Editor's Note: A commitment

This month, Safety+Health offers a preview of the 2016 National Safety Council Congress & Expo, scheduled to take place Oct. 15-21 in Anaheim, CA.

In the NSC Conventions Department, Senior Director Karen Howe and her staff work year-round to put on a show that informs and educates on both emerging issues and the perennial problems that keep safety pros up at night.

It’s a philosophy the S+H team shares. In a recent conversation I had with our newest member, Associate Editor Kevin Druley, he and I discussed how we can walk down the hall to the National Safety Council Library, pull out a copy of S+H (or National Safety News, as it was called then) from the 1950s or the 1970s, and find many of same topics we’re still writing about today.

The need for information on these topics is confirmed by the traffic patterns on the S+H website, continuously monitored by Online Content Manager Amy Bellinger. As I write this, Associate Editor Sarah Trotto’s recent article, Job Hazard Analysis/Job Safety Analysis is the most shared feature on the site, while older articles such as 11 tips for effective workplace housekeeping, 7 common safety hazards and various articles on office safety remain some of our most popular.

As part of the S+H team’s obligation (and privilege) to report on the latest news within the occupational safety and health community, this month’s issue of S+H features articles on the Zika virus and the debate about OSHA’s recent recordkeeping rule. Yet when we sit down later this month to plan and schedule assignments for upcoming articles, we’ll be acutely aware that we can’t lose sight of the traditional hazards that – for the foreseeable future – will exist as long as humans don a hard hat or punch a time clock. As always, we’ll do our best to keep you informed on both.

The opinions expressed in “Editor’s Note” do not necessarily reflect those of the National Safety Council or affiliated local Chapters.