“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Aldous Huxley We’ve all seen them; factories are scattered across the landscapes of America. There’s probably one in or near the town where you live, where you work, where you raise your children. I live near one and [...]
“Safety is not a gadget but a state of mind.” Eleanor Everet Over-pressure scenarios can be defined as a situation resulting from the internal pressure within piping or vessels exceeding the maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP). The term “over-pressure” can make those in the process industry cringe. This revulsion is born from associating the term [...]
“Without a solid foundation, you’ll have trouble creating anything of value.” Erika Oppenheimer Recently, I’ve been asked by quite a few clients to walk them through the steps of the safety lifecycle to ensure they aren’t missing anything in their safety program. Trying to go through each step and explain its purpose over the phone, [...]
“Safety is a common denominator across all aspects of life, hence knowledge should always be shared. It is not a matter for industry it is a matter for humanity.” Doug Bourne, technical director at PM Lucas Six months ago, if you would have asked me to define the phrase “tolerable risk”, I would have stared [...]
“There is no greater evil than men’s failure to consult and to consider.” Sophocles In our office, we write a lot of recommendations. As a rule, we begin recommendations with the words “consider” or “confirm.” This isn’t because we’re looking for weasel-words. It’s because not every recommendation is the best idea. Some recommendations aren’t even [...]
“Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving and progressing.” Mandy Hale Two months ago, I chose to leave the banking industry after eight years to pursue a career in process safety. I now work alongside engineers who hold degrees from prestigious universities. Their critical thinking [...]
“If all employers simply corrected the top 10 hazards, we are confident the number of deaths, amputations and hospitalizations would drastically decline.” Tom Galassi, director of enforcement programs for OSHA About this time every year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration publishes its top 10 list of regulatory violations and the Bureau of Labor Statistics [...]
