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About the 2018 NAEM EHS Forum NAEM’s EHS & Sustainability Management Forum is the largest annual gathering for environment, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability decision-makers. This year’s forum will welcome over 700 attendees from over 300 companies and is taking place October 23-25 in Louisville, Kentucky. The forum offers attendees five different breakout session tracks focused on EHS and business strategy, leadership excellence, and tools to help achieve EHS excellence. For information on the breakout session tracks, view the preliminary agenda. Visit with the ISN Team ISN is featured as a Green Sponsor at this year’s Forum. Our team will be located booth #502 in the exhibit hall. Stop by for a live demonstration of our online contractor management platform, ISNetworld, and to discuss your contractor management goals for 2019. We look forward to seeing you at the NAEM EHS Forum this year.  

This Year’s Conference ISN invites you to visit us at Booth #529 at the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress & Expo from October 22-24 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX. This year, over 14,000 safety, health and environmental professionals will be in attendance from more than 70 countries. Visit our Booth ISN will be located at Booth #529 throughout the conference. Stop by to discuss your contractor management goals and to see a demo of ISNetworld, ISN’s online platform. About the NSC Congress & Expo The NSC Congress & Expo is the world’s largest annual event dedicated to workplace safety. For more than 100 years, professionals have turned to this event for industry-leading technology, education and networking opportunities. We look forward to seeing you there.  

The 2018 OSHA Oil & Gas Safety and Health Conference will be held December 4-5 in Houston, TX at the Hilton Americas. This conference gathers over 1,000 key decision-makers to foster a better understanding of how industry professionals and OSHA can work together to improve safety performance.   The goal of both OSHA and the Oil and Gas Industry is to make work sites a safe and healthy place. This conference serves as an opportunity to share your ideas and experiences, products and services, and build relationships. The keynote speaker at this year’s conference is Johnny “Joey” Jones, Combat-wounded Staff Sergeant (Ret.).  Breakout Session Tracks include:  Behavior-Based Safety  Contractor Safety Management & Best Practices  Drilling & Well Control/Well Servicing & Completions  Education & Training/Transportation  Engineering Controls & Process Safety; Events & Mitigation  Management Leadership & HSE Management Systems  OSHA Regulatory/Industrial Hygiene  Target Topics  For additional information on the conference and to register, please click here.

Studies suggest that up to 20% of passengers on commercial airplanes may develop respiratory infections within a week of flying. Below are general tips to help protect yourself from the risk of getting sick following a flight: Ensure you consume enough water to keep your respiratory tract moist, which can help protect against germs. Wash your hands often with soap and water. If not available, carry hand sanitizer. Carry disinfectant wipes to wipe down hard surfaces in your seat vicinity including table trays, entertainment screens and seat belt buckles. Consider wearing a face mask to protect yourself from any airborne particulates. Additionally, high traffic areas may expose passengers to higher risk of encountering germs. Apart from obvious areas, such as washrooms, choosing an aisle seat may also increase your exposure due to the number of people passing the area when moving around the cabin. Window seats may help avoid unnecessary contact with other passengers. More tips for healthy flying can be found on WebMD. We hope these tips will help reduce the risk of in-flight viral exposure, so you can enjoy your destination.   References: https://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2014/12/spreading_more_than_cheer_holiday_fliers_100_times_more_likely_to_catch_germs_on_a_plane.html http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21155643/ns/travel-travel_tips/t/how-avoid-airplane-cold/#.W6JrZMxMFPB https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-december-21-2017-1.4458465/germs-on-a-plane-how-to-stay-healthy-while-travelling-1.4458761  

The STPS (Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare) published the Mexican Standard NOM-018-STPS-2015 titled “Harmonized System for the Identification and Communication of Hazards and Risks of Chemicals in the Workplace” (Sistema armonizado para la identificación y comunicación de peligros y riesgos por sustancias químicas peligrosas en los centros de trabajo) in October 2015. With this, Mexico implemented the 5th revision of the U.N. Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for all Mexican workplaces. Mexican workplaces will see the harmonized system for chemical identification in effect and enforceable in October. Companies had three years to transition to the new standard which outlines three main elements: Classification of chemical substances Standardization of container labels and SDS (Safety Data Sheets) according to the GHS standard format. While many countries have regulatory systems in place, the GHS provides a consistent system for the classification of hazardous chemicals. This means that regardless of where a chemical was created, all individuals potentially exposed will be able to understand the chemical classifications and associated hazards through updated pictograms and consistent SDS sheets. When a nation agrees to adopt the criteria and provisions of the GHS, they do so using their own regulatory process, as in the case of Mexico. For more information on the GHS implementation in Mexico and other countries please visit: NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-018-STPS-2015 http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/ghs/implementation_e.html#c25721 https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/ghsguideoct05.pdf

