Bryan Haywood

Implosion of ISO container during transfer (Vent valve NOT opened)

An ISO container, partly filled with Monoethylene Glycol (MEG), imploded on the back deck of a ship, spilling around two cubic meters (528 gallons) of MEG onto the deck and to sea and causing unrepairable damage to the tank itself. There were no injuries. The tank was a 26-cubic-meter tank containing ten cubic meters (6600…...

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OSHA PSM citations @ Food plant (NH3 & $394K)

OSHA has again found a large food manufacturer with a history of hazardous workplace safety practices in violation of dozens of safety and health hazards. The producer of glass-pack, canned, frozen, refrigerated, freeze-dried, and snack food products under it’s brand, as well as other private labels, also operates eight other manufacturing plants, including five in…...

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When do I need to consider desinging and managing an area as a HAZLOC?

One mistake many businesses make is their assumptions about how their flammable liquids will behave once they are outside of their primary containment.  I have seen companies spend millions of dollars to classify an area as a HAZLOC when it was not even close to being necessary, and I have seen some PSM businesses claim…...

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Just because you won’t be working in a flammable atmopshere, it may still be TOXIC

I will again reference my 30 years of teaching emergency response courses and the surprising lack of hazard awareness so many “certified technicians” lack.  The one that get a lot of attention is the relationship between TOXIC and PHYSICAL hazards when the HAZMAT is both toxic and flammable.  I have shared many tips over the…...

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Why does OSHA use 10% LEL to define a HAZ ATM within a PRCS?

One of the top questions I get via SAFTENG and in my PRCS or Hazardous Atmospheres training courses is… Why did OSHA use 10% LEL to define a hazardous atmosphere? There is an official and logical reason, both of which should be understood. First, the “official” reason:… Membership Required You must be a member to...

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“Banner Safety,” it can work, but often does more harm than good

We have all seen them; most of us have used them to deliver a safety message.  Let me say this up-front: it is never the banner’s fault! A SAFTENG member was reading my posts about “safety banners” and contacted me to discuss their use.  They were convinced I was 100% against using “safety banners” after…...

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PRCS incident kills 7, injures 3 @ Cement Plant (LOTO Failure – 2 Videos)

   Source: VnExpress/Anh Phu   Seven (7) workers were killed, and three (3) others were injured while conducting periodic maintenance on one of the plant’s kilns when the incident occurred.  When the workers entered the rotary kiln to start the repair work, the kiln unexpectedly restarted. Replacing the eroded kiln plates is done every 5-7…...

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H2 and O2 explosion learnings (UH explosion resultings in amputation)

Since gas use was integral to the UH accident and since compressed gas cylinders present serious safety issues, several specific examples of improper gas and gas cylinder usage are detailed here. 1. Cylinders in the laboratories adjacent to POST 30 as well as in several laboratories located in different buildings, contained Teflon tape on the…...

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Employee injured in Wisconsin stadium explosion settles suit for $22M

He was working for a subcontractor on April 13, 2022, when a GC foreman used a flame torch to dry an area of the floor of an enclosed mechanical room beneath the football stadium as he and another worker were applying a flammable material to the floor. The torch sparked an explosion, and he was…...

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Combustible Dust and entry into Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS)

Both OSHA PRCS standards define and quantify a Hazardous Atmosphere in terms of combustible dust using the distance one can see through the dust cloud… Hazardous atmosphere means an atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue (that is, escape unaided from a permit space), injury, or…...

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VW Plant votes 73% to 27% for a union – Is this a measure of “culture”?

VW chose Tennessee for its new assembly plant because it is a “right to work” state. The union campaigns lost in 2014 and 2019, but last week, it won big (2,628 for and 985 opposed), at least based on the NLRB count so far. A few votes are being challenged, but nothing near the number…...

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