Articles

TASA ID: 9075

Do you have a safety personality behind the wheel?  Yes!  Everyone has a safety personality.  That’s because everyone has a personality, and several universal personality dimensions affect safety behavior.  Driver personality is the strongest of various personal factors affecting safety outcomes, in my opinion.  Others include driver age, gender, sensory-motor performance (e.g., reaction time), medical conditions, and mental abilities.  All of these can affect driver crash risk, sometimes strongly.  Yet it is my conclusion that driver personality exerts the greatest enduring affects.

TASA ID: 9075

Here’s a quiz with just one question:  Which of the five factors affects driver fatigue (i.e., drowsiness) and alertness the least?  

A. Individual differences in susceptibility to drowsiness
B. Amount of prior sleep
C. Time-of-day
D. Prior continuous time awake
E. Prior continuous time driving

TASA ID: 20277

Abstract

The expected outcome of Process Safety Management (PSM) is to minimize the likelihood of a major accident occurring and to ensure that the necessary mitigation and emergency preparedness mechanisms are in place in the event that an accident does happen. PSM programs are designed to establish comprehensive, robust and sustainable systems, practices and competencies for managing process safety and to ensure that a focus on process safety (low frequency-high consequence) issues is maintained. This paper describes in detail how a Barrier/BowTie approach to PSM is established within the framework of an established PSM program and provides the missing link in assurance of process safety. The barrier approach not only enhances process safety but ensures that the processes in place are functioning as expected. A case study example is used to illustrate how continuous improvement is achieved and maintained.

TASA ID:

Elder abuse is a growing problem in the United States. And sadly, the problem is likely to continue to increase as the American population ages. This article explores what elder abuse is and then provides resources that a concerned individual can access to help someone who is potentially experiencing elder abuse. 

TASA ID: 10544

Stress and burnout are emerging as possibly the biggest threats to the security industry.  Long hours, coupled with “alert overload” along with a perceived unfavorable opinion of business value are taking a toll on the industry.  One of the reasons for this is that since security does not produce revenue it is considered a “cost center.”  Security operations may negatively affect profitability and throughout the years have been considered a “necessary expense” of doing business.  One of the ways good security was explained in the retail industry years ago was, what you don’t see on the monthly P & L (Profit and Loss Statement).  Organizations tend to “forget” about security until something “bad” happens and many times, “bad” things happen because of security employee stress and/or security employee burnout.  It doesn’t matter whether security is in-house or outsourced, burnout remains the same. Security is a profession that requires strict attention to detail and focused attention at all times.  Many times, complacency will cause those working in the industry to miss important indicators or clues that there is a security issue.  Accountability is a key factor.  It doesn’t matter whether or not security personnel have limited security experience or are seasoned veterans, accountability in the security industry remains the same.