiatives to be successful.
-
Leadership for Today's Problems
The real cost of injuries includes off-the-job incidents—it’s time to protect employees 24/7.
-
From a New York Times bestseller, here’s how a CEO achieved business success by focusing on safety.
-
Don’t shy away from discussing safety’s impact on the bottom line.
-
Safety Training Does a Lot More Than Prevent Injuries
Safety training saves money and enhances company performance. But getting buy-in is not always simple.
More Safety Resources
Guides
Gain insight into stubborn problems with informative safety guides.
Webinars
Safety experts share innovative perspectives and practical solutions.