Workplace Culture

Part of the National Safety Council’s focus during National Safety Month 2015 is ergonomics, or how people can function most safely and effectively in their work environments. While employers are responsible for providing a safe workplace for their employees, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain a significant cause of time off the job in numerous industries. […]

At VelocityEHS, we’re committed to keeping our customers informed about EHS news from across the country and around the world. That’s why we present this news roundup each Friday, featuring EHS stories from the week that they might have missed. This week we saw OSHA continuing to level fines against violators, with an emphasis on […]

Regardless of the situation, an emotional appeal is much more convincing than just presenting cold hard facts. We spoke with Anne Marie McManus of Delaware North to learn about her experience in the EHS industry and why culture change is a collaborative team effort. Delaware North Hospitality and Food Service A grounding in family ownership […]

As one of his final acts in office before resigning permanently as head of the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), Chair Rafael Moure-Eraso and the CSB released a new video outlining ways that employers can prevent anhydrous ammonia accidents. The video, Shock to the System, builds on one of the final high profile investigations taking place […]

A new voluntary international standard for occupational health and safety management — including hazardous chemical safety — is currently under development by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The new standard will be called ISO 45001, and is set to replace OHSAS 18001, a voluntary set of international standards first published in 1999 and developed […]

Sustainability is an important term, but it seems to mean something different to everyone. It matters to individual people and it also matters to businesses. Companies who invest in sustainable innovation tend to experience benefits from this expression of their socially-conscious values in three key areas: 1. Business Performance 2. Employee Retention 3. Risk Mitigation […]

OSHA has repealed Arizona’s state-specific residential fall protection regulation put forth by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) — Arizona’s state OSHA plan. Because of this change, Arizona homebuilders will now be required to implement fall protection for workers in construction activities at heights of 6 feet or more. The repealed standard […]

Today’s best practices in EHS and Sustainability management strive to influence the culture at all levels of an organization to foster awareness and shared accountability for workplace safety and health and environmental stewardship. The implementation of an EHS software system does not tend to correlate directly to this goal, however it can have a tremendous […]

Last week, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced in a final investigation report that a fire at a Richmond, California Chevron refinery in 2012 was the result of a flawed safety culture within the corporation. The large fire endangered 19 Chevron workers, and sent over 15,000 local residents to the hospital for medical attention. […]

Exactly thirty years ago, the deadliest industrial accident of all time took place. On December 3, 1984, a leak in a pesticide plant caused the release of 40 tons of methyl isocyanate into the air in the city of Bhopal, India. About 4,000 people were killed outright, and another 15,000 passed away in the weeks […]