Safety Net | January 2026 by The Austin Company

THE SAFETY NET CO N SU LT

JANUARY 2026

•

DESIGN

•

ENGINEER

IT’S ALWAYS SAFETY FIRST. •

CONSTRUCT

VOLUME 20 ISSUE 01

HOW TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

SAFETY FIRST. Austin employees have worked 9,169,782 hours without a Lost Time Accident through 12/2025.

CONTENTS

HOW TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS (JHA)

THE POWER TO PREVENT SERIOUS INJURIES AND FATALITIES

TOOLBOX TALKS: FOOD SAFETY AT WORK AND AT HOME

TABLE OF

SAFETY NET | JANUARY 2026

HOW TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS The Happiness Doctor | December 27, 2022 It’s that time of year when a majority of us will set a

Subliminal book), and your subconscious mind operates

New Year’s resolution hoping to become a better

by using mental shortcuts. It’s instinctual,instantaneous,

version of ourselves in the new year. That means it’s

quick, and automatic. So, in any given moment,

also the time of year when most of us will fail. Data

although you want to think that you’re making conscious

suggests that 91% of people who set New Year’s

decisions for how to live your life, you’re actually living

resolutions fall short of keeping them, and in this article

mostly from the automatic, instinctive processes of your

I want to explain why and give you some tips on doing

subconscious mind. This is why we take so much care to

a better job in 2023. As you read, you’ll see that it’s

unweave the habits and beliefs that our subconscious

really not your fault that you haven’t been achieving

mind has in my coaching program, Happy from the

your New Year’s resolutions. Very few of us have been

Inside Out.

taught how to actually work with our minds to help us achieve the goals that we set.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW WHEN SETTING GOALS The most important thing to know when setting goals whether you’re setting them around the new year or at another time of the year is that 95% of your behavior is

And there’s good reason for this. The automatic shortcuts that your subconscious mind uses help you to preserve energy. Preserving energy is great, but what’s not so great is that our brain’s shortcuts can be good ones (i.e., ones that help us achieve goals that are constructive for our lives) or they can be bad ones (i.e., ones that lead us to do things that keep us from achieving constructive goals).

driven by your subconscious mind (Leonard Mlodinow,

WHY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FAIL Now that you know what actually drives your behavior day to day, you can begin to understand why so many New Year’s resolutions fail despite the best of intentions. Here is how it usually goes: 1.

Your conscious self sets up the plan. “This is what I should do…”

Your subconscious self says, “Not so fast. Doing what we’re used to doing is fast, it’s easy, and it’s habitual. There’s no way we’re gonna stop now…”

You realize that your plan to willpower your way to achieving this goal never really stood a chance (more on that here).

91%

of people who set New Year’s resolutions fall short of keeping them

So when you say “I know what I should do… but I don’t

else. Because as they say, “Only wrong things happen

know why I don’t do it,” it’s not nearly as much of a puzzle

automatically. You have to make right things happen.”

as you might think. What’s happening is you haven’t taken

And one of the most impactful ways to make right things

into account how you actually make decisions day to day.

happen is to pay attention to your environment.

You haven’t considered your subconscious mind’s way

Say, for example, you want to consciously work on

of operating in the world. If you want to be successful in

being closer to your family or friends. You might choose

accomplishing your goals, it helps to learn how to work with

to put photos of these people in your living room,

the shortcuts or automatic behaviors that your brain creates

bedroom, or anywhere else you might be reminded

and to help it create more positive and fewer negative ones.

of them even while living your busy life. And you might

If you want to be successful in accomplishing your goals, it

automate cues to do these things, too, like setting a

helps to learn how to work with the shortcuts or automatic

phone alert/alarm or reminder every Saturday or every

behaviors that your brain creates and to help it create more

other weekend to call them.

positive and fewer negative ones.

And if you want to watch less TV (this was a personal

HOW TO GIVE YOURSELF AN EDGE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

goal I had ~10 years ago), you might consider having a TV in a room that’s not the room where you spend most of your time. Or maybe you’d decide to not have

Your inability to successfully keep our New Year’s Resolutions

a TV in your house at all. By taking the TV out of the

in the past was never about you not being good enough

main room of your home (e.g., the living room), you’re

or motivated enough. It was simply a result of the fact that

making not watching TV a much easier choice than it

no one taught you how to make it easier for your brain to

would have been if the TV was in the front and center of

automatically do the things that you want it to do. Let me

your living room.

do that now with three big tips…

If you want to read more books, you might decide

You’ve got to make the thing that you want to do the

to put the TV in a room that’s not the main room in

easiest choice and make distractions or obstacles to it

your home. If the TV is in the front and center in your

more difficult.

home, it’ll likely act as an obstacle to you reading in

One of the most important things we can do that will

the evenings. To get to the book you’d have to first get

help us achieve our goal is to make that goal a much

through the TV. And we often know how that goes...

easier choice than it would be otherwise. Make it such

The same applies to eating healthily. If you want to eat

an easy choice that you can’t possibly choose anything

SAFETY NET | JANUARY 2026

fewer unhealthy snacks, you probably wouldn’t want to

have an unlimited supply of potato chips in your pantry,

Asking “why” at least a couple of times and maybe up

right? And you also probably wouldn’t want your partner to

to ten times will help you get to the deep-rooted reason

bring back a super-sized version of your favorite sweet treat

for your goal. And why this is important is because when

from Costco every weekend… These things would make

our goals are intrinsically motivated (i.e., something I

it really hard for you to accomplish your goal. As you’re

want to do for me, for the sake of my own pleasure and

hopefully beginning to see, your ability to achieve your

fulfillment) we’re far more likely to achieve them than if

goals has much less to do with you and much more to do

they are extrinsically motivated (i.e., something I feel like

with the situation and environment you find yourself in.

