What do I mean when I say, “we want our SMS to be more like a diesel engine than a bottle rocket“?  It is a simple analogy that almost anyone can relate to. A bottle rocket may be easy to launch, but it is FAST, UNCONTROLLABLE,  and in the end, it COMES APART soon after launch.  It may generate many “Ohs and Ahs” in its SHORT LIFE, but is this what we want in...

When I first learned about the “management systems” approach to managing Occupational Safety and Health and Process Safety, I was taught to view them as a “spoked wheel.”  This aligned with the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, so it made perfect sense.  And ever since, I have been teaching Safety Management System courses using the “spoked wheel” images. ...

One missed opportunity for many businesses is an SMS Training Orientation for the new Safety Pros and Management Team members. The safety pro usually does not even sit through the “new employee safety orientation” when they arrive at the facility. But even rarer is an orientation for the safety and management team members on the functioning SMS. It’s not that the safety pro needs...

It is so sad when I hear a management team talk about how their employees are the problems with safety like they are some beasts that can’t be controlled.  And the look on their faces is priceless when a “consultant” tells them they should be proud of the “beast they have created.” A review and discussion of their latest accidents, all of which were stated to be “unsafe acts” by these beasts of...

I propose this simplified Root Cause Analysis worksheet to clients seeking structure for their 5-Why approach.  it is a beginner’s tool, but it does an excellent job of asking a series of high-level questions to help identify direct causes, root cause(s), and contributing factors and how each identified opportunity gets a corrective action to lessen the probability of a recurrence.  ...

If we look close enough, we can see OSHA’s approach to some of its more extensive standards through the lens of its fitting into a formal Safety Management System.  The Control of Hazardous Energy (e.g., Lockout/Tagout) standard is one of these standards.  Using the old Plan→Do→Check→Act SMS model, we can breakdown 1910.147 into this model, which is an excellent fit. … HomeRead...

I post a lot about Human Factors (HF) and Human and Organizational Performance (HOP/HOF), and I get a lot of calls, emails, and texts every week asking more about these topics. But understand HF and HOP are simply approaches to managing safety and health.  They must never be viewed as a “silver bullet” to fix all our problems with safety performance and/or cultural issues. I have a...

On June 27, 2022, an employee at a packaging plant was flushing a chlorine dioxide pump for maintenance when some of the chlorine dioxide escaped the process and he inhaled it. The employee was rushed to the hospital and later died. … HomeRead More »

With an apparent increase in the number of homes and businesses suffering from “gas service” explosions, I will ask the question:  Should the USA adopt the UK’s regulatory approach to “gas service” construction and maintenance? I am used to working with flammable gas in chemical plants and we have layers of protection built-in to our protection schemes, but a smaller...

This is from a state OSHA plan that has released its State Emphasis Program (SEP) for Heat-Related Hazards.  In this SEP there are some great questions we can ask of our own Heat-Related Injury and Illness Prevention Plans to see if our plan is meeting basic OSHA compliance. Here are a couple of KEY points to consider: Is your facility able to measure Dry Bulb Temperature, and are you testing...

I am sure we could debate this topic all day, but it is a topic that “I do not play well with others” on.  The idea is that if we shorten our written compliance programs or SMS elemental programs, it will cause more people to read them and use them more often.  I say hogwash to this idea, and I believe in detailed written safety compliance and management programs.  And I...

Every business will eventually reorganize work teams to meet the business’s needs.  Sometimes, this will involve laying off workers when previous growth decisions were over-estimated, or the economy pulls back, and demand for products falls.  Whatever the reason(s), every business will go through this regularly.  But for those businesses that tout “Safety is #1” or...