The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) acted within its authority when it adopted rules strengthening safety and health requirements for agricultural labor housing (ALH), the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed in written legal advice. The legal advice clears away any potential doubt about the division’s authority to enforce its amended…...
Section 1910.255(e) requires that a periodic inspection of resistance welding equipment be made by qualified maintenance personnel and that a certification record be generated and maintained. The certification shall include:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
Periodic inspection of resistance welding equipment Read More »
At 10:30 am, on October 16, 2023, Employee #1, 20, was working for a construction gas & oil support contractor. Coworkers were cutting and welding an eye-lifting plate on a compressor skid. A fire hazard consisting of miscellaneous petroleum products had been allowed to accumulate on, in, and around the compressor skid area…. Membership Required...
Fire Watch dies fighting flammable liquid fire ignited by cutting and welding Read More »
I think most EHS professionals will agree that bulk tanks of hazardous materials need some means of “secondary containment”. This practice has been in place for my entire career and rarely gets challenged. However, in recent years I have come across several scenarios where either the facility/unit designed the process to function this way or…...
Secondary Containment and “Equalization” of tanks Read More »
The explosion at an auto repair shop in Hillsboro, OH that claimed the lives of three (3) workers, aged 19, 33, and 47 in 2023 has been determined to have been caused by a rupture to an LPG cylinder that had been overfilled and past its requalification date by 33 years. I would also like…...
A video I posted over two years ago has come full circle. A citizen (some may call him homeless) was allowed to sit (and smoke) within 20′ of a gasoline tanker unloading operation at a gas station. His actions may not have been his sole demise, as we can see in the video evidence that…...
Failing to control flammable vapor results in severe injuries for by-stander (video) Read More »
Back in 2010, I posed the question… do the oxygen and acetylene cylinders that are being used to perform the Hot Work need to be 35′ away from the point of the Hot Work? For those who commented, it was clear they thought I was crazy. “It has never been enforced”, “I have been welding/cutting…...
Hot Work and the cylinders used and the 35′ rule (Video) Read More »
On February 19, 2025, a court sentenced a construction company owner to 48 months’ incarceration and to pay more than $55 million in restitution. Also, he will forfeit real estate and cash/bank accounts. He pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and a willful violation of the Occupational Safety…...
United States v. [construction company owner] Read More »
Many workplaces struggle with one of the most critical elements of any attempt to manage safety and health via a safety management system – Incident Investigations. From the struggles of getting personnel to REPORT incidents (including near misses) to management recognizing these reports are GIFTS handed to us! But what normally happens, is we get…...
UK’s HSE “Adverse Events” publication (HSG245) Read More »
I like the fact the thieves wore “high vis” clothing to make themselves look “legitimate”. But as the story points out they were getting injured in arc flash events. I support Hi Vis workwear, as it can’t hurt to be more visible in a busy workplace, especially with a lot of mobile equipment around. My…...
Safety masquerading behind Hi-Vis gear Read More »
Sometimes a lawyer or set of lawyers can surprise us… This is a quote from a recent OSHRC ALJ decision, regarding the employer’s responsibility to conduct inspections of the workplace to identify and correct hazards: “As an employer, Respondent is obligated to provide safe working conditions and ensure safe work practices. Implicit in that obligation…...
Hazard ID is fundamental to any SMS and an ALJ who gets it Read More »
A soft drink manufacturer had a 3-ton capacity carbon dioxide (CO2) receiver tank at the plant. The tank contained 2000 pounds on the day of the explosion. The establishment was evacuated due to flooding river waters in the area. The plant was secured and evacuated. No employees were at the workplace. Suddenly, the storage tank…...
CO2 Tank launches 100′ off-site into a home (Flood Waters) Read More »
