Maybe it’s just me, but have you noticed how quiet things seem to be on the job safety and health front?

The December 5, 2011 issue of Time carries a lengthy article about anxiety. Here we go again with another reminder of how stressed-out our lives are.

First, I guess my thoughts on "Corporations are people too" come around to "yeah, so what's your point?" 

Safety procedures, safety talks, signs and other instructions direct workers. But attempting to identify all behaviors needed to keep employees safe fail in the midst of a changing work environment of aging equipment, cost-cutting, and changes in processes and people. 

I worked for a large corporation in safety for 27 years. When I was selected to move into safety from engineering, I did not interview with a warehouse or a chemical processing unit. It was people. 

The term willful blindness refers to an individual who could have known the facts of a situation, and should have known the facts, but deliberately blinded himself to the existence of the facts.

I am not a curmudgeon, but since Andy Rooney is no longer with us to continue his long-time “60 Minutes” tradition, I thought I would take a crack at being one…

OK, they have not erected barricades in DC yet (other than the ones to prevent terrorist suicide bombings). But the partisan fighting is wicked and will only worsen as the 2012 election nears.

Question: We would like to try and flesh out a 360-degree observation card (system) for our team leaders, and was curious as what pitfalls one should try and avoid?