OSHA has released a proposed Heat Illness Protection Plan (HIPP) to protect millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed rule would help protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the workplace. The proposed rule would require employers to develop an...

Respondent owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant that uses chlorine, stored as liquified gas under pressure, to disinfect wastewater. In its October 2020 risk management plan, the plant indicated that it stored up to 12,000 pounds of chlorine on-site in one-ton cylinders. On November 3, 2022, EPA performed an inspection of the plant to evaluate the Respondent’s implementation of and...

On December 4, 2023, at 11:37 a.m., an employee was working as a contractor performing repairs at a bulk petroleum storage facility. The employee was attempting to perform repair work inside a tank that had previously contained oil. The employee was using methylene chloride to degrease the floor inside the tank. … HomeRead More »

On December 23, 2023, at 12:07 p.m., an employee working as an equipment washer for a contract tank service was cleaning a bulk liquid waste tank that had contained acetic acid. The employee was found unresponsive inside the tanker. The employee was transported to the emergency room and was pronounced dead eleven minutes after arrival. … HomeRead More »

The Slings Standard (29 CFR 1910.184) specifies several paperwork requirements, depending on the type of sling (paragraph (e) of the Standard covers alloy steel chain slings; paragraph (f) covers wire rope slings; paragraph (g) covers metal mesh slings; paragraph (h) covers natural and synthetic fiber-rope slings; and paragraph (i) covers synthetic web slings). … HomeRead More »

All this talk about “Sh_t That Can Kill You” (STCKY) and focusing on those Low-Frequency, High-Severity risks is just one of the current safety fads. I like SIF, and if you really think about it, SIF and Process Safety are very much aligned. But I have never understood why it needed to be its own little program, with all this PR virtue signaling; other than to make some consultants a lot...

In my experience, I have come to understand two (2) SMS/PSMS elements need to be first in line for development and implementation, as these two (2) elements are critical in the early days of developing and implementing a formal/structured SMS/PSMS. What would your two (2) elements be? My two are: … HomeRead More »

Throughout my career, I have been called “crazy,” “certifiable,” “unreasonable,” etc. I have worn those insults as a badge of honor, as in my professional opinion, there is nothing too crazy to protect the men and women doing the dirty and dangerous work! So buckle up, as this thought process may push you over the edge in how we could manage these high-energy batteries…...

Many safety pros struggle to get management to understand the “indirect costs” of accidents. This is a real cost to the business, but those outside our profession are so far outside that they struggle to grasp the “indirect cost.”  Heck, many fail to grasp the “direct costs” since they do not come out of their pay. Most of us have heard the phrase, “It...

I was recently involved in a safety review at a client with two (2) separate LOTO failure events in a month.  I know this client and the PM very well, and I was never more disappointed in their decisions about the discipline around these two (2) very different LOTO events.  One event resulted in NO injury, and that employee received no discipline; the other event injured two workers (both...

Based on the feedback from other SAFTENG members, I have made this article public for the next 30 days. Much like the process safety debates around valve/equipment labeling, no RAGAGEP specifically requires a unique identifier on every valve or piece of equipment. Yet, labeling valves/equipment within the covered process is necessary to manage the process’s safety.  Another debate we have...

Scenario: In your letter, you state that an employee who does not have a fixed work site left his home and traveled approximately 300 miles to a customer site. After the employee arrived at the customer site, he checked into a hotel and conducted work activities for several days. Once the work activities at the customer site were completed, the employee traveled to a relative’s home and stayed...