Staying “Safe” Throughout The Year

As we get closer to the midpoint of 2008, what is the year looking like for our GAWDA members? Depending on the region your business is located in, the economic outlook can vary from trending down or stagnant to hopefully showing continued signs of positive growth. I can confidently tell you that I am not an economist and I can’t predict the future economy, but I can confidently impart to you that our membership is being required to jump over more and more hurdles this year. I don’t think that a business can be evaluated by simply looking at profit margins and sales increases. Of course, continual double-digit sales increases and improved profit margins are goals that we all strive for, but I believe that we should also strive for improvements in how safely we run our businesses. Unlike the economy, we can control how “safely” our businesses are run. The steps that we take to improve the safety at each of our member locations should have a positive effect on each bottom line, as well as a positive effect on our industry as a whole.

Keeping current with the ever-changing governmental regulations is a constant challenge. This responsibility can be made easier by using our highly qualified GAWDA consultants. Currently, there are several “hot” button items that our consultants and membership are dealing with.

Homeland Security has issued the final, updated Appendix A of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards. If your business has any of the chemicals found in Appendix A that meet or exceed any of the screening threshold quantities shown, you were required to complete and submit your information by January 20, 2008. Mike Dodd, our DOT and Security consultant, has done a great job communicating this deadline to our membership, but I am fairly sure that some of our membership has not complied. If you fall in this category, please pick up the phone and call Mike at (573) 785-5111. He will walk you through the process and make it as painless as possible. You can read more about the CFATS in Mike’s article here.

On December 5, 2007, the jury in the Tamraz welding fume case rendered a verdict of $20.5 million for the plaintiff. This should be a clear signal that welding fume litigation has not faded. If you have any questions regarding welding fume litigation, please pick up the phone and call our consultant, Mike Degan at (402) 964-5000.

There are constant developments taking place in regards to the FDA, OSHA and EPA. Again, GAWDA provides excellent resources in Bob Yeoman, FDA and Medical Gases, (610-868-7183) and Tom Enyon, OSHA & EPA, (252-745-7391) to handle your questions.

My point is not to inundate you with this regulatory information, but to clarify that all of our consultants are available via telephone or e-mail to help you run a safer business.

GAWDA also offers a yearly comprehensive compliance seminar in Indianapolis. This year’s seminar is scheduled for April 1 through April 4. This seminar should be a must for your safety and regulatory compliance people. Our consultants do a great job of covering the regulatory requirements that affect our industry.

Our Spring Management Conferences in Chicago and Miami also promise to provide great take-home value that will help you run a better and safer business.

As an industry, we are constantly being bombarded with regulatory and safety concerns. We may not agree with all of the regulation, but we have to face the fact that it is here to stay and most likely will continue to tighten. We can choose to bury our heads in the sand or face the challenge head on. If you fall in the latter category, please lean on your GAWDA resources to make your company the safest it possibly can be. “Safely” improve your company’s bottom line and the bottom line of our industry.