I should do). So if you find that you’re setting a goal to

please someone or to get validation from someone in

Be specific and start SMALL.

your life, reconsider the goal. Take ten minutes to reflect

One of the top reasons that our goals typically fail is that

with your eyes closed or in your journal about why this

they are unreasonable. A New Year’s Resolution to lose

is so important to you and see if there is a way to align

15 pounds in a month might be quite unreasonable, for

more with your own heart and your own desires for your

instance, for someone who weighs 150 pounds and has

life. A lot of freedom and a sense of peace awaits on

barely ever exercised, and eating whole foods every day might be an unreasonable goal for someone who is used to eating out most days of the week. A more

the other side. 4.

Set your resolutions from a place of love.

reasonable approach would be to start small, e.g., “I

So often we set our New Year’s resolutions from

want to lose 6 pounds in January” or “I will eat salmon

the space of wanting to improve ourselves and fix

or chicken for dinner with a salad 2x a week.” Not only

something that isn’t quite right, whether it’s something

does this specificity give you a “how” for getting to your

about our behavior, the way we look, or how good we

end goal, it helps to eliminate competing options like

are at something. When we set goals from a place of

the boxed mac & cheese you might have ready to go

wanting to fix or change ourselves because we’re not

and taunting you in your cupboard.

good enough, those goals very rarely last. After all,

Get in touch with the reason why you want to

nobody likes to do what a bully says whether that bully

accomplish your goal. Our reasons for wanting to do the things we do go a long way in impacting our actual behavior. So, I’d say to start by asking yourself “Why do I want to achieve this goal?” And whether you hear yourself think/say “it’ll help me to be in better physical shape” or “it’ll help me to be better employed in my company” or “it’ll help me to get the kind of partner I really want”, again ask “Why?” “Why do I want that? Why do I want to be better employed in my company?”… “Why do I want to be in better physical shape?”… “Why do I want to attract a better partner?”

is inside or outside of your head. And I get it - this isn’t the norm for most of us. A majority of kids are raised with at least some degree of criticism and judgment from the people who raised them who are just trying to get by themselves. But what really works when it comes to keeping our New Year’s resolutions and goals in general is to set them not from a place of wanting to improve what’s not good enough about ourselves but from wanting to love and care for ourselves. So I leave you with this one question: What would your New Year’s resolutions sound like if you made them from a place of love? 5

JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS (JHA) Volume 1 Issue 34 Version B

A Job Hazard Analysis, or JHA, is a way to carefully

• Who or what is at risk if it does go wrong?

study a job before it starts.

• What are other contributing factors?

The purpose is to find hazards before they cause injuries. • Every job has steps, tools, and a specific work environment. A JHA looks at how these things fit together and identifies where the risks are in the job. • The goal of a JHA is simple: identify hazards and then eliminate them or reduce them to a safe level. • By identifying hazards ahead of time, the job can be done safely instead of reacting after something goes wrong.

A JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR JOBS THAT: • Have the potential to cause severe injuries or illness • Could result in a severe accident from a single human error • Are new or have undergone changes in the procedures • Are complex enough to require written instructions

A JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS IS AN EXERCISE IN DETECTIVE WORK. THE GOAL IS TO DISCOVER: • What can go wrong? • Where could it go wrong? • How could it go wrong? • What could happen if something goes wrong?

SAFETY NET | JANUARY 2026

• How likely is it that the hazard will occur? After hazards are identified, the next step is choosing how to control them if they can’t be eliminated. • Not all hazard controls are equal. Some are more effective than others at reducing the risk. • Most jobs require a combination of hazard controls to reduce or eliminate the risks. The job hazard analysis is not just for supervisors or safety managers. Workers play a key role because they know the job best.

ON-THE-JOB RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE: • Helping to identify hazards that will be documented on the JHA • Reporting unsafe conditions or near misses • Following the safe work steps listed in the JHA • Using tools and equipment correctly • Wearing assigned PPE A JHA is not a “one and done” document. Jobs, tools, and work environments change over time. Even if a job stays the same, new hazards may be discovered. • The JHA should be reviewed on a regular basis, and updated if needed. • Updating the job hazard analysis ensures that it stays current and useful.

