A refinery has been fined more than $182,000 by WorkSafeBC after an incident that saw an employee’s clothing sprayed with hot oil. On Wednesday, April 8, WorkSafeBC put out a media release regarding the incident and a corresponding penalty of $182,282.38 levied against the refinery on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. A summary posted on the agency’s…...
For those who need an image of why 1 psig can be a lethal hazardous energy source! It’s why we say ZERO ENERGY STATE (ZES) in our control of hazardous energy programs. ONLY ZERO = ZERO! SAFTENG members can download the image without a watermark at SAFTENG… Membership Required You must be a member to...
Most safety pros live by the LOTO standard daily, or at least weekly! If not, you may need to re-evaluate where you are spending your time! As there is no other standard that impacts manufacturing businesses and brings more value to our safety efforts than does LOTO (IMPO). So this question gets to the heart…...
I know many safety professionals will know this, but when we ask operators or “Authorized Employees”, the vast majority have never been trained on the lockout mechanism on these 1/4 turn ball valves!!! Once we know and we use them, should they be fixed/replaced when we find them broken or missing? Of course, we can…...
I have written about this incident a couple of times, as it is full of learning opportunities. The biggest of which is the practice of REDUCING PPE after the initial opening was uneventful, and we have “verified” our positive means of isolation is holding. This is a common practice for long-duration jobs and plays a…...
Episode 295 with Bryan Haywood focuses on how to manage complex lockout/tagout (LOTO)—the kind of hazardous‑energy control work that goes far beyond a simple disconnect. The episode highlights why complex LOTO requires deeper planning, stronger coordination, and more rigorous verification than standard procedures. https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tnwgq-bbdaf4… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View...
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today released its final investigation report into the fatal October 10, 2024, release of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at a Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. Two (2) contract workers died as a result of exposure to the toxic gas, 13 others were transported to local medical…...
My hat is off to the ANSI Z244 committee for dipping their toes into Line Break/Equipment Opening (LEO) hazards and how energy isolation plays a key role in completing this very hazardous tasks SAFELY. They are the first group to even touch the LEO topic. And although it is a brief discussion; it is an…...
Federal workplace safety officials have cited one of OSHA’s Top 5 VPP STAR businesses for multiple serious violations at its Greensboro facility following a fatal accident that killed a longtime employee last summer. The business has 1,006 VPP Sites, and yet, OSHA finds serious LOTO and PRCS issues after a PRCS fatality. The North Carolina…...
In many Line & Equipment Opening (LEO) safe work practices, some leeway will be granted to the workers AFTER the INITIAL “break” based on the level of ISOLATION they have protecting them. For example: A LEO has a double block and bleed arrangement on BOTH sides of the opening. During the initial “break,” the worker(s)…...
On May 29, 2024, at about 3:15 p.m., several pounds of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide gas were released at a Sugar Cooperative. As a result of the release, one employee was fatally injured, and another employee was seriously injured due to inhalation of the gases. The facility’s investigation found that, at the time of…...
On September 22, 2022, at approximately 9:00 a.m., a liquid mixture comprised of aniline, formalin, and hydrochloric acid was accidentally released, seriously injuring one contractor at a chemical manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana. On September 20, 2022, two days before the incident, an off-site power outage caused an immediate loss of process flow into the…...
