Allison Kuhn

The DEIR Task Force of the American Chemical Society's Committee on Chemical Safety has explored how diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) intersect with and impact folks' laboratory safety. This topic is incredibly important to me and is the foundation of my career - creating support structures to scaffold safety wholistically - helping people feel like they belong and are supported in the sciences. Led by Anna Dunn and Debbie Decker, we published three editorials in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) over the past year. First, we described how these issues connect in an editorial titled "Reducing Risk: Strategies to Advance Laboratory Safety through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect." Many shared their experiences and asked, "How can I make a difference? What can I do to help?" To move from recognition to action, we created actionable items for individuals to improve lab safety through a DEIR lens. Last week, two follow-up editorials were published—one for laboratory workers and supervisors, and another for safety professionals and institutional leaders. If you'd like to know more about practical steps to enhance the culture of lab safety with DEIR principles, check out these latest two editorials: “How Can I Help?” How Laboratory Workers and Supervisors Can Promote Laboratory Safety through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect https://lnkd.in/g4W5G-Sq “How Can I Help?” How Safety Professionals and Institutional Leaders Can Promote Laboratory Safety through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect https://lnkd.in/gtqMC-Md And the first article, published in 2023: Reducing Risk: Strategies to Advance Laboratory Safety through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect https://lnkd.in/gziMR3Dz

8

Joins us on July 24, 2024 for our webinar to discuss PFAS Data Reporting!

2

Building on comments to U.S. EPA (see our August newsletter), Ed Kanegsberg and I submitted suggestions to EPA – a wish list, if you will- about cohesive, harmonized, achievable approaches to managing worker exposure to 1-BP (nPB), MC, TCE, and PCE. The situation where product manufacturers hear “no” to effective cleaning agents and process fluids is not sustainable. The U.S. EPA can and should protect the environment, protect workers, and assure public and patient performance of Safety/Critical products. Review our ideas in the September issue of Clean Source, the BFK Solutions, LLC Official Journal of the Cleaning Lady and the Rocket Scientist. Get back to me to discuss our suggestions as well as cleaning process options. https://lnkd.in/gKaBGqDW #manufacturing #criticalcleaning #precisioncleaning #surfacefinishing

6

I've witnessed something upsetting lately.   I’ve been in a number of meetings where the subject of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs has elicited a heated response—debate, eye rolling, flat out anger.   This is a microcosm of the debate playing out across the country. It seemed everyone embraced DEI after the tragic death of George Floyd and now the pendulum has swung back with a vengeance. DEI is polarized and politicized, with some pundits even claiming it is dead.   This makes me incredibly sad. I think many people are caught up in the words and identities of whether someone believes in DEI or not, versus the actions we can and are taking to welcome everyone into our companies.   Including everyone in manufacturing is not only the right, fair, and just thing to do, it’s the smart thing. We have a massive talent shortage and a dwindling population. There are 0.75 people for every open job in the U.S. right now. If we EXCLUDE rather than INCLUDE, there is simply no way manufacturing can grow.   The good news is, despite the debate over politics, philosophy, and programs, I believe reports of DEI’s demise are greatly exaggerated. I’m seeing something very different on the shop floor. Many manufacturers in Northeast Ohio are actively working to expand their talent pools and MAGNET is proud to be part of this effort.   In the past two years, we’ve helped more than 2,000 diverse candidates start careers in manufacturing. In this same period, our regional industry has also seen a 20% increase in people of color and women moving into manufacturing leadership roles.    They may not call it DEI, but these manufacturers are actively using strategies to recruit people who’ve been traditionally shut out of our industry—and creating an environment where they can thrive.   I explore this hot topic in my latest @Forbes piece: https://lnkd.in/eYq7yfBB   I’d also love to hear your thoughts.   #DEI #manufacturing #forbes #manufacturingtalent MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network

85

12 Comments

Reflecting on Process Improvement Lately, I’ve been working on various projects that revolve around one theme: process improvement. Whether it’s helping teams improve their KPIs, reduce costs, or boost quality, I’ve seen how small changes lead to substantial impact. This week, I’m reflecting on the power of refining processes—removing what doesn’t serve us and building on what does. Have you made a recent tweak to your workflow that’s brought big results? #ProcessImprovement #Leadership #ContinuousGrowth #QualityManagement

12

1 Comment

Does TapRooT® do Human Performance? Human Factors? Human Engineering? The TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®, Root Cause Tree® Dictionary, and Corrective Action Helper® Guide are exclusively focused on Human Performance improvement. For everything else, there's Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting. Most RCA systems stop at Human Error and call that a root cause. False. If you identify that a human was involved, congratulations, you've discovered that root causes exist. Root cause The absence of a best practice or the failure to apply knowledge that would have prevented the problem, or significantly reduced its likelihood or consequences. Identifying a HUMAN PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTY is the very first step on the TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®. TapRooT® investigators then use only evidence to answer targeted YES/NO questions guiding them to any number of over 100 possible Human Performance root causes. Oh, and that should take about 15-20 minutes. Our demos even take longer than that. https://lnkd.in/g254c5AT

