Restarting a Plant: Do You Really Need a PSSR?

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”  — Carl Bard Constellation Energy just signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft to provide clean energy—or at least carbon-free energy—from Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant. The plan is [...]

By |2024-09-26T10:30:31-05:00September 26th, 2024|Chemicals, Current Events, PHA, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Restarting a Plant: Do You Really Need a PSSR?

Improving Safety: Lessons from Blue Food

“Did you ever notice, there’s no blue food? Whenever I say that, people say, ‘Ha! What about blueberries?’ But no-o-o…blueberries are purple.”  — George Carlin My wife loves blue food. She has George Carlin to thank for that. It’s not because George Carlin’s comedy convinced my wife to love blue food. It’s because George Carlin’s [...]

By |2024-09-12T11:37:41-05:00September 12th, 2024|Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Improving Safety: Lessons from Blue Food

Complacency: What Can Be Done About It?

“You need to have redesign because familiarity breeds a kind of complacency.”  — Timothy White When a hazardous incident occurs, we often hear a single word offered as an explanation: “Complacency.”  Maybe it’s true, but is it helpful? You will never hear someone come to the defense of complacency. Complacency is universally regarded as undesirable. [...]

By |2024-08-29T08:41:18-05:00August 29th, 2024|Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Complacency: What Can Be Done About It?

Vader: Killed in the Line of Duty

“The love of a dog is a pure thing. He gives you a trust which is total. You must not betray it.”  — Michel Houellebecq A week ago, Vader, a police dog in the Arnold Police Department (APD), died from heat exhaustion after his handler found him in a hot patrol vehicle. Arnold is a [...]

By |2024-08-08T08:45:37-05:00August 8th, 2024|Current Events, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Vader: Killed in the Line of Duty

Work-related Fatality Rates: How Low Is Low Enough?

“If you don’t get better, staying the same is probably not good enough.”  — Chris Mullen If a bowler always—always—bowls a perfect 300, they are as good as a bowler can be. If other bowlers also develop that level of skill, they cannot beat a perfect 300. The best they can do is tie. There [...]

By |2024-05-02T13:22:32-05:00May 2nd, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Work-related Fatality Rates: How Low Is Low Enough?

The Key Bridge Collapse: Are There Lessons for Us Now?

“Catastrophic bridge accidents are rare, but the number and severity of those due to ship collisions far exceed those due to winds, waves, and earthquakes combined.”  — Committee on Ship-Bridge Collisions (1983) On Tuesday, March 26, 2024, shortly before 1:30 am, the cargo ship Dali drifted into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge’s [...]

By |2024-04-04T09:57:08-05:00April 4th, 2024|Current Events, Procedures, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on The Key Bridge Collapse: Are There Lessons for Us Now?

Bump Caps: When Are They Appropriate?

“Do nothing that is of no use.”  — Miyamoto Musashi I have been in several facilities recently that used bump caps as head protection. I make it a practice to follow the safety rules of facilities where I am visiting, because I believe it important to set a good example and to show that I [...]

By |2024-03-28T11:57:13-05:00March 28th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Bump Caps: When Are They Appropriate?

“OSHA Says”: Hard Hat Colors

“The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.” — George Carlin I was recently astonished to hear someone talking about OSHA-required hard hat color codes. “Yeah, and green is for any who works in forestry,” they said. I wanted to contradict them on the spot but stopped. [...]

By |2024-02-15T09:56:34-06:00February 15th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on “OSHA Says”: Hard Hat Colors

Jargon: Keeping it Simple

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”  — often misattributed to Albert Einstein I don’t spend much time in court rooms. I’m not a lawyer. I tend toward law-abiding behavior, so I’ve not been a defendant. I refuse to be an expert witness. (Lawyers seem to want me to follow [...]

By |2024-02-01T12:56:46-06:00February 1st, 2024|Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Jargon: Keeping it Simple

Too Extreme for Work? Cold Snaps and Heat Waves

“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”  — Charles Dudley Warner A few weeks ago, we were treated to the sight of icicles hanging from NFL Coach Andy Reid’s moustache during the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game in Kansas City. That gut punch of arctic air to the Midwest overwhelmed us. Here, our [...]

By |2024-01-25T11:36:35-06:00January 25th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Too Extreme for Work? Cold Snaps and Heat Waves
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