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Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
What Comes After the Storm: Compassionate Recovery and Business Resilience Strategies
When disaster strikes, preparedness often takes center stage, but what happens after the crisis passes? Recovering from a disruptive event is more than restoring power or reopening your doors. It's about caring for your people, rebuilding operations, and creating lasting resilience for the future. In our recent webinar, 'Disaster Recovery & Resilience: What to Do After the Crisis,' Antea Group experts Alizabeth Aramowicz Smith, Environment, Health & Safety Practice Leader; Tracy Taszarek, Senior Consultant; and John Ruksenas, Senior Manager; led a powerful discussion exploring recovery strategies through the lens of Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), business continuity planning, and trauma-informed leadership. Below are four essential takeaways to help your organization not only recover but grow stronger after a crisis. Find the full webinar here: Watch On-Demand 1. Rethink Investigations with HOP Principles In the wake of disaster, organizations are under pressure to respond quickly, especially when incidents involve injuries or operational breakdowns. Traditional investigation tools like the Five Whys often miss the bigger picture, leading to oversimplified conclusions and misplaced blame. Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) reframes how we investigate. It encourages us to understand why an employee made a decision based on their environment and pressures, rather than assuming they failed to follow procedure. An example discussed during the webinar shared how HOP-enabled interviews, conducted after a tornado, revealed critical system failures that would have been missed by traditional approaches. By prioritizing psychological safety and empathy, an organization can learn more, respond better, and strengthen its safety systems. Key takeaway: In times of crisis, shift your focus from blaming individuals to learning from the event to improve the system. Train your teams in HOP principles before an event occurs. 2. Activate Your Business Continuity Plan—Early Statistics show that 40% of businesses without a continuity plan never reopen after a disaster. A well-designed Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is your roadmap to recovery, and it must be more than a static document. Using the tornado example scenario mentioned earlier, here are some steps leaders should take immediately following an event: gather updates from the scene, assess employee safety and infrastructure, coordinate emergency communications, and identify critical functions that must be restored first (e.g., payroll, IT, procurement). Common pitfalls include failing to escalate quickly, not testing plans, or struggling with outdated contact lists and contractual agreements. Proactive planning, prepared with regular walkthroughs, desktop simulations, and role-play exercises, helps mitigate these gaps. Key takeaway: Act quickly and don't wait to activate your BCP. Regularly test it through integrated emergency drills and full recovery simulations. The more you train, whether through desktop or role-play, the more confident and capable your response will be. 3. Turn Recovery into Continuous Improvement Recovery is not the final step; it's the beginning of building back better. Every incident, no matter how severe, is a learning opportunity. Post-disaster debriefs should include more than logistics. They must evaluate what worked, what didn't, and what needs to change. This includes reassessing your maximum tolerable outages, reviewing contractor performance, validating contact info, and refining communications strategies. One of the most overlooked reasons recovery plans fail? They're never tested under pressure. Exercises like scenario-based simulations and post-exercise reviews give your teams the chance to build muscle memory—so they know how to respond when it really counts. Key takeaway: Don't file away your recovery plan once the crisis passes. Update it based on rea l-world lessons and stress-test it regularly to build resilience over time. 4. Make Compassionate Recovery Part of Your Safety Culture After a disaster, one of the most powerful things a leader can do is acknowledge the emotional toll on employees. A serious injury, or the loss of a colleague, can leave teams grieving, disoriented, and fearful. A trauma-informed recovery approach prioritizes people. It includes access to grief counseling or Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), compassionate communication from leadership, flexible time-off policies, and thoughtful reintegration of staff into operations. It also means pausing—not pushing—when employees need space to process. A leadership team's empathetic response to a tragic employee fatality, such as bringing in counselors, delaying the restart of operations, and holding a remembrance event, can have a profound and lasting impact on workforce trust and morale. These actions show employees that their well-being is a priority, helping to strengthen safety culture and build long-term resilience. Key takeaway: How you respond in the aftermath of a crisis will define your safety culture. A human-centered approach builds not just recovery but long-term loyalty and resilience. Frequently Asked Questions Q: How can we build HOP principles into recovery exercises? A: Integrate emotional scenarios into your desktop or live simulations, such as an injury or structural damage, so teams can practice asking better, more empathetic questions and avoid falling back into blame-based patterns. Q: What makes a good debrief after a crisis? A: Look beyond whether the 'plan' was followed. Review if vendors met expectations, if communication tools worked, and if decisions were made quickly enough. In today's hybrid work environment, evaluating your communication plan is critical—were messages timely, accurate, and received by the right people to enable decision-making? Also focus on key metrics like restoration time, data loss, and leadership response to truly gauge effectiveness. Q: How can I ensure our business continuity plan will actually work? A: Test it. Start with a simple walkthrough, then evolve into full scenario simulations. Review contracts, contact details, and access to backup locations or systems. Ensure your leaders know how and when to activate the plan. Looking Ahead True disaster recovery goes beyond patching holes. It's about rebuilding with purpose and listening to your employees, testing your systems, and learning with humility. By integrating HOP principles, activating and updating your continuity plans, and leading with compassion, your organization can emerge from crisis not just operational, but stronger, safer, and more united than ever. Need help building a resilient recovery plan or training your leaders in HOP? Reach out today! We're here to support your people and your process. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Antea Group
Associated Press
08-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Key Takeaways From the EHSxRetail Peer Industry Roundtable Event
Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting our annual EHSxRetail event that brought together clients to discuss critical topics in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) within the retail industry. The EHSxRetail peer industry roundtable event is a unique opportunity for education, learning, benchmarking, and networking. Here are some key topics and takeaways from this year's event. Stress Testing EHS Programs In the current geopolitical climate, many retailers are finding it challenging to balance lean operational budgets with proactive program improvement. Traditional tools like incident reporting metrics and audits can be lagging indicators and difficult to implement across numerous stores. Some retailers have turned to surveys to anticipate potential issues, which has the added benefit of engaging employees and making them feel heard. Others have found ways to integrate EHS directly into business operations. Occupational Health and Psychosocial Safety One of the major topics discussed was occupational health and psychosocial safety. With new regulatory requirements driving a stronger emphasis on mental health, the conversation highlighted the challenges of defining terms like 'high workload' and the division of responsibilities between EHS and HR. Some retailers have implemented mental health and wellness programs, including mental health first aid, discounted gym memberships, and incentives for healthy activities, with varying degrees of success. Exploring multiple options to find the best fit for your organization is crucial. Workplace Violence Implementation Challenges Workplace violence is a significant concern in retail, where interactions with aggressive customers are becoming routine, and crisis events are becoming more common. The discussion around this sensitive topic highlighted the implementation challenges of workplace violence programs. Effective training is crucial for ensuring employee safety. However, desktop training is not always enough to override our natural fight-or-flight response and conducting practice drills can be too intense. While only California and New York currently require workplace violence programs, other states are actively working on addressing this issue. Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) The event also shed light on the success stories of Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) initiatives. HOP is a risk-based operating philosophy that recognizes human error as part of the human condition and emphasizes system-level solutions. Some attendees have seen significant success at their companies by implementing components of HOP into their company's existing safety program. One of the key elements is to ask more questions and dig deeper into the root cause, with resources like the culpability matrix available to support this philosophy. Conclusion Attending the EHSxRetail peer industry roundtable event was an enriching experience. The event highlighted the importance of addressing both physical and mental health in the workplace, the challenges of implementing effective workplace violence programs, and the benefits of adopting HOP principles. As we continue to navigate the complex world of EHS in retail, we appreciate the unique perspectives shared by all the EHSxRetail participants and look forward to continuing the conversation. Learn more about EHSxRetail and stay tuned for future events here! Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Antea Group
Reuters
04-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Firstunion Launches World's First Puff-to-Heat Product, PTH MASTER, Ushering in a New Era of Heated Tobacco
JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 4, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- On May 30, 2025, Firstunion, opens new tab's premium technology brand, PTH, opens new tab, officially launched the world's first mass-produced Puff-to-Heat product—PTH MASTER—in Jakarta, Indonesia. Equipped with multiple industry-first technologies, PTH MASTER resolves long-standing pain points associated with traditional heated tobacco products, such as preheating requirements and inconsistent flavor, offering consumers a more convenient, consistent, and harm-reducing experience. Traditional heated tobacco products typically require 15–30 seconds of preheating and cannot pause once activated, significantly limiting user experience. PTH MASTER employs a proprietary Distributed Hexa-Core Thermal Control System, using precise point-to-point heating applied directly to individual tobacco sheets. This achieves true Puff-to-Heat functionality without any preheating, allowing users to start and stop freely. Combined with HOP™ Honeycomb-Engineered Tobacco, this technology ensures peak flavor from the first puff to the last by evenly and consistently heating only the targeted tobacco area, completely addressing the traditional issue of inconsistent flavor. PTH MASTER introduces three key technological breakthroughs, fundamentally reshaping the industry: This triple-technology integration resolves the fundamental issues of preheating delays and declining flavor consistency. 'With PTH MASTER, we set out to redefine what heated tobacco can offer. This new puff-to-heat system eliminates preheating and delivers consistent flavor from the first puff, making the entire experience simpler, smoother, and more intuitive. It reflects our belief that real innovation starts with understanding how people live—and designing technology that fits seamlessly into their lives,' said Jack Kuai, product lead of PTH Master. Built upon extensive consumer research, PTH MASTER redefines the user experience with a "zero-compromise design philosophy." It features dual intelligent modes—Ultra (6 strong puffs) and Eco (12 gradual puffs)—to accommodate diverse lifestyle scenarios, from fast-paced business interactions to relaxed leisure moments. Its ultra-thin micro tobacco chamber, the Tiangong Chamber, is less than 9mm thick, supporting one-handed operation while minimizing accidental activation. In terms of interaction, PTH MASTER incorporates a 0.71-inch Chrono Halo Display and over ten linear-motor tactile feedback patterns, providing real-time information such as battery status and puff count, along with intuitive operation guidance. Crafted from 100% renewable aluminum alloy and medical-grade ceramic mouthpieces, it combines premium feel with sustainability. In terms of harm reduction, PTH MASTER significantly decreases harmful emissions through precise temperature control and optimized materials. Laboratory testing confirms that heating temperatures remain strictly below 350°C, preventing excessive harmful substance formation. Compared with conventional cigarettes, PTH MASTER achieves an average comprehensive harm reduction rate exceeding 97% [1]. Each HOP tobacco sheet contains just 120mg of tobacco, a 60% reduction compared to traditional reconstituted tobacco sheets, yet still delivers excellent first-puff satisfaction and consistent flavor. Additionally, a zero-nicotine version is available for consumers seeking non-addictive alternatives. In appearance, PTH MASTER derives its color inspiration from Earth's 4.6-billion-year evolutionary palette, offered in three series—Master, Ultimate, and Premium—with seven color options: Master Edition Royal Vermilion; Ultimate Edition Dune White and Basalt Black; Premium Edition Misty Gray, Rosewood Brown, Dai Emerald, and Starry Blue, harmoniously blending natural beauty and advanced technology. For flavor variety, HOP offers innovative options such as Classic Tobacco, Strong Menthol, Light Menthol, Blueberry Menthol, Clove, and zero-nicotine variants like Classic Tobacco and Blueberry Menthol. Tobacco is sourced from the world's premier regions, aged 540–720 days for optimal maturity. Master perfumers with over 20 years of experience employ exclusive blending techniques to integrate tobacco and natural essences, fully preserving the core aromatic profile and ensuring precise flavor replication. Firstunion has specialized in heated tobacco technology for over a decade, holding more than 2,000 related patents (including over 200 international PCT patents) by Q1 2025. PTH MASTER is the culmination of efforts by a global interdisciplinary team comprising over 100 experts from materials science, structural engineering, electronics, software, tobacco science, industrial design, and automation. The team spent over three years developing hundreds of prototypes and conducting thousands of tests, finally achieving breakthroughs in instant heating and consistent flavor output, redefining industry technology standards. As the world's first mass-produced Puff-to-Heat product, PTH has filed over 50 patent families. Leveraging Firstunion's seven global laboratories, six intelligent manufacturing bases, and extensive R\&D capabilities, PTH aims to drive technological advancements, ushering the industry into the 'no preheating' era. Notes About PTH Established in 2025, PTH is the world's first brand to launch Puff-to-Heat tobacco products. Its revolutionary heated tobacco product, PTH MASTER, has over 50 patent families registered across multiple countries. As Firstunion's new premium brand, PTH embodies the group's relentless pursuit of next-generation tobacco technology. Crafted by an elite team of industry masters, it combines cutting-edge technology and artistic aesthetics, redefining standards