Absolutely they can. In fact, this is the case in most businesses where we get called to assist with an accident investigation. These are not SAFTENG clients, but rather a 1-off project to lead the investigation with a referral from a safety agency or a friend of a friend of a friend kind of arrangement. […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has notified the SBA Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) that OSHA intends to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel (commonly known as an “SBREFA” panel) on a possible “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” rule in the next several weeks. OSHA’s possible
For something so many in our profession claim to not exist, it is amazing how five (5) dictionaries officially define it. There are even degrees one can get on the topic, and much research has been done on a topic that is supposedly not at play in an organization’s safety efforts. I think most of
15 human error thoughts we need to consider during our next incident investigation and causal analysis:
There is an evil myth regarding LOTO training and Periodic Inspections. I recently had a lengthy discussion with a Labor Lawyer regarding the FACT that annual LOTO training does NOT satisfy the Annual Periodic Inspection requirements. An employer is NOT required to perform annual training on LOTO, but they are REQUIRED to conduct a periodic
Maybe you’ve heard about the Fukushima water release plan. Or maybe you heard something about the drinking water debacle in Flint, MI. Or maybe you’re an emergency responder and are being bombarded about the Alcohol Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) you were exposed that had the “forever chemicals”. Or maybe you have a home with a basement
At 3:35 p.m. on December 27, 2022, an employee was knocking gypsum dust off the interior walls of the end saw baghouse hopper. The baghouse was a large steel structure, 40 feet in height, with inward converging walls that led to two screw-augers that moved gypsum dust to the center of the hopper. The dust
At 4:30 a.m. on January 11, 2023, an employee attended a Permit Confined Space Entry Rescue Training. The employee entered the manway and began to descend into a vessel. Approximately halfway into the entry, he realized he could not fit in and began to extract himself. He was distressed and lost consciousness. His coworkers attempted
At 11:00 a.m. on May 23, 2019, an employee removed a regulator from a chlorine gas cylinder to perform yearly maintenance and repacking. When the employee attempted the close the shutoff valve, the valve malfunctioned and stopped turning while still slightly open without the employee’s knowledge. When the employee removed the regulator, chlorine gas escaped.
Two workers were injured on an offshore platform while installing a skillet, the steel circular joining plate inside a section of piping. The incident occurred while the workers were on scaffolding and unbolting a 10-inch flange (Figure 1). After determining the skillet was the wrong size, the supervisor instructed a third worker to join the
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is a pretty common backup power supply in industrial settings where “power failure” can lead to the loss of control systems, emergencyshutdown systems, and emergency mitigation systems. But like ALL SAFEGUARDS we take credit for in our Hazard Analyzes, these UPS must be in our mechanical integrity program for testing/validation regularly
The assessment checklist below was developed by Dr. James Reason and presented at the 2000 Safety Conference. In Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents, Dr. Reason argues that three (3) elements are vital for driving a company’s safety performance, all of them the purview of top managers: commitment, competence and cognizance The three Cs. But
