Have you every walked up on a hotwork job and asked who is the fire watch, only to have five welders not even look up and point to each other? It happens, but there is a simple way to correct this behavioral problem - High Visibility Vests.
On average, we conduct around a dozen flammable liquid safety audits each year and I can not think of an audit where we were not asked about the ventilation requirements in 1910.106(e)(3)(v)(a) and/or NFPA 30, 17.11.1-10. Both of these standards require an area where a Class I Flammable Liquid is being transferred or dispensed be ventilated at a rate of not less than 1 cubic foot per minute per square foot of solid floor area or a fancy way of saying it... 1 ft3/min/ft2 or in metrics 0.3 m3/min/m2
Some responders would tell you this was a "sucessful response". They stopped the leak and did not injury anyone in the effort; however, it is not too difficult to identify several things these responders could have done differently in their response. Can you identify them? How many did you identify?
I am not positive that this is a legit list, as there is NOTHING new on this org's website since 2009! But all the incidents are legit as I covered them in the Incident Alerts. Not sure who or what org put this together, but it it relevant info for safety discussions. From agriculture to mining to health care, the occupational fatalities that made the 2011 top ten list compiled by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health's (COSH) spanned many industries and highlighted notable gaps in regulatory attempts to address workplace hazards.
WARNING!!! There is some VERY HARSH Language ("F" Bomb) in this video and the video shows some of the worst and dangerous horseplay you could ever imagine. If harsh language, immature and STUPID workers offend you do NOT view this video. By ALL MEANS TURN DOWN your volume as the video may offend a co-worker. I was somewhat offended, more by the act than the language, but SUPERVISORS and MANAGERS NEED TO SEE THIS VIDEO so they can see how far employees will go when left improperly supervised.
Anyone involved with PSM/RMP knows about "facility siting" and all the attention it has gotten since the Texas City, TX incident in 2005. Many companies struggle with this type of analysis, so I am passing along some great data that could be used during an expansion project at an existing facility or for a new facility. PLEASE note that even if your process does NOT fall under PSM or RMP, this data should still be used as many states use NFPA 30 (or some version) as their flammable liquid code.
9.5.2 The total aggregate volume of Class I, II, and IIIA flammable liquids in a group of storage cabinets shall NOT exceed the MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE QUANTITY (MAQ) of flammable and combustible liquids per control area based on the occupancy where the cabinets are located.
Without a doubt one of the VERY BEST NH3 Response Training videos! And it is FREE, thanks to TRANSCAER! Be patient, it takes a minute to load. CLICK HERE to download the Student Manual (pdf).
Everyone’s lives seem to be very busy in this fast paced world. We rush to get to work and then rush home. We urge all workers to take one or two minutes at the beginning of each shift to talk about safety. Such talks can have several safety and operational benefits. The talks will prompt everyone to stop thinking about and/or worrying about non-work issues and help focus everyone on the job at hand for the day. It’s only one or two minutes out of the average 480 minute workday and it can pay huge dividends. You may ask what we could talk about everyday for a minute or two. Here are just a few examples:
Over the past several years I have written many articles on the “safeguards” that get listed in Process Hazards Analysis. In this article I want to focus our attention on the flaws that so many facilities are making in their PHAs. Some facilities are really doing themselves an injustice by listing safeguards that have little to no impact on PREVENTING, PROTECTING or MITIGATING the consequences being analyzed. Please note that in this article I will be offering ideas that may not be a regulatory compliance requirement, keeping in mind that the PSM and RMP requirements are the bare minimum we must meet. Our process safety efforts should be focused on improving our process safety, not making OSHA or EPA happy!
Ordinary glass containers exposed to heat will fail at about 212F (100C) due to thermally induced stress. Storage cabinets are designed to offer protection from radiant heat, but only for a limited time of intense fire exposure. These limitation MUST be recognized by the user.
Who at your place of business calls the National Response Center after your business has experienced a chemical incident. Not many people have ever had to call this center (luckily!) but if your business ever does have a "reportable release" a call just like this one MUST BE MADE within 30 minutes after you have determined that the release exceeds the "Reportable Quantity".
PLEASE CLICK HERE for more on EPA's Reportable Quantities. Garden City Ammonia Program group did this drill call with the NRC so we can hear first hand how the call will be handled and the questions that will be asked.
"Cecil I Walker Machinery Co. hired Bryan Haywood after hearing him speak at a EH&S Conference in Cincinnati, OH on the topic of World Class Safety. Bryan came in-house with vast enthusiasm and knowledge of safety. He educated our employees, from the President to the Branch Managers, the Safety D...
SAFTENG Safety Info Posts
