The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was developed in 1971 to set and enforce a standard level of safe working conditions and prevent workplace injuries, illness, and work-related fatalities. And since its implementation, OSHA has helped to reduce workplace fatalities by 60%, while workplace injury and illness rates have dropped by 40%. A key […]
Safety Management
Safety Observations: 9 Common Examples
Health and safety are everyone’s business. Companies that make safety a shared responsibility across front-line staff, managers, and C-suite executives are better equipped to identify, quantify, and remediate key issues. One key component in creating a safety culture is the Safety Observations Report. By documenting potentially unsafe practices and processes on-site, organizations can create action […]
Hazard vs Risk: What’s the Difference?
Hazards and risks are interconnected. Both represent potential problems for companies if workers are injured as a result of preexisting hazards or risks, the results could have both short- and long-term implications on health and safety. It’s worth noting, however, that while hazards and risks are similar, they’re not the same thing. Although they’re sometimes […]
What is an ISO Audit — and Why Does Your Business Need One?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental international organization and certification body with more than 167 members. The goal of the ISO is to create voluntary international standards that help companies evaluate and improve current processes. ISO has been creating and evolving standards for more than 70 years, helping companies stay up-to-date […]
What is HACCP?
HACCP, which stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, is defined as a “management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement, and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of the finished product,” according to the FDA. In practice, HACCP […]
The Top 5 Safety Metrics You Should be Tracking
More information is always better. The more you know about what’s happening in your organization, the better equipped you are to address and remediate potential safety problems. Safety metrics make this possible. By measuring and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), you can identify areas in need of improvement and create plans that help achieve this […]
The Difference Between Leading and Lagging Safety Indicators
Leading and lagging safety indicators help your organization better understand how potential hazards occur and what you can do to limit overall risk. But what are lagging and leading indicators? How do they differ, where are they similar, and what benefits do they offer to your organization? Here’s what you need to know. What are […]
Leading Safety Indicators: Examples and Applications
Workplace safety is getting better. According to OSHA, recordable injuries and illnesses have fallen from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers per year in 1979 to just 2.8 incidents per worker in 2019. But there’s still room for improvement. In 2019, there were 15 deaths per day on job sites, with construction accounting for 20 percent […]
The Impact of Lagging Safety Indicators on Workplace Operations
Employers reported 2.7 million injuries and illnesses in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). And while this number is down 5.7% from the previous year, there’s still room for improvement. In 2020, these injuries cost companies more than $163 billion in wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, and administrative expenses, in […]
PPE Inspections: What They Are and Why You Need Them
Personal protective equipment (PPE) saves lives. Consider the humble hard hat: First introduced in 1919 by Edward W. Bullard, who designed the hat to resemble his doughboy army helmet, the hard hat helped reduce work site deaths by two-thirds between 1970 and 2016. PPE also saves money: Companies can save over $30,000 for every medically-consulted […]
FeaturedCustomers selects Certainty Software as a 2022 EHS Management Software Rising Star
Certainty Software has been named a FeaturedCustomers’ 2022 Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Management Software Vendor Rising Star! This is our third time receiving this recognition and we’re extremely proud to see that our hard work to help businesses collect, manage, and report their EHS inspections and audits has made a difference. Who is FeaturedCustomers? […]
What are first, second, and third-party audits?
Auditing ensures that businesses comply with regulatory standards and are operating properly within these guidelines. This includes financial reporting, quality management systems, safety management systems, and more. Auditing has increased in frequency annually; for instance, in 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted over 21,000 audits. Here, you’ll learn what a first, second, and […]
4 Steps to Perform a Workplace Safety Inspection
More than ever, today’s workforce is reflecting on their current working situation and is considering finding new work – over 40% of American workers in 2021 considered leaving their current jobs. Workplace safety is a large driving force in these decisions as injuries have maintained an annual consistency of about 2.7 million reported incidents in […]
FSMS: How to Create an Effective Food Safety Management System for Your Business
The CDC estimates that every year, more than 48 million Americans become sick from foodborne illnesses. Research has identified more than 250 foodborne diseases that are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites, but consumers can also become sick after eating food that has been exposed to harmful toxins or chemicals. As a result, it’s in […]
What is a Field Level Hazard Assessment (and Why They Matter)
Hazards put both teams and projects at risk. If your staff is injured by on-site hazards, days off for recovery coupled with workers’ compensation processes can negatively impact project timelines and employee morale. According to recent data from the National Safety Council (NSC), more than 400,000 workers were injured from substance hazards in 2020. Additionally, […]
