Admiral Rickover is the Father of Nuclear Safety in the U.S. Navy. He holds the Navy’s record for years of service, having served 60 years (1922 – 1982). He passed away 4 years later at the age of 86. Admiral Rickover coveted the following “7 Rules” in developing, implementing, and managing his nuclear safety program…...
Admiral Rickover’s “7 Rules of Success” (as applied to an SMS) Read More »
In the world of Human Factors, we have a saying, “failing safely,” which translates into… all humans make mistakes – it’s our job to identify those error/mistake traps and design work to lessen those error opportunities. In Process Safety we used to use the phrase “cascading failures”, which is the opposite of “failing safely.” In…...
Cascading Failures vs Failing Safely Read More »
Earlier this year, a member of the SAFTENG FaceBook group posted a question about this type of system being used in a warehouse within the USA. Many of us were caught off guard as it seemed very risky to drop the Oxygen level to 13% in an occupied space, even with all the alarms and…...
Oxygen Reduction Systems (Global FM Data Sheet) Read More »
This is an excellent presentation by John S. Carroll, MIT Sloan School of Management at the NTSB Public Forum on Transportation Safety: Enhancing Safety Culture. His presentation does an excellent job of explaining where the term “safety culture” originated and how organizations shape their culture of safety. CLICK HERE for the presentation… Membership Required You...
Safety Culture: Where Do We Stand? and where are we going… Read More »
PLEASE READ NOW AND TAKE ACTION Dear MSA Customer, MSA is issuing this User Safety Notice to inform you of a PROCEDURAL UPDATE regarding usage of the Altair 5X PID gas detector. MSA has determined that PID sensors manufactured from March 2020 to and including June 2023 may not respond to gas after being turned…...
User Safety Notice – Altair® 5X PID (August, 2023) Read More »
We don’t see this often, but the number of facilities that do not know of this fundamental OSHA/IFC/NFPA requirement for their fixed LPG storage tank(s) is sad. How one defines “high water table or flood conditions” is open for discussion as no one has reallty DEFINED or QUANTIFIED the phrase as of yet. The video…...
Why does OSHA (and IFC and NFPA) require 1910.110(h)(6)(i)(h) Read More »
I keep using this tragedy as a teaching/learning tool. This officer was convicted and sentenced to 4-years in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter for holding back the crowd during George Floyd’s murder. TAKE THE POLITICS OUT OF IT and ask…. Why didn’t he step in and do something? This is the difference between “latent…...
Thao’s conviction: active failure vs latent organizational failures Read More »
When an organization has identified hazards and established the risks those hazards pose, it must have a process(es) in place to ELIMINATE hazards, or where this is not possible, to reduce the risks associated with the identified hazard(s), using the hierarchy of controls. At the top of the hierarchy of controls is ELIMINATION. This is…...
Using the Hierarchy of Controls to reduce risks Read More »
Earlier this year, I wrote about using the old ANSI/ASSE Z590.2-2003 (R2012) Criteria for Establishing the Scope and Functions of the Professional Safety Position standard when establishing the scope, function, role(s), and responsibilities of the organization’s safety professionals. This older standard does an excellent job of keeping things simple and provides a nice framework from…...
“It is important to establish the difference between leadership, which is acquired, and authority, which is assigned. An optimal situation exists when the two are combined. Leadership involves teamwork, and the quality of a leader depends on the success of the leader’s relationship with the team. Leadership skills should be developed for all through proper…...
Safety Thought of the Week… Difference between leadership and authority Read More »
A little trivia/history for the Chlorine/CHLOREP ER fans… What year was the first Emergency B-Kit available? Hint: it is 2-weeks older than I am! Answer below in images…… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
A little trivia/history for the Chlorine/CHLOREP ER fans Read More »
If there is one device that causes more electrical issues in workplaces, it has to be electrical extension cords. There are few audits in our 20+ years of business where we did not find multiple concerns around the use of electrical extension cords. These issues generally center around either their IMPROPER use or the cords…...
Extension cords, UL label, and “portable equipment” Read More »