THE POWER TO PREVENT SERIOUS INJURIES AND FATALITIES Edison Electric Institute | December 2025

Safety is a core value of the electric power sector, and Edison Electric Institute (EEI)members are committed to protecting the safety and health of the workforce, industry contractors, and customers. Over the past 30 years, the industry’s total recordable incident rate (TRIR)—a standard measurement of occupational safety—has decreased substantially. However, in the last decade, the rate of serious injury and fatality (SIF) incidents has plateaued. EEI members have prioritized SIF elimination and

Over the past 30 years, the industry’s total recordable incident rate has decreased substantially.

through collaboration across the industry are implementing a series of actions to achieve this goal through the Power to Prevent SIF Initiative.

PRECURSOR ANALYSIS PROJECT

WHY IS THE INDUSTRY FOCUSED ON SIF?

Leveraging precursor studies by other industries, and a

Contrary to past theory, there is mounting evidence

precursors — reasonably detectable events, conditions,

that the causes of SIFs are different from low-severity

or actions that serve as warning signs of a SIF event —

injuries and that reducing the rate of low-severity injuries

for the electric power sector. EEI’s precursor analysis

may not lead to a corresponding reduction in SIFs. Thus,

protocol is a process of observing an environment and

SIFs must be studied separately from lower-severity

engaging with field personnel prior to beginning work

incidents. From a data availability perspective, SIFs are

to determine if known warning signs of SIF events are

rare and extreme events that, taken in small sample

present. Through a brief discussion with workers and

sizes, do not necessarily represent any meaningful

targeted observations of the work environment, an

pattern or trend. Therefore, individual organizations

observer can help assess if conditions are sufficiently

simply do not have enough data to fuel the learning

safe for work to proceed.

that is needed to eliminate SIFs. Only through shared industry learning can we advance our goal.

vigorous scientific validation process, EEI identified 13

INNOVATIVE SAFETY METRICS

SAFETY CLASSIFICATION AND LEARNING MODEL(SCL)

EEI has developed a suite of tools to provide insight

The SCL model is a method for consistently classifying

monitoring, and management. This system approach

safety incidents and observations. The model defines

incorporates standardized leading indicators, a process

seven incident and observation types utilizing high-

to monitor high-energy hazards with corresponding

energy assessment and the identification of direct

controls, and a lagging indicator that weights injuries by

controls to determine SIF potential. The common

severity. These new metrics place a greater emphasis

incident classification system serves as the foundation

on SIF prevention than existing metrics and will reveal

for shared learning.

trends that enable more strategic discussions.

into the effectiveness of safety programs and enable a more strategic approach to safety measurement,

FOOD SAFETY AT WORK AND AT HOME December 13, 2025

Food safety matters on the jobsite and in

Keep food protected and properly stored.

your home. You often eat in the field, in your

Lunches can spoil quickly in the heat, especially

truck, or near areas with dust or chemicals

foods that contain meat, dairy, or eggs

that can easily get onto your food. Eating

(including mayonnaise). It’s a good idea to

contaminated food, or food that has spoiled,

pack meals that don’t spoil easily, like peanut

can make you uncomfortable, sick, unable to

butter sandwiches, whole fruit, or sealed tuna

work, and may even get you admitted to the

packets. But no matter what you pack, keep

hospital. Taking a few

cold food cold and hot

simple precautions can

food hot. Use an insulated

help you stay healthy

lunch box and ice packs

and safe.

to keep your lunch cold.

Eat in a clean, safe

Store your lunch or cooler

area. OSHA requires eating areas to be

out of the sun. If you bring hot food, keep it in an

separate from areas with

insulated thermos.

hazardous materials.

Clean your hands before

Don’t eat near fuel or

handling food or eating.

chemicals, or inside

One of the biggest

portable toilets. If there’s

causes of food borne

no designated area,

illness on the jobsite is

create one by wiping

eating with dirty hands.

down a surface or laying out a clean towel to

If you can, use clean, potable water and

put your food on. Never drink from hoses, tanks,

soap to wash your hands. If clean water isn’t

or containers that could contain chemicals

available, use hand wipes to wipe off visible

or construction debris. Only drink water that’s

dirt and grease, and then sanitize. Use hand

marked “potable.”

sanitizer that’s at least 60% ethyl alcohol to clean your hands before you eat. Even if your

SAFETY NET | JANUARY 2026

SAFETY REMINDER

When in doubt, throw it out. No meal is worth getting sick over.

hands look clean, wash them anyway. You

pests that can spread disease. Throw out food

can’t see the bacteria you may have picked

garbage and scraps. Put them in covered trash

up from tools, materials, and surfaces.

cans that are emptied daily. Keep trash cans

Handle food properly. Keep food wrapped up

away from eating areas, so pests don’t end up

so dust, cement powder, and other debris can’t

where you eat.

contaminate it. Don’t set food or drinks on work

At home, wash hands and surfaces often.

surfaces. Don’t share utensils or bottles. Throw

Keep raw meats separate from fruits,

away food that looks, smells, or tastes like it

veggies, and ready-to-eat foods to prevent

might be spoiled. Use clean containers to store

cross-contamination. Cook foods to safe

food and wash them out daily.

temperatures. Refrigerate leftovers promptly

Dispose of food waste properly. Scraps, crumbs,

and eat or freeze them within 3 or 4 days.

and wrappers attract insects, rodents, and

Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, not on the counter.