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Clarification on 24′ fixed ladder requirements (fall protection system vs. cage)

OSHA answers five (5) questions regarding the relatively new standard, 1910.28 Duty to have fall protection and falling object protection.  And I have to admit I found a couple of their answers interesting. Question 1: 29 CFR § 1910.28(b)(9) requires fixed ladders (installed on or after November 19, 2018) that are more than 24 feet…...

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Redemption – Clarification on powered-air purifying respirators (PAPR), their assigned protection factor, and Footnote 4

I have been validated!  I have received so many nasty grams from folks regarding my position on the ASSUMED PAPR Assigned Protection Factor of 1,000 which I wrote about in several postings going all the way back to 2015 of which this was my first attempt to educate and warn others of some flawed practices:…...

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Clarification on Group LOTO requirements

Seriously, in the year 2021/2022, we still have these questions asked of OSHA about a standard that has been in place since the mid-1980s. Scenario 1: Three (3) authorized employees are working on a pump. Each energy source is de-energized and locked out by an employee in plant operations. Then, the plant operations employee places…...

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Energy isolation requirements for pneumatically powered control valves

OSHA once again clarifies that locking out the air source to a pneumatically powered control valve is NOT locking the energy isolation device!  When I taught at ASSP Seminarfest several years ago, the most disputed point was this very practice.  I was very clear, which did not sit well with some attendees, that locking the…...

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What is safety?

This came from the International Civil Aviation Organization and was modified by yours truly for manufacturing facilities to adopt.  It may be the best wording I have seen for what Safety is supposed to be at the C-Suite level within organizations. Safety is… “the state in which the possibility of harm to persons or of…...

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TRIR shown to be no better at measuring outcomes than random roll of a dice (Video)

This is a MUST WATCH video and yes it is long, but it is a video every safety professional and even management personnel needs to watch.  For those still living in the world of Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and you think that is just fine – WAKE THE HELL UP PEOPLE!  As they explain…...

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Worker dies inside hopper railcar (Engulment by fertilizer)

At 8:45 p.m. on May 7, 2021, an employee and his coworkers were unloading a fertilizer hopper railcar when the Urea got stuck. They were using a compressor-driven vibrator on each side of the car as well as having employees hit the outside of the car with hammers. The employee and a coworker got up…...

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A dropped cellphone into a PRCS cost a life (Engulfment in Sawdust)

At 5:00 p.m. on January 31, 2021, an employee was loading a below-ground pit with dry sawdust when he dropped his cell phone into the pit. While attempting to retrieve the cell phone, he fell into the pit and was engulfed by the loose sawdust which suffocated and killed him…. Membership Required You must be...

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Two (2) different tanker truck incidents claim two (2) lives

Incident #1 – At 11:30 a.m. on February 19, 2021, an employee was cleaning a fermented yogurt tanker with a hot water pressure washer. The employee entered the tanker to access the front and back of the tank. A coworker reported hearing a noise and then the sound of the wash water stopping. The employee…...

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Cellphone cost two (2) workers their lives inside a PRCS (CH4 & H2S)

At 1:00 p.m. on May 25, 2021, Employee #1 and Employee #2 were conducting maintenance work on a pump above a leachate vault. A coworker dropped a cellphone inside the vault and left to look for a tool to retrieve the cellphone. Employee #1 and Employee #2 entered the vault to retrieve the phone and…...

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PRCS (Sewer) fatality due to H2S

At 12:30 p.m. on June 7, 2021, an employee entered a sewer manhole to estimate the amount of materials needed to perform a manhole repair when the employee was overcome by high levels of hydrogen sulfide at the base of the manhole shortly after entry. The employee did not perform atmospheric monitoring and had not…...

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Chlorine Dioxide (ClO₂) Generation Fataility (Incompatibles and Combustible Dust Explosion)

At 4:30 p.m. on November 11, 2020, two (2) employees were in the process of producing batches of a chlorine dioxide generator inside a newly purchased mixer. Emplo yee #1 was killed in an explosion after closing the lid on the mixer to complete the mixing operations. Employee #2 was injured during the rescue attempt…....

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