In an ammonia refrigeration system, ammonia in a gas state is compressed from the compressor to high-pressure, high-temperature ammonia gas. The compressed gas heats as its pressurised. The hot gas enters an oil separator, where the ammonia gas and compressor oil is separated so that oil is not carried over with the ammonia gas to…...
This is becoming more common these days; I never encountered it in my career at any of my facilities, as it’s not just a matter of sound engineering. The response I usually get during audits, PHAs, Engineering Code Design reviews is… “show me in the code that says I can’t use a hose on the…...
Last month, Federal OSHA issued a three (3) part GDC citation for a Polishing and Sanding Area’s combustible dust system. Specifically OSHA took issue with the Design and Operation of the Combustible Dust Collection system:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
I have written several articles on Fit test Records with QNFT results, exceeding 10,000. I have seen number as high as 500,000. And to be honest I’m not sure why the makers of the QNFT machines even have the ability to record numbers over 10,000, as most of these manufacturers will state anything over 10,000…...
Not meant to be a trick question, but we see this failure often, especially when the facility utilizes “test vans” for their One-Stop safety testing that includes Audiograms for HCP requiremenrts and Fit Testing for the RP program. This applies ONLY to those doing Quantitative Fit Testing (QNFT). If we are doing QNFT, such as…...
Another international brand of cooling towers/evaporative condensers is marketing their product as if it is NOT a Confined Space or a Permit-Required Confined Space. For those who follow my safety rampages, know how this enrages me! As shown by the pictures below, this Cooling Tower is without question a Permit-Required Confined Space (PRCS); however, as…...
I see this all the time… E-stops on Hazardous Materials process located at the point of the expected/intended failure point, such as a loading/unloading station. Many safety pros have experience with E-stops as a safety device for machinery/equipment, in which the E-stop is located at the point of potential entrapment inside the machine/equipment. Even ANSI…...
On September 13, 2024, at 7:31 a.m. Employee #1, a 34-year-old, was working inside a 9-foot-deep sewer manhole in Minnesota. The employee was performing a construction task to cement the end of a pipeline, sealing an old sewer line. The employee was NOT wearing a harness or hooked up to a tripod, and was working…...
On February 16, 2022, at approximately 10:00 a.m., Employee #1, 28, was disconnecting a pipe and failed to release the pressure inside the pipe. When Employee#1 removed the screws from the pipe flange, the flange broke off and struck the employee’s leg resulting in a tibia fracture. The employee was hospitalized for treatment. No OSHA…...
At 1:00 p.m. on December 10, 2024, Employee #1, 28, was using a torch to heat the steel lid of a tank, intending to cut a hole for installing a level indicator. The flammable gas inside the tank ignited when the torch was applied, causing the tank to rupture. The employee’s lanyard was cut during…...
At 6:45 p.m. on December 13, 2024, an employee, 33, working as a laborer for a grain wholesale supplier was opening lids on top of rail cars prior to loading. The employee stepped from the catwalk onto the railcars while they were stationary. He was standing on top of one of the railcars with a…...
I have this debate regularly with facilities where I find “short-threading” on their flanges/manways, etc. This phrase is from an old pipe-fitters manual, and it’s what I was taught in 1993 when I entered the chemical process industry and PSM/RMP covered processes. Today, “full engagement” is defined at the bolt/nut being FLUSH. So I asked…...
