24
• MAY 28, 2021 • Midlands Business Journal
Focus on Safety A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal
May 28, 2021
Return-to-work policies top of mind for safety, HR professionals by Michelle Leach
By its very nature, COVID-19 has presented threats to workforce safety and health. However, as dialogue evolves from crisis management to vaccinations and recovery, the effects of the pandemic on the nature of work and the workplace, and on the demands placed on the worker, are presenting challenges to safety and health in the present moment. A safety trainer and consultant with the Nebraska Safety Council, Rick Voelker noted how returning people back to the office is more than a major HR issue. “In reality, it is a massive safety concern,” he said. There are, for inSvendsen stance, individuals who formerly worked with nine other people on an assembly line. Now, there may be five people on the line — doing additional functions they formerly weren’t tasked with doing. On top of that, they’re working longer hours to get product out the door. “After a while, complacency or fatigue starts to set in,” he said. “Either they are constantly feeling like they’re running behind or speeding through the process … And, when you’re tired
Caitlin Orth, corporate programming coordinator for Madonna’s Fit For Work. you make mistakes. The next thing you know, situation to a piece of equipment; if an already employees are getting injured.” weak piece of equipment is stressed, that stress Voelker, whose expertise spans personal “always wins in the end,” he said. self-defense and firearms training, indicated the The same is true of a person’s psychological present environment is a breeding ground for state. stress and mental health issues. He likens the “There has been a rash of active shooters
meetings change the world. we’re ready when you are. a national & regional powerhouse in meetings & events.
contact info@planitincevents.com for more information on our virtual, hybrid & in-person event services.
when people started coming back to work,” he said. “People were spending a lot of time physically and emotionally separated from other people. They weren’t getting those emotional connections. And you’re starting to see people lash out.” Voelker encourages employers to watch for signs outside of employers’ “baselines” (normal behavior and personality). Take a vested interest and treat these changes seriously. Something as simple as asking how an employee is doing can make a difference. Additionally, this is also where employee assistance programs come into play. Anderson “The [pandemic] has brought the thought process of individual mortality into the workplace,” he said. “Prior to the pandemic, people didn’t think about the common flu or common cold. Now, that is very much on the forefront of our minds.” As the workplace is increasingly enmeshed with the homeplace, Voelker also referenced the notion of “total worker health,” and balancing safety with production (and with quality). “Safety rules may be bent to get product out of the door,” he said. “But too much of a focus on safety means that your work never gets done.” Safety Manager Paul Jay said the key tenets behind Darland Construction Co.’s safety program/culture include: “Safety is a way of life,” “Safety is knowledge in action” and “Safety is attitude driven.” Communication has played a major role throughout the pandemic. “The pandemic created a ‘distancing’ on different levels,” Jay said. “Our adapting reaction was that we improved how we communicated safety across our company. Slightly more detail. I think all of us impacted by the pandemic experienced that, adapting the communication process in one form or another.” Like his safety peers, Jay said he enjoys and appreciates the forensic data, inspections, investigations, procedures, regulations and other “hard elements” of safety. “Safety ‘success’ has so many types of internal and external factors,” he said. “For me, in simple terms, safety is a sincere, personable, and educational approach of creating a safe work environment, safe behaviors and consistency. ‘Success’ is that endless pursuit of those things Continued on page 26.
Focus on Safety — inside MAY 28, 2021
THE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER OF GREATER OMAHA, LINCOLN AND COUNCIL BLUFFS
THIS WEEK ’S ISSUE:
$2.00
VOL. 47 NO. 22
Monolithic Brewing owners driven by intuition in filling neighborhood niche by Richard D. Brown
K Possible Solutions give families, educators new tools to engage with children. – Page 2
40
40 er d Un
Hunt builds career through start of DayCloud Studios. – Page 4
n utio trib s i , D ing tion ous orta areh p s W Tran &
Effects of pandemic ripples through industry as need for talent, solutions remains. – Page 5
Founders Todd Hartung and Derek Richards credit their intuition about craft beers and their passion toward filling a northwest Omaha neighborhood niche with a locally-owned brewery with getting Monolithic Brewing, their nine-month old venture off the ground. With the help of head brewer Shane Costello, the entrepreneurial trio is aiming to differentiate their business from the more than 50 craft breweries operating in the state. Monolithic Brewing, with about a dozen employees, has remodeled 5,050 square feet of indoor space at 4915 N. 120th St. with 80 seats and an outdoor patio that seats 30 near a small body of water they have dubbed Monolithic Pond. “We feel comfortable with our concept and the opportunity here in northwest Omaha,” said Richards, who holds a culinary degree from Colorado Institute of Art. Hartung, an Omaha native who started his career almost 20 years ago at the 132nd Street & West Maple Road Dairy Queen and became Continued on page 9.
Co-founder Todd Hartung … A combination of a neighborhood focus and the popularity of craft brewing locally has proven successful for the brewery.
Pawlytics redefining how animal welfare industry manages data for pet health by Michelle Leach
From its headquarters in Lincoln, Pawlytics is redefining the way that animal rescues, shelters, and other animal welfare organizations manage everything from their volunteers to the foster parents that welcome these pets into their homes. Yet, the next chapter in their rapid global growth story, through the pandemic no less, has implications for everything from developing nutritious foods that support the longer lives of all pets,
to providing invaluable insights into companion animal diseases. This is the power of pet health record-derived data. “One of the bigger surprises for us was how much of a need there was in other countries and from organizations that bring in dogs from other countries,” said founder and CEO Lizz Whitacre. Customers now span all states and and nine or 10 counties, including Continued on page 9. From left, Head of Production Zach Wallinger and Producer and Director Dan Schneider … The video production company has seen steady growth as the demand for video content is high.
Omaha-based Motion Content House builds national reach with video content by Brooke Strickland
Founder and CEO Lizz Whitacre … Recent $500,000 investment to extend market reach, build upon global traction; aggregation/ unification of pet records to drive innovations in companion animal care, health.
People and places are coming alive on the screen thanks to the creatives behind the camera at Motion Content House. Headquartered in Omaha and operated by two Nebraska natives, the company was founded in 2008 by Producer and Director Dan Schneider. Three years later, Zach Wallinger joined the company as the head of produc-
tion and in just two years, the team became official business partners and a unified force to be reckoned with. In the last 10 years, they have produced over 6,500 videos for hundreds of clients in 31 states and in countries abroad. Motion Content House is a content creation agency that specializes in high-end video Continued on page 8.