 Nova Scotia Power Inc. is involved in 95% of the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Nova Scotia. Reflecting its commitment to maintaining the highest health, safety and environmental (HSE) standards in the utility industry, Nova Scotia Power has recently implemented ISN’s contractor management platform, ISNetworld. Leadership in workplace safety Nova Scotia Power operates a range of facilities, including power plants, oil-burning combustion turbines, hydro stations and wind farms. It relies on a vast network of contractors and suppliers to deliver more than 10,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually. “In support of our employees, and contractors, Nova Scotia Power is committed to being a leader in workplace safety. Further, we’re confident that we’ll continue improving our safety performance year over year with the implementation of ISNetworld,” says Sean Brennan, Director of Safety at Nova Scotia Power. By partnering with ISN, Nova Scotia Power is committed to making progress in ensuring that its operations are as safe as possible. “This implementation represents a significant opportunity to support Nova Scotia Power’s mandate to deliver power to 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across the province,” says Kim Ritchie, Director, ISN Canada. More information Please click here for more information about how other Hiring Clients and contractors are leveraging ISNetworld to keep their employees safe.  

 ISN released its annual contractor benchmarking reports, which detail contractor performance by industry classifications and work types for the U.S. and Canada in 2017. Collectively, over 70,000 contractors and suppliers actively report information through ISNetworld with more than 14 billion hours of work activity reported in 2017. These publications include key performance indicators (KPIs) pertinent to all industries in the U.S. and Canada. Some contractors use this data to establish a baseline for their safety performance and benchmark themselves against their industry peers. KPIs presented in the U.S. report include TRIR, nonfatal TRIR, DART, fatality rate, total number of fatalities and incident severity (in days). These KPIs are grouped by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes and ISN Work Types. The KPIs highlighted in the Canadian report include TRF, LTF, fatality rate, total number of fatalities and incident severity (in days). These KPIs are grouped by ISN Work Types and Workers’ Compensation industry codes for Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Contractors subscribed to ISNetworld can download these publications on ISN’s Publications page.

The ISN Team will be exhibiting at the upcoming 2018 Canadian Society of Safety Engineering Professional Development Conference on September 17 & 18 in Niagara Falls, ON. The CSSE Conference provides opportunities for Health, Safety and Environmental Professionals to network with peers and attend technical workshops to stay current on the latest trends and industry best practices. In addition, the conference features a tradeshow where exhibitors provide demonstrations and share information about their products. We invite you to stop by Booth #60 to discuss contractor management and learn more about ISN. Our team will be providing live demonstrations of ISNetworld and discussing the best practices of almost 200 ISN Canadian Hiring Clients. We look forward to seeing you there.    

ISN is pleased to release the latest edition of its “What is Best-in-Class Contractor Management?” white paper. The white paper introduces challenges faced by the growing trend of outsourcing work to contractors and discusses 10 attributes that characterize best-in-class contractor management systems. In a recent survey conducted by ISN, 95% of Hiring Client respondents expect their need for outsourcing to contractors to stay the same or increase over the next 12-18 months, whereas only 5% expect a decrease.1 While outsourcing work allows for more specialized individuals to complete the job in an efficient manner, it can also add a level of uncertainty and risk. Safe and sustainable outsourcing relies on a robust contractor management system, which is ultimately the responsibility of the hiring organization. The 10 attributes in the white paper draw from more than 17 years of global contractor management experience working alongside 540+ Hiring Clients, and include: Establishing a clear communication strategy Using a multi-step due diligence process Addressing subcontractor management Taking safety culture to the next level To view this white paper and other publications issued by ISN, visit the ISN Publications page.   1Contractor Management Strategy White Paper, https://www.isnetworld.com/Newsroom/Publications

In conjunction with the ISN CONNECT Conference, ISN held its inaugural Contractor Certified User Program along with the third Hiring Client Certified User Program. The program was held from April 30 – May 2, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. Over 70 participants representing 64 companies across multiple industries attended both the contractor customer and Hiring Client programs. The Certified User Program provided participants from the United States, Canada and New Zealand the opportunity to receive comprehensive training on ISNetworld functionality, network with peers and share best practices across multiple industries. “ISN has continued to revolutionize the ability to track and trend our opportunities and improvements. Updates to the system continue to benefit daily use,” said Billy Joe Pellegrin with Edison Chouest Offshore. Steve Cheramie with BHP stated “(The Certified User Program) provided me with a deeper understanding of ISN capabilities and how other companies utilize the tool.” Certified User Program participants were also able to: Learn strategies for maximizing the use of their ISNetworld subscription Review ISNetworld from both the contractor customer and Hiring Client perspective Participate in ISN CONNECT Breakout Sessions and Usability Labs “We expanded our Certified User Program to provide an avenue for contractor customers to learn and share best practices for meeting their Hiring Client requirements,” said Belinda Field, Vice President, Contractor Development at ISN. “The participation from our customers, along with the support and feedback we received, are instrumental in the continued growth and expansion of the Certified User Program.” Attendees received Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and an ISNetworld Certified User certificate upon completion of the program.