There are three (3) recognized models upon which Safety Management Systems are built.  These models were identified via Dr. James Reason’s research and still hold true today, 30 years later.  Safety professionals have to be sure as to not allow their biases to influence which one is best for the organization, as all three have significant differences and can have dramatic impacts on...

As I have said many times, we MUST examine all Latent Organizational Failures before we even begin to look at the actions of the worker(s).  Far too often, investigations will first (and usually only) look at the ACTIVE failures that led to the consequences.  This is how so many accidents IMPROPERLY and UNFAIRLY get put on the back of the worker(s) involved.  Even when those actions...

A highly resilient organization is a LEARNING organization. Learning organizations exhibit five (5) main characteristics: system thinking, personal mastery, mental models, a shared vision, and team learning … HomeRead More »

Highly reliable organizations use a portfolio of programs to maintain the continual improvement of system designs, procedures, and policies. This continuous improvement process allows the organization to RECOGNIZE OPERATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION EARLY and TO DEVELOP CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TO BRING THE SYSTEM BACK TO STABILITY The goal of this continuous improvement process is to: PREVENT errors, IDENTIFY...

Risk management strategies can be categorized into four (4) fundamental approaches.  They are: Inherent, Passive, Active, and Procedural Let’s discuss what they mean and the order in which we should utilize them.  Think along the lines of Hierarchical Control Schemes. … HomeRead More »

Several years ago I was asked by a client to throw my name into the ring for a senior-level job at a large chemical company. They were a great client so I obliged and although I had no desire to give up SAFTENG, the interview process was so refreshing. It had such an impact on me, I use it today when a client asks me to be an interviewer in their interview process for a safety candidate. This approach...

This flow diagram is presented as an aid and it does not alter or determine OSHA’s Fire Protection compliance responsibilities. The best source of information is the 29 CFR 1910, Subpart L standards.  Many thanks to my Friend in Safety from OSHA, Mr. Walter Siegfried for sharing this aid. … HomeRead More »

A fatal explosion at a chemical facility in 2018 killed a welder who was carrying out maintenance work on a mixing vessel. The HSE investigation found that toluene vapors had leaked into the vessel from faulty valves, producing a flammable atmosphere. Workers had checked the atmosphere with a flammable gas monitor before their work began. However, the gas monitor had failed to detect the presence of...

More on near misses and unsafe acts that result in no consequence- remember this is from the 1930s and 40s “It needs but little thought for the average person to conclude that the no-injury accident ratio herein expressed is not exaggerated. How many drivers of automobiles would care to assert that they had never had narrow escapes from injury when driving across railroad grade crossings without...

This Notice cancels STD 01-12-002 Guidelines For Robotics Safety, which has been replaced by the OSHA Technical Manual Section IV: Chapter 4 –Industrial Robot Systems and Industrial Robot System Safety.  The 1987 STD 01-12-002 Guidelines For Robotics Safety was outdated. The 2021 update to the OSHA Technical Manual Section IV: Chapter 4 – Industrial Robot Systems and Industrial Robot System...

Lots of talk about SIF (Serious Injuries & Fatalities) these days. It even has a new acronym some of you may have seen being used… STKY (Stuff [or Sh_t] That Kills You). Leave it to the safety profession to package this risk management approach into a “program” that can be marketed and sold as another silver bullet to fix all of our struggles.  Hence, SIF has many catchphrases...

Heinrich wrote this in 1941. So many want to decry his belief that unsafe acts play a significant role in accidents. In my earlier posts, I shared his position that unsafe acts are a reflection on management and not so much on the worker who carried out the unsafe act. In this quote from his book, we can see that he was a believer in engineering controls as a major means to prevent accidents. “The...