As an ex-Air Force medic and current safety guy, I could not be prouder of the pilot of the US Airway jet, flight 1549, Chesley Sullenberger.

From AP:

Chesley Sullenberger spent practically his whole life preparing for the five-minute crucible that was US Airways Flight 1549.

He got his pilot’s license at 14, flew fighter jets in the Air Force, investigated air disasters, mastered glider flying and even studied the psychology of how cockpit crews behave in a crisis.

When the ultimate test came on a descent over the Hudson River, he spoke into the intercom only once and gave perhaps the most terrifying instruction a pilot can give — “Brace for impact” — with remarkable calm.
And as the 150 passengers of Flight 1549 marveled at their hero pilot’s skill and cool head, they learned what friends and relatives of Sullenberger say they have known all along.

“This is someone who has not just spent his life flying airplanes, but has actually dug very deeply into what makes these things work, and I think he proved it,” said Robert Bea, a civil engineer who has known Sullenberger for a year.

“He is, how should I call it, a humble man,” he added. “But he is damned smart.”

‘Miracle on the Hudson’
On Friday, the 57-year-old pilot fielded a congratulatory call from President George W. Bush. His wife said he was still in New York and probably would not return home to California for several days. 
 
Who is Captain Sullenberger?
Jan. 16: A classmate and former teacher share memories of a young Sullenberger.
Nightly News
 
 
The engineer of what Gov. David Paterson called “a miracle on the Hudson” had yet to speak publicly, but the accolades piled up. Mayor Michael Bloomberg showed off a key to the city for the pilot. Congress took up a resolution paying tribute. The governor said someone had offered $10,000 to build a statue of Sullenberger.

His wife, Lorraine, appearing outside their Danville, Calif., home, called her husband a “pilot’s pilot” who “loves the art of the airplane.” She described him, as almost everyone else had, as controlled and professional.

“This is the Sully I know,” she said. “I always knew how he would react. So to me this is not something unusual. It’s the man I know.”

Sullenberger grew up in Denison, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas. In those days, he went by his middle name, Burnett. People remember he made headlines in the local paper for flying a crop duster at age 15.

His sister, Mary Margaret Wilson, said Sullenberger built model airplanes, taking care to paint even the most minuscule details on the faces of the pilots.

“He was in the brainiac clique,” said Robert Brady, who graduated from Denison High with Sullenberger in 1969 and is mayor today. “I knew who he was — a nice guy, the kind of guy you wanted to sit behind in class so you could cheat off him.”

Sullenberger served in the Air Force from 1973 to 1980 and flew F-4 Phantom II fighter planes. The Air Force said he was a flight leader in Europe and the Pacific and led war-game exercises over Nevada.

He became a commercial pilot in 1980 for an airline later bought by US Airways. In the cockpit with Sullenberger on Thursday was a 49-year-old co-pilot, Jeffrey Skiles, whose life story bore some of the same marks: Skiles’ father said he had been flying since age 15, and had been with US Airways almost 26 years.

“I know he did everything he could,” his mother, Deloris Skiles, said Friday at her home in Verona, Wis. “He’s a modest fellow and a very modest man.”

‘Always looking to get better’
Two years ago, Sullenberger started a California consulting firm, Safety Reliability Methods. It advertises itself as offering companies ways to apply the latest safety advances from “the ultra-safe world of commercial aviation.”

Bea, who co-founded the Center for Catastrophic Rick Management at the University of California at Berkeley, said Sullenberger had approached him about a job after he retires as a commercial pilot.

He said Sullenberger, who has degrees in psychology from the Air Force Academy and Purdue University, had been studying how crews react in a crisis.

Wilson, recalling her brother’s childhood crop duster flights, said she was usually nervous flying in small planes — but never with him. She said he was always professional and never cut corners.

“I think Burnett is a very duty-oriented person,” Wilson said. “He is always looking to get better. He would be the one person who could land a plane in the water without any engines.”

