Dave Johnson Articles

Employee safety discipline ain’t what it used to be

The focus is on “what failed?” not “who failed?”

November 12, 2018

A tricky thing, disciplining employees. Every safety pro has a story about discipline:“I had to terminate a woman in 1987 because her body odor was so repulsive, affecting other workers (and her boss… me),” says a pro who requested anonymity. “I remember progressive discipline... You bet I asked the HR manager for assistance.”

NFPA studies fatal & non-fatal electrical injuries

Lessons learned the hard way

Dave Johnson

October 4, 2018

Nearly three workers die every week (as calculated over a five-year period) from exposure to electricity – a total of 739 deaths during that period. One-fifth of the victims were self-employed. Most fatalities (417) were caused by direct exposure to electricity, such as touching a live wire.

The constant pressure for construction workers to work in pain

It’s always been there - will it ever go away?

Dave Johnson

October 4, 2018

Perhaps you read about the NIOSH study published in late August that found construction workers die of drug overdoses (not while on the job) at a rate six times higher than the general work population. Heroin was the main killer, followed by prescription opioids.

Tesla's journey to be the world’s safest factory — 10 takeaways

Tesla raises the bar

Dave Johnson

October 2, 2018

How would you feel working as the head of safety and health for one of the world’s most scrutinized companies? Your CEO is one of the most talked-about executives in the world. How many CEOs make the cover of Rolling Stone?

Extended Online Edition

OSHA recordkeeping often has little to do with reality

A better way of keeping score

Dave Johnson

September 6, 2018

Dan Petersen, one of the great thinkers in the history of occupational safety, in a 2005 book, “Measurement of Safety Performance,” tore apart the traditional barometers of safety performance, the OSHA total case incident rate, total lost-workday cases, fatalities and other measures.

30 things to know about emergency showers & eyewash stations

OSHA references voluntary requirements for placement & performance

Dave Johnson

August 15, 2018

A list of thirty OSHA voluntary requirements for placements and performance of emergency showers and eyewashes.

NFPA 70E 2018 breaks new boundaries

Assessing risks, preventing errors, building a culture

Dave Johnson

August 3, 2018

The 2018 edition of NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, addresses issues that should be put into practice at any workplace. New voluntary requirements and guidance cover risk assessment, the hierarchy of controls, human error, job safety planning, management systems, work performance and workplace culture.

Is OSHA at its nadir?

The agency has been silent for far too long

Dave Johnson

August 3, 2018

Is OSHA more irrelevant than ever? Many top OSHA officials, careerists, are working in an “acting” or interim basis: the agency’s career deputy assistant secretary position; the head of whistleblower protection; the director of training; and four of the ten agency regional administrators.

OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping standard

Going public with your injury rates

Pros debate whether transparency helps or harms reputations

Dave Johnson

August 1, 2018

If you work in safety in a high-hazard industry, would you be worried if your company injury and illness data sat on OSHA’s website to be accessed by the public? Would you fear publicizing the data could damage your company’s reputation?