Human Factors means HUMANS making decisions- OUR roles as safety professionals is to chart a path to SUCESS IN SAFETY, rather than hoping they avoid failure. Safety is NOT about luck. Safety is the confidence that there is a path to safety success – CULTURE is convincing the workers that the best path is the path to THEIR safety success. … HomeRead More »

Human Factors mean HUMANS making decisions- OUR role as safety professionals is to chart a path to SUCESS IN SAFETY, rather than hoping they avoid failure. Safety is NOT about luck, safety is having the confidence that there is a path to success – CULTURE is convincing the workers that the best path is the path to THEIR safety success.

Respondent is the owner and operator of an olefins facility which had two (2) incidents that occurred on December 20, 2021, and May 3, 2022, that resulted in accidental releases. Respondent has an olefins unit process at the Facility, meeting the definition of ” process”, as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. EPA Findings of Violation … HomeRead More »

A comparison of the characteristics of active and latent failures suggests that avoiding active failures tends to drive down the frequency of events while finding and rectifying the results of latent failures tends to drive down the severity of events. … HomeRead More »

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Whether we recognize it or not, many of the OSHA standards follow the principles of a well-grounded Safety Management System (SMS) that includes: Hazard Identification Hazard Analysis using a recognized methodology Risk Assessment so that risk can be quantified and put into perspective Risk Mitigation using the Hierarchy of Controls (Elm, Sub, Eng, Adm, PPE) Take, for example, OSHA’s Permit-Required...

In occupational safety and health, there are a lot of opportunities for businesses to stumble and fall right out of the gate. Although many folks like to claim “anyone can do safety,” this myth drives these mistakes. Untrained/Uneducated persons are attempting to manage an OSH program and stumbling at step one, leaving hundreds/thousands of employees at untold risks. Take, for example,...

Most of us have seen these “Big _ss” fans before.  They move a lot of air and work well. (This is not an endorsement of the brand).  Now, the 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC) has caught up with these types of large-diameter ceiling fans. These fans are DEFINED and QUANTIFIED as: A ceiling fan that is greater than 7 feet (2134 mm) in diameter. These fans are also referred...

This incident was process related and involved a process safety system; however, the process was NOT PSM/RMP covered.  The incident is process-related and many of the PSM/RMP management elements could have prevented this incident. An electric sweet gas heater ruptured from overheating releasing sweet gas into the building. The cause of the incident was likely the lack of temperature controls. This...

The rate of recordable injuries in the electric power sector has declined steadily over the past decade; however, the rate of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) has plateaued. Unfortunately, studying SIFs is a paradox. On one hand, SIFs are incredibly important and deserve significant resources for investigation. On the other, learning from these events and detecting causal patterns are challenging...

I have been driving for 46 years and I have never died in a car wreck – BUT I STILL WEAR MY SEATBELT! The mere fact there has not been a negative result from an act does NOT mean we can we should continue that act without some layers of protection! So when someone claims a job has been done for ____ years without injury, think about your seatbelt and the old saying “An ounce of prevention...

In the 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), the International Association of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) was successful in simplifying the code requirements for refrigeration systems using Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3).  The code now reads: 1101.1.2 Ammonia refrigerant Refrigeration systems using ammonia as the refrigerant shall comply with IIAR 2, IIAR 3, IIAR 4, and IIAR 5 and shall not...