Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!  The end of 2020 is finally upon us, and what a year it has been.  Most everyone has been challenged in unprecedented ways including Safety Professionals who have seen their roles expanded to include pandemic advisors due to Covid 19 and in some cases security officers in the wake of social unrest. It is reassuring to see how the safety community has banded together to meet the needs of the employees we help protect, our employers’, and ultimately the communities we serve.

The ASSP Society has been at the forefront of networking and providing the resources to help safety practitioners meet these challenges.  And the Chesapeake Chapter has been right there all the way, supporting the Society as well as our local members.  By being flexible, going virtual with meetings and training sessions the Chapter and the Society have continued to bring members the information and resources needed to address these ever-changing issues.

While the pandemic is not over yet, in fact many areas are still showing a rise in cases, there is good news: the formulation of vaccinations that appear to be quite effective in preventing the further spread of the Covid 19 virus. Of course, with every new advancement comes a new challenge, including the most effective and fair distribution of the vaccine.  I am certain that Safety Professionals will again be there to assist in this challenge.  I am proud of what we have accomplished in 2020 in spite of the challenges or perhaps because of the challenges.  I look forward to a great year in 2021.

So again, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy holiday season.

James F Kane (Jim)
President, Chesapeake Chapter
American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP)

The year 2020 is quickly drawing to an end, a fact that many may gladly embrace.  It certainly has been a year of many diverse challenges, especially for the safety professional.  While in the past, we may have focused primarily on safety with health and environmental issues being of slightly lesser concern, we were thrust without warning into being the primary health advisors for our organizations.  Environmental concerns shifted to the environment in which our employees would be tasked to work. We met the challenge head on and will continue to do so until the Covid 19 “All Clear” has been called. Safety Professionals were relied on, looked to and expected to lead the way in combatting the spread of Covid 19, we did our part, we did a lot and we learned a lot.  Through great networking opportunities throughout the profession, including ASSP, we were able to quickly adapt to what was effective, and what was not.

The challenge is not over and manifests itself in new dimensions.  People and companies have grown wary to lock-downs and loss of business.  And while mental health and economic viability always remain a major consideration, we must move cautiously ahead.  Some organizations that re-opened early have now found themselves having to retreat to protect people, in fact entire countries have returned to lock-down conditions.

I’m proud of the positive part we as safety professionals have played, and will continue to play.  Our enthusiasm to do the next right thing has not diminished.  Thank you for all that you do for your employees, organizations, our country and society as a whole.

If you would like to avail of the resources and opportunities afforded by the ASSP, please consider joining our society.  You are most welcome.

James F Kane (Jim)
President Chesapeake Chapter
American Society of Safety Professionals

With the cooler temperatures and colorful change of the leaves, it is clear that fall is upon us.  It seems as though we had no warning this year, and once the change occurred there was no going back.  That might be a sign of the times as 2020 has certainly been a year with dramatic changes and no going back.  The pandemic has changed most everyone’s lifestyle and there will likely be no going back to the way things were before it changed the world.

I pause for a moment to wish a happy birthday to ASSP as a society that was founded on October 14, 1911 as a direct result of the catastrophic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, one of the deadliest industrial incidents in US history, where 146 persons perished.  Since its founding ASSP, in its various forms, has been promoting workplace safety by developing persons into true professionals and experts in the field.

The Chesapeake Chapter works hard to continue that legacy by providing education, training, networking and development of leadership skills.  Even in times of uncertainty, and perhaps more in those times, the workplace needs to remain a safe environment for workers and the community.  The Chesapeake Chapter, through online, virtual; courses and meetings, and its wealth of resources, continues to develop the skills and knowledge of our member safety professionals.

If you are working in the safety field, or considering a career in safety, I urge you to take a look at ASSP and the value it brings to its members.  By growing the membership strong, we progress the profession and provide for a safer and healthier community.

Enjoy the cooler weather and bright colors around us as we move forward into a bright future.

James F Kane
Chesapeake Chapter President
American Society of Safety Professionals

Well the summer is winding down and the weather is starting to cool, while things here at the Chesapeake Chapter of ASSP are heating up.  We are busy planning for our next PDC which will likely by virtual, and a very well-rounded program.  Additionally, our monthly member meetings are falling into place as well, where we are offering a variety of great topics, ranging from the use of QR Codes in safety to round table discussion of local safety professionals expanding on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected us all.  How we handled the various challenges from not only working at home but having employees and colleagues away from the shop as well.  How to social distance on a construction site effectively.  What worked and what didn’t go as planned or expected.

