Many folks recognize Nitrogen (N2) as a confined space hazard, and rightfully so; however, as OSHA’s data points out – N2 can kill OUTSIDE of a confined space just as quickly.  Here are the 22 deaths caused by N2 exposure and the links to the OSHA case files from 2020 thru 2023. Fifteen (15) of the 22 deaths involving N2 over this timeframe occurred OUTSIDE of a Confined Space! …...

As summer has arrived here in the USA, I am reminded of how fragile metal is. If blades of grass can dull our mower’s blade(s), causing cutting performance issues, imagine what heat, pressure, and chemicals can do to our piping and vessels. From design to operations to maintenance – these stages of the life cycle of our process(s) are SAFETY CRITICAL. Error(s) in any of these phases will impact...

Thailand: Exploding extinguisher kills student during fire drill I always use fire extinguishers as my example when trying to explain to management how safety devices that are not maintained properly can actually pose a HAZARD. Most of us have probably had a discussion when a manager blows off fire extinguisher inspections that are not being done. They will almost surely say something like, “A...

Nine (9) principles for incorporating human factors into LEARNING investigations: … HomeRead More »

 

In 2016 and 2017, The General Accountability Office (GAO) reported that meat and poultry workers faced multiple occupational hazards. OSHA is responsible for ensuring worker safety and health, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products, and employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces.  This report examines:...

A private hospital company has been fined £160,000 for breaching health and safety regulations after three (3) people were injured during a chlorine leak. The company pleaded guilty to two (2) charges of failing to discharge general health, safety, and welfare duty in relation to an incident on March 11, 2021, when a chemical reaction caused the toxic gas to be produced at the hospital’s hydrotherapy...

A natural gas processing plant is a facility designed to clean raw natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce dry natural gas. Processing raw natural gas begins at the inlet gas piping or gas stream of a natural gas processing plant. This piping delivers the raw natural gas to each processing vessel. Two of these processing vessels are an inlet gas-liquid...

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is proposing updated workplace safety rules for petroleum refineries designed to prevent catastrophic events like the 2010 explosion that killed seven workers at the former Tesoro refinery in Anacortes. The proposed update addresses what’s known as process safety management (PSM), which describes the way workplaces handle dangerous...

To say that accidents are due to human failure is not so much untrue as unhelpful for three reasons: Every accident is due to human error: someone, usually a manager, has to decide what to do; someone, usually a designer, has to decide how to do it; someone, usually an operator, has to do it. All of them can make errors but the operator is at the end of the chain and often gets all the blame. We should...

A federal investigation has found that the operator of a specialty frozen pizza manufacturing plant in Illinois could have prevented the death of a 29-year-old sanitation worker by following proper machine safety procedures.  OSHA CSHOs learned the sanitation worker suffered fatal injuries while working on the overnight shift under the supervision of the Pizza Company in December 2022. OSHA determined...

A 29-year-old worker suffered the amputation of a fingertip while reassembling a pump, an injury the employer could have prevented by ensuring to shutdown and lockout the equipment to prevent it from unexpectedly starting during maintenance. OSHA investigated after the company reported the December 2022 injury and found the employer did not train workers on lockout/tagout procedures. The agency also...