When I accepted my first job, there were no cell phones, the top-of-the-line personal computer was an IBM 286, Apple II was cool and e-mail was reserved for universities conducting research. We ordered from a Sears catalog by phone and waited 3 to 6 weeks for delivery.
Today, we live in a different world. It is an ever-growing electronically enabled society. We use credit cards, buy books on the Internet, reserve plane tickets on airline websites, get money from ATMs and find jobs on Monster. We send e-mails, texts and instant messages, fill prescriptions online and pay bills electronically. We create Facebook accounts and chronicle our life activities for the world to see.
These conveniences generate data—lots and lots of data. In the past, we didn't leave behind such an electronic trail. We assumed anonymity and privacy. No more. Today, we are constantly tagged, monitored, studied, sorted and tracked by a host of companies both private and public.
As Robert O'Harrow Jr. (Washington Post reporter) details in his book, No Place to Hide, it is worse than we could have ever imagined. The author makes it clear that Americans need to think seriously about these issues now, before it is too late.
The author shows a world replete with seemingly innocuous private businesses, government agencies and software programs with such obscure names as ChoicePoint, Acxiom, MATRIX, DARPA, Seisint, HOLe and NORA. Behind the scenes, these institutions and technologies are compiling information. They are collecting our names, addresses, Social Security numbers, income, purchases, parking tickets, web browsing habits, e-mail/text correspondence, cell phone activity, drug prescriptions . . . the list appears endless. I remember when a paper shredder for bank statements was sufficient. Too bad there's no electronic shredder. Computers have made possible what was barely science fiction as little as 20 years ago. And you thought HAL 9000 was dangerous in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
How do they get all this information? We give it to them freely in everything we do. Think about that the next time you update your Facebook account. Over the past several years, with the help of increasingly sophisticated computing systems and advances in artificial intelligence, these institutions and organizations have accumulated billions of data points, which they then sell to each other and to the government. As O'Harrow says, "personal data has become a commodity that is bought and sold essentially like sow bellies." Further, the author quotes a Seisint brochure that touts the MATRIX system: "When enough seemingly insignificant data [are] analyzed against billions of data elements, the invisible become visible." Conversely, the author is making the largely invisible information industry and its workings more visible to the consumers whose information feeds its databases and profits.
Why do these companies and agencies do this? By gathering and sharing such data, they protect you from identity theft and credit card fraud, enable marketers to offer you precisely the right products to satisfy your tastes and needs, locate missing children, help police catch criminals and generally provide a safer society.
But there's a sinister side. In this chilling narrative, which reads almost like a spy novel, O'Harrow identifies the risks and vividly illustrates them with powerful real-life stories about the use of people's information gone wrong.
First, there is the simple risk of mistake. The data in these systems are full of errors and noise—wrong information. As a result, individuals are denied insurance, credit, employment, the right to board an airplane, and even the right to vote when the system generates inaccurate information. And, as the author demonstrates, correcting the record can be a nightmare. For example, the system says you aren't eligible to vote because you are a felon. Good luck trying to fix that on election day.
Second, there is the risk of public disclosure. People incorrectly assume their information is private—only available to the company that asked for it to approve a credit application or buy a house. But hackers can easily capture the information and use it to steal. According to O'Harrow, the Federal Trade Commission reports that in a typical year, 10 million Americans are victims of identity theft, resulting in bounced checks, loan denials, harassment from debt collectors, cancelled insurance and false accusations of criminal conduct.
The third risk is most disturbing. The government can use this information to suppress dissent and impose conformity, a la George Orwell's 1984, O'Harrow warns. In the 1990s, this technology was developed to enable marketers to target and profile consumers. After Sept. 11, 2001, federal agencies aggressively sought access to these databases, and the USA Patriot Act authorized a wide range of previously restricted surveillance and data-gathering activities.
Finally, the author warns that such massive invasion of privacy may well alter the fabric of society. Once we understand that our actions are being tracked, will we retain our essential sense of individual autonomy and personal dignity? Is this the beginning of the 1984 world? Is "Big Brother" really watching us?
For more information on the topic, check out the author's website at www.noplacetohide.net. It is a good primer for anyone interested in learning about information collected and how it may be used. HAL, open the pod bay door. HAL, OPEN THE POD BAY DOOR!