When we started off this new year at the chapter, we knew there would be challenges ahead.  Everyone was asked to take a new different perspective on how we can achieve our goals under very different than normal circumstances. With great pride I see chapter members and committees coming together to continue the great success of our Chesapeake chapter.

For new comers who may be struggling in these times, or other safety professionals who have been able to get things to work out well, this is the place to be to share our trials and tribulations.  We all grow by sharing and learn much more in adversity than during smooth sailing.  Come join a group of talented, dedicated and committed persons taking the safety profession to new heights even in times of uncertainty.

For more information about our up coming events please visit our website at Chesapeake.assp.org.

My sincere thanks and admiration for fellow members, committee members, elected officials and all who have worked hard for continuous success of the Chesapeake Chapter.  The best is yet to come.

Sincerely,

James F Kane
Chapter President
Chesapeake Chapter ASSP

It’s mid-summer and month two of the ASSP Calendar year, with the August heat bearing down on us. Not only is August climatically one of the hottest months of the year, it’s also one of the busiest as we feel the heat of planning and organizing the chapter for the next year. We have a full agenda ahead for this year and good planning with good people can turn our goals into reality. The current situation including response to the Covid 19 pandemic and social unrest turns up the heat even more.  How we are able to adapt to an ever-changing environment, will determine how well we ultimately perform.  In this era of uncertainty, the status quo cannot be relied upon in charting our course forward. When in uncharted waters, we must be ready and able to quickly adjust our heading in order to avoid obstructions that we will encounter along our journey.

To be able to respond to the foreseen and unforeseen obstacles along the way, we need to be well organized and disciplined while being flexible an adaptive. We need to approach new situations with new approaches and methods, to maneuver within this uncharted territory.  In order to achieve this, we need a chapter that runs smoothly, has an established course ahead and yet can still react.  We need to have a set of guiding principles (bylaws) that are clear, concise, understandable yet remain flexible. Our talent needs to be organized to be effective and efficient through a workable committee structure. And we need to be responsive to our membership, to provide the tools and support for safety professionals on all levels, students to masters and those along the way.

The journey ahead will not be one of all smooth sailing.  We will find ourselves in troubled waters along the way.  As a volunteer organization, this is not a sightseeing jaunt, but rather an explorative adventure.  We will profit by what we encounter and overcome and by what we learn along the way.  Working together as a team we can have a successful journey. I look forward to the journey ahead.

Please contact me with questions or comments, feedback is requisite to staying on course.

Respectfully,
Jim

James F Kane
Chesapeake Chapter President

I am proud and honored to be here today, on the first meeting of the 2020-2021 Chesapeake Chapter, to serve you as your president for the upcoming year.  2019-2020 was a year full of surprises and challenges, that I doubt anyone could have predicted.  A pandemic outbreak, shortages of PPE, stay at home orders and civil unrest, thrust safety professionals into roles they may not typically fulfill.  In the past, many of us have focused primarily on workplace safety, keeping employees safe from injury.  Now we were very quickly faced with major health issues, both physical and mental to deal with.  Those of us, whose employers were deemed “essential” had these challenges stacked on top of their normal duties.  With social distancing, sanitizing and donning masks, routine activities had new hurtles to clear.   Stress at home from quarantine and financial issues jeopardized the mental well-being of our workers. Civil unrest heightened the need for strong security practices and brought the concept of workplace violence to the forefront.

Safety Professionals proved through these challenges to be just that – true professionals.  However, the end is not in sight as many of these issues continue to impact our daily lives.  Work practices have not and likely will never return to what used to be considered “normal”. We are in a virtual meeting now, and that will likely be our main mode of interaction into the near future.  Our activities are curtailed, but our commitment and enthusiasm are not!  We must look at these setbacks as the opportunities that they present.  Virtual meetings and functions can meet a much greater audience and if properly structured can have a tremendous impact through the advantageous use of technology.

We definitely have challenges ahead, and these challenges will and should make us question how we operate, how we do business.  Changes are necessary if we are to not only survive, but to thrive in this environment.  Going forward, the status quo can serve to educate us, but should not limit our ability to adjust and meet our current and future needs.  These adaptations will require a team effort, working together to plan out and execute toward reaching our goals and aspirations.

When working in a new atmosphere, a new approach will keep us strong and successful.

James F Kane
President