Author Archive of
ORC HSE Book Review: We Fed an Island
An Anthony Bourdain Book, published by HarperCollins, 2018. Jose Andres is a DC-based celebrity chef who dedicates much of his time to disaster relief. His new book, We Fed an Island, focuses on his first-hand experience organizing an unprecedented food response campaign after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last year. The campaign prepared 3 million meals using 20,000 volunteers and involving 24 kitchens. Andres, a native of Spain, never graduated from high school, yet his insights into the failures of traditional disaster response systems and thinking provides valuable lessons for health and safety professionals.
ORC HSE Book Review: How Could This Happen? Managing Errors in Organizations
If you feel happy, is it time to be concerned? You have likely seen the video of singer Pharrell Williams’ infectious song featuring the refrain—- I’m Happy! When it comes to safety, we may need to sing a different tune. How Could this Happen: Managing Errors in Organizations is a compilation of 17 papers by authors with wide-ranging approaches to error management. Edmondson and Verdin quote John Carroll’s research that in many organizations “workers are worried, supervisors are concerned, managers are mixed, and executives are happy!” Carroll’s observation reminds me of the Iceberg of Ignorance frequently presented by Allergan’s David Eherts. Carroll and Eherts’ ideas strike me as two sides of the same coin.
OSH Network Special Event: Meet Dr. Sidney Dekker
We are very excited to announce that one of the world’s foremost experts on incident causation and human error, Sidney Dekker, will provide unique opportunity to learn and interact with him at our OSH Group meeting on February 6, 2019. Dr. Dekker’s ideas have created a revolution in thinking throughout the safety world…
A Blow to OSHA Enforcement
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has dealt a serious blow to OSHA’s long-standing authority in determining the appropriate scope of safety and health inspections.
ORC HSE Book Review: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time
An Anthony Bourdain Book, published by HarperCollins, 2018. Jose Andres is a DC-based celebrity chef who dedicates much of his time to disaster relief. His new book, We Fed an Island, focuses on his first-hand experience organizing an unprecedented food response campaign after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last year. The campaign prepared 3 million meals using 20,000 volunteers and involving 24 kitchens. Andres, a native of Spain, never graduated from high school, yet his insights into the failures of traditional disaster response systems and thinking provides valuable lessons for health and safety professionals.
ORC HSE Comments to OSHA on Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
ORC HSE Partner Steve Newell and colleagues have submitted comments on OSHA’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” that appeared in the July 30 Federal Register.
High Reliability Organizations (HROs) – Book Review
If you are interested in human and organizational performance (HOP) and or “new view” safety thinking you will especially value the important insights found in Organizing for Reliability: A Guide for Research and Practice, edited by Rangaraj Ramanujam and Karlene Roberts, and published by Stanford University Press, 2018. The book is a compilation of chapters written by more than a dozen diverse experts, many of whom have decades of experience is the study of reliability. One aim of the book is to identify areas for future research.
Webinar: Traps in Operational Decision Making: How Cognitive Biases Put Our Decision Making at Risk
This webinar will discuss the most prevalent cognitive biases affecting how we process information and make decisions in the workplace, explain how they work, and review steps that can be taken to protect ourselves and our organizations from them.
Webinar: Highlights & Key Lessons Learned at the 2018 HOP Summit.
Join us Thursday, June 28, 2018, 10:00 – 11:30 am Eastern Time
Did you miss the opportunity to attend the 2018 HOP Summit, held in Houston, TX on Feb. 27 – Mar. 1, 2018? Do you want to learn about Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) and how this risk-based operating philosophy is a key part of achieving safety and operational excellence? Then this webinar is for you!!
2017 Annual Report
For more than 45 years, ORC HSE has been helping companies achieve HSE performance excellence by providing thought leadership and fostering constructive working relationships with leaders and policymakers in government, labor, industry, and key professional organizations. And this past year was no different ‒ 2017 was another banner year for the organization.