Editor's Note: A ‘SAFER’ National Safety Month

June is National Safety Month. On this, the 25th anniversary of the observance, the COVID-19 pandemic remains front and center of the discussion about how to keep workers safe.

In this issue, Safety+Health presents a special edition of Safety Tips based on National Safety Council materials created specifically for National Safety Month.

One tip talks about the importance of continuing to follow both traditional safety processes and those put in place to help keep workers safe for the duration of the pandemic. It’s a reflection of how things are different from a year ago. Most people I know are feeling hopeful that their work lives may return to some form of “normal.” And employers who had sent employees home to work remotely are considering when – and how – to bring them back. This includes NSC.

Aiding the council’s decisions are guidelines from the SAFER (Safe Actions for Employee Returns) task force. Led by NSC and made up of nonprofit organizations, businesses, medical professionals, government agencies and trade associations, SAFER’s efforts are “aimed at developing industry- and risk-specific resources and recommendations for employers.”

For the June 2020 issue of S+H, Associate Editor Barry Bottino sat down with John Dony – then-director of the Campbell Institute at NSC – to talk about what the newly created task force hoped to accomplish. One year later, Barry sat down again with Dony (now senior director of thought leadership at the council) for a follow-up conversation on SAFER’s achievements and plans for the future.

All SAFER resources are available at nsc.org/safer. Whether you’re working from home or back at your office or facility, I hope you’re safe and well.

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