Some raw materials are sensitive to humidity; this valve sticks and is more demanding than its supposedly similar neighbor; that pump has broken down; this operation sometimes occurs at night and sometimes during the day, sometimes when it’s hot, other times when it’s cold, sometimes our co-worker is tall, sometimes he is short, we may be under pressure time-wise, etc. Thanks to their experience and...

The story behind this picture is said to be a 19-year-old granddaughter’s attempt at designing for her grandfather’s dementia. Human Factors Engineering (HFE)!!! Making human factors matter by REDUCING the opportunity for error. It really can be this simple! Pic Credit: Amy Dalton

If you have ever attended one of my SMS presentations or training courses, you know I am a huge Edward Demming fan. I started my career during the ISO 9001 era, which many call the “Quality Era.”  Do you remember Ford’s slogan in the 1990s?  “Quality is #1,” and the ISO quality movement was considerably driven by automobile manufacturers such as Ford, GM, etc.  But...

The following incident is a precautionary example of the potential hazards of improperly depressurizing piping to remove a hydrate.  During production operations, a control room operator observed a decrease in gas lift pressure supplied through a pipeline to a remote well location. The control room operator notified the onboard platform operators of the pressure drop and the possibility of a hydrate...

One of the finest men I ever worked for, Jim Krumholz, taught me this trick in 1999! Manager MUST attend the “safety training” their employees attend! Even if this manager would never participate in an entry into PRCS, perform HW, or even participate in a lockout, they need to understand the expectations of their team members and how safety integrates with their team’s daily activities. They...

On January 13, 2022, workers inside the company’s fabrication shop performed a “wet test” on a newly built tank truck to check for leakage. This entailed running diesel test fuel through different tank compartments and other truck components. This was a routine operation at the workplace. Workers knew never to use gasoline, and the company had a standard operating procedure that prohibited...

I have written several articles on the topic of when we store our flammable liquids BELOW their flash points with the aid of refrigeration and how that makes our “refrigeration/chiller” a critical utility if we wish to take credit for storing the flammable below its FP.  I have also discussed processing a Class IIIB/Cat 4 flammable liquid within 30 degrees of its FP.  However,...

Managing our LOTO program requires considerable resources, and it requires a team approach! However, we see many failed attempts to control hazards through a facility’s LOTO program. One of the most common failures is how “authorized employees” are defined in terms of the skills they are trained on.  Which Rabbit Hole you choose to go down and how far you go down depends on the...

I put this image together for a friend struggling to demonstrate to their management that we can not discuss LOTO until Machine Guarding is in place. These two topics go hand in hand and trust me; if there are guarding issues, those hazards will be compounded when we attempt to frame up the LOTO program. Guarding is for the OPERATIONAL safety of the machine/equipment and, if not done well, poses a...

An Ohio subsidiary of one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers could have prevented a 26-year-old employee in Franklin from being fatally crushed in October 2023 if the company had provided proper machine guarding.  OSHA responded after being informed of the incident and learned the worker, on the job for about a year, was placing cardboard under a machine that bends vehicle exhaust pipes...

Are you tired of playing the OSHA Compliance game that requires us to “comply” with standards that are 50 years old?  The International Fire Code (IFC) is an excellent resource for taking your hazardous materials handling systems/processes to the next level.  The IFC is used or adopted in 42 states, including the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This...

There are two (2) types of Asphyxiants: Simple Chemical also known as Systemic These different types of asphyxiants behave differently and cause harm differently. … HomeRead More »