UP date
SEPTEMBER 2004 • VOL. 46 NO. 1
PRESIDENT
EVA C. MANN , CSP
Safety Consultant
Safety Improvement Service, LLC
1007 Bevridge Rd., Richmond, VA 23226
emann@mindspring.com
Office/Fax: 804-288-2130 • Mobile: 804-873-3326
PRESIDENT-ELECT
RODGER BRYANT
Safety Director
Riddleberger Bros. Inc. Mechanical Contractors
P.O. Box 27, Crawford, VA 22841
rbva02@aol.com
Office: 540-574- 5939 Mobile: 540-578-4768
VICE PRESIDENT
MATT MARSHALL
Corporate Real Estate
EH&S, Compliance Manager
Capital One Services, Inc.
11011 West Broad St., Glen Allen, VA 23060
matt.marshall@capitalone.com
804-967-8581 Fax: 804-290-6277
Mobile: 804-363-7373
SECRETARY
BILL HOLT , CSP
3121 French Hill Dr., Powhatan, VA 23139
Wmholtjr@worldnet.att.net
Home: 804-378-4414
TREASURER
JENNIFER ROSE
Safety Consultant
Office of Cooperative Programs
Department of Labor and Industry
Main Street Station
1500 E. Main St., Suite 222, Richmond, VA 23219
j1r@doli.state.va.us
Office: 804-371-0440 Fax: 804-371-2758
DELEGATE
KELLEY A. DALTON
Safety Consultant
Circle Safety & Health Consultants
3212 Cutshaw Ave., Ste. 318, Richmond, VA 23230
kelley@circlesafety.com
Office: 804-355-7255 Mobile: 804-479-0085
DELEGATE
BILL HOLT , CSP
3121 French Hill Dr., Powhatan, VA 23139
Wmholtjr@worldnet.att.net
Home: 804-378-4414
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
BILL BAGLEY
ALSTOM Power
Office: 804-763-2047
william.h.bagley@power.alstom.com
DELEGATE/MEMBERSHIP CHAIR
NATALIE YOUNG , CSP
Dupont Tyvek* Safety Specialist
10431 Old Telegraph Rd., Ashland, VA 23005
Home: 804-550-7560 Office: 804-383-4496
young2ne@nanotes1.email.dupont .com
ASSE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
G. E. ROBERTSON STILES , II, CSP
Vice President/Division Leader
Rutherfoord Assurance Services
707 East Main St., Suite 1800, Richmond, VA 23219
robstiles@member.asse.org
(preferred for ASSE business)
rob.stiles@rutherfoord.com
Voice: 804-916-0514 Fax: 804-643-5065
Mobile: 804-337-1965
ASSE Colonial Virginia Chapter is pleased to present our 1st meeting of the season. We welcome all Chapter
Members, guests, affiliated Societies and Associations to attend! We believe our selection of speakers and topics
will provide you with insight and relevant information toward achieving our goal
of employee safety & health. Please join us!
Date: Monday, September 27
Time: Breakfast: 8-10 AM
Speaker: Ralph Brasfield, Regional Safety Director, DPR Inc.
Topic: How DPR has achieved an astounding EMR of 0.29!
DPR is the 24th largest General Contractor in the US, with a Workers Comp Experience Modification
Rate of 0.29. Learn how this company has built and operated its safety program, and achieved a
phenomenal degree of success in managing it's Workers Comp. insurance costs.
Website: www.dprinc.com
Location: Key Risk/Healthcare Group, Tyler Conference Room, Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group, 2nd floor.
4820 Lake Brook Drive, Suite 200, Glen Allen, VA 23060
Meeting reservations: E-mail preferred: jmeola@vmsom.com Phone- 804- 261- 8036 Please leave call back
number if reserving by phone.
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
…Finding its way onto the organizational safety checklist
By Larry J. Chavez, B.A., M.P.A.
Critical Incident Associates
The efforts of organizational safety professionals
to reduce incidents of death and injury in the workplace
are both noble and humane. Safety professionals
have been quick to recognize emerging threats and
have been diligent in employing strategies to address
them. Workplace violence is one of those threats. A
single act of workplace violence exposes innocent
people to unimaginable horrors, and leaves its host
organization reeling in an aftermath of legal problems
that can endure for years. One such incident occurred
on the morning after Christmas in the year 2000.
