If you have been around ammonia refrigeration very long, you have most likely heard a horror story or two related to “draining an oil pot.”  This task is also very well known by OSHA and EPA inspectors and is often used as a point of review for operating and maintenance procedures during PSM/RMP inspections.  So to best lay this all out in some logical progression, lets first look at the...

Ammonia Incidents in OregonFrom 1993 – 2007 ORHSEES recorded a total of 3,187 qualifying chemical incidents in Oregon. Of these qualifying incidents, 240 (7.5%) involved a release of ammonia.  87.5% of the ammonia releases occurred at fixed facilities while 12.5% occurred during the transport of ammonia. A total of 67 of the 240 ammonia incidents required...

During a recent project the SAFTENG team came across an interesting “change” to a covered process that fits the “changes to facilities” perfectly.  The covered process was a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) unit on a coal fired boiler.  The unit was having problems during cooler months with the ammonia condensing before it reached the SCR unit.  The distance...

A bad day for a lift!  High seas and wind are a recipe for a bad day when it comes to making a lift!

{jcomments on}A presentation by John Newquist, Assistant Regional Adminstrator, at the Waubonsee Safety Days Conference on March 14, 2012.  A GREAT review of the General Industry Training requirements, including many standard specific listings.  MANY THANKS to John for sharing with us.  Click Here to download the pdf

A Joint Report of Michigan State University and Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Michigan Department of Community HealthPrepared by: Joanna Kica, MPA, Martha Stanbury, MSPH, Doug Kalinowski, MS CIH, Kenneth Rosenman, MD Michigan State University’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Division compiles data on work-related burns...

OSHA penalty policy was changed to revise size reductions to small employers under 25 employees. They will get a 60% size reduction vs. 40% now.  Click Here for the OSHA Memo (pdf).

If You Want Happiness -A Chinese Proverb If you want happiness for an hour – Take a nap! If you want happiness for a day – Go Fishing! If you want happiness for a month – Get Married! If you want happiness for a year – Inherit a Fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime – Help Others!  MANY THANKS to Wayne “Safety Wayne” Kordonowy, CMSP, CHCM for sharing...

An emergency response plan for industrial permit-required confined space entry is essential for employee safety and is legally required. However, maintaining a trained confined space rescue team is costly and technically challenging. Some employers turn to public fire departments to meet their emergency response requirements. The confined space emergency response practices of employers and fire departments...

This was shared in one of the safety groups I participate in and I am not sure how I feel about this.  Your thoughts/concerns?  Would you let this device be used in your organization?  Do you feel it replaces LOTO?  Any safety people been approached by electrical workers wanting to use these?  Anyone have first hand experience using these? … HomeRead More »

My Management of Change (MOC) presentation today at the BWC Ohio Safety Congress.  Click Here to download the pdf.  Many thanks to the BWC (a “Partner in Safety” with SAFTENG for the past 7 years) for asking me to speak on Process Safety.

{jcomments on}We have all debated the “zero accident” goal philosophy and it is often times hard for safety professionals to grasp the thought that an accident may have benefits, but they can and often times do!  Now I am in NO WAY advocating we go out and work unsafely so we can have an accident; what I AM SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS is that we need to STOP viewing accidents...