Department of Labor finds New Mexico company wrongfully fired inspector who raised concerns during gas pipeline installation at Oklahoma site OKLAHOMA CITY – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a New Mexico-based inspection company to reinstate and compensate a terminated worker who reported safety concerns during the installation of a natural gas pipeline in…...
Lead the PHA team to think through the safeguards that are in place that are intended to:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
Reporting Period: October 2024 – September 2025 This report summarizes the enforcement activity for the chemical manufacturing sector over the past fiscal year. With 883 total citations across 264 inspections, the industry faced over $3.78 million in penalties. Executive Summary: The “Top 5” Risk Areas The majority of financial and safety risks is concentrated in…...
Reporting Period: October 2024 – September 2025 Executive Summary During the specified period, Federal OSHA issued 251 citations across 65 inspections, resulting in $1,651,334 in penalties. The manufacturing sector—specifically Chemical and Food manufacturing—accounts for the vast majority of enforcement activity. Top Industries by Penalty Amount While citation counts indicate frequency, the penalty amounts often reflect…...
I am pretty confident in my position, but my friend and one hell of a safety pro has me second-guessing myself. So I thought this would be a good scenario to debate amongst the SAFTENG members. I will not bias the discussion with my position, but I will add mine after a dozen or so…...
This week I was in that “state up north”. It is how Ohio State fans refer to the great state of Michigan. If you did not know, the two programs are crazy rivalries in all sports. While I was conducting a Flammable Liquids Process Engineering/Code Design Review, I came across a greater risk… three (3)…...
I asked Gemini Plus about the reaction of M200A (M200A, a proprietary amine-based solvent often associated with gas sweetening or industrial cleaning) and Nitric Acid, as has been reported in the media as the two (2) chemicals involved in yesterday’s tragic event in WV. It has been reported that H2S was involved; yet, reading this…...
I like to tell clients that NFPA has done what OSHA failed to do… make Combustible Dust a PSM-covered process. Well, not exactly, but NFPA 660 has certainly advanced how we manage the risks associated with Combustible Dusts. The new (2026) NFPA 660 has the following SMS elements:… Membership Required You must be a member...
Once again, auditing pays off! No way in heck, my audits should be the method to identify QA failures on a piping installation, but it seems the past 10 years or so, it’s happening more and more. This event was a significant failure on the General Contractor and the Sub-Contractor, who was doing the actual…...
Several reports released this week by safety authorities (including ABSA and the CSB) have highlighted “latent” welding failures in pressure systems: The recurring theme this week is the “Empty Tank” fallacy. As a safety professional, these incidents underscore that the most dangerous tanks are often the ones that are “empty” but not gas-free. For your…...
Equinor has completed its internal investigation into the workplace accident at Mongstad on 17 September 2025, in which a worker lost his life. The purpose has been to ensure learning and to identify measures that can strengthen safety in crane and lifting operations across the company. The accident occurred during the lifting of heat exchangers…...
Around 7:11 p.m. on the 16th, a pressure tank exploded during an inspection at a pressure tank manufacturing plant. The accident killed a worker in his 50s who was struck by flying pressure tank components and later died at a hospital despite being transported for treatment. He was reportedly inspecting a transformer pressure tank manufactured…...
