Here we sit, ending the year 2013, 20+ years after OSHA promulgated its Control of Hazardous Energy (e.g., Lockout/Tagout) standard. Yet, we still see so much confusion regarding this safety-critical standard. We get so much resistance on some of the most basic requirements of LOTO that I thought it would be helpful to dispel two of the most common errors/misunderstandings we encounter… OSHA...

Look closely… and what do you see?  Think about your piping RAGAGEP(s) for pressurized piping such as ASME B31.3 or .5.  Answer… What we are seeing is a piece of welded pipe that was being installed in an Ammonia Refrigeration process.  As REQUIRED by ASME B31.5, Section 527.5… 527.5 Qualification Records The employer shall maintain copies of the procedure and...

We are now down to less than 30 days to have our training completed on Labels and SDS’s.  Here is yet another state OSHA Plan that has gone out of its way to produce some excellent GHS HAZCOM presentations.  This Hazard Communication Employee Training program has been divided into three modules for use as “toolbox” talks and to reduce download file size. The modules are...

Just when you think we have seen/heard it all when it comes to management no brainers, but this one bares repeating.  IN-OSHA recently cited a food manufacturing facility with a Willful ( in Indiana they call them “Knowing” citations) for having their employees remove the stainless steel clean out port, and then put their finger on the safety inter-lock switch to let machine continue to...

Would you do this or permit an employee to do this in an excavator?  What risks do you see in this practice?  What questions would you be asking if an employee/manager came to you and said “hey I want to put that equipment up on that stand and I will do it like this….”

The textile factory worker is left unconscious on his feet after getting his head stuck in a machine.  When firefighters arrived at the factory they found the worker unconscious and being held upright because his head was clamped by the machine.  FF’s had to use expansion tools to pry apart the machine so the man could be freed.  He was taken to hospital and no further information...

At least once a year some company who got a VPP approval tries to use that approval as a vehicle to get out of a citation.  In this OSHRC case, a contractor at a chemical facility had a tankcar cleaning accident that claimed the life of a worker.  The worker entered a railcar to retrieve a gasket and died from H2S exposure.  There was no entry permit, no atmospheric monitoring, etc.  OSHA cited the...

CAL-OSHA has published a very nice LOTO manual with many great tips for everyone, inside and outside of the state of CA!  Failure to develop and follow lockout and blockout procedures before working on machinery is one of the major causes of serious injury and death in the USA. Workers can become electrocuted – or suffer permanent disfigurement – due to inadvertent activation of a...

The general industry standard, 1910.106, Flammable Liquids, is complex and covers many work environments and situations. This fact sheet covers only the basic storage, transfer, and transport requirements. Rules for heavier industrial applications; underground storage facilities; and for building tanks, containers, and other specialized items are in the standard. All references in this fact sheet...

OSHA has cited a trucking business for 11 safety and health violations, including one willful, for deficiencies in its permit-required confined space program and other workplace hazards. An inspection began in April after a temporary worker, who was cleaning the inside of a tanker trailer without proper training, was found unconscious and later died from an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. A willful violation...

On the 20th of October 2011 there was a traffic accident in Murcia (Spain) involving a Liquid Natural Gas tanker which resulted in the cargo exploding. This the second explosion of this type recorded in the World, following that which occurred in Tivissa (Spain) in 2002. The initial accident occurred when the tanker collided with another lorry which was stationary on the hard shoulder. A fire started...

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requires businesses that store and/or manufacture, process, or use certain chemicals to complete the Tier II (EPCRA 311 and 312) Report and/or the Toxics Release Inventory (EPCRA 313) Report, also called the Form R.  Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act focuses on risk management for accident prevention. While these three programs have...