This case is significant as EPA used the International Fire Code as their basis for several General Duty Clause findings. They also used NFPA standards in their inspection. Respondent owns and operates a facility that manufactures consumer and industrial products in liquid form and for pressurized containers that use aerosol propellants. Respondent’s manufacturing process uses […]
A recent FaceBook post by the South Dakota Highway Patrol is getting a lot of attention. The pics are alarming, to say the least. But some of the comments are an indication of where safety stands in the United States culture of safety. When people decry government intervention as “crossing a line,”… “that truck driver
In OSHA’s LOTO standard, they incorporated a requirement that required businesses to have forethought about the means used to isolate energy. Specifically, the standard requires: 1910.147(c)(2)(iii) After January 2, 1990, whenever replacement or major repair, renovation or modification of a machine or equipment is performed, and whenever new machines or equipment are installed, energy isolating
Since the train derailment in Palestine, OH, on February 3, many have heard the statistic… More than 99.98% of rail hazmat shipments reach their destination without a release caused by a train accident. Source: https://www.aar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AAR-Hazmat-Fact-Sheet.pdf That statistic may very well be accurate; however, without understanding the definitions used, there could be some padding in the
Last month I wrote a few posts about how a compliance manual made up of dozens of individual safety programs written for OSHA compliance needs is not a safety management system (SMS). That post got a lot of friends to encourage me to expand on that position and explain what I meant. So using one
A lot has changed over my career; some things I thought were so concrete and fundamental to OSH that they would never change. Boy, was I ever WRONG! Take, for example, the “hierarchy of controls” – quite possibly the primary building block of OSH and Industrial safety for the past 73 years. When I was
ATVs, commonly called 4-wheelers, have been around for decades. Most people recognize the risks associated with these machines outside of the workplace. The accident/injury statistics can be alarming. But when management claims those accident statistics are not work-related and that somehow the risks these machines pose are less in the workplace may be a very
“The Natural Gas facility lacked a formal PSV testing procedure that included a QA/QC process to ensure that PSV’s are properly returned to service after testing with isolation valves car–sealed in their correct positions. At the time of the Incident, operators were trained to assist with PSV testing by observing another more experienced operator and
We are so privileged to protect the men and women who make this nation what it is. Making a difference in their safety makes a difference in the lives of their loved ones. We can do so much good for so many people, it’s the greatest gift of our profession. And you know what, making
Leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin; neither can be realized without the other. Leaders create and manage the safety culture in their organizations by maintaining safety as a priority, communicating their safety expectations to the workers, setting the standard for safety, and through actions not talk (walk the talk), leading needed
What should happen to the small proportion of individuals whose unsafe acts are justly considered culpable? Below we summarize in a very simplified way what psychologists know about the effects of reward and punishment in the workplace. The principal issue here is the effectiveness of “sticks and carrots” in enhancing the likelihood of desired behavior
In today’s work environment, many management teams need some guidance on determining if an unsafe act warrants re-training, accountability, or it was a system-induced error. Here is a simple flow chart that can help establish what type of action could be called for based on the facts from the investigation.
