productThis week I have been helping a client/friend understand what a true non-entry rescue system looks like and how it functions. Back in July 2011, I wrote an article titled “CS Rescue… Tripods and Winches and a false sense of security” to help facilities understand the vast limitations of the traditional tripod and winch setup. […]
At 9:45 a.m. on February 22, 2021, an employee was working for a general, long-distance freight trucking company. He washed vehicles and cleaned equipment for the company. He was cleaning a tanker trailer that had contained ALFOL 16 (tradename for 1-Hexadecanol). The employer stated that the employee was inspecting the tank for materials. The atmosphere
At 5:00 p.m. on January 30, 2022, an employee was loosening powdered limestone from inside silo #7 with a weight. The employee entered the silo to recover the tool being used. The employee walked on top of the powdered limestone inside the silo (confined space) and was engulfed in the material and was killed as
This is some slick marketing as the condenser is being marketed to AU and NZ, but it is a USA-based company. The manufacturer claims its doorway “alleviates confined space limitations” based on its size. The door is stated to be 68″ tall and 20″ wide (e.g., 1,360 in2). So does this door alleviate confined space
To be blunt on a serious matter, MOST balers I have come across are indeed a PRCS. Some can easily be reconfigured in order to reclassify using some simple LOTO practices to eliminate the hazard AND to open them up (LOCKED OPEN) which would put the tasks as a “maintenance task” and not an “entry
Sometimes it is nice to be validated, even if it is by the government (who sets the minimum performance standards) and about 28 years late! But OSHA has finally made it clear in an LOI that a “single line valve is not permitted for isolation of hazards during entry“… Background: An employer has installed a
At 2:00 p.m. on October 12, 2021, an employee was working on top of a fermentation tank (a confined space), preparing to install a spray nozzle and attach it via a hose to the pump-over riser to begin a pump over. The employee opened the fermentation tank and was found lying on the platform with
At 1:00 p.m. on December 16, 2021, an employee was retrieving a waste drum that had fallen into a trash compactor. While the employee was inside the compactor, the waste company attempted to remove the compactor, and the employee was unable to exit. The employee suffered crush/contusion injuries from the waste compactor and was hospitalized,
The Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management Unit has cited a refinery and three contractors a combined $1,753,375 for serious safety violations following a confined space death of a 35-year-old worker who suffocated in a regenerator overflow well. Cal/OSHA inspectors cited three of the four employers with willful and serious violations after determining that they failed to
The frequency of bump testing on portable and wearable gas detectors has often been a subject of debate amongst safety professionals andusers of gas detectors. As product durability and advancements in sensor technology continue to improve detector performance and reliability,some are using these improvements as a basis for abandoning the practice of daily bump tests,
At 12:00 noon on August 27, 2021, an employee, 27, entered a tanker trailer to power wash the interior of the tanker. The tanker had contained animal parts and was sitting outside in the high summer temperatures. The employee was found unconscious inside the tanker and emergency services were notified.
At 11:30 a.m. on August 29, 2021, Employee #1, 32, inserted a tank wash spinner inside a semi-tanker, which later started draining slowly. Employee #1 entered the tanker to find out why it was draining slowly. Employee #1 lost consciousness while inside the tanker and Employee #2, 43, went inside the tanker to render help