The offices of Edgewater Technologies of
Wakefield, Massachusetts were disrupted by a deafening
succession of blasts from the muzzle of an AK-
47 assault rifle, something employees in a high-tech
firm would never expect to hear. This awesome and
destructive weapon of war was in the vengeful and
merciless hands of Michael McDermott, a 46-year-
old software engineer. He was on a mission to punish
members of Edgewater's human resource and
accounting staff for a recent IRS wage garnishment
that had been imposed upon him. This was a matter
over which his intended victims had no control,
but McDermott's perception was his reality and he
viewed these innocent employees as collaborators
with his federal foe. So, with each pull of the trigger,
a fellow employee fell until the number tolled seven.
Within minutes, those McDermott had selected for
execution lay dead at or near their desks. An eerie
silence followed, broken only by the occasional sound
of an employee scampering to safety.
(continued on page 3)
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
I want to welcome each of you to our first Chapter meeting of the
year 2004-2005.
Because of a long-standing previous commitment I am not able
to attend this meeting, and I regret not being with you. In my place,
our capable President - Elect, Rodger Bryant will present these greetings
and extend my welcome to each of you.
We have planned an exciting year for the Chapter, with technical
meeting topics, education sessions, some fun events and hopefully a
very interesting tour in the spring. I encourage each of you to attend,
participate and support our Chapter activities. Your personal
involvement strengthens our Chapter and raises the general awareness
level for the importance of the Safety Profession throughout Industry,
Construction, and Business.
Safety engineers provide a vital service to all types of industry,
commercial and public entities. Your dedication to the goals of our
Profession is important and necessary, perhaps now, more than ever
before in these troubled times.
Again, I want to welcome you to our Chapter kickoff meeting
and I offer our sincere thanks to our gracious host, Key Risk and
immediate Past President Tom Patch.
Thanks everyone, I look forward to seeing you all in October!
Best Regards,
Eva Mann
PREPARE FOR YOUR
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ASP/CSP EXAM
ASP/CSP EXAM
ASP/CSP EXAM
ASP/CSP EXAM
ASP/CSP EXAM
WITH CONFIDENCE!
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Order online at http://www.asse.org/cspcd. htm or call
ASSE Customer Service at 847.699.2929
JOB OPENINGS
New website with up-to-date job openings? www.psassociatesinc.com
Safety Manager for this further food processing manufacturing plant
in South Central MN with 400 employees (non-union facility). This
position reports to the Plant Manager and has 1 direct report (nurse).
The candidate should have 5+ years safety experience in manufacturing
and a BS degree.
Environmental Engineer for this heavy manufacturer based in the
southeast. The client has a plant position (manager) and a divisional
environmental position open. 5+ years experience, preferably experience
in heavy manufacturing. BS required and certification preferred.
Safety/Risk Manager for this 350 employee food manufacturer located
in central MN. The candidate should have 5+ years safety
experience in manufacturing and a BS in Safety or related. This
positions reports to the Plant Manager.
Safety Manager for this 300 union employee food manufacturer
(Fortune 500 Company) located in Nebraska. The position reports
to the Plant Manager with no direct reports. The candidate should
have 5+ years safety experience in any manufacturing industry and a
BS degree.
Assistant Safety Manager for this 230 employee, union manufacturing
facility in Central Alabama. The candidate should have 2+
years experience in a mfg environment preferably in heavy manufacturing
(ie machining and/or foundry), and a BS is Safety or related.
Positions are added weekly. If you or someone you know would like to
be informed of future job opportunities as they become available,
please forward their name and email address to
pshrenker@comcast.net . Additionally I usually have a few other openings
that I can't "publish" so please give me a call or email me if inter-
ested.
BEHAVIOR BASED SAFETY
For those interested in some information from BST and some interesting
safety talk got to: http://www.bstsolutions.com/
Pe rspectives_Public_Version_JulAug_2004.pdf.
