Whenever we are dealing with piping and vessels that use nuts and bolts as their joining method, there was always this “rule of thumb” about “short-threading” and “3-threads showing.”  But now these “rules of thumb” may be no more, based on ASME PCC-1–2019, 8.2 Bolt Lengths.   I was raised/trained in this as a fundamental in process safety,...

At all times relevant to this CAFO, Respondent operated at a facility that refined transmix. Transmix is a mixture of refined products such as gasoline, diesel, and/or jet fuel that results when refined materials are transported in pipelines. The intermingling of products at portions of a pipeline stream can result in the material of an uncertain quality that is collected and sent to a transmix refinery...

“Several recent accidents in complex, high-risk technologies had their primary origins in a variety of delayed-action human failures committed long before an emergency state could be recognized. These disasters were due to the adverse conjunction of a large number of causal factors, each one necessary but singly insufficient to achieve the catastrophic outcome. Although the errors and violations...

Taking from the “Five Themes for Excellence in Safety Management Systems (SMS)”, we can look at a facility’s incident investigation process through this lens of excellence and measure the maturity of the safety culture.  To recap the progression, here are the five levels: Ad-Hoc Managed Standardized Predictable Excellence Using an organization’s incident investigation...

The significant ways of thinking and doing, which underpin a positive health and safety (H&S) culture suited to the organization, are identified and applied.  Culture is a lever that can assist the board and senior managers in improving company and safety performance. Setting out a culture strategy for H&S as part of a health and safety management system (SMS) is necessary for excellence. Culture...

Leadership research is pervasive in the organizational literature, and studies in mental health services suggest that leadership is essential for both the organizational process and consumer satisfaction and outcomes. Glisson and Durick found that higher levels of positive leadership in human service organizations were associated with higher levels of organizational commitment. Higher levels of positive...

The following descriptions of excellence have been set for each of the main areas of an effective SMS: Health and safety policy and leadership Organizing for control and communication Securing cooperation, competence, and development of employees at all levels Planning and implementation of risk controls through co-ordinated management arrangements Monitoring, reviewing, and auditing to provide effective...

Your instructions to “change my clock” was confusing, but I think I nailed it. Now I’m off to change the batteries in my smoke detector.  

During construction work at an LNG plant, Argon was used in Corrosion Resistant Alloy (CRA) welding to remove oxygen from the molten weld. The Argon accumulated in the piping, and when the welder checked the weld from inside, he fainted and died.           … HomeRead More »

A pipe with 100 psi liquified Chlorine started to leak at the point where the pipe is connected to the plant construction. The pipe was high in a pipe bridge without easy access for inspection, which was done 6 months prior. The inspection missed this critical point.                      … HomeRead More »

On February 2, 2011, Employees #1 and #2 worked for a petroleum and petroleum product company. Employee #1 was on top of a transport tanker into which the firm’s vice-president transferred #1 diesel fuel, mixing it with about 1,000 gallons of #2 diesel fuel.  Employee #2 was on the ground. After “splash filling” the center tank with about 300 gallons of #1 diesel fuel, the firm’s...

In this video, we can see BOTH operators fail to vent the gasoline vapors BACK into the truck.  Instead, they vent them to the atmosphere at ground level.  Gasoline vapors are 2X the weight of air, so they travel along the ground until they find an adequate ignition source (<1 mJ) and accumulate to their LEL (<2%). We can see a lot of items that should be discussed in the incident investigation...