4

Next week is expected to be a big week in environmental regulatory news. EPA is expected to release a number of power plant regulations. These include Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) revisions, Section 111 Greenhouse Gas regulations, and rules impacting legacy coal combustion residual (CCR) surface impoundments. The proposed MATS revision primarily impacts coal units and updates the original 2012 MATS rule. It proposed a lower emission rate for non-Hg metals (also known as particulate matter, or PM), lower Hg emission levels for lignite-fired units, and a requirement for continuous PM emissions monitoring. ATP published an analysis of this proposed rule on its website that is available at: https://lnkd.in/ePXmkeKX The proposed Section 111 Greenhouse Gas regulation established CO2 emission limits for existing and new fossil fired (primarily coal and natural gas) power plants.  ATP published an analysis of this proposed rule on its website that is available at: https://lnkd.in/eiJv7nAp Finally, the 2023 CCR proposal updates the 2015 CCR rule that did not impact inactive CCR impoundments at inactive facilities – in effect, inactive CCR impoundments at retired plants. These “legacy” impoundments, will now be regulated, which makes sense since these impoundments still impose a groundwater risk and are logically no different than inactive CCR impoundments at active facilities, which were impacted by the 2015 rule. This rule is in response to a 2018 DC Court of Appeals decision that determined that legacy CCR surface impoundments should comply with certain existing CCR regulations that they were heretofore exempt from, but with tailored compliance deadlines. Final rules may differ from proposals, based upon what EPA hears during the public comment period. ATP is available to assist our clients with these rules, offering consulting services that include technical advisory services, litigation support, and business strategy services that are discussed in more detail at www.AndoverTechnology.com.

14

1 Comment

Excited to share this another milestone: I am now a certified Shared Leadership Team Coach with Leadership in Motion! This designation recognizes my journey through the Team Coach Certification Program, where I gained knowledge and proficiency in coaching both teams and individuals using Leadership in Motion’s Shared Leadership approach. This journey has been invaluable, not only deepening my understanding of coaching but also equipping me to foster collaborative leadership within teams. Research underscores the power of shared leadership—teams with shared leadership show up to 43% higher effectiveness and improved resilience. It's exciting to harness these skills to support teams in achieving their best! Here’s to empowering others through the strength of shared leadership! #SharedLeadership #TeamCoach #LeadershipInMotion #Empowerment #CollaborativeSuccess

44

4 Comments

Do we know exactly what PFAS chemicals have been found in drinking water, human blood etc? If there is a comprehensive, unbiased source, I’d love to know and read up on what have been found? Short chain chemicals like PFOA and PFOS, I can agree but which fluoropolymers, FKM’’s and of what molecular weight?

1

1 Comment

I see organizations slowly drifting away from kaizen. Many organizations are completing improvement work, but the art of the kaizen event is slowly going away. Please see this month's blog topic: Kaizen. I briefly discuss why it is important and what some of the common failures of kaizen are and what can be done about those. Like most of my blogs, this is a 2–4-minute read. Feedback is always welcome. https://lnkd.in/gRuH3Kz

19

2 Comments

🎙ProseraPod: Ask Julie Smith - What strategies have you found effective for starting small, low-risk simulation projects to build credibility and trust? 🎙Julie's Response: Back in 2019, the new DuPont was formed after the merger and split with Dow. Many sites were struggling to continue their migration projects to move away from the Dow proprietary MOD system. There were also a few cases where shared site infrastructure (utilities, raw materials, etc.) was changing ownership. At one site, we found a case where both of these were happening simultaneously for a highly hazardous material. We convinced the process automation leader to use this case as a pilot to show what our simulation technology can do. It was small enough in scope (less than 200 I/O) that the risk to the project was low; they could always revert to a tie-back version if nothing worked as promised. Instead, we exceeded expectations. In fact, the more robust simulation helped to identify a design deficiency that would have caused potential problems, allowing the site to address proactively before taking ownership of the asset. We then proceeded to simulate the core processes in support of their migrations over the next 5 years, saving many millions of dollars and ensuring a safe transition. Learn more on the ProseraPod - https://lnkd.in/gCgAAJrP #Prosera #ProseraPod #InnovateAtProsera #ProcessControl #DynamicSimulation #AskJulieSmith #DigitalTwins

3

1 Comment

If you are a senior company manager, plant manager, regulatory manager or health and safety professional who may be impacted by TSCA PFAS, TSG Consulting is hosting a webinar providing specific information on reporting PFAS to the US EPA. Learn more about the PFAS reporting rule, its impacts, and the necessary reporting details to ensure you gather and report the necessary data. You will also have the opportunity to put your questions to Principal Consultant Steven Buchanan and Regulatory Consultant Manuela Petrisor. Secure your spot now by clicking this link: https://lnkd.in/eQqXtkGH #PFAS #TSCA #ChemicalDataReporting #PFASReportingRule #PFASReporting #webinar 

11

Curious about PFAS destruction technologies for industrial waste and landfill leachate? Or what steps your organization might take to create a PFAS management plan? ✳ We're offering free evaluations to help you understand your options. Let us guide you through the process and find the best solution for your needs. Sign up for a free evaluation to learn more!✳ #PFAS #industrialwaste #landfillleachate #environmentaltechnology

11

3 proven ways #leaders can #inspire disengaged employees How to think about tapping into the latent capacity of the seemingly disengaged fence-sitters. https://lnkd.in/g5t_Wkn4

4

Dear Commercial Leader, Do you feel that your initiatives are set aside or underfunded in favor of those pitched by your colleagues? Do you worry that the squeaky wheels get all the grease? Do you crave a level-playing field? Is a lack of measurement infrastructure coming in the way of demonstrating the success of your initiatives? You might want to read this book and then give a copy to your COO or CFO.

11