Safety

For those charged with protecting company assets, a couple of recent news items raised red flags about dishonest insiders. Multiple studies underscore the risk from dishonest insiders and found that an important security tactic—the “two-person rule”—isn’t always enough. The research also provide insights into how employees rationalize dishonest behavior.

From 2011 to 2017, 614 workers lost their lives in forklift-related incidents and more than 7,000 nonfatal injuries with days away from work occurred every year. Safety leaders have learned through investigations that accidents often occur even when forklift drivers do everything right.

Jay Mealing is the typical Walmart Cinderella story. He started in the Garden Center as an hourly associate in 1990 at a store in Columbia, South Carolina. Almost 30 years later, he is senior director of global security for Walmart International. Not bad for a country boy from South Carolina. Read his story.

Mindless though most Internet chatter is, paying attention to what is being said online has become critical for retailers today—to protect brands, avert threats, respond to crisis, and improve store operations. Most recently—and dramatically—the imperative was underscored when multiple active shooter plots against retailers were averted after threatening online posts came to light.

There are a lot of challenges that American retailers face these days. Among them is one that continues to impact their bottom line—safety-related lawsuits. This is incredibly frustrating because it is completely preventable if only store-level employees would stick to the rules.

Convenience store cashiers, security guards, overnight stockers, and even some warehouse employees present special security and safety issues that experts say are often overlooked. Here is a comprehensive look at assessing the risks for remote or solitary workers, some technology solutions, and best practices from security leaders and safety experts.

What should retailers be doing to prepare for the next disaster? Coming off a year of devastating weather events in which just one of the many hurricanes was estimated to have cost retailers $700 million, it’s not a surprise that the topic was in focus at the NRF Protect conference in June where executives from Target and Disney Stores shared how they are getting ready for future disaster events.

Over the years, LP Magazine has interviewed a number of executives in the casual and quick-service restaurant industry as well as published contributed articles...

Based on their very nature, flash mob robberies are hard to prevent. But it’s critical that all retailers train their employees to be aware and alert to the possibility, to not engage the mob in any way, to concentrate on remembering descriptions of perpetrators and vehicles, and to call the police as soon as it’s safe. Here are 10 ways to protect employees and customers in a flash mob event.

At a keynote presentation at NRF Protect last month, a panel of industry leaders was shown data that 65 percent of retailers provide active shooter training and was asked—why aren’t we at 100 percent? Check out the 12 core elements that should be in any training program, plus questions you should ask to assess training providers.