Greetings Safety Professionals,

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it has significant observances such as President’s Day, Groundhog Day, and Valentine’s Day. They all have something in common and are recognized to pay attention to a particular subject or theme. February is also American Heart Month. American Heart Month reminds us that when we take care of our hearts as part of our self-care, we set an example for those around us to do the same. Small acts of self-care include taking walks, getting quality sleep, cooking heart-healthy meals, and getting an annual physical exam and screening with your provider.

Valentine’s Day may seem like a greeting card driven holiday to boost sales, however over time, it’s become a widely celebrated day with hug revenue streams for flowers, candy, and f course greeting cards. It’s not only for the lovebirds, it’s also the perfect time to recognize friends, co-workers, and other special people in our lives to let them know we care about them.

As Covid continues to make it’s way across the country and keep a firm grip on us all, so has a wide array of at home test. Recently, the federal government launched its website to sign up for free COVID-19 tests, allowing people to order a maximum of four tests shipped directly to their house. This applies to U.S. territories and military diplomatic addresses. Visit covidtests.gov to sign up and learn more about this government initiative.

Please join us next Thursday with Dr. Alex Albert from NC State at noon virtually. Dr. Albert will be discussing Construction’s latest evolving technologies and you will not want to miss his presentation. Join Here.

We enjoy serving our membership and this month we put together a few reasons why we value our society’s members.

• Without our members we would not exist. Our purpose is to bolster safety programs and build partnerships.
• You enable us to complete our mission and goals within the Society’s by-laws.
• Several members of our Society provide routine feedback as well as guidance and suggestions.
• Our members make up our ASSP community and we serve as volunteers to make our Chapter stronger each year.

Thank you all and have a great month.

Robin

Greetings Safety Professionals,

Happy New Year!

We are off to great New Year and we appreciate everyone’s partnership with our NC ASSP Chapter. It has been a great rewarding privilege to lead our Chapter the last six months. This Executive Committee is one of the best that I have ever worked with and they continue to bring excellent ideas to the forefront to make our Chapter excel.

This week the winter season reared its head to remind us that the mild temperatures we enjoyed in late December were unprecedented. January has turned bitterly cold and it’s a reminder that we must always be prepared for winter storms, natural disasters, and the growing effect of the latest COVID-19 progression. Yesterday, North Carolina shattered history with a new record report with 20,770 positive cases. NC DHHS reports a 31.8% positivity rate from testing alone. One out of three test are positive. Medical experts have stated that this trend will continue through out the month and will hopefully subside in February.

Join us next Thursday, January 13^th 2022, at 12:00 noon for our next Technical presentation with Scott Mabry, Assistant Deputy Commissioner of NCDOL. We are delighted to have Scott speak to us about the challenges of compliance enforcement in this new normal. Click here to register.

Please know that I, among others, share your concerns and emphasize with you during this very difficult time. We are all in this together and as each wave passes we learn more about adaptive methods to battle this unusual virus. We need to continue to band together and share our experiences with one another so we can continue to move forward during this bright new year.

Stay positive, stay safe, and stay warm!

My thoughts and sincere appreciation are with you all!

Robin

Greetings Safety Professionals,

As valued members of our Society, we would like to extend our gratitude for everyone’s outstanding service for our profession this year. Fruitful growth within our Chapter has been abundant and this is a testament to your commitment to safety achievements within our great State.

We have a new State Budget for the next couple of years. This is monumental to the success of various programs that will directly or indirectly affect many employers over the next budget cycle. This is also the largest budget document in the history of our State. We are happy to share a CliffsNotes version if any clarifications are needed.

Would you like to volunteer for a role within our Chapter? We are looking for a few members to fill several roles for the 2022-2023 program year. It’s not hard and we have a wonderful supportive network within our Executive Committee. Contact us for more information.

We will be continuing to share more next month about the proposal for the house of delegates that is up for vote in early 2022.

Please join us for our next presentation on December 9^th, 2021, at 12 p.m. EST.  Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson will address our Chapter members and discuss North Carolina worker safety. Please save the date.

In closing, we hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and enjoys some well-deserved time away from work to enjoy fellowship with family and friends. Have a Happy New Year and we look forward to 2022.

Sincerely,

Robin

Greetings Safety Professionals,

Welcome to a month of Thanks on several fronts: Thank you to all the men and women who have sacrificed time, comfort, strength, ambition, health, and prosperity for the peace and safety of family and friends or any others that they’ve never known. Please take a moment this month and reward them a hundredfold for all of all their sacrifice and service for our great country. We appreciate our veterans! 

Have you thought about serving in a role with our NC ASSP Chapter? Do you have a desire to promote safety? Would you like to volunteer for a role within our Chapter? We are looking for a few members to fill several roles for the 2022-2023 program year. It’s not hard and we have a wonderful, supportive network within our Executive Committee. Contact us for more information.

It’s time for Thanksgiving of 2021 and we hope that everyone enjoys the warmth of family this season and the harvest of a great feast! Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We will be continuing to share more next month about the proposal for the house of delegates that is up for a vote in early 2022. To review our ASSP governance page, click here.

Please join us for our next presentation pertaining to Robotics on November 10^th, 2021 (12:00 PM – 1:00PM). Caleb Sylvester will be with us from Boston Dynamics for a safety use case of the SPOT robot.

Thank you for being a dedicated safety professional and helping to make sure that our employees return home safely to their families each day.

Robin

Greetings Safety Colleagues,

Welcome to the Fall of 2021 and the continuation of the pandemic. The Delta variant is still wreaking

havoc across the country. This has created staffing issues, shifts in business operations, and logistical challenges for all. Please remember to take care of yourself and your family as we continue the bold effort to press forward.

Many of you are leaned on more these days than ever before in your roles. Safety has risen to the top of most all Corporate Organizations and Governmental entities. Our voices are called for more frequently and just like earlier today, even here in my role, we were asked to weigh in on a CV-19 billing issue with testing. What will it be next?

Locally, we still do not have a certified budget from the General Assembly. We are operating on a continuation budget. While many North Carolinians never think too much about it, this process continues to slowly creep forward on Jones Street. The State Government does not face a shut down, however the items in one of the longest budget proposals in our state’s history most likely will not be dealt with until October. Safety does have some skin in the proposal, but we won’t know until it is formally certified.

Nationally, the House passed a package of seven appropriations bills in Washington, that would give significant budget increases to worker safety agencies. H.R. 4502 allocates $691.8 million to OSHA which begins Oct 1. Included in this portion is $45 million in OSHA’s enforcement budget and $11 million in compliance assistance. Parts of the new appropriations also fund MSHA and NIOSH. This could mean much more enforcement in the coming year as the shift from employer Covid safety moves toward employee Covid safety responsibilities. This will be an entertaining transition for us to witness.

Many of you may have heard about the ASSP National Safety 2021 Conference that was held in Austin, Texas this month. From the North Carolina Chapter, Jon Wallace attended in person, and Frieda Sanders attended virtually. It was a great conference, and we were fortunate to review some excellent content. Others from our Chapter may have also attended. Let us know if you were able to participate.

We will be sharing more next month about the proposal for the house of delegates that is up for vote in early 2022. To review our ASSP governance page, click here.

Please join us for our next presentation pertaining to Robotics on October 14^th, 2021 (12:00 PM – 1:00PM). Caleb Sylvester will be with us from Boston Dynamics for a safety use case of the SPOT robot.

Thank you for being a safety professional and helping to make sure our employees return home safely to their families each day.

Robin