Editor's Note: Time flies

I’ve used “past and future” as a theme for this column before. But looking at the coverage in this month’s issue of Safety+Health, I’m struck by how, once more, it applies.

S+H nods to the past – and to National Safety Month – by highlighting workplace safety-related items from the National Safety Council’s 100 Years of Safety anniversary timeline. This is in addition to the bits of NSC history we’ve been publishing throughout 2013 and the “A look back: Advertising” pages we’ve been including just for fun.

Current situations and how they may change are part of all of this month’s feature articles. However, the future has a particularly heavy focus in this month’s cover story, in which Senior Associate Editor Kyle W. Morrison talks with safety professionals who are using mobile apps to supplement workplace safety efforts. Even if mobile technology is changing a bit more quickly than some people are comfortable with, it can’t be ignored. I bought my first smartphone last year only after pieces of casing began falling off my old phone. And although I still shake my head when I see couples at restaurants tapping away at phones or tablets instead of talking to each other, I can’t deny that I love my new phone, and that the apps I’ve downloaded are useful to me both at home and at work. In Safety in the palm of your hand, Kyle explores how mobile apps can play a role in occupational safety and health.

Finally, for you veteran safety pros, S+H is looking for input on a future article that also covers the past and present: Regarding your career, what do you know now that you wish you knew when you were starting out? What advice would you give to the younger you, or to any safety pro who is new to the field or doesn’t have your level of experience? To share your bit of hard-won wisdom, please email Associate Editor Ashley Johnson at [email protected].

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