Forget about recession. Focus on change instead.

The Harvard Business School, which is a revered legend throughout the world, has more than a new web site. It also has a system of tracking major new developments throughout the world.

Safety Brigade proposes to spend February 2009 reflecting on the implications of Breakthrough Ideas for 2009. Here is a link to the web site:

http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/web/tools/2009/01/list-toc?cm_mmc=npv-_-listserv-_-January_2009-_-HBRSA

Perhaps all 20 ideas do not have the same utilities for your enterprise. However, it would be rare to find a business that cannot benefit from at least one of these concepts.

Nanotechnology for safety and environmental conservation is our thought for today. We are fortunate that the corporation at the vanguard of making all kinds of sensors at affordable costs is represented in India, as well as in so many other countries.

Use new sensors to improve your safety and conservation standards in 2009. That should see you launch in to exciting new growth and profit trajectories for the second decade of the Millennium, never mind what soothsayers of doom may say.

Contact us to participate in webinars on great business ideas for 2009.

Dramatic new announcements by President Obama have set the tone for a new world in 2009. Bolivia has voted for a radical new Constitution. India will have a new government before this year is out, even if the present coalition is elected back to power.

Business cannot remain aloof from world affairs. China and Russia have replaced Wall Street at Davos. A bigger change however, is the eclipse of capitalism by new world movements of ordinary people.

President Obama’s words about bonuses claimed by executives responsible for failed enterprises, has stung the establishment of the business world. Corporate Social Responsibility could soon become Corporate Social Compulsion. A business that is not above reproach in terms of public interest, human safety, financial integrity, and environmental conservation, is on a highway to decline if not abject disaster.

Risk management is one of the lifebuoys that every business can use in the icy market waters of today. Survival in adverse and hostile circumstances leaves not a spot for the slightest negligence on any operational front. All strategic thinking must be tinged with some green, if not awash in the color altogether. Hazardous products have always endured skeptic attacks by activists, but now the most innocuous of categories are held accountable by the most moderate sections of society.

Protect your profits by putting people and nature first. This is the Mantra of the Millennium.

It is not often that a chain for daily consumer needs takes the kind of drastic action reported at the following link:

http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000705_pesticides_honeybees_food_supply.html

The true reason for Colony Collapse Disorder of honeybees has not been established, though the problem has attracted serious public attention in the United States and Europe.

The banned pesticides were originally used for seed dressing, an application that has no link with pollinators.

The instance indicates ineffective product stewardship. Is this something that could happen to you?

Use the best practices in product stewardship to protect your brands and revenue lines.

Europe and some African countries have joined hands to produce something new and exciting. Take a look at:

http://www.irena.org/

The United States and the UK have sent observers to this path-breaking conference. I do not know if India has had anything to do with the initiative.

Here is a link to some absorbing news about energy forms in which India is amongst the richest countries in the world:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/renewableenergy

Traditional power generation means are sources of risk. Consider:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste

Write to us and let us know what you think.

It is some time since the world had some good news about Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. However, confessions of corporate crimes are not the worst things to emanate in recent times from this part of the world.

Here is a link to what the United States thinks about human safety and environmental conservation in India:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/6230098.html

The matter has received scant attention in India, but a peril of globalization is that the whole world can learn of what happens in your backyard.

Antibiotic and antihistamine residues in water can spell disasters for unsuspecting people. It is a sacred duty of industry to clean all the water it uses. Protestations of innocence are far from enough. Alleged polluters should do more to prove their innocence beyond any reasonable doubt.

Even thorough treatment is not enough. Incoming water needs screening just as well, since the linked report indicates upstream pollution.

Call us if you would like an audit of your impact on water, or on the quality of water your family and you drink.

Solvents are common in modern life. They are also hazardous substances. Research has linked solvents with serious and incurable diseases. The effects show up decades after exposure. The cause and effect relationship is difficult to establish in legal terms. This has prevented workers from getting compensation. However, continuing research can throw new light on old cases. These are some important implications of the news at the following link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/25toxic.html?_r=1

Call us if you need help to review your bill of materials, to review your contingent liabilities, but most of all, to take every possible step to safeguard the health of your customers and employees.

