Editor's Note: Safety ‘in homes and communities’

Although I’m listing it out of order, the mission of the National Safety Council is to eliminate preventable deaths at work, on the road – and in homes and communities.

Safety+Health focuses on the “at work” part of the mission. We aim to produce content that helps both safety pros who are working hard simply to get their workplaces into compliance, and those whose employers are beyond compliance and reaching for excellence.

But the S+H team wears more than one hat. At the same time we’re producing a monthly issue of the magazine, we’re also putting together our sister publication, Family Safety & Health. This quarterly magazine, which can be sent directly to workers’ homes, offers information on keeping people of all ages safe and well. (For more information, visit nsc.org/fsh.)

Does your employer have an off-the-job safety program? In this month’s “Safety Leadership” column, Don Martin from DEKRA discusses why “safety shouldn’t end when the workday does.”

Martin describes some of the ways people are injured off the job – including falls, motor vehicle crashes and drug overdoses – and the behaviors that contribute to them. “As an employee, you – hopefully – wouldn’t replicate these kinds of behaviors at work,” he adds. “Yet, at home, the environment is different, and you may think and behave accordingly.”

NSC statistics show that more than 9 out of 10 worker deaths occur when people aren’t at work. Several times in its 100-year history, S+H has featured a page or column on off-the-job safety. Is that something you’d like to see us bring back? Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and let me know what you think.

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