TREASURER REPORT
Matt Marshall reports that as of the end of August 2004, we have
the following balances:
Checking
$ 8,275.15
CD
3,575.82
Total
$11,850.97
WHAT'S NEW GOING ON IN OSHA
To find out what OSHA is up to and to see the info check out this
website. http://www.osha. gov/wutsnew.html
OCCUPATIONAL FATALITIES BY STATE
We have the listing of the Fatalities in the occupational setting listed
by state on our website.
Typical of most workplace killers, McDermott did not kill any
more than those he had targeted. Spent from his ordeal, he sat in the
company's reception area waiting for the inevitable. Like so many
other workplace killers, McDermott crossed the line into the darkness
of the criminal realm never to return to the world of relative civility he
had known. Life as he knew it was over. As police approached,
McDermott offered no resistance.
As if things were not chaotic enough at Edgewater that morning,
the powerful engine of the media rumbled to life with the singular
purpose of fulfilling the demand for information by those who find
workplace violence cases sensational, spectacular and, sadly, intriguing.
Within an hour of McDermott's shots, millions of people were
being informed of the events as they unfolded. People, many time
zones away, were viewing real-time images of SWAT teams and ambulances
attending to the bloody aftermath. As the sun set that day, the
names "Wakefield", "Edgewater" and "McDermott" were echoed hundreds
of times until they became linked, intertwined and inseparable.
As horrifying as the Wakefield incident was, there are cases on
record that exceed it in terms of loss of life and sheer destructive force.
But, what is most disheartening is the fact that scenes such as this
have been repeated hundreds of times across the American landscape
and are continuing with no end in sight.
Concern for workplace security peaked in the days following September
11, 2001. People began to fear the foreign terrorist threat -
but no such attacks ever materialized in the American workplace. Workplace
violence incidents, on the other hand, occurred with regularity.
Since 9-11, a total of 87 fatal incidents of workplace violence have
occurred resulting in the deaths of 139 people and the wounding of
95 more - not at the hands of foreign terrorists, but at the hands of
people within our own ranks, those we trusted with the key to the
office, the password to our computer system and the right to be among
us. We hired him, we nurtured him and he turned on us. The amount
of carnage suffered within this brief period alone ought to send a
message to decision-makers that workplace violence can no longer be
ignored. This is supported by a 2002 survey of corporate security
professionals who identified workplace violence as the greatest single
security threat facing organizations - above international terrorism.
Where have organizations gone wrong? As a professional violence
prevention trainer, I have made some observations. There is first
good news. Thankfully, the combined efforts of the safety and human
resource profession has taken the issue seriously and has made
some strides in dealing with the problem through the establishment
of policy and the application of sound employee acquisition practices.
As a result, many organizations are beginning to screen applicants
with violence prevention in mind.
Now the bad news - it is not enough to have an anti-violence
policy on the wall and an employee manual on the shelf that purports
to address the problem. There is a woeful lack of violence prevention
awareness where it counts the most - among first-line supervisors.
These people are the eyes and ears of every organization. They see
every person within their area of responsibility every single day and
are more likely than anyone else to observe a potentially violent situation
in its earliest stages. But they cannot do what's expected of them
without proper training. According to a 1999 study conducted by
the Society for Human Resource Management, only 35% of organizations
train managers and supervisors to identify warning signs of
violent behavior.
While basic workplace violence awareness training would suffice
for employees, first-line supervisors should be provided formal instruction
and the opportunity to take part in hypothetical, problem-
solving scenarios. They must be trained to identify the warning signs
of impending violence and to conduct basic threat assessment to support
the documentation and reporting of potentially dangerous situations.
They must also be trained to recognize, identify and eliminate
organizational risk factors that could lead to violence and, equally
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
By Larry J. Chavez, B.A., M.P.A., Critical Incident Associates
continued from front page
important, supervisors should be given instruction on how to defuse
hostile or potentially violent employees.
