Phil La Duke

Is social media dead for safety professionals?

August 16, 2016

The social networking phenomenon has fostered many, usually misguided and ill-advised, attempts to capitalize on the popularity of the medium to boost sales, and to market to new (and usually younger) markets.

Safety pros are obsessed about the wrong things

Phil La Duke

February 10, 2016

Since the advent of the safety function, it’s been borrowing tools from other disciplines and building practices based on data gleaned from the earliest research in industrial psychology.

10 ways to reinvent your safety incentive program

Phil La Duke

January 27, 2016

Safety Incentives are increasingly eyed with suspicion by regulators who worry inappropriate incentives might lead to under reporting of injuries. Unfortunately, many organizations have legacy systems that provide financial rewards for injury-free time periods.

Are safety pros obsessed about the wrong things?

Phil La Duke

January 21, 2016

Since the advent of the safety function, it’s been borrowing tools from other disciplines and building practices based on data gleaned from the earliest research in industrial psychology.

Safety ain’t what it used to be

Phil La Duke

September 15, 2015

Safety is a relatively new function. When it was created in the mid 70s, it was typically an assignment tacked on to someone’s existing job. There were no instructions, or templates for doing a good job.

Safety slogans don’t save lives

Deming was right – don’t waste your time on them

Phil La Duke

April 1, 2015

It’s tough to bring professionalism to a trade that actively looks to make itself look stupid.

Let’s get out of the blame and shame business

Phil La Duke

February 27, 2015

Just Culture is a management philosophy designed to hold people appropriately accountable. According to one of the current thought leaders in Just Culture, there are three basic kinds of behavior: human error, at risk behavior, and recklessness.

Lone gunman-based safety

Phil La Duke

February 5, 2015

Ever since Jack Ruby gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald while being transferred from a Dallas police station to county jail debate has raged as to whether or not Oswald acted alone or if he was part of a larger conspiracy.

Taking a new look at safety

Phil La Duke

January 27, 2015

Let me begin by thanking all of you who voiced your support for me during the past week. As you may have surmised, I get frustrated from time to time, mostly because so many safety practitioners still don’t get it.

New Year’s resolutions for safety pros

Phil La Duke

January 6, 2015

This time of year makes the best of us reflective and after doing some soul searching and reflecting I came up with a short list of things I think we as professionals can do to be even more effective: