In today’s work environment, many management teams need some guidance on determining if an unsafe act warrants re-training, accountability, or it was a system-induced error. Here is a simple flow chart that can help establish what type of action could be called for based on the facts from the investigation…. Membership Required You must be...
Let the official record show… the term “just culture” originated in 1990’s from none other than Dr. James Reason. So all of these consultants using LinkedIn as their marketing platform, decrying a “just culture” is nothing new! Most of us have been simply managing our safety and health efforts with the WORKERS who do the…...
Leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin; neither can be realized without the other. Leaders create and manage the culture in their organizations by maintaining safety as a VALUE, communicating their safety expectations to the workers, setting the standard for safety through actions, not talk (walk the talk), and leading needed change…...
As more facts are coming to light regarding the runway incursion incident at JFK on January 13, 2023, it appears that a “safety system” used by ground controllers may have saved the day. In the NTSB’s preliminary report on the incident, it is stated: The ASDE-X alerted the JFK ATC tower to the conflict, and…...
I will never understand why/how a location identifies a hazard, in this case, OSHA identified it, failed to take that learning, and did NOT APPLY it across the business where that hazard is present. In this case, a federal workplace safety investigation at a cattle processing plant – now cited seven times by inspectors for…...
OSHA determined that the employer of a 25-year-old welder – who suffered fatal injuries in an explosion in July 2022 – could have prevented the tragedy by following federal workplace safety standards. OSHA learned the explosion occurred during welding operations while the work crew replaced old metal tanks with fiberglass ones at a saltwater disposal…...
This case is before the Commission on remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Administrative Law Judge Keith E. Bell affirmed a citation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alleging that pallets of merchandise kept on racks at a distribution center were “stored in tiers” but not “blocked…...
If your management is only reactive to an accident, it is probably a built-in response because all the safety metrics are reactionary as well. When the sole safety metric is an injury rate, events that do not impact that injury rate do not garner a management response simply because they did not move the needle…...
This week OSHA published the Compliance Directive for Region IV’s Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for Safety Hazards in Auto Parts Industry – NAICS 3363XX (Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing). Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that in 2021 the auto parts supplier industry had higher injury and illness rates – 3.3 per 100…...
A worker died of acute hydrogen sulfide (H2S) poisoning while responding to an alarming water pump involved in the process of extracting crude oil and natural gas. The worker was alone in the pump house, attempting to close process valves to isolate the pump. The pump unexpectedly energized either before the worker’s arrival or during…...
The Respondent operates a frozen poultry storage facility. The Facility is located within several hundred feet of residences. Respondent uses 15,900 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in a refrigeration “process,” as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3, in a system of pipes and vessels at the facility (the “Process”). On June 6, 2019, EPA inspectors visited…...
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) establishes requirements for federal, state, and local governments, Indian tribes, and industry regarding emergency planning and reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals. Individual facilities are required to conduct emergency planning with state and local emergency planning committees, report accidental releases to the proper authorities, and report annually…...