Mark Hansen, P.E., CSP, CPE
Irving, TX
ProAct Safety's Terry Mathis and Shawn Galloway have published their book, STEPS to Safety Culture Excellence. STEPS is an acronym for "Strategic Targets for Excellent Performance in Safety," the cornerstone of the book's message that emphasizes building capabilities into an organization's culture that allow for continuous incremental and transformational improvement.
"In the safety world, the ultimate goal is an excellent journey, not an excellent destination," says Mathis about the difference between this book and others on organizational safety. "Excellence is something that is practiced every day; it's not something you can simply attain."
According to Mathis, the formula for excellence includes building capabilities while controlling the climate of the organization to encourage maximum growth. Nurturing a safety excellence environment, he says, involves creating the perfect conditions to allow safety programs to reach their full potential.
"The STEPS methodology includes learning how to identify, solve and prioritize safety problems proactively," says Galloway. "This book provides a methodology proven to produce results that will challenge what the industry currently knows about safety strategy and how we carry out initiatives to improve performance and culture."
Learn more at www.proactsafety.com.
Funded in part by the ASSE Foundation/Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety research fellowship program, Tzurei Chen and Li-Shan Chou conducted a research study to assess the feasibility of using biomechanical measures of gait imbalance to prospectively predict a fall in community dwelling elderly adults. The study results provide information to help clinicians identify elderly adults with higher risk of falling to improve preventive interventions. Read a research summary at www.asse.org/psextra.
In 2009, NIOSH and partners initiated the Global Road Safety at Work project to demonstrate the injury reduction and economic benefit of workplace initiatives to prevent road traffic injuries among workers in the U.S. and around the world. As a follow-up to that project, several organizations including Nestlé, Zurich and Interactive Driving Systems partnered to organize an interactive stakeholder event on work-related road safety in Ghana. The groups have published reports, presentations and other documents from the event at www.virtualriskmanager.net/nestleghana.
The workshop aimed to:
In addition, the NIOSH Global Road Safety at Work project features an online library, which houses more than 200 materials from around the world that provide guidance for workers, employers and policy makers to improve worker safety on the road. To access the library, visit www.roadsafetyatwork.org.
Predictive Solutions Corp. has released a free white paper, "Nate Silver, Billy Beane and Alex Trebek: Making the Case for Predictive Analytics in Workplace Safety." According to the firm, the paper is a resource for those who want to learn how leading safety professionals are making the case for employing predictive models in their workplace safety programs. It reveals dramatic results realized by companies that employ the practice within their safety functions.
"Some companies have reduced their injury rates by more than 90% using advanced and predictive analytics," says Predictive Solutions' Griffin Schultz. "Whether in pursuit of improved financial results, or the ability to ensure that every employee goes home safe every day, predictive analytics should be considered as part of a 21st century, world-class safety program."
The white paper summarizes research conducted by teams from Predictive Solutions and Carnegie Mellon University. It explains that advanced and predictive analytics do not replace safety professionals, but rather extend their knowledge, increase their analysis power and help direct the use of their scarce resources.
Download the document at www.predictivesolutions.com/making-the-case-for-predictive-analytics-in-workplace-safety.
ASSE has published the 4th edition of Safety Engineering. This practical, solutions-driven reference has been completely revised and updated to reflect many of today's issues in safety. In addition to thoroughly updating and revising the wide range of topics that are fundamental to the safety profession, this edition features many new topics, including a national safety initiative; a global emphasis on safety; new focus on human error; the case for business safety; and safety through design. Mroszczyk authored the new chapter, "Prevention Through Design," which presents best practices in hazard analysis for safe designs, risk assessment and engineering controls. These principles are discussed in his analysis of new case studies.
Other topics include approaches to safety; standards and legislation; protective equipment; environmental controls; egress and life safety; noise control; radiation, explosion, tools and machine controls; and principles of risk assessment and machine safeguarding.
For more information, visit www.asse.org/publications/new_books.php.
2012-13 ASSE President Richard A. Pollock, CSP
The latest news from the SH&E world
Certifying Fall Protection Equipment
Information privacy, safety culture, Foundation research
Sustaining Worker Safety
BCSP's Treasa Turnbeaugh
Wonders of Space
A collection of safety photos featured each month in PS.
