Incident Management – Safety Management System Element
This is a presentation I use when doing some of my SMS and Incident Management training courses.
What is a “flash point”?
I teach about a dozen flammable liquid courses annually, and it is one of my favorite courses to teach, as I love the technical side of hazardous materials. And my course always starts with a discussion around the 1st step in making a flammable liquid a hazardous material… FLASH POINT. And over the 30+ years,
Work dies and “would-be rescuer” severely injured in Tank Truck incident
On January 18, 2024, at 9:15 a.m., Employee #1, 37, was working inside a 7,000-gallon tanker trailer. Employee #1 was tasked with inspecting the damage to the interior of the tanker. Employee #1 was in the early stages of the tank inspection when he lost consciousness. A coworker noticed Employee #1 lost consciousness, and s/he
Chain hoist used inside PRCS results in fatality
On April 3, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., an employee, 44, working as a plant operator for a building materials manufacturer was reinstalling mixer blades onto the shaft inside a Vince Hagan HM-10 Horizontal Concrete Mixer. The employee had been on a crew between January 2024 and April 2024 engaged in the shaft and blade replacement
Welder Fell 32 Feet from Storage Tank Roof (NIOSH FACE)
A 60-year-old welder fell 32 feet while constructing the leading edge of a storage tank roof. His employer was an aboveground storage tank manufacturer. He had over 40 years of job experience. He was with three other workers constructing the leading edge with sheets of metal sheathing. The roof was 76-feet wide by 34.5-feet high,
OSHRC affirms LOTO Citations in mill worker’s death
This is a MUST READ for safety professionals engaged in developing, implementing, and managing a LOTO program. The facility was doing everything RIGHT in terms of program, procedures, and training; yet a worker violated LOTO in the presence of the Shift Supervisor who had only been in his role for 1-month. The OSHRC laid out
EPA RMP citations @ agricultural products facility (NH3 & $119K)
Respondent is the owner and operator of a facility that stores, manufactures, and distributes agricultural products, including anhydrous ammonia. The threshold quantity for anhydrous ammonia, as listed in 40 C.F.R. § 68.130, is 10,000 pounds. On or about August 22-23, 2023, a representative of the EPA conducted an inspection of the Respondent’s Facility to determine
When you see it… Bollards and Gas Meter
As many of you know, I have a love of bollards. This love has come over many years and many accidents where I have seen them protect a critical asset and PREVENT a serious event. This is a new county building built near my home, and when I drove by, I had to take a
Incident Commander Training clarifications
Is it OSHA’s intent that Incident Commanders be 24-hour HAZWOPER trained irrespective of their actual working location during an incident, e.g., if they are located off-scene, outside of the contaminated area or far from the incident, and are never actually exposed to the site hazards? OSHA’s HAZWOPER standard does not vary the required training for Incident
Safety Thought of the Week… James Reason’s Human Failure Model
James Reason’s Human Failure Model: Active and Latent [Organizational] Failures As safety professionals, we need to understand that we ALL make errors, mistakes, and violations. When we are asked to facilitate a causal analysis, it is incumbent upon us to keep the team aware of this fact and educate them on the differences between Active
Days worked w/o injury and Pizza Parties (Comedy Skit)
This is one of my favorite videos to use in my SMS Training courses (with approval from HR). Some of the scenes are over-the-top fake graphic scenes, but they are so over-the-top that I hope adults can handle them. The video mocks Lagging Indicators and Pizza Parties, which most of us have come to recognize
My favorite SMS Element to use as a “kick-off” is Incident Management
As SAFTENG wraps up another successful year, I am reminded of its success. I got a thank you note from a facility manager who hired us to build an SMS/Safety Process to “bring some sense to safety.” He and his team were tired of the ups and downs and wanted consistency in their performance with