The immediate and proximate causes of industrial accidents such as “falls of persons” are known to lie in two general groups, namely, mechanical or physical and personal. Both causes are controllable by management, and in the case of both, management has an unexcelled opportunity to exercise remedial action. Management further has a strong incentive to prevent accidents, because accident occurrence...

OSHA has issued an LOI regarding 1910.119(h)(3) Contract employer responsibilities.  Here is 1910.119(h)(3) as reference: 1910.119(h)(3) Contract employer responsibilities. 1910.119(h)(3)(i) The contract employer shall assure that each contract employee is trained in the work practices necessary to safely perform his/her job. 1910.119(h)(3)(ii) The contract employer shall assure that each contract...

It amazes me that in the year 2023, 30 years after the PRCS standard was promulgated, we still have Entry Supervisors who can NOT explain:➡ Why Oxygen Concentration must be measured FIRST (then LEL and then Toxicity)➡ The Correction Correlation with the LEL readings➡ Why OSHA defined the LEL of 10% as a Hazardous Atm STOP regurgitating the government standard(s) and calling that training! TEACH the...

Many these days will decry the concept/practice of “Cardinal Rules” as if they are a bad thing and then suggest that workers go out and identify “Stuff That Kills you” (STKY) which is at the very heart of the Cardinal rules administrative control approach.  The belief is that once the serious hazard is identified that a group of workers who perform these high-risk tasks will have the...

Many in our profession seem to be on this kick that “what gets measured gets manipulated”. That is NOT the fault of the metric but rather a very immature (in safety) management group. Go to the finance group and tell them we are going to stop measuring profit and losses, after all, they can’t be trusted as “what gets measured gets manipulated“. Instead, we are only going...

“Dependence must be placed largely on the recognition by management of its moral rather than its legal responsibility for preventing accidents, not only because existing legal requirements are limited in scope, but also because it is a most difficult task to be practical and fair in any attempt by law to achieve wholly safe employee working conditions. This is due in part to the fact that the...

Safety should not be like trying to figure out how to get out of a panic room!  Those who have played the group game “panic room” where you try to figure out clues to eventually unlock the door to win, can maybe relate.  When we put safety goals in place and do not provide the resources, training/skills, and support to achieve those goals we will get the “panic room” approach to safety. Trying...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been alerted to reports and rumors that suggest it is dangerous to use a wireless phone while filling your vehicle with gas or in the presence of flammable materials.  The rumors and reports may be fueled by warnings posted at gas stations or included in wireless phone owners’ manuals suggesting that wireless phones should not be used around fuel...

“Much has been said of near accidents—meaning those that produce no injury whatever, although having the potentiality of doing so. These improper occurrences—these defects, slips, and fumbles; these near accidents—because of their proportionately greater volume, present to the capable person who is intelligent enough to take advantage of it, a splendid opportunity to anticipate and prevent actual...

“In many cases the same faulty practice is involved, and the reason for existence of the fault is similar, both for accident occurrence and for unsatisfactory production. If it is known as a result of a correct fact-finding job that a particular unsafe practice is chiefly responsible for accident occurrence, it can safely be assumed that the methods best suited to correct that particular practice...

“We often hear: “We have to change people’s behavior”. However, behavior is not only the result of an operator’s personality or training. The characteristics of the situations in which a human being is placed make certain types of behavior more likely. Some operating situations can have characteristics that increase the probability of undesirable human behavior. Human behavior cannot be anticipated...

Safety is not the only priority the organization’s leaders have to manage. Within a constrained environment, they must produce products or services that fulfill customer requirements, using specific raw materials, within a given time frame, etc.  Accidents are not the only danger that threatens the entity. It can also be jeopardized by customers taking their business elsewhere, shareholders pulling...