We have all see the silly warning labels and mocked the warnings such as “CAUTION – coffee is hot”.  But this one just amazes me; it has to stem from a lawsuit as it is just that silly.  I have tried to find an accident involving this manufacturer of 5-gallon buckets, but so far nothing has turned up.  I am hoping one of you may be able to shed some light.  The...

If you spend enough time working on Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), you are bound to come across some crazy situations.  Luckily I have some world-class clients who allow me to share my “interesting finds” and encourage me to share with all of you.  This most recent find was at an OSHA VPP STAR site.  We have been hired to do program-specific audits each quarter, with an emphasis...

Anyone ever completed any type of safety audit and not ended up with at least one item related to your fire protection systems?  Anyone?  I know I never have and I am a fanatic about my fire protection systems.  I was trained to treat them as “gold”.  No one touches them – PERIOD!  Yet in all my years I can not recall having completed a safety audit where...

OSHA has issued several PSM citations at a natural gas processing facility from an inspection that began in October 2014.  This was an unannounced planned Chem NEP inspection.  Of special note, these violations include issues with not having a Car Seal Program for valves within the relief path(s) of several relief devices.  OSHA referenced ASME Section VIII, but did not specifically...

Most everyone has seen a bollard; they may not have realized what they were seeing at the time, but most have seen one.  But this group of people who have seen one grows much smaller when we begin to ask “what makes a bollard a safety device?”  A couple of years ago I shared an engineering standard for bollards and vehicle protection.  That page has been viewed more than 200,000 times...

This is not the first time I have “beat up” on excess flow valves and the reliance on them as a “safeguard” in a PHA or process design.  Both EPA and OSHA are on record stating their displeasure of claiming these valves as a safeguard.  Now don’t get me wrong, these devices WORK and WORK WELL when they are DESIGNED, INSTALLED, TESTED, and MAINTAINED per the manufacturer’s...

UPDATED 5/2016 Each year more and more states are adopting International Codes.  The chart below is a list of all states and US Territories that have adopted these codes, the code edition they adopted, whether the code is enforced state wide or local governments, etc.  This listing is up-to-date thru September 2015.  Are you complying with your state’s HAZMAT, Fire, Building, and...

Christine Baker, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), has submitted a legislatively-mandated status report on DIR and Cal/OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) Regulatory Oversight. The report is required pursuant to the Budget Act of 2014 (Provisions 1 and 2 of item 7350-001-3121, Chapter 25, Statutes of 2014). A new assessment on the state’s oil refineries, implemented...

    Many THANKS to my NEW and RENEWING “Partners in Safety“   since 2005 since 2010 since 2013  since 1/2015   Over 12,500 exclusive unsafe acts/conditions and accident/injuries photos and over 1,100 ppt’s & doc’s from more than 2,797 contributors! UPDATED the Members Area Photo Library on 4/4/15 with 189 Shocker, Accident, and GRAPHIC Injury photos...

Does anyone else see the irony in this photo? 

On May 15, 2013, EPA conducted a compliance inspection of Respondent’s facility to determine compliance with the Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulations promulgated at 40 C.F.R. part 68 under section 112(r)(7) of the Act. The EPA found that the Respondent had violated regulations implementing section 112(r)(7) of the Act by failing to comply with the specific requirements outlined in the attached...