Happy Holidays Industry Friends,
With a heart full of gratitude, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you haven't listened yet, Safety Talk on the Dock is a podcast dedicated to understanding the process of safe work on the waterfront. To those who have already listened, thanks a million!
Episode 4 is now available. Cindy Tait, the President and Founder of The Center for Healthcare Education, and I have an in-depth discussion about emergency response and preparedness on marine terminals. Stay tuned as we follow up on our conversation in Episode 5 about Reasonable Suspicion Assessments™ and the current state of drug use in the United States. Episode 5 will be released in the New Year.
Cindy and I have put together several free resources about the current state of drug use and Reasonable Suspicion Assessments™ in the workplace. Links to download these resources are available on my website. As I've written previously, I'm on a personal mission to provide accurate safety information for this industry and these free resources are one way of supporting that mission.
Curious about in-person Reasonable Suspicion Assessment™ training? Here are a few class evaluations from a recent-in person class Cindy and I taught.
· 100% of attendees said they would recommend this class to a coworker.
· "It's a good learning experience."
· "In the past, there was no concrete way to tell if a person was impaired. Very useful information!!!"
As we transition into a new year, I find it a time of renewal, both personally and professionally. Once the lights are down and the ornaments are stowed away, it's time to clean house. The "get in every drawer" type of cleaning and I always ask myself, do I need this?" I do the same with my eight-year-old's room because he's a collector of things. I ask "do you really need this?" He's become accustomed to the process, giving him time to think about what he wants to remain in his room and what items need to find a new home. Otherwise, he'd be swallowed whole by his hoarding, never to be found again (typed with motherly sarcasm). With certainty, he always loves his refreshed room because he can see what he actually has.
The same holds true for safety. The new year provides an opportunity to look at what we do in the name of safety and ask ourselves "do we really need this?" Are we holding onto a practice or program because it's comfortable or "it's the way we've always done it?" But ask yourself, "why do we as an organization need this and what measurable value does it provide?" Look at what you and the organization do in the "name of safety." Can you say with certainty which actions, programs, and processes make your workplace safer?
Don't be timid in cleaning your "safety house" because you'll be refreshed and focused in the New Year. If you need help with asking "do I really need this?" I'm only a phone call away.
Cheers to being safe!
Kristina "Casey" Bowden