Editorial
Making any New Year’s resolutions in 2016?
January 2016
Sheila Pantry OBE
Happy, Safe and Healthy 2016 to all OSHWORLD Readers
If you are making some New Year’s resolutions – you may wish to think about how you can help to achieve less accidents and fatalities in the world’s workplaces. Wherever you are and whatever job you hold – for example – whether you are a managing director, director, owner, supervisor, line manager, trainer, manufacturer, worker, self – employed, journalist, TV or radio producer you can play your part in helping to reduce needless accidents and deaths that still occur in all workplaces in the world. You can make sure that all workers are trained and have the competence to carry out their jobs safely and healthily and that their workplaces meet the highest standards of safety and health.
The International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva stress the importance and the need to give higher priority to preventing accidents and ill-health at work. The ILO acknowledges that an estimated 2.34 million people die from work-related accidents or diseases each year. Such a high number is simply not acceptable today – it equates to an average of more than 6,300 work-related deaths every day, around the world.
This represents a colossal social and economic burden for enterprises, communities and countries, not to mention an appalling human and financial problem for workers and their families.
The need for prevention is both obvious and urgent. The great majority of workplace accidents and diseases are preventable, but good intentions have not always been implemented or sustained. While some may be tempted to cut back on occupational safety and health (OSH), especially during an economic downturn, it remains true that “good safety is good business”. Prevention is part of a survival strategy; those who sustain their efforts to prevent occupational accidents and diseases will find their efforts rewarded.
Do whatever you can to ensure that all workers have a more safer and healthier workplace in 2013.
Update your 2016 diary with training for workers at all levels
As you start your New Year’s diary think about the training, which perhaps has not been carried out for you and others. Look at the latest additions to the Diary of Events and you will see plans have been made already worldwide for 2016 and beyond to have training courses, symposiums, webinars and conferences in many places in the world on a wide range of subjects.
Do not put off training for yourself and your staff. In these days of tighter budgets perhaps training may be put on the “back-burner” – but think again how you can keep up with the latest techniques and training opportunities.
Remember that even if you cannot attend these many events, speakers and organisers are often willing to share their knowledge. Look at the details – where possible, we add in the web sites of these events so you can request further information. And do let me know if you are organising any OSHE events so that I can add them to the OSHWORLD Diary.
FOCUS
This month’s OSHWORLD FOCUS is entitled Resolve to help Britain work well in 2016.
OSH UPDATE + FIRE
You will find many examples of good practices, information, guidance and advice, research reports, leaflets and much more in OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com – THE key tool to all your health, safety and fire information requirements
- OSH UPDATE is easily searchable by keywords, titles, journal names, standard number, authors, organisations, and will keep you and your colleagues alerted to hot topics such as air pollution, workplace health risks, the health risks of nanotechnology, preparedness and business continuity, risk assessment, corporate killing and corporate social responsibility, bio-terrorism, management of road risks, all aspects of fire and related fire topics, workplace health and safety and much more.
- Long established from mid 1990s.
- Arguably the largest electronic collection in the world in these very wide subject areas from worldwide sources. There is a special collection of OSH legislation, guidance and advice within OSH UPDATE and FIRE!
- The databases and contents are from worldwide class organisations such as the US NIOSH, the UK Health and Safety Executive, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and many more similar organisations in the world.
This time of the year is a good time for all organisations worldwide to review their health and safety goals and decide on the training or re-training that is needed for all levels of staff and update their information resources.
Check out these successful efforts that are in OSH UPDATE + FIRE and introduce them into your workplace!
It is always good to keep researching and finding out if there are services and other ways of keeping up-to-date in this fast changing world of ours. Time is precious and many people are really stretched in their jobs and find it difficult to keep ahead in current knowledge that they should have for their jobs. So help is at hand for those working in health, safety and fire and fire related industries which are brought together in an easy to use web service entitled OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com that is constantly updated.
Then try these long established Practical, Affordable Solutions for your health, safety, fire and environment information needs from Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd.
For a 15 DAY FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | email: sp@sheilapantry.com | or fill in the Interest form www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html
Want to know where the best websites are located? Then check out OSHWORLD country and subject links!
It is always good to review health, safety, chemical, fire and environment procedures on a regular basis. It is also important that the practices and systems in the workplace are constantly reviewed and if necessary, improved. This review may also indicate training requirements and updates and re-thinking how systems and services can be improved. This is where the free-of-charge OSHWORLD can help you.
In these days of tighter budgets perhaps training may be put on the “back-burner” – but think again how you can keep up with the latest techniques and training opportunities. So look at the latest additions to the Diary of Events and you will see plans have been made already worldwide well into 2016 to have training courses, symposiums and conferences held in many places in the world on a wide range of subjects.
Remember that even if you cannot attend these many events, speakers and organisers are often willing to share their knowledge. Look at the details – where possible, we add in the web sites of these events so you can request further information.
And do let me know if you are organising any OSHE events so that I can add them to the Diary.
Resources
In addition to the above we hope that you find the information in OSHWORLD useful in your daily work. Globally there are continually new titles, news items, new products so remember to look at the News to find the latest information from a number of worldwide sources.
Use OSHWORLD as your portal to many hundreds of validated and authoritative web sites that you can find in the Country and Subject links we offer. New subject topics are constantly brought together on web sites, e.g. avian flu and the workplace.
Most information services have a reference shelf where you can quickly check the reference sources – so OSHWORLD brings you a collection of Reference sources and also teaches you how to Search the Internet.
Click onto the various Bookshops to order any new document as they are being published. Many of these Bookshops have a constant stream of new titles available.
Please send any suggestions or comments about OSHWORLD – your portal to validated and authoritative information. Remember also to look at our other really useful sites – www.sheilapantry.com and why not make a free entry about your company’s products in www.shebuyersguide.com.
Don’t work harder – work smarter! Be ahead of the game.
Are you aiming to have a zero accident, incident-free and healthy year in 2016 in your workplace? Some would argue that this is not possible! But keep on trying and develop your plans for 2016!