Nation building is a scared task in which all citizens should participate.

Each one of us generates waste. We can reduce, restore, and recycle this waste.

Waste management is not just ethical, but profitable as well.

Resolve, regardless of your nationality, to follow the China lead linked below:

http://www.chinacsr.com/en/2009/01/22/4280-jiangxi-to-build-waste-power-generation-plant/

There are two ways to know if the food you serve your family is safe.

One is to live in a country with effective policing of all edible supplies.

The other is to buy from an exporter to countries with tough import rules.

It would appear that the people of Taiwan should pick their oranges with care.

You do not eat the rind of an orange. Therefore, systemic chemicals pose greater risks than contact poisons.

Everyone has a stake in food safety, whether as grower, processor, exporter, or consumer.

There can be no wellness without food safety. Safe food is the essential foundation for health. Children and expecting mothers need special protection.

Contact us for an audit of your food supplies, and to take corrective actions in case harmful residues and contamination lurk in your purchase, storage, cooking, and serving systems.

It appears that vegetables in Vietnam are safe to eat.

http://www.lookatvietnam.com/2009/01/veggies-almost-pesticide-free.html

What if the one sample that tested positive for harmful pesticide residues were to land on your child’s plate?

Could the fruits free of pesticides in the report linked above have microbial contamination?

What about vegetable markets in your neighborhood?

Make sure that food on your plate is safe. Not just at random, but everytime.

Write to us to know how.

President Obama has taken a swipe at communism in his inaugural speech. However, he also mentioned that investments in public projects would be a major plank of his efforts to revive the economy.

President Obama has spoken repeatedly, before he became President, of repairing roads and bridges. Concern for the environment has been another important message from the most influential person for the next four years in our world.

China’s response to the new US President has been muted until now. That does not mean that communists lack a common agenda with their capitalist peers. No other country can claim to have invested as durably in national infrastructure as China.

Consider the significance of the news at the following link:

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE50I1WX20090119

You may be responsible for a nation, a corporation, or just a home. Water balance concerns you. Here is something for each of us to emulate:

http://www.csrwire.com/FeaturedNews/14272.html

Environmental conservation standards are in flux. You may find that profits you have reported in the past are false.

Take nuclear power for civilian purposes for example. One of the arguments of proponents of this route to energy is that nuclear power is clean.

Some of India’s most reputed corporations are believed to plan projects for power generation from nuclear plants.

Could there be some costs that we have overlooked?

Do your local authorities withhold vital information from you on security grounds?

Chemicals of all kinds are inseparable parts of modern lives. You are fortunate if you do not live a chemical manufacturing facility. However, it would be most unusual if chemicals are not stored in your home, office, and the educational institutions your children use.

Chemicals may be fatal in even retail quantities in the event of some emergencies.

Lives can be saved from chemical disasters through public awareness and prior preparations.

Terrorist threats cannot be denied. Access to chemical production and storage sites must be controlled to prevent these products from falling in the wrong hands. However, there is no case for withholding vital and life-saving information from the public.

Read the report at the following link, and review conditions in your locality:

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009901180377

A building or a road can destroy wildlife

Polarized light is everywhere and in abundance

We can use it to good effect and keep pests away

See the light and live in harmony with nature

Here is another link to more information on the powers and uses of polarized light:

http://www.polarization.com/index-net/index.html

Ammonia is common in industry. Many manufacturing units either use it or produce it.

Nothing can be as irritating for communities who are forced to live around factories that spew ammonia.

Is there an acceptable level of ammonia? It appears that some factory managers are reconciled to live with noxious emissions. The truth is that all ammonia can be scrubbed for zero release. Factories that cannot meet such standards should close down.

Do you have emissions that trouble surrounding communities? Call us for a solution to your pollution.

Gift from a parting President

The popularity and legacy of President Bush is a matter of political controversy. However, no one is likely to argue with one of his last acts as Head of the United States of America.

Does Du Pont or another company in a similar line of work have a production unit upstream of your drinking water source?

