As we have discussed many times, I am a strong advocate of the SIF approach to risk management. Growing up in the PSM arena, we realize that the entire process safety effort is built on the SIF model. However, for those unfamiliar with managing catastrophic risks, SIF can become just another “flavor of the year”…...
There is one requirement in the HAZWOPER standard that has been in place since its promulgation, which almost every industrial facility with its own internal HAZMAT response team fails to meet. I receive a significant amount of pushback when I cover this OSHA minimum requirement, and I am always as shocked by the response as…...
If we pay close attention to PPE pictures, especially at Emergency Responses, we can see that this critical aspect of proper PPE donning is usually not followed, placing responders at increased risk. So, what is the PPE Shingle Effect, and WHY is it REQUIRED?… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View...
You get to pick ONLY three (3) pieces of data about a chemical you have responded to. You know the chemical, so what would the three (3) pieces of data you would want to know be and why? Here are my three and why…… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View...
Here is OSHA’s current interpretation of the HAZWOPER standard as it relates to IDLH operations. The LOI specifically addresses the HAZWOPER requirement for workers who are engaged in remedial operations as well as in emergency response operations in atmospheres that are or may be IDLH AND who utilize self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for the control…...
WARNING! If you have an ER instructor who claims you can enter the Hot or Warm zone the first time in using LEVEL C PPE, you need to fire them! I have been conducting HAZMAT training for 28 years, and every year, I pick up a few new ER clients who need a refresher course…....
Just about every manufacturing facility will have a compressed air system. Some of these may be the size of what some of us have in our garages, but many will be industrial-sized units. BOTH sizes pose catastrophic risks. As shown in this United Steel Workers Incident Alert, these catastrophic failures can cost lives and jobs…....
Respondent operated a facility (the “Facility”) that stores and distributes anhydrous ammonia. The Facility receives anhydrous ammonia from oceangoing vessels and stores it in two interconnected insulated tanks. The Facility includes three pressure tanks storing fertilizer-grade ammonia (Fl through F3) and four pressure tanks storing refrigeration-grade ammonia (R1 through R4). Respondent produces, stores, and distributes…...
Penalty adjustments aim to improve workplace safety WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has updated its guidance on penalty and debt collection procedures in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Field Operations Manual in an effort to minimize the burden on small businesses and increase prompt hazard abatement. “All employers should be offered the…...
The internet is just full of “consultants” who will take your money to teach your org “SIF”! These snakeoil salespeople are destroying the credibility and trust of the consulting profession, and it must stop. All this rebranding/repackaging of the basic safety efforts from the 90s and 2000s, and then NOT even doing it right, is…...
A seatbelt is a tool for safety. It is designed, constructed, installed, and at the ready for use. Its cost, availability, and ease of proper use may be the greatest safety invention of our generation. But it’s a tool that requires the human to have the desire to use it. It provides ZERO benefit if…...
It’s not all that difficult. It won’t break the bank; in fact, it can improve productivity and reduce costs when done well. But it demands a desire to do what is right for the men and women doing our dirty and dangerous work. Without the desire for greatness in safety from the most senior leaders…...
