How’s the transition going and what have you learned? Thanks to all of you in my network for your time and help recently and I’d like to share Volume 7 of my learnings from you with you.
Tech / AI / ML
Last month, I got to know ParrotAnalytics.com a bit better. How it works: They use machine learning in the media streaming market to help extract the viewing preferences and tastes of billions of customers globally. Why it matters: Parrot is tracking not just viewership, but assessing viewer enthusiasm , which holds the promise of predictive power helping identify hits early in their trajectory.
And how about some AI for EHS Professionals? I connected with researchers at CDC NIOSH to discuss their project applying AI to injury surveillance data. How it works: The NIOSH team is perfecting algorithms to ‘read’ injury narratives and use AI to code these narratives. Why it matters: Their approach was “…able to achieve in less than three hours what would have taken four-and-a-half years to manually code.”
COVID
Amidst an overload of news and communication, I am humbled by how industry and the scientific community continue to promote solutions and actionable knowledge.
Carpenter Technology published their entire COVID playbook online, just one example of how companies are not being selfish with their approaches and risk mitigation strategies.
And while later is not always better, I can imagine that Linsey Marr’s New York Times piece ‘Transmission Though Aerosols Matters’, that references an excellent Lancet article will continue to compel us to remain vigilant for the safety of ourselves and others, even if public agencies are slow to publish updated guidance.
Psychological Safety
Professor Amy Edmondson, of Harvard Business School recently published a podcast that I highly recommend. Why it matters: Dr. Edmondson cites a “robust correlation between psychological safety and learning and performance”. It’s not about coziness and niceness, it’s about candor, being willing to ask for help, and an environment where people are willing to admit mistakes.
Key insights: 1) Set the stage : Let your team know that amidst uncertain times and with complex problems, “your voice might make the difference”. 2) Invite engagement: Be proactive and invite participation from the team by asking the right questions genuinely, such as “ what ideas do you have” or “what are you seeing out there”. If you’re interested in safety conditions ask “was everything as safe as you would like it to be”. Then listen carefully. 3) Respond productively: Use the question (again genuinely asked) “what can I do to help” to draw out possible solutions and what next steps to take.
Endurance of Positivity
What does it take to be a top world-ranked cross country athlete, win the London Marathon, and medal at the Olympics? It certainly takes dedication to putting in many, many miles on the track and road, as well as the ability to push yourself beyond typical thresholds to reach new levels of performance. Of course, it’s also a mental game and three insights from Deena Kastor‘s book, ‘Let your Mind Run’ are resonating with me:
First, she advises that as part of goal setting towards positive outcomes, at least one action toward a goal should address your mind-set, such as ‘willing to push to the threshold for greater fitness’. Second, writing your goals in the present tense aids your visualization of the achievement. For example, stating your goal as ‘Run a sub 3:30 marathon by my 50th birthday’ could be rephrased as ‘I am a 3:30 marathon runner’. Finally, use mindfulness to observe your thoughts, let the negative ones flow past and replace them with positive. Rinse and repeat and this cleansing will create a fresh canvas for optimism to take root.
For the EHS / SHE Pros
I was asked back in August by an executive recruiter to identify trends and drivers that will shape the roles of EHS professionals in the post-COVID era. Here’s how I responded:
1) Human and Organizational Performance:
Leading companies continue to invest in this more systemic view of risk mitigation. HOP embraces that humans are humans, and as such are error-prone. HOP embraces a learning team approach to problem solving and incident analysis. Chevron, Pfizer, GE and other highly regarded organizations embrace this approach.
2) Continued focus on Serious Injury Fatality (SIF) risk reduction.
Recordable injury rates have continued to drop, but fatalities have not. Progressive organizations are focusing on identifying SIF precursors and the best ones are seeking to validate the predictive power of precursor id and corrective action.
3) Mobile device technology full adoption for greater efficiency in capturing EHS data.
A recent webinar by NAEM highlighted that its member companies have adopted mobile technologies at a higher rate than other technologies (sensors, drones, etc.) to make the job of EHS easier.
4) Increased partnership with HR for employee well-being / total employee health.
I believe that the collaboration of HR and EHS teams to help their employees navigate through COVID and return-to-work stands a strong chance of lasting beyond the crisis.
5) Social responsibility as applied to direct and indirect workforces
Especially if democrats gain position in this election cycle, I believe there will be more pressure on organizations, especially large tech organizations, to take stock of the safety and well being of their indirect workforces. The pendulum had moved pretty far towards significant levels of ‘gig’ work, the sharing economy, contractor/ third party relationships, etc. I believe Big Tech, in particular, may come further into the spotlight for how they treat their full time vs. temporary/contract workforces while reaping record profits.
That’s all for Volume 7. I hope you enjoy these insights as much as I enjoy the process of publishing them!
riskinsights.ai 