Summit team members Valerie Overheul – President & CEO, Bryan Hornik – General Manager, and myself, Sara Wesche- Marketing Director, attended the National Safety Council’s Green Cross for Safety Awards dinner in Chicago May 13th. This year’s recipient of the Green Cross medal was Charles “Chip” Pardee, President and Chief Nuclear Officer for Exelon Nuclear.
The black tie event began with a reception at the Navy Pier Terrace Room, which gave attendees the chance to mingle with other safety professionals. A band of bagpipes led the NSC Board of Directors and the representatives from Exelon, including Mr. Pardee, into the Grand Ballroom for the main event.
Janet Froetscher, President & CEO of the National Safety Council, opened the evening with a talk about the mission of the Council and the importance of work place safety. The focus of the speech was distracted driving, one of the Council’s current initiatives. She details the stories of two young boys who were killed in separate accidents due to drivers who were using their cell phones while behind the wheel. The opening segment concluded with a clip from Charlie Morecraft’s, of Remember Charlie, latest video program. The Council’s new whitepaper on distracted driving can be downloaded from their website at www.nsc.org.
Post dinner, the award was presented to Mr. Pardee, who gave an excellent speech which detailed the safety success of his company. Of the many great statistics Mr. Pardee shared, I found the most impactful statement that Excelon Nuclear has never had an on-the-job fatality.
Exelon Nuclear, a business unit of Exelon Corporation, operates the largest nuclear fleet in the nation and the third largest fleet in the world, employing 8,500 people. Headquartered in Warrenville, IL, Exelon Nuclear operates 10 stations with 17 reactors and represents an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. nuclear industry’s power capacity. Over 17 million homes are powered by Exelon Nuclear’s generating units.
The Green Cross dinner is the largest fundraising event for the National Safety Council. This year’s event set a record for attendance, with over 700 people. The dinner concluded on time (maybe even a bit before schedule) at 9pm. It was a well planned and executed event, honoring a top notch safety record to a company who works in a hazardous and important injury.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Rigging: Specialized in Safety
New Video/DVD Rigging: Specialized in Safety from Summit Sets the Focus on Safety for Riggers
Summit’s new Video/DVD training program, Rigging: Specialized in Safety effectively trains riggers on best safety practices to prevent property damage and injuries. Rigging is a specialized skill and it is vital for workers to fully comprehend the forces they’re up against and how to use their equipment effectively so that the job can get done safely.
From equipment maintenance and selection, understanding safe load capacity and wearing the correct PPE to properly moving the load, Summit’s program teaches riggers how to incorporate safety into everything they do. Summit’s attention grabbing program features multiple types of slings and equipment and showcases the various settings where rigging work is performed.
This program covers:
• Slings & equipment selection
• Planning the Lift
• Best Work Practices
Because rigging is more complex than untrained workers may realize, it’s a job that should only be performed by workers who have the appropriate training. Minimize the risk and build the safety skills of workers with Summit’s Rigging: Specialized in Safety training program.
Contact Summit to receive a free preview of any new release by calling 800.842.0466 or visit http://www.safetyontheweb.com/
Summit’s new Video/DVD training program, Rigging: Specialized in Safety effectively trains riggers on best safety practices to prevent property damage and injuries. Rigging is a specialized skill and it is vital for workers to fully comprehend the forces they’re up against and how to use their equipment effectively so that the job can get done safely.
From equipment maintenance and selection, understanding safe load capacity and wearing the correct PPE to properly moving the load, Summit’s program teaches riggers how to incorporate safety into everything they do. Summit’s attention grabbing program features multiple types of slings and equipment and showcases the various settings where rigging work is performed.
This program covers:
• Slings & equipment selection
• Planning the Lift
• Best Work Practices
Because rigging is more complex than untrained workers may realize, it’s a job that should only be performed by workers who have the appropriate training. Minimize the risk and build the safety skills of workers with Summit’s Rigging: Specialized in Safety training program.