‘Brace for impact’
On Thursday afternoon, as Sullenberger banked his crippled Airbus A320 left over the Bronx, steered it over the George Washington Bridge and down the Hudson River, his life and 154 others depended on his expertise. The jet’s twin engines had apparently been disabled by a collision with a flock of birds.

The cabin was almost completely silent when Sullenberger came on the intercom seconds before the plane hit water.

“I can tell you verbatim: ‘Brace for impact,’” said Mark Hood of Charlotte, N.C., who was flying home after a work trip. “He said it in a calm, cool, controlled voice. It was a testament to leadership.”

“Had he let any tension leak into his voice,” Hood said, “it would have been magnified in the passengers.”

As the cabin took on water, Sullenberger climbed out of the jet only after the four other crew members and 150 passengers made their orderly exit. When he reached a raft, someone on a ferry tossed him a knife, and he cut away the tether to the jet.

One by one, the passengers were plucked to safety from the rafts, Hood and Sullenberger the last ones left. The passenger insisted the pilot get off first, but Sullenberger refused. He had been the last off the plane, and he would be the last off the raft.

On January 1, 2009, Illinois will become the 4th state to require 1st time DUI convicted drivers to get have a breath analyzer device installed in their car.  This device will require the driver to have a blood alcohol level of below 0.024 or their vehicle engine will not start.  Illinois had 1249 vehicle deaths in 2007 of which, a little over 40% or 508 deaths were attributed to DUI.

This will be one of the toughest DUI laws in the US.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) help get the bill sponsored and passed in 2007.  There will be a cost to rent, install and monitor the device, from the State of Illinois.  First time DUI convicted drivers will have to use the device for 5 months, anyone refusing a breath analyzer test and then convicted of a DUI will have to use the device for 11 months. 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-dui-lawdec29,0,1167021.story

Has this ever happened to you?  You are driving down the road when ALL OF A SUDDEN you realize you are crossing into another lane or driving off the road?  You wake up just in time to avoid a collision or incident.  Many drivers are too late.  Drowsy drivers are a major danger on the road.  More than 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year are a result of drowsy driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates.

Because of their work schedules, shift-workers are at a significant risk for drowsy driving incidents.  Studies from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), indicate that about 25% or higher, reported having a traffic accident or close call in the last year.

Driving while fatigued is a problem for a number of reasons.   According to NSF, drowsiness has a number of physical side effects that can impair driving, including tunnel vision, shortened attention span and reduced reaction times.  Drowsy drivers can’t process information as quickly or as accurately as an alert one.  This makes it much more difficult for a drowsy driver to become aware of a potential accident and react to it.

Fact or Fiction

Many people have misconceptions about sleep, which NSF dispels:

Caffeine can overcome drowsiness while driving.  Only sleep can truly overcome drowsiness.  Caffeine may make you feel more alert, but the results are temporary.  People who take stimulants while severely sleep-deprived are likely to have “micro sleeps,” which are essentially four to five second naps.  A vehicle traveling at 55 mph can cover more than 100 yards in four to five seconds.

I’m a safe driver so it doesn’t matter if I am sleepy.
The only safe driver is an alert driver.  When fatigued, ever the BEST drivers become confused and use poor judgment.

I can’t take naps.
Despite the fact that many people insist they cannot nap, sleep-deprived people can usually nap if they give themselves the chance.  Even if you think you can’t nap, pull over and recline for about 15 minutes.  It is likely you will be able to fall asleep.  Always be sure you do so in a safe area and lock ALL your doors.

I can tell when I am going to fall asleep.
Most people believe they can control and predict when they are about to fall asleep, NOT TRUE.  A drowsy person can fall asleep without even being aware of it.  People are also unable to tell how long they have been asleep.  It only takes a few seconds of sleep to cause a major collision or incident.
When Drowsiness Strikes
Under no circumstances should you drive while drowsy.  Turning up the radio, rolling down the window, getting out of the care and running, or slapping yourself (I know you have done at least one of these) are not effective means of waking yourself up.  The ONLY remedy for drowsiness is sleep.

If you find yourself becoming sleep while behind the wheel, other signs include:
· Drifting in and out of your lane
· Driving over the rumble strips
You should pull over immediately.  YOU HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP!!!

