We have all seen them; most of us have used them to deliver a safety message. Let me say this up-front: it is never the banner’s fault! A SAFTENG member was reading my posts about “safety banners” and contacted me to discuss their use. They were convinced I was 100% against using “safety banners” after…...
“Banner Safety,” it can work, but often does more harm than good Read More »
Source: VnExpress/Anh Phu Seven (7) workers were killed, and three (3) others were injured while conducting periodic maintenance on one of the plant’s kilns when the incident occurred. When the workers entered the rotary kiln to start the repair work, the kiln unexpectedly restarted. Replacing the eroded kiln plates is done every 5-7…...
PRCS incident kills 7, injures 3 @ Cement Plant (LOTO Failure – 2 Videos) Read More »
Since gas use was integral to the UH accident and since compressed gas cylinders present serious safety issues, several specific examples of improper gas and gas cylinder usage are detailed here. 1. Cylinders in the laboratories adjacent to POST 30 as well as in several laboratories located in different buildings, contained Teflon tape on the…...
H2 and O2 explosion learnings (UH explosion resultings in amputation) Read More »
He was working for a subcontractor on April 13, 2022, when a GC foreman used a flame torch to dry an area of the floor of an enclosed mechanical room beneath the football stadium as he and another worker were applying a flammable material to the floor. The torch sparked an explosion, and he was…...
Employee injured in Wisconsin stadium explosion settles suit for $22M Read More »
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Utilizing an SMS needs to be a CORE VALUE, not a government mandate Read More »
Both OSHA PRCS standards define and quantify a Hazardous Atmosphere in terms of combustible dust using the distance one can see through the dust cloud… Hazardous atmosphere means an atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue (that is, escape unaided from a permit space), injury, or…...
Combustible Dust and entry into Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS) Read More »
VW chose Tennessee for its new assembly plant because it is a “right to work” state. The union campaigns lost in 2014 and 2019, but last week, it won big (2,628 for and 985 opposed), at least based on the NLRB count so far. A few votes are being challenged, but nothing near the number…...
VW Plant votes 73% to 27% for a union – Is this a measure of “culture”? Read More »
Some raw materials are sensitive to humidity; this valve sticks and is more demanding than its supposedly similar neighbor; that pump has broken down; this operation sometimes occurs at night and sometimes during the day, sometimes when it’s hot, other times when it’s cold, sometimes our co-worker is tall, sometimes he is short, we may…...
Safety Thought of the Week… Operating situations are richly varied Read More »
If you have ever attended one of my SMS presentations or training courses, you know I am a huge Edward Demming fan. I started my career during the ISO 9001 era, which many call the “Quality Era.” Do you remember Ford’s slogan in the 1990s? “Quality is #1,” and the ISO quality movement was considerably…...
Safety Management System (SMS) was stolen from the QMS/ISO era of Quality Read More »
The following incident is a precautionary example of the potential hazards of improperly depressurizing piping to remove a hydrate. During production operations, a control room operator observed a decrease in gas lift pressure supplied through a pipeline to a remote well location. The control room operator notified the onboard platform operators of the pressure drop…...
Line Break gone bad (Hydrate) Read More »
One of the finest men I ever worked for, Jim Krumholz, taught me this trick in 1999! Manager MUST attend the “safety training” their employees attend! Even if this manager would never participate in an entry into PRCS, perform HW, or even participate in a lockout, they need to understand the expectations of their team…...
Ever wonder how we can measure “management’s leadership in safety”? Read More »
On January 13, 2022, workers inside the company’s fabrication shop performed a “wet test” on a newly built tank truck to check for leakage. This entailed running diesel test fuel through different tank compartments and other truck components. This was a routine operation at the workplace. Workers knew never to use gasoline, and the company…...
