About Mike Schmidt

With a career in the CPI that began in 1977 with Union Carbide, Mike was profoundly impacted by the 1984 tragedy in Bhopal and has been working on process safety ever since.

Trendspotting: Five Years of Incident Report Data from the CSB

“It doesn’t take many observations to think you’ve spotted a trend, and it’s probably not a trend at all.”  — Daniel Kahneman In a December 2022 press release, CSB Chairperson Steve Owens alerted us all to a worrisome spike in CSB-reportable incidents at chemical facilities and the need to focus on winterization to prevent major [...]

Hazard Communication: Does Whiskey Need an SDS?

“Whisky making is an act of cooperation between the blessings of nature and the wisdom of man.”  — Masataka Taketsura While on a tour of a craft distillery, the distiller (and owner) and I got to talking about the safety aspects of distilling whiskey. The question of whether whiskey needed an SDS came up. It [...]

By |2025-05-15T12:46:01-05:00May 15th, 2025|Chemicals, Procedures, Process Safety|0 Comments

A+: What Is A Perfect PHA?

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”  — Vince Lombardi I don’t believe that I have ever facilitated a perfect PHA. The question is, how would I recognize it if it was perfect? And would others agree? What exactly is a perfect PHA? A PHA Identifies Hazards The primary [...]

By |2025-05-08T16:39:47-05:00May 8th, 2025|PHA, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Recommendations|Comments Off on A+: What Is A Perfect PHA?

Beyond the Limits: Extreme Oxygen

“Oxygen is the vital ingredient for the survival of every cell in our bodies. Too little—or too much—can spell disaster.”  — Venki Ramakrishnan A reader recently complained about OSHA’s insistence on defining the safe limits of oxygen in terms of volume percent: 19.5% by volume to 23.5% by volume. “The fact that OSHA does not [...]

By |2025-05-01T09:33:23-05:00May 1st, 2025|Procedures, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Beyond the Limits: Extreme Oxygen

Pressure Relief: Low Pressure Vessels

“Pressure comes from within and so must be mastered from within.”  — Ed Jacoby Ten years ago, on Friday morning, April 24, 2015, a catastrophic still failure at the Silver Trail Distillery in Hardin, Kentucky seriously injured two workers, one who died 17 days later from his injuries. They were about four gallons into a [...]

By |2025-04-24T09:34:49-05:00April 24th, 2025|Chemicals, Gas, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Pressure Relief: Low Pressure Vessels

Process Hazards: Using Compressed Gas to Transfer Liquids

“Science explorers are like an ideal gas. They can expand to fill any volume, but they can only do work under pressure…and the pressure’s on.”  — Robert Ballard Every time that someone at a process facility tells me that they use compressed gas to transfer liquids from one tank to another, I wince. It’s not [...]

By |2025-04-17T10:00:59-05:00April 17th, 2025|Chemicals, Gas, Procedures, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Process Hazards: Using Compressed Gas to Transfer Liquids

“OSHA Says”: Thermal Exposure

“If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.”  — Harry S. Truman For decades, I’ve told people that OSHA requires thermal protection on surfaces over 140°F (60 C) up to a height of 7 feet. People just accepted that because a) I was the expert and b) it made sense. Recently, though, [...]

By |2025-05-23T13:13:02-05:00April 10th, 2025|PHA, Process Safety, Risk Assessment, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on “OSHA Says”: Thermal Exposure

Process Safety: On the Bourbon Trail

“Devils drinking devils and the flames are getting higher. All of Bardstown’s crying tonight, Heaven Hill’s on fire.”  — Shannon Lawson, The Galoots Chris Schmidt and I recently returned from a week-long trip to Kentucky to enjoy the countryside and to sample bourbons from some of the 46 distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. As [...]

“It’s Probably Water”: Is That Good Enough?

“You can’t trust water. Even a straight stick turns crooked in it.”  — W. C. Fields ChrisSchmidt and I recently visited several distilleries on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. After tasting one particularly strong whiskey, she reached for a tall glass of clear liquid to chase it down. “Yeah, that’s probably water,” said our tasting guide, hinting [...]

By |2025-03-27T08:31:27-05:00March 27th, 2025|Chemicals, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on “It’s Probably Water”: Is That Good Enough?

Incident Safety Investigations: Who Should Lead Them?

“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”  — Voltaire Early in my career, our boss assigned a colleague and me to investigate an incident that was still having a significant impact on the plant. Being an arrogant know-it-all, I mean, an engineer, I was confident that I already knew what [...]

By |2025-03-20T09:21:45-05:00March 20th, 2025|Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Incident Safety Investigations: Who Should Lead Them?
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