An HVAC technician uses a portable ladder to access a low-slope roof 12 feet high. The ladder is secured to the building and placed at a 4/1 angle. The side rails of the ladder extend three feet above the roof landing. The HVAC unit to be worked on is 25 feet from the roof’s edge. Question: When the employee steps onto the roof’s landing from the portable ladder and while the employee is...

Background: You state that as a Senior Mechanical Engineer for HVAC systems in Air Force facilities, you are responsible for setting design standards for mechanical systems in the facilities (primarily office buildings but also childcare, emergency operations, & dormitory-type buildings). In this capacity, you sometimes use HVAC systems that may expose facility occupants to the system’s refrigerant...

On 20 September 2017, two employees of were using a grinder to cut and replace pipework at the top of an 11-metre (40’) high metal tank containing waste slurry. They were not using harnesses. Sparks from the grinder ignited flammable gasses causing the tank to explode. The slurry vessel was airborne for 9 seconds and came down approximately 100’ from its original location. Footage of the explosion...

On March 20, 2024, at noon, an employee, 34, was pneumatically leak-testing a newly installed 56-inch drainpipe. The pipe extended from one side of the street to the other, roughly 150 feet. They placed a rubber pressure plug on one side and another on the testing site across the street. At about 30 minutes into the air leak testing, they noticed the pressure on the pipe had decreased, so the employee...

Those who follow my accident posts are well aware of my crusade to help everyone understand the LIMITATIONS of our atmospheric monitors. Just this year, I did my 2-day PRCS training course for a well-known petrochemical business and was challenged on the limitations of the LEL sensors on these devices. During the lunch break, several participants came back with that look on their faces… yes,...

A few weeks ago, I was asked to spend a morning with an executive team discussing “safety metrics.” In this discussion, I realized this team was somewhat confused with all the “lingo” thrown at them by many consultants over the past 10-12 years. They were lost in what mattered and had tried a rash of failed safety efforts (which they were NOT ready for). So, I took a step back...

Pictured left to right: GVSU OSHM Professor Courtney Aloul; Interim Dean of GVSU’s Padnos College of Engineering Dr. Timothy Born; MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman; MIOSHA Senior Safety Consultant Deb Ziel; GVSU OSHM Program Director Dave Huizen; MIOSHA CET Division Director Tarah Kile; and GVSU Acting Provost Jennifer Drake at the MIOSHA-GVSU Higher Education Alliance signing. LANSING, Mich. –  A...

Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on the agency’s investigation of a fatal release of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery in Texas on October 10, 2024, which killed two workers and injured 13 others. PLEASE UNDERSTAND we may know WHAT happened, but we still do NOT know HOW or WHY it happened. During a maintenance activity...

British Columbia’s new First Aid Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation relating to occupational first aid took effect November 1, 2024. These new rules/approaches to first aid are something we should all celebrate. They are a true “performance-oriented” approach to establishing the level of first Aid needed, as well as the level of supplies and training. To determine...

An investigation into an industrial explosion at an oil and gas facility has led to significant fines being laid by WorkSafe BC. A contractor who handles oilfield waste, has been ordered to pay just over $42,000 for safety violations. Two welders, working directly above a fluid tank, were injured after an explosion inside a shaker building. According to WorkSafe BC, the company failed to conduct testing...

Last week, we saw the devastation of a catastrophic failure of a pressure vessel (PV) in Louisville, KY. We still do not know the cause of this failure, just that it was a “cook vessel #6. SAFTENG members can see my breakdown of the photographic evidence available from the Courrier Journal (local Louisville newspaper). But this video is a “marketing” video from the company’s...