Sadly, too many organizations have failed to provide workplace
violence prevention training for supervisors and this has led to some
tragic outcomes. There are many cases on record in which supervisors
had advance knowledge of an employee's dangerous tendencies, yet
failed to act to protect innocent employees. One of the most chilling
examples came from a quote of a retired supervisor of a Mississippi-
based U.S. defense contractor following a workplace massacre.
"When I first heard about [the shootings], he [Williams] came to
my mind…he had talked about wanting to kill people saying 'I am
capable of doing it.'" (Source: Associated Press and Clarion-Ledger,
Jackson, Mississippi, July 8, 2003)
The supervisor was referring to Doug Williams, an employee
with whom he had worked prior to retirement. Williams was responsible
for the July 8, 2003 shooting of 14 co-workers, killing 6, before
committing suicide. With the knowledge this supervisor possessed, it
is reasonable to assume that some effort could have been made to
protect innocent employees. Whether this was a case of supervisory
negligence or a lack of training, lawyers of the aggrieved families will
no doubt pursue the matter further.
No organization can afford to maintain a climate of negligence
where lives of innocent people hang in the balance. In 1999, a jury
awarded $7.9 million dollars to the families of two men killed in a
workplace violence incident in North Carolina. According to the attorney
for the family, "…This man was a ticking time bomb and the
management knew it, yet they did nothing to protect their employees…"
(Associated Press, May 5, 1999). No executive would relish
having to take the witness stand to defend such a failure.
The cost of a single fatal incident of workplace violence far
exceeds the minor cost of the training that may have prevented it.
Although declining budgets are often blamed for training cutbacks, a
new application of an old concept in training can be employed to
resolve the problem - regional training cooperatives . Used extensively
by the public sector, they can also serve the private sector. These are
informal alliances of regional training coordinators who pool their
resources to bring quality training to a large number of organizations
within a geographical area. In this manner, small organizations receive
the same quality training as their larger counterparts. Coordinating
such an event to address workplace violence would be an ideal leadership
role for professional organizations representing the fields of safety,
human resources and risk management for two important reasons:
(1) they are stakeholders on the issue of organizational safety and (2)
their professional affiliations cross organizational lines allowing them
to interact and coordinate their efforts.
With executive emphasis on workplace violence prevention,
coupled with the commitment to provide training, it is possible to
establish a safe and peaceful work environment. Once achieved, employees
are free to be productive, knowing that their safety is your
concern. Managers and supervisors are transformed into valuable problem-solvers,
part of the solution to workplace violence and not part of
the problem.
A violence-free workplace is in the forecast for all who commit to it.
About the author
Larry J. Chavez, B.A., M.P.A., is a nationally recognized expert on workplace
violence and crisis communication. Through his Workplace Violence 101 traveling
workshop, he specializes in training managers, supervisors and employees to
deal with, and prevent, violence within their organizations. A retired 31-year
law enforcement veteran and former senior hostage negotiator, he has authored
many articles on workplace violence and has been called upon for his expertise
by such media organizations as the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Fox News,
MSNBC and the Christian Science Monitor. In 1999, he honored an invitation
to make a presentation before the United Nations World Health Organization
Symposium on Violence and Health on the subject of Workplace Violence, The
American Experience .
Website: http://www.workplaceviolence101. com | Phone: 916-354-2265
THIS MONTH'S SPONSORS ARE...
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS
COLONIAL VIRGINIA CHAPTER
BOX 3001
RICHMOND, VA 23228
3212 Cutshaw Ave. • Suite 318 • Richmond, VA 23230
(804) 355-7255
www.circlesafety.com
Let us bring our training to your workplace. We offer private seminars
that are customized for your specific workplace. Visit our website for
complete listing. Website: glennsmith.com (804) 744-4060
GLENN SMITH ASSOCIATES , I NC .
Safety and Health Training / Consulting - Program
Development / Evaluations / Program Management
Seminars Scheduled for Richmond, Virginia
30-Hour OSHA Compliance Course
March 29 - April 1, 2004
October 25-28, 2004
GS
A
• Policy Development
• Training
• IH Monitoring
• On-Site Auditing
Your ad could be here....
DCJS# 11-3107
....or here!
Contact Matt Marshall
(804) 967-8581
for more information.
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