Some options for getting home safely include:
· taking a nap on the side of the road
· calling someone to drive you home
· taking a cab or public transportation

Drowsy driving incidents most often occur when a driver is alone in the vehicle.  Carpooling provides someone who can alert a driver of danger and can take over behind the wheel if necessary.

You can also take measures to prevent drowsiness from happening.  The average person requires about seven (7) to nine (9) hours of sleep.  Try and stick to a regular sleep schedule where you are getting this amount of sleep.  Shift-workers may have more difficultly maintaining a regular sleep schedule.  If you are required to sleep in the daytime hours, be sure to keep your room as dark as possible.  You can wear a sleep mask.  Run a fan or use other constant noise to block outside sounds.

Good uninterrupted sleep is essential for safety on the job and on the road.

What do these numbers have in common?   41,059…..2.49 million…..230.6 billion?

Ok, your best guess. 

As a DDC-4 instructor I talk about these number in my classes.  The 41,059 are the number of fatalities in the US in 2007 from motor vehicle collisions (about 10 times the number of deaths in the whole Iraq war).  You might guess the next number.  The number of injured from motor vehicle collisions in 2007.  The third number represents the amount of insurance money paid out in 2007.  Finally, a statistic that is hard to print.  Speed is the #1 killer of people ages 1-33 is motor vehicle accidents and the #4 of people over 33.

Do these numbers open your eyes?  They do mine.  We are out there hurting and killing ourselves and others.  Yet this article will probably not change the driving habits of many or any people.  Here are a couple of other questions you might not know the answers to.

1. What is the number 1 cause of traffic collisions?
2. What is the number 1 cause of drive distraction?

Think you got it right?  You might have the first question correct, but I am guessing not the second. 

(more…)

Do you ship or receive any materials considered hazardous by the US DOT (49 CFR 172.101)?  If so, you MUST have a security plan (49 CFR part 172.800) which includes security awareness training to all who load, unload or have some responsibility putting the hazardous materials in commerce.  This might include the person in the office who fills out the shipping papers, or the forklift driver who unloads the truck in your loading bay.  Everyone involved with the process must be trained. 

The DOT has become more active fining companies and organizations for not having a security plan and not doing the training.  Large or small, profit or not-for-profit, it doesn’t matter.  Security awareness training is now considered one of the 5 parts of HAZMAT training.  the 5 parts include: General Awareness, Function-Specific, Safety, Security Awareness, and Security In-Depth (if you need and have a security plan as classified by (49CFR 172.800(b)(1-7). If your hazardous materials fall under this last part, then you must do a full security plan including a assessment and training.  The plan needs to be in writing and available to all who are affected.

The Compliance Resource Center can help you do a security assessment, write a security plan and customize hazmat training specificly for your company.  All of our HAZMAT training is customize for the hazardous materials you ship or receive.  You employees get ALL the training required by the US DOT Pipline and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminsitration.  DOT Hazmat training for ground is required every 3 years and for air and/or ocean every 2 years. 

Recently, Chuck Armstrong, Safety Manager for the City of Chicago, sent me a website to check out.  This short video http://www.hazmatsolutions.net/erg/ explains how to use an Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG).   Click on the quiz at the end of the presentation to test your knowledge.  

This video can also be used a part of a training class if your safety department is involved with hazardous materials.   

Thanks for passing this information to our readers.  If you have anything like this (which is not a commercial) let us know and we will give everyone the information to use.

Part of my job is researching and reading articles written about safety and compliance.  I have many different sources (none that I want to testify about) for OSHA, DOT, Homeland Security and more.  One of the reoccurring themes everyone (except me) likes to report on, is who is getting fined and how much it is costing them.  Many of OSHA fines are well over the $100,000 mark, and DOT is similar, if not more.  There doesn’t seem to be a lack of companies or organizations to fine.  Whether it is a Disney, a GE or some small construction company, incidents are still happening and the companies are still paying the price. 

