A professional life lesson in our safety profession, from Dr. E Scott Geller… Dance with those who want to dance! Probably the best bit of advice I have ever received from a mentor. Some folks are not on board with real safety management principles; most of the time, we know who is with…...
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…....
This is some slick marketing as the condenser is being marketed to AU and NZ, but it is a USA-based company. The manufacturer claims its doorway “alleviates confined space limitations” based on its size. The door is stated to be 68″ tall and 20″ wide (e.g., 1,360 in2). So does this door alleviate confined space…...
In almost all of the accident investigations I have been asked to participate in, the local management team was very quick to blame “active failures”. This almost always involves some blame being placed on the human; after all, they were directly involved, and had they “not made the mistakes,” the accident would not have occurred. …...
Accident causation models were originally developed in order to assist people who had to investigate occupational accidents so that such accidents could be investigated effectively. Knowing how accidents are caused is also useful in a proactive sense in order to identify what types of failures or errors generally cause accidents. So action can be taken…...
Without TRUST, safety doesn’t stand a chance! Companies require employees to attend annual “ethics training.” Behind the scenes, the company is lying to all its stakeholders. First, it was VW and now FCA (formerly Chrysler). And companies can’t seem to understand why their safety cultural surveys are always pointing to a lack of TRUST as…...
I have been referring SAFTENG members to subscribe to the “Bulletin,” a FREE publication from the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. This publication is an EXCELLENT resource for those safety professionals dealing with pressure vessel safety, especially those in the process safety arena. Their latest edition covers two (2) very significant changes…...
To be blunt on a serious matter, MOST balers I have come across are indeed a PRCS. Some can easily be reconfigured in order to reclassify using some simple LOTO practices to eliminate the hazard AND to open them up (LOCKED OPEN) which would put the tasks as a “maintenance task” and not an “entry…...
Why so many try to make such a simple safety process so difficult has puzzled me for years! Even in Group LOTO, each employee is protected by the LOTO MUST have EXCLUSIVE CONTROL of the devices protecting them. It is that simple. This organization should be embarrassed for asking these questions, especially when their scenarios…...
Often people tend to think that using electronics or technology automatically falls into the realm of an “engineering control” rather than an administrative control. Today’s local news story is a perfect example of this. We have this overpass in Cincinnati that is notorious for catching trucks. I have a local client that I would spend…...
A federal workplace safety investigation into a Jan. 19, 2022, ammonia leak that hospitalized two workers and led to the evacuation of about 50 workers at a Canton poultry processing plant found their employer might have prevented the incident by ensuring required safety standards were followed. OSHA found the uncontrolled temperature and pressure conditions on…...
Sometimes it is nice to be validated, even if it is by the government (who sets the minimum performance standards) and about 28 years late! But OSHA has finally made it clear in an LOI that a “single line valve is not permitted for isolation of hazards during entry“… Background: An employer has installed a…...
