Editor’s Note: Safety’s past, present and future

Our first issue of 2024 features a look at both where safety has been and where it’s going.

For our cover story, Associate Editor Alan Ferguson spotlights a recently published National Safety Council white paper on the current and future use of robotics to improve worker safety, condensing the work of NSC’s Work to Zero initiative into an easy-to-read overview (and including a link to the paper if you want to read further).

Associate Editor Barry Bottino reached out to several longtime safety pros and asked them to weigh in on the changes the occupational safety and health profession has undergone. Many of their responses reflect how Safety+Health’s coverage has expanded to topics such as mental health; wellness; psychological safety; and diversity, equity and inclusion. From Richard Fairfax, whose career in safety has spanned five decades, to Abby Ferri, who brings the perspective of a woman who’s been a safety pro for more than 20 years, we appreciate them sharing their experiences and insight.

And we’re pleased to introduce a new quarterly column: NSC Thought Leadership. To kick things off, John Dony, the council’s vice president of workplace strategy, explains how a partnership with United Kingdom-based nonprofit Lloyd’s Register Foundation has resulted in the proposal of “a model for the ‘new value of safety,’ as well as recommendations for action.” Dony notes that “it’s increasingly harder to ignore the fact that for many, the concept of safety has expanded to include safeguarding all the things that make us who we are.”

As always, we welcome your comments. And wherever you are in your career and personal journey, I hope your future is bright – and safe. Happy New Year!

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