As I See It

Staying Afloat in a Sea of Troubles

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · August 2008

Staying Active and Focused

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · July 2008

If you want it done, involve safety. As anyone in the safety profession knows, we are super-busy and constantly asked to take on new responsibilities. Why? Because we work through any obstacles and get the job done! Safety folks are organized, focused, overworked, and get our jobs done with less than enough financial backing. We are creative team players.

Budgeting for the Safety Miser

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · June 2008

Budgeting is easily one of the worst tasks we safety professionals have to do. Without the assistance of a crystal ball or a Ouija board, we are trying to forecast the future needs and crises of our staff from a safety point of view. We want our budget to be realistic, manageable, and taken seriously by our corporate managers while accomplishing needed goals.

Sharing the Program Liability for Safety

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · May 2008

Managing a safety program can be a struggle on the good days. All too often, managers and supervisors want to ensure the program is known as "your safety program" rather than the company's or department's safety program. That "hands off" approach will cause many elements of the goals and initiatives to stall quickly, and it sets up a method for blame to begin when things fall by the wayside.

The Power of Safety Priorities

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · April 1, 2008

It is a plain fact of the safety profession: Run the program, or it will run you (often, into the ground). Safety is critical to the success of any organization, and keeping everything moving takes a lot of work and thought and a little luck.

Accomplishing Your Long-Range Goals for Safety

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · February 28, 2008

Admit it: All of us want a model safety program worthy of our talent, efforts, planning, and management ability. We begin each cycle, whether quarterly or annually, with a plump list of programs and specifics to create the perfect safe working environment. Then, the reality spheres of time, cooperation, and funding set a collision course with our goals, and before we realize it, time has flown by and we are no closer than before. So the question is; how do we accomplish our long-range goals for safety?

It's Time for Our Springtime Push--Get Moving!

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · February 1, 2008

With the hint of springtime comes a renewal of energy and a newfound determination to get ahead of all those safety job demands! We build and rebuild our "to do" lists and scrutinize each entry, trying to improve the great and bring up to compliance the not-so-great portions of our company's safety program. (Anyone who believes his program cannot be improved is sadly mistaken!)

Preparedness 101

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · January 2008

We see horrifying images everywhere: devastating ice storms, hurricanes, traffic pile-ups, crumbled buildings and sinkholes, mall shootings, and sometimes catastrophic workplace accidents. Are your workers really prepared to be safe? (And what about the looming threat of a widespread pandemic flu?) We are living in an instant-access, drive-by world these days. When we need a set of gloves, a first aid kit, a faceshield, or a respirator, we stop by the local hardware or big-box store and get it immediately, or we order online and await delivery within hours. Viewing icebound Oklahoma landscapes last month should have given us pause: What if there are long-term, serious power and traffic interruptions?

Flu Season Best Practices

By Joe Beck · December 2007

At least 20 million people, including 500,000 U.S. citizens, died in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Today, as many as 36,000 Americans continue to die each year of what's commonly known as the flu and more than 200,000 are hospitalized. Most outbreaks in North America occur between October and May. The peak season is usually late December to early March.

The Déjà Vu of Safety

By Linda Johnson Sherrard, MS, CSP · October 30, 2007

For us safety professionals, everything applies to safety in one way or another. My favorite sports quote is one uttered by Yogi Berra: "This is like deja vu all over again!" It sums up our safety efforts perfectly. Safety is outrageously redundant and yet constantly new because of our efforts to educate by any means possible -- from huge classes to awareness snippets on corporate intranet sites.

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