Recently, I read where a construction company got fined over $250,000 for 2 employees getting injured (no deaths).  The company had previously been fined over $100,000 and warned by OSHA.  People have told me that the DOT is now going after companies who ship hazardous materials improperly, fail to provide training, failure to have a security plan and other assorted compliance issues.  These fines are reaching well over $100,000.  Remember the fine is not the only cost of incident.  The general rule is an average incident today cost the company about $25,000.  That company will have to sell an additional $700,000 at 4% gross profit to make up that cost.  That is a lot of additional sales for most companies and that is only if you have 1 incident.  Also there is the loss of productivity, and the probable increase in worker’s comp to add to that total.

So what’s the problem?  Most companies are reactive and not proactive.  Look at how many organizations reach VPP or STAR status as a percent of all the companies in business.  Not too many.  As the economy worsens positions that are non-revenue producing are the first to go, such as training or the safety manager.    Even though we know the safety and trainer indirectly add benefit to the bottom line, it is hard to quantify the amount of money they save a company.

Time is money especially in the trucking industry.  I know there are truck drivers who remove their DOT placards after they leave a company to avoid having the state police stopping them for 30-60 minutes.  What is the safety or transportation manager to do?

Really, I don’t have the answer.  Maybe some of you would like to share your success with our readers.  I only know the problem is not going away nor does it seem to be slowing down much.  Each year the top fined areas of OSHA hardly change.  Statistics show injuries and deaths are going down, but I not so sure that is a good indicator of what’s really happening. The reporting system (if the injuries are even reported) has changed to reflect fewer incidents (no first-aid is reported even if the employee sits out half the day).  As an example, I was doing some DOT consulting at a company and an employee was cut and bleeding.  The employee was put in an office until after work hours and then taken to the doctor.  After a few stitches the employee can to work the next day and was told to sit around doing nothing.  He did not miss a day of work and the incident was not reported on the OSHA 300 log.

Maybe we should look more closely are the amount of dollars fined instead of the number of reported incidents to get a true indicator that we are really in compliance and acting in a safe mode.  Safety professionals are always working to get upper management to support the safety effort, and others say we need the support of the supervisors.  Guess what people?  SAFETY NEEDS EVERYONE’S SUPPORT or there will be a breakdown somewhere.  Just like the production line.  Everyone needs to do the job to make the system work.

You know The Compliance Resource Center does not often write about products, but there are times when something comes along which our readers might find interesting and/or useful.  Here is one of those products. 

If you ship hazardous materials you might want to consider the new software program by EZHAZMAT.  This new software walks you through the process of correctly shipping hazardous materials in compliance with 49CFR part 100-185.  The program identifies the correct shipping name, gives the shipper the correct markings on the package, creates a bill of lading and more. 

However, this is NOT a substitute for the training requirement in 49CFR part 172.700 or the security plan part (HM-232).  Training is still required every 3 years for ground shipping and every 2 years for air and ocean shipping.  Also all new employees involved with the loading or unloading of hazardous materials must be trained within 30 days.  

There are other software programs that will help you ship hazardous materials such as UPS’s WorldShip, and others. If you go to the EZHAZMAT site you might also want to take the hazmat quiz and test your knowledge.

Driver compensation is usually measured in terms of an hourly wage or a rate based on travelled distances, but an array of additional incentives can play an important role in helping your fleet retain workers, lower fuel bills, and reduce accident claims.

In a recent study, for example, the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) concluded that safety incentives helped studied fleets reduce insurance claims, workers’ compensation claims and crashes by 65%.

“Incentive programs that offer progressively increasing safety bonuses for longer periods of crash-free operation would give drivers a material reason for staying with their employers rather than moving to another place of work, where they would have to start again to accumulate safety credits,” the administration added.

Traditionally, fleets pay safety bonuses equivalent to a cent per mile, but some will pay more than two or three cents, says Ray Barton, co-author of Incentive Programs for Enhancing Truck Safety and Productivity, a Canadian study into the issue.

“The companies that felt the strongest about their safety programs, they had both the financial incentives as well as the recognition incentives,” he adds. “The younger drivers prefer the idea of the money. People in the business a little longer, they liked the idea of the recognition.”

