The moral of this story, as we do in Emergency Response, is NEVER to rely on a single data source for critical safety information about the chemicals we work with. In ER, we are REQUIRED to use at least three (3) recognized data sources when developing our response plan and making decisions. SDSs can have […]
An apparent accidental fire from welding brought 11 fire agencies out to the foundry. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) said they assisted 11 fire agencies with a building fire at the foundry on Sunday, just before 9:30 p.m. All employees were safely evacuated with no reported injuries, and “initial concerns for chemical exposure were
Principles don’t work when safety is not a value among the people they are meant to guide. In the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“, Stephen R. Covey discusses the difference between principles and values. He does so to show the difference in those “highly effective people”. I want to use the same
My team can bring a lot of RISK REDUCTION to your HIGH RISK activities (i.e., SIF) by simply working with you on your: 1) Control of Hazardous Energy (i.e., LOTO) 2) Permit-Required Confined Space Entries, and 3) Electrical Safety Related Work Practices (ESRWP) No fanfare or shiny objects. Just hardcore safety, exceeding OSHA minimums, and
I was taught to do this by ALL my former bosses. My goal was to bring everyone up to my safety expectations while recognizing that “building” means consensus. The idea is that when I had to compromise my expectations, I was ALWAYS still on the right side of the line, pulling others toward me, even
All these social media posts decrying the traditional Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) tools are so ridiculous! Most of the people posting such garbage are either academics or marketing people trying to sell the next “silver bullet” in OSH. Most importantly, very few have hands-on experience in developing, implementing, and managing safety and health on
I wrote an article last week about how many people did not get the memo about the ladder changes. I’ve done three startups in the past four years, and each one still had cages on its hundreds of fixed ladders. And they were not happy to be told that those were not the correct design.
Today, OSHA updated its National Emphasis Program, which protects workers from outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards, to direct agency resources where they can make the biggest impact – focusing inspections and outreach in industries and workplaces where heat stress risks are most likely to occur. Originally issued in April 2022, the revised National Emphasis Program
A refinery has been fined more than $182,000 by WorkSafeBC after an incident that saw an employee’s clothing sprayed with hot oil. On Wednesday, April 8, WorkSafeBC put out a media release regarding the incident and a corresponding penalty of $182,282.38 levied against the refinery on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. A summary posted on the agency’s
Snapped this pic on a PSM-covered process. Can you see what it is? Yep, it’s a gauge; a Safety Critical gauge at that. But can you read the gauge? I took the pic at no zoom, so you can get a feel for the level of challenge in reading this “safety critical” gauge, which is
Snapped this pic this week and thought it would be a great pic to start a discussion about Car-Sealing valves in their OPEN position. And yes, Car Seals are for more than just Pressure Relief Systems. In the pic below, there are two (2) valves that are candidates for Car Seals; one (1) of the
At 2:45 p.m. on September 19, 2014, two employees, both 50, were replacing a valve in a process line that transported 70% caustic solution of sodium hydroxide (NAOH) from storage tanks to a loading rack. While they were removing the valve and a stopper plate that had been previously inserted into the line, the employees