Contact Summit to receive a free preview of any new release by calling 800.842.0466 or visit http://www.safetyontheweb.com/
Training the Non English Speaking Workforce
On April 28, 2010 OSHA issued a memorandum on their training policy in regards to non-English speaking workers. The purpose of this memorandum is to reiterate OSHA's policy that employee training required by OSHA standards must be presented in a manner that employees can understand, and to provide enforcement guidance to the area and regional offices relative to the Agency's training standards. This position applies to all of the agency's agriculture, construction, general industry, and maritime training requirements.
The majority of focus seems to be on the growing Latino and Hispanic speaking workforce here in the United States. Hispanic workers occupy about 14% of the job market and tend to work in dangerous jobs such as construction and mining.
The memorandum stresses that the training must account for any limitations, such as vocabulary, that the non-English speaking worker may have. This is in fact a huge limitation with training a Spanish speaking population. Many Spanish speaking workers have a limited vocabulary and are illiterate. So, how do you ensure your Spanish speaking or non-English workers are trained properly?
First and foremost, the audio in any training DVD or online course should be translated into the dialect of the worker. This is more than likely not the Spanish your kid is learning in high school. Professional language translators should be able to translate courses into a ‘common’ or ‘everyday’ form of the language. If you are getting your online or DVD courses from a vendor, you can ask them if their training is translated at a conversational level and that the vocabulary is at around a fifth grade level to ensure that it is easy to comprehend.
Secondly, look at the content of the video or online course you are showing. Does the video have a lot of ‘talking heads’ or presenters simply standing in front of the camera and speaking? This isn’t a very effective form of training for any student, nor is it very engaging; however, if your student is not as comfortable with language, showing them the proper way to do their job with correct visual representation will be the most effective.
Translated support materials are nice, but since most Spanish speaking workers are unable to read their own language, they may be ineffective. Focus on the visual when training non English speaking workers.
Online training is a good alternative to classroom training for Spanish speaking workers. Pre- and post-test options and remediation offer a complete learning experience and assurance that material is comprehended and retained by the students. Spanish-speaking students can learn with confidence and without feeling out of the loop. There are more and more resources available in the Spanish language, and greater customization options with online training that allow you to include site-specific information in Spanish. Hispanic employees will not feel the pressure of a normal classroom setting and will be more likely to communicate with the safety director on a one-to-one basis.
For information on Summit's foreign language training programs, including many in Spanish, visit http://www.safetyontheweb.com/
The majority of focus seems to be on the growing Latino and Hispanic speaking workforce here in the United States. Hispanic workers occupy about 14% of the job market and tend to work in dangerous jobs such as construction and mining.
The memorandum stresses that the training must account for any limitations, such as vocabulary, that the non-English speaking worker may have. This is in fact a huge limitation with training a Spanish speaking population. Many Spanish speaking workers have a limited vocabulary and are illiterate. So, how do you ensure your Spanish speaking or non-English workers are trained properly?
First and foremost, the audio in any training DVD or online course should be translated into the dialect of the worker. This is more than likely not the Spanish your kid is learning in high school. Professional language translators should be able to translate courses into a ‘common’ or ‘everyday’ form of the language. If you are getting your online or DVD courses from a vendor, you can ask them if their training is translated at a conversational level and that the vocabulary is at around a fifth grade level to ensure that it is easy to comprehend.
Secondly, look at the content of the video or online course you are showing. Does the video have a lot of ‘talking heads’ or presenters simply standing in front of the camera and speaking? This isn’t a very effective form of training for any student, nor is it very engaging; however, if your student is not as comfortable with language, showing them the proper way to do their job with correct visual representation will be the most effective.
Translated support materials are nice, but since most Spanish speaking workers are unable to read their own language, they may be ineffective. Focus on the visual when training non English speaking workers.
Online training is a good alternative to classroom training for Spanish speaking workers. Pre- and post-test options and remediation offer a complete learning experience and assurance that material is comprehended and retained by the students. Spanish-speaking students can learn with confidence and without feeling out of the loop. There are more and more resources available in the Spanish language, and greater customization options with online training that allow you to include site-specific information in Spanish. Hispanic employees will not feel the pressure of a normal classroom setting and will be more likely to communicate with the safety director on a one-to-one basis.
For information on Summit's foreign language training programs, including many in Spanish, visit http://www.safetyontheweb.com/
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