Barton points to his own wall of honours as proof, and a proudly displayed coffee cup that was offered for giving a presentation. “It doesn’t have to be a very expensive prize that goes with it. Just something that people can put up on their wall at home and the family can look at and be proud of,” he says.

In comparison, a financial incentive disappears once it’s spent. Financial rewards that are included in such a program should also be paid quarterly, the consultant says, noting that a driver can quickly become discouraged if a January accident shuts him out of a safety initiative for the rest of the year. “This way, if you do get into an accident, you get right back in the program quickly.”

Bonus cheques should also be kept separate from traditional pay, he adds. “Then drivers [become] more aware of it.”

Consider issuing incentives just before Christmas, or the beginning of the school year, when extra cash will be particularly appreciated.

The same approach can be effective when looking to achieve other measurable targets, such as improved fuel economy.

“If you put a fuel economy incentive in place, and you pay half the savings to the drivers, then you’re money ahead and the driver’s money ahead,” he suggests.

A fixed schedule of incentives can also play a role in reducing driver turnover.

“One of the firms, they paid their new drivers two cents a mile less than drivers who had been around a while. They had a huge turnover in the first six months,” Barton says, referring to research in his study. But it then added a safety incentive that accumulated for six months before it was paid out, and the turnover rate dropped to 20% from a traditional level of 70%.

Another company combined an array of incentives, including driver appreciation days, along with training that showed managers how to treat drivers with respect. That fleet’s annual turnover dropped to 30% from 100%.

“If you improve driver retention, you’ll reduce your accident costs,” Barton adds. “I’m not talking the spectacular, fiery crash.” But a driver more aware of a route will be less likely to dent fenders, snap mirrors or jump curbs.

Fleets, meanwhile, will enjoy another benefit. “In order to pay out the incentives, you have to keep good records, and that’s one of the great bonuses of an incentive program,” Barton says.

Of course, a program’s launch will be smoothest if you’ve already established a “baseline” of statistics from which to measure results, but that isn’t always possible.

“It’s great if you can have the before stuff,” he says, “but if you think you have a problem, you’re not going to sit around three years and measure data.”

A copy of Incentive Programs for Enhancing Truck Safety and Productivity can be downloaded from http://www.safety-council.org/news/sc/1999/incentive.htm.

Many of us have seen pictures like this regarding how NOT to use a forklift.   Today forklift or Powdered Industrial Trucks (OSHA 1910.178) is number 6 on the most fined violations of OSHA’s Top Ten list.

About a year ago I posted the Forklift Quiz and answers.  The OSHA training requirements incorporate safe operation, training program implementation, training program content, refresher training and evaluation, avoidance of duplicate training, and certification.  Trainees must be initially trained in the following truck-related and workplace-related topics:

TRUCK-RELATED

• Operating instructions, warnings and precautions for type of truck
• Similarities and differences to automobiles
• Control and instrumentation location and use
• Engine or motor operation
• Steering and maneuvering
• Visibility
• Fork and attachment limitations and use
• Vehicle capacity
• Vehicle stability
• Vehicle inspection and maintenance refueling or charging batteries
• Operating limitations
• Other operating instructions, warnings or precautions listed in the operator’s manual

WORKPLACE-RELATED

• Surface conditions where truck is used
• Load composition and stability
• Load stacking, unstacking and transport
• Pedestrian traffic
• Narrow aisle and restricted area operation
• Operation in hazardous locations
• Ramp and sloped surface operation
• Unique or potentially hazardous conditions
• Operating the vehicle in closed environments

Because powered industrial trucks are manufactured by different companies with various models available, the training must be specific to the operating characteristics of the specific powered industrial truck the employee will be using.

I was recently shopping at my local garden center and was watching the forklift operator move skids of soil and mulch.  The driver was not wearing a seatbelt, and had little regard for the shoppers or other employees his was operating the forklift near.  Twice he almost hit another employee with a skid load of soil.  Either the training was not complete or the safety person needed to become more aware of this conduct.  Either way it was an incident waiting to happen.