for new tobacco technology. Explore more at opens new tab. About Firstunion Group Firstunion Group, founded in 2004, is a Shenzhen-based leading company in global electronic atomization industry. Firstunion is dedicated to offering one-stop solutions to customers through world-class electronic atomization are honored to partner with over 200 brands across more than 80 countries and regions worldwide. Leveraging our independent research and development capabilities, we have established key technological platforms, including nicotine atomization, non-combustion heating, medical atomization and functional substance atomization. These platforms enable us to offer a diverse range of products, such as atomized electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn (HNB) devices, products for delivering seven leading innovation laboratories and six manufacturing centers strategically located in key domestic and international markets, Firstunion has earned numerous international management system certifications and qualifications. Additionally, our products have received several prestigious international design more information, visit Media Contact Suki Xu pr@ ### SOURCE: Firstunion Group Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire See release on EZ Newswire
Metro
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Aaron's mental health crisis forces John into a major sacrifice in Emmerdale
John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) is once again more than happy to take the role of local hero in Emmerdale, as he acts fast when his partner Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) experiences mental health problems. We know by now that John isn't your standard soap villain. The character has a god complex and orchestrates situations that he knows he can fix, so he looks like an amazing person to everyone watching him afterwards. While some of his plans have worked, others haven't. John attempted to help Nate (Jurell Carter) last year but he reacted badly to the medication administered to him. It meant Nate died, prompting John to dispose of his body in the lake. A few weeks ago, John tried to get revenge on latest enemy Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) by attacking him with a plank of wood. However, John got completely the wrong man and ended up knocking Liam (Jonny McPherson) out instead. In upcoming episodes, John is absolutely loving the attention from the villagers for his heroism award. However, when he gets word that Aaron is struggling with his mental health, he prioritises his partner's welfare over attending the event. When Vic (Isabel Hodgins) and Tracy (Amy Walsh) learn that John missed the event, they decide to hold another celebration in the pub. It makes up for the fact he missed the real award ceremony, and boosts his ego even more. In the week, the lads gather at HOP for John and Aaron's stag do. As the first round of paintballing gets underway, Mack remains determined to try and thwart John. John ends up hot on Mackenzie's tail though, and sneaks off in pursuit of his prey. More Trending But how much danger is Mack in? 'The thing is with John, he obviously killed Nate but he didn't do it intentionally', actor Lawrence Robb said. 'Could he go all the way with Mackenzie? I absolutely do think so. If John were to fall into that kind of spiral of being a serial killer, Mackenzie would be right at the top of that list. So on that basis, Mackenzie's life is in jeopardy.' View More » He added: 'I don't think Mackenzie has seen the threat that John is, at this stage, so if there is a warning from John it's not heeded by Mackenzie. If anything, it spurs him on. I don't think anybody really knows how dangerous John is. If Mackenzie did, I think he would probably tread more carefully.' MORE: 20 Emmerdale pictures reveal a new arrival and John's latest deadly plot MORE: Emmerdale boss confirms 'life-changing' Mack and Aaron twist MORE: Emmerdale boss confirms huge Aidan shocker as John's secrets explode
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two-day trash clean-up efforts in Dorchester Park starting April 3
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Colorado Springs Police Department's (CSPD) Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) and several other organizations will participate in a joint effort to clean up large amounts of trash throughout the city. The coordinated two-day clean-up effort will take place Thursday and Friday, April 3 and 4. According to CSPD HOT team Sergeant Olav Chaney, they will focus on the Greenway Midland Trails and Dorchester Park near Downtown. Throughout the last week of March, the HOT team has been contacting members of the homeless community and notifying them of the efforts. 'We have to look out for our community members,' Chaney said. 'Each time we contact these folks, we always offer the same resource or try to convince them to go in and get the help they need.' Homeless Outreach Groups such as the Colorado Springs Fire Department's (CSFD) Homeless Outreach Program (HOP), Colorado Springs Rescue Mission, Homeward Pikes Peak, and Serenity Recovery Connection will be working alongside clean-up crews to help with offering shelter and resources to those experiencing homelessness. The larger coordinated effort is a collaborative partnership with other city entities, including parks, utilities, stormwater, as well as community stakeholders like the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPS), and Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