Is your pollution control authority reliable?

Are you responsible for a production or storage unit that regularly or in an emergency could discharge fatal pollutants in to public water bodies?

Have a good Sunday with these nightmares.

Protect Women from Exposure to Pesticides

Sexual discrimination works for pesticide safety. No lady of child-bearing age should handle pesticides

Drift is a key issue for rural women.

The re-entry period is a must for women engaged in farm operations

Food eaten raw can threaten everyone’s health, but women and children are most vulnerable. Cooking degrades most pesticides, and washing takes off surface deposits. Systemic pesticides are not removed by washing. That is why pre-harvest intervals must be respected to keep women from being affected by pesticide residues.

Here is a picture taken near Delhi in October 2007. You can see that harvest and pesticide application go on at the same time.

Did you eat such a toxic salad today?

Are You Prepared for Adverse Event Reporting?

Do you know which near-accidents to report?

What are your legal liabilities with respect to adverse event reporting?

Can an incident that does not require to be reported, hold invaluable risk management lessons for you?

Attend a meeting from the comfort of your work-station, and stay current with the latest thinking in the vital business field of adverse event reporting.

Salmonella raises its contaminated head once again

Cross-contamination is a prime strength of pathogens. They can live off multiple kinds of organic materials. Every food-processing facility uses multiple ingredients. This makes it nearly impossible to trace the original source of an infectious outbreak.

There is no option to removing possible infections from each ingredient used in food and drink. Gloved or clean hands and sterile cutlery and crockery are other key aspects of food safety in catering establishments.

Top vendors use HACCP. Do you as well?

Pollution solutions may lurk under our noses.

How much do you know about algae, bacteria, and fungi that can re-mediate contaminated soil and water?

Visit the following links if you are not an accomplished microbiologist:

http://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/NSTLQK_NSTL_QK7802954.aspx

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118919118/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

http://www.scribd.com/doc/555825/CDC-Release-tp41c2?page=92

Biological warfare is evil and prohibited in the civilized word. However, we can use the adaptive capabilities of microbes to keep our environment clean, and to safeguard life as well.

Write to us if you would like help with microbial re-mediation of the footprints of your business.

Adverse incidents take place globally all the time. Lay people and their families are usually the most pitiable victims, because they do not know their rights.

Temporary erections of equipment are often the sites of fatal accidents.

Product abuse by a customer is another major threat to business continuity.

Scan accidents from all over the world to keep expanding your risk covers. Develop your business continuity capabilities, and safeguard people and the environment at the same time.

That is the best way to help the bereaved family of Gennaro Montello from Brooklyn.

Brands that expire on retail shelves are the bane of executive everywhere. The loss of current assets is compounded by significant expenses on transportation, impervious land-fills, and safe incineration procedures.

You would expect that demand and supply would be closely matched in these days of electronic planning databases, but epidemic pests can strike one growing season, after an absence of several years.

The transport, storage, and safe disposal of obsolete products calls for a structured procedure. Do you have one in place?

42 States have been affected by Salmonella poisoning.

Salmonella is flexible about establishing colonies. Virtually any living animal tissue is acceptable when it comes to spreading infections.

Hand-washing is a simple way to keep Salmonella at bay.

Do you have any valid information on the incidence of such infections in the hospital that you use?

Here are pictures, taken on June 23, 2006, of a major hospital in South Mumbai, and one of its garbage dumps.

Let us hope and pray that things have improved after two years.

Any establishment that serves food and drink can transmit infections. Buildings with controlled air circulation systems are equally culpable. Hospitals are in the spotlight for obvious reasons, but could your establishment be vulnerable as well.

Act today to keep your establishment free from pathogens. Call Safety Brigade for site assessment and an action plan to keep infections under control.

Pakistan is dismayed by the development.

What does this have to do with Risk Management?

Media relations are often ignored during emergent situations.

Does everyone in your organization know what to say should a crisis unfold?

Perhaps your emergency network should have a designated person with authority to make public comments

Write to us to know more, and to share your experiences as well.