It is that time of year again… these heaters can become a serious hazard in the workplace. And each year I get emails asking for help in controlling their use. And as you know, I love to use safety standards that may not be legally applicable but provide excellent guidance to improve safety. For those […]
At 11:45 a.m. on May 16, 2022, an employee was preparing to pump fuel into a pump station at an oil and gas site. He was holding the fuel pump and walking towards the fuel tank, when he tripped and inadvertently squeezed the pump’s handle, releasing diesel fuel. When the diesel contacted the pump manifold,
At 12:00 a.m. on June 16, 2022, Employee #1 and a coworker were filling train cars with soybeans. Both employees entered the grain bin from the top entry door to investigate why the soybeans were not flowing through the bottom gates of the bin. While inside, Employee #1 was engulfed by the soybeans and the
At 10:30 a.m. on June 15, 2022, an employee was MIG welding nipples onto the top of a fuel tank truck. The purpose of the nipples was to facilitate a steam cleaning process for the tank, and the work was being performed in an indoor bay of a building. The employee was welding when the
On June 27, 2022, an employee was flushing a chlorine dioxide pump for maintenance. He inhaled the chlorine dioxide when it escaped. The employee was rushed to the hospital and later died.
Very unfortunate… we see a lot of accident investigations like this. Regardless of what you may see/read on LinkedIn, root cause analysis tools are a MUST have in any SMS, as well as having TRAINED/COMPETENT personnel using those tools. In my 30+ years, I have come to learn that the RCCA element of an SMS
If you can tell, I was at a flammable liquids processing facility last week for an introductory visit. It did not go well as we could not agree on basic compliance measures and RAGAGEP practices associated with PSM-covered and non-covered processes. One of the major pushbacks I got was their use of some ancient, non-nameplated
We talk a lot about flanged and welded connections but not so much about threaded connections. This is mainly based on my limited experience with threaded connections used in HAZMAT processes. But one thing I did learn about threaded connections is a MAJOR prohibition for threaded connections @ vessels when the piping/vessel will contain flammable
Sorry I am late posting these, but here are the latest Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) changes. And there are a lot of them; listed based on the color of their section in the guidebook:
Respondent is the owner and operator of five (5) facilities as that term is defined in section 112(a)(9) of the CAA, and within the meaning of section 112(r) of the CAA and section 313 of EPCRA. EPA conducted inspections of the facilities on the following dates to determine Respondent’s compliance with section 112(r) of the
I recently came across this depiction of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) management model related to a Safety Management System. It is from our safety friends across the pond. Check it out, as well as their complete publication on the topic…
Maybe I’m just old school, but is it just too much to ask for: a well-written safety procedure, one that is written and analyzed with a safety pro and the worker(s) who do the actual work, that management will fully support the procedures everyday-everytime, including on holidays that fall on a